Could use some serious brainstorming for helping ds learn to read

[mykdsmomy]

We have been working for the last two years to get Boo to know his alphabet and sounds. He has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder so while he knows his letters, he forgets some of them. I can give him three letters and tell him to point to the L and he can do it....but if I hold up an L and ask what letter it is, he can't name it.

 

His RSP teacher is working on LMB with him but she's seeing his confusion now that she's added 3 more letters (he is working on sounds now and it's just frustrating him).

 

We are realizing that we need to sort of back up and work on some pre reading skills (rhyming, sequencing, etc). He has severe learning disabilities along with severe behavioral issues so teaching him anything requires me to all but stand on my head. He is 7 now and since he's older, he's not as interested in the cute videos like LeapFrog anymore :(

 

He has also developed a strong aversion to letters and their sounds. I think he's frustrated and he feels like we're shoving it down his throat every day....but he's just. not. getting. it :(

 

Any ideas for pre reading games (non competitive) or other activities I can do with him?

 

TIA :)

[Ottakee]

Check out this thread http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266870 I just posted a great deal on that.

 

I TOTALLY understand. It took weeks for my daughter to be able to read the word I even though she could tell you its letter name.

 

These books are so good for struggling kids as he would only need to know 5 sounds to read the first 2 books (non of that learning all 26 sounds before learning to read). Each new sound is introduced slowly and with lots of practice. Honestly, if you can get him through the first 2 books, the hardest part of learning to read is done. I know that sounds impossibly simple and wrong but seriously, for my daughter and most others, getting the brain to get the idea of say the sounds/blend the word was the hardest part and then it got easier---I will never say easy for my daughter, but easier.

 

Since the first 2 sets can be printed for free, just try the first book or 2. He might also be frustrated as he wants to READ, not just drill sounds.

[Shay]

I can understand his frustration and aversion...I tend to do that when things are hard :001_smile: Does he like to work on the computer?

 

I am currently working with a child with severe behavioral issues, and while my first choice to use is what Ottakee recommended, I made another choice for this child. I needed a willing participant and his behavioral issues could cause havoc in a heartbeat. So, I decided to do HeadSprout (computer based) and he likes this and looks forward to it. They do not teach letter names before beginning so there is no confusion between name and sound.

 

Actually, the I See Sam books would go well with Headsprout. I'm not far enough along with Headsprout to say too much, but he's been able to do all tasks so far and is *willing*.

Edited April 25, 2011 by Shay
word omitted

[peacefully]

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[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

Have you tried the Talking Letter Factory DVD?

 

That frog gets a lot of repetition in.

[mykdsmomy]

Check out this thread http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266870 I just posted a great deal on that.

 

 

 

Thanks so much! I joined the Yahoo group you recommended too! :)

 

I can understand his frustration and aversion...I tend to do that when things are hard :001_smile: Does he like to work on the computer?

 

.

Yes and no ;) He likes the computer but we've tried Headsprout and it actually moved too quickly for him. :(

 

 

 

The key to playing this game with older kids is having pictures of things that they like. .

 

Thank you for the resources! :) I agree that ds may feel against any and all letter instruction right now. We may take a break and work on other things ;)

 

:grouphug:

 

Have you tried the Talking Letter Factory DVD?

 

That frog gets a lot of repetition in.

 

He just can't get into them :( We've tried all of them and they just don't hold his attention. *sigh

[Sevilla]

Does he enjoy using the computer? Would something like Starfall.com (or morestarfall.com) appeal to him and help him practice?

[Ottakee]

Great. I am not getting daily posts anymore but I might bop over to say "hi".

 

I know what you mean about Headsprout moving too fast. We did it when my daughter finished the first 2 sets of I See Sam books and THEN it worked better but she still couldn't do the 2nd level as it moved too fast and required too much speed with the computer mouse.

 

Maybe try the I See Sam books for about 10 minutes a day and leave it at that for the next few weeks or more. If you can read my daughter's case study at http://www.piperbooks.co.uk/case_studies.htm you can see just how HARD we had to work at this. It would take us 1-2 WEEKS to get through a story. Honestly, I would almost doze off between her reading words as it took SOOOOO long between words.

 

Fast forward to yesterday. She is now in public school in a classroom for those with cognitive impairments and her teacher said her reading level is about mid 4th grade:hurray: The patience does pay off.

 

Once she got through the first 4 sets of so of the I See Sam books we could start with other easy readers with her reading the words she knew and me filling in the ones she didn't know. Now this morning she was reading a story on the Pyramids----getting the words right and understanding what she read.

 

All from a child that was never supposed to have more than just a very functional reading level, if that.

[TAKlinda]

How about a site like http://www.starfall.com, it is fun.

[mykdsmomy]

Does he enjoy using the computer? Would something like Starfall.com (or morestarfall.com) appeal to him and help him practice?

 

We've tried Starfall too but he doesn't care for it and it moves a little too quickly for him.

 

Fast forward to yesterday. She is now in public school in a classroom for those with cognitive impairments and her teacher said her reading level is about mid 4th grade:hurray: The patience does pay off.

.

 

Yay!!!! That's awesome!!! It also sounds like she is determined. Boo is so oppositional to ANYTHING related to learning. It drives me insane because it's taking him even longer to learn anything because he just won't cooperate :001_huh:

 

How about a site like www.starfall.com, it is fun.

 

Thank you for the suggestion but like I said above, he didn't care for it and it moved too fast for him.

[Dobela]

I would look at Time4learning. It is a computer curriculum that you subscribe to. My son used it early on. Some of it does move faster but the advantage is that you can go back and redo lessons as many times as you want. Tha parent has to enter their area and reset it, the child can't. You can also work with the folks at T4L and they will adjust the frequency/level of lessons for you if needed. The lessons are short with lots of fun go-along songs and animation and lots of repetition with a time at the end for the child to demonstrate knowledge. It is also not 'babyish' if he still is doing the lower levels at an older age. I was very impressed with the reading in the K-1st levels. The biggest disadvange is that you do pay a monthly fee. Another computer program that we used early on was studydog. I first found it as a free download, but I believe you do pay for it now.

 

I would look at games made by Reader Rabbit for reading. Some older versions you can find inexpensively at stores.

 

I have not looked at it in a long time but Explode the Code has an online program you can use. It also costs but I have seen discounts thru Homeschool Buyer's Co-op.

 

I like the I See Sam books as well although we didn't use them like Ottakee.

 

If you are looking for more concrete curriculum ideas, I would be looking at Remedia Publications, Steck Vaughn Books, and PCI Education for their special education materials. Some of those are very well written.