Dyslexia--12 yo

[dietmom]

I have a good friend who just pulled her son out of public schools and is homeschooling now. Her 12 yo is dyslexic--and her goal is to just get him more comfortable reading at a reasonable speed and comprehension. The issue is that all the programs she is finding are super expensive--any ideas of something that works that doesn't cost thousands!?!?

[PeterPan]

Just as a question, did she conclude he's dyslexic based on *testing* with an ed psych or neuropsych? (ie. an official diagnosis) Or is it based on what she's seeing? Just asking, because, if she's going on her take, she could spend time remediating the problem that isn't the problem. I'd want to know about ADHD, executive function, his vision, etc. before I launched into an expensive program. Not trying to be nosy, just a word to the wise.

 

I'm sure others will come in and give you better lists. The first thing she can do (for free) is read everything at the Barton website and do their free pre-test. My dd didn't have those pre issues, but some kids do and need another program (Earobics, LiPS, etc.) before they're actually ready to do one of the OG programs. While she's doing that, she can go to her library and get WRTR for free to read. It's not the ultimate, but the price point is great. Depending on the dc, it might be enough. (Yes, that was a big depends.)

 

The other thing is to look into the Scottish Rite dyslexia testing and tutoring program. I didn't realize how widespread it is.

[Stacy in NJ]

Overcoming dyslexia is currently the best book for the broad overview: http://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Dyslexia-Complete-Science-Based-Problems/dp/0679781595/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320250575&sr=1-1

 

It includes lists of resources she can reference.

 

Another good starting point is Reading Reflex. It's not the panacea of other more involved curriulums, but it does offer a good beginning point. It's open and go.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/READING-REFLEX-FOOLPROOF-PHONO-GRAPHIX-TEACHING/dp/0684853671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320250474&sr=8-1

[Sugarfoot]

My dyslexic is 16. He was almost 9 when he was diagnosed. I totally agree that the first thing she has to know is what exactly is going on. True dyslexia is going to be different than other LDs, and you want to make sure your effort and time are actually being spent judiciously. ;)

 

For my DS, who is a pretty "classic" dyslexic, comprehension was never a problem. Decoding was awful until we remediated. Nonsense words are still a nightmare for him. If he reads aloud, he'll skip words or substitute words or switch words around. However, this doesn't affect his understanding. At this point, he can read anything. Fiction, non-fiction, complicated technical manuals, whatever you throw at him. His comprehension is great.

 

Okay, so having said that, dyslexia can look different than the above. Although that's pretty classic, some kids have another "take" on it. She really needs testing to know for sure, and if she's done that, and he's definitely dyslexic, and already reading, hmm. I guess I'd still go through the flash cards from the Spell to Write and Read website or something similar, just to make sure he understood all the phonograms. That would definitely help with speed. There are also some leveled readers available on the website that test for comprehension.

 

I'd want to know exactly what he was capable of reading and go from there. It could be that he really just needs to start from the beginning and will make rapid progress.

 

HTH,