What level should I place my ds7 in Wilson?

[A home for their hearts]

I waited to teach my ds7 to read until this year. My ds10 has had a lot of trouble with reading and I read that waiting to teach reading until they are ready can prevent problems. I've been teaching my ds7 reading for about 6 months and nothing is clicking. I've watched some of susan barton's videos and I believe he is dyslexic. We can't afford Barton, I've heard Wilson is just as good and a lot cheaper. I'm just not sure where to place ds7. Would I start him in the foundations program or the Wilson Reading System?

thanks!

[merry gardens]

I waited to teach my ds7 to read until this year. My ds10 has had a lot of trouble with reading and I read that waiting to teach reading until they are ready can prevent problems. I've been teaching my ds7 reading for about 6 months and nothing is clicking. I've watched some of susan barton's videos and I believe he is dyslexic. We can't afford Barton, I've heard Wilson is just as good and a lot cheaper. I'm just not sure where to place ds7. Would I start him in the foundations program or the Wilson Reading System?

thanks!

I'm not very familiar with Wilson but your comment that "nothing is sticking" after 6 months grabbed my attention. Since you mentioned Barton, have you given your ds the free Barton screen on their website? That screen helped me catch the severity of my son's phonemic awareness problems--which wasn't even strong enough to start Barton until we did LiPS.

[Renee in NC]

Doesn't the Wilson kit come with a placement test?

[A home for their hearts]

Doesn't the Wilson kit come with a placement test?

 

I don't know. I'm having trouble navigating their website.

[Renee in NC]

I don't know. I'm having trouble navigating their website.

 

I was too. I thought Wilson was for older kids, though. Have you tried the Spalding method (Writing Road to Reading, Phonics Road, or Spell to Write and Read?)

 

What have you tried and for how long?

[Carolina3]

Hi Stacy,

 

 

I started my son in Wilson when he was 5 ½ with a tutor. Though she gave me the Fundations book, she really followed the same sequence as the regular Wilson manual. (I used to listen in on all the tutoring sessions).

 

I don’t have the Fundations manual anymore but if I can recall, the only difference was that the Fundations would use a puppet to introduce the sounds and then they would Echo what Echo the owl said. The Fundations manual was also written for a classroom setting so I ended up getting the regular Wilson system and it was much easier to teach ( or rather supplement what the tutor was doing) with those. I strongly recommend getting the DVD’s as they really help show how to teach it. Since then, I’ve started working as a tutor (after going through the traditional OG training) and I can tell you we start all the kids with the basic Wilson program. The only difference is we create more games to motivate the younger ones and keep it fun. I work under my son’s tutor and she has taken many kids through the Wilson program and had great success with it.

 

Also, I would definitely recommend checking out your son’s phonemic awareness skills. My son was the same way - nothing stuck. He had to go through some LIPS before he could progress into Wilson.

[A home for their hearts]

Hi Stacy,

 

 

I started my son in Wilson when he was 5 ½ with a tutor. Though she gave me the Fundations book, she really followed the same sequence as the regular Wilson manual. (I used to listen in on all the tutoring sessions).

 

I don’t have the Fundations manual anymore but if I can recall, the only difference was that the Fundations would use a puppet to introduce the sounds and then they would Echo what Echo the owl said. The Fundations manual was also written for a classroom setting so I ended up getting the regular Wilson system and it was much easier to teach ( or rather supplement what the tutor was doing) with those. I strongly recommend getting the DVD’s as they really help show how to teach it. Since then, I’ve started working as a tutor (after going through the traditional OG training) and I can tell you we start all the kids with the basic Wilson program. The only difference is we create more games to motivate the younger ones and keep it fun. I work under my son’s tutor and she has taken many kids through the Wilson program and had great success with it.

 

Also, I would definitely recommend checking out your son’s phonemic awareness skills. My son was the same way - nothing stuck. He had to go through some LIPS before he could progress into Wilson.

 

Thanks for the information. How would I test my ds's phonemic awareness skills? Is there a test online I could use? Also, how would I find a LIPS tutor if we needed one?

 

Thanks again!

[Carolina3]

The Barton Screening is a good place to start. It covers both phonemic and phonological awareness skills.

 

There is also one available here:

 

http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/patti/k-1/teacher/assessment/tools/tools.html

 

As for the LIPS, I was very blessed to kind of stumble upon a tutor who happened to have gone through the LIPS training. She wasn’t an official tutor of the LIPS program, however, and many women on this board have done it successfully with their own kids. I have since seen the videos that go with the LIPS training, and like the Wilson ones, they really help explain the method used to teach the process. I'll pull out some of their material now when my son, or a child I'm tutoring, is having trouble hearing or pronouncing a sound and it really helps. Going to one of their trainings is next on my list! :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

Here is the Barton screening:

 

http://bartonreading.com/students_long.html#screen