Anyone here use the backward spelling technique?

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[merry gardens]

We used that technique in the past. We did it when I was working with the Seeing Stars workbooks on common words. It certainly lets you know if they have a visual of the word in their heads or not! It was fun to ask him what color the various letters are, as the pictures in his head are more colorful than the pictures in mine. Come to think of it, he's able to spell many of the words we did using that technique, although spelling overall continues to be a challenge for my ds. Because it's teacher intensive and also because it works backwards, I don't want to use that technique for every spelling word, (especially not for the longer words) but it had it's place when we used it. When we used it, it wasn't just about learning to spell those words, but also to recognize them for fluent reading.

[TippyCanoe]

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[klmama]

I was amazed to discover just how good my dc's visual memory was. Spelling words backward was easy, once my dc could "see" the word on that mental whiteboard. It took much too long to do all the time for every word, but it jump started the process for us and helped my dc get over the idea that spelling was too hard.

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Edited November 20, 2012 by yllek

[TippyCanoe]

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Edited November 21, 2012 by Doodler

[herekittykitty]

I use the backwards spelling method with my DS7. We first learned it when he did the Davis program for dyslexia. We make clay models depicting the definitions of basic sight words. When the model is done, we make the actual word letters out of clay. He spells it forward and backward, with his eyes open and then closed. The idea is that this helps him process the word as a picture image. It seems to be working!

 

He uses the Davis sweep/sweep spell approach for reading. I use my thumb to "sweep" across each word before he reads it. If he does not know the word after 2 sweeps, he spells it, and I give him the word. I keep a running list of all of the words he has to spell, and we work on 5 of these words per week. I have some foam cut out letters. We make the words with these letters, and then each day he spells the words forwards and backwards, again with his eyes open and closed. I often have him picture the word's definition. I deliberately use cutout letters, not tiles, because he sees the tiles as squares, and the letter printed on them is an afterthought.

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[Laurie4b]

I have recommended Freed on the boards, so you probably know that I used this technique with dd. I only began when she was eleven and had been formally diagnosed with Disorder of Written Expression. She could barely spell C-V-C words.

 

I used Freed's method for maybe ten minutes, three times a week or so. Within a couple of months dd's visual memory was so vastly improved that I began to transition back to a regular spelling program. When she occasionally got really stuck we reverted to Freed, but that was rare; and within six months or so, she had leaped forward multiple grade levels in spelling.

 

I think Freed's method is one of several that can help visual spellers improve their memory for what a word looks like. It's not the backward spelling per se, I don't think, but the habit of getting visual processors/learners to closely observe a word (we also wrote in bright colors, often highlighting the order of vowel combinations or unexpected letters) until they can hold that visually in their minds. The backward spelling is more like a party trick, in that it makes the kid who probably considered herself a failure in spelling feel like someone who can do something really hard, and do it well (plus it's a marker that they are carrying that word on their visual memory chalkboard, or however you talk about it with your child). Before Freed, dd would take a word like "light" and produce something like "lgtih" -- that, or she'd drop out letters as she wrote. From what I understand, these two symptoms are really common among visual spellers who have problems with visual memory. It didn't take long to undo that, once I understood what was going on.

 

We began very slowly, working with only one two or three words per session. As dd got confident and it was clear this was working, we added a few more. I never gave her huge lists to "study" in this way. It was more a process of memory development.

 

Can you tell me more about this or give a link or something? I am interested, but couldn't find it on google.

[TippyCanoe]

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[wapiti]

It is so interesting to me that you saw a long-term improvement in your dd's visual memory, enough that you could discontinue the use of this technique! While he was in vision therapy, visual memory was one of ds's lowest scores, and our optometrist was not sure that VT would help to improve that particular area.

:iagree: Same situation here, particularly for the ds who has been tested but hasn't had VT. Visual memory was basically his only low point, visually anyway (he had a couple other low spots, such as sequencing, but not anything specifically visual-related)

 

This is fascinating. I remember the backwards thing from an article on Silverman's website. I tried it with dd when she was in first grade at some point, but just for a handful of spelling words that she was having trouble with, and it did work. I'll have to remember where I put Freed's book - upstairs in my bedroom maybe...

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[wapiti]

So it worked for you too? I wonder why this tends to be something that people don't continue to do. I know that in Doodler's case, it seemed to improve her dd's visual memory for words in general. I'm curious why you and merrygardens no longer use it. And I wonder if there are folks out there for whom the technique did not work. What are their children's learning profiles?

 

Oh, when I said it worked, I meant for dd's spelling. We didn't use it often. Usually, she's a fairly good speller, as are the boys, so we haven't needed to use it. What piqued my interest in this thread was the idea that it could be a tool for improving visual memory more generally, because that would be really cool!

[wapiti]

Another description from Silverman: http://www.visualspatial.org/files/app2spell.pdf

[merry gardens]

....I'm so NOT a VSL or a right-brain person that I find this approach to be very "out there." I'm just fascinated about how or why this should work.

 

One question, Ms. yllek/kelly:

How is it that this approach seems really way out of the norm for you? :lol:

 

Edit to add in answer to one of your questions: the fact that it took me well over a year to catch onto the fact that your user name was another name in reverse may hint at why I didn't continue using it once we finished the Seeing Stars workbooks. :D It's not natural for me to look at words that way and I'm slightly uncomfortable encouraging my son to look at words right to left.

Edited April 17, 2012 by merry gardens