4kids4me Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 This is my fourth child at home and I've taught all of the kids how to read. My older son had a difficult time, but his LDs were different than this child's. This one has reading LD and working memory, a combination that's proving to be tough. He's reading at a gr. 1 level. HATES reading, especially baby books. Today we read Christmas stories. :) We've been using OPGTTR, Christ Centered Phoics, Abeka grammar, WWE 2...had to back up on the OPGTTR. Any idea on how to reinforce rules? How to make this painful process fun? We ARE going to go to a speech pathologist for help, but there's no reason I can't help figure this situation out here, too!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 What is the SLP doing? Have you talked with her about her suggestions for at home work? Is she doing any activities to build working memory? Does you son have more difficulty with memory relating to auditory tasks, visual tasks with symbols, visual tasks w/o symbols or all of the above? What specific difficulties does he have with the task of reading, other than the memory issues? Many parents find the Barton Reading & Spelling system to be a good solution for teaching reading at home for kids who have difficulties decoding (sounding out words) and encoding (spelling). It is an Orton Gillingham based reading program that breaks everything down into the smaller bits that kids with reading LDs need, and is organized very systematically to make it easier for these kids to learn. I would, however, check with your speech pathologist, because if she is using a highly explicit reading program you don't want to double up and use different programs. It will be too confusing for your son. If she is working more on general language and memory tasks, then you can think about using a reading program like Barton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Instead of repeating what a ton of others have just posted recently on other posts, which unfortunately I just don't have time to do at this moment, I urge you to check the other past posts on this LC board for anyone with this same situation. There are several that have posted recently and got tons of feedback that might really help you. I also really urge you to read The Mislabeled Child and The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide before you go buying tons more curriculum or press for tons of expensive assessments. Assessments may very well help, but if you haven't educated yourself on various issues, you may not be able to judge whether the person doing the assessments has a clue what they are doing. Many don't, unfortunately. Those two books will give you a good jumping off point (and really, really helped me to better understand what my own children's strengths and weaknesses were). Other books that might help: Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner by Kathy Kuhl Smart but Scattered by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan by Ben Foss Teaching Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia by Virginia W. Berninger and Beverly J. Wolf There are several more but these are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head. There are many parents in your situation. I was one of them. We are currently using Barton Reading and Spelling for our 9 and 13 year old (didn't get an assessment or any help until 5th grade for the older child and I am kicking myself every day we didn't get an assessment sooner and start on a better path earlier, but oh, well). The system is working well, but we have to go very slowly for retention. There are also other programs, though, that work well for many children. For some, All About Reading and All About Spelling have worked. There are others, though. Check the other posts on LCB prior to yours. You may find some great information. I know I did. Good luck! You aren't alone. There are many of us.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 The only thing that worked here was the I See Sam books www.iseesam.com and www.3rsplus.com They might start out a bit simple but they WORK. There are NO rules to learn, no busy work, just reading. you can also look at Dancing Bears for more reading help and Apples and Pears spelling once he is reading a bit better. Both of these pair well with the I See Sam books and were designed for dyslexic students in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kids4me Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 What is the SLP doing? Have you talked with her about her suggestions for at home work? Is she doing any activities to build working memory? Does you son have more difficulty with memory relating to auditory tasks, visual tasks with symbols, visual tasks w/o symbols or all of the above? What specific difficulties does he have with the task of reading, other than the memory issues? Many parents find the Barton Reading & Spelling system to be a good solution for teaching reading at home for kids who have difficulties decoding (sounding out words) and encoding (spelling). It is an Orton Gillingham based reading program that breaks everything down into the smaller bits that kids with reading LDs need, and is organized very systematically to make it easier for these kids to learn. I would, however, check with your speech pathologist, because if she is using a highly explicit reading program you don't want to double up and use different programs. It will be too confusing for your son. If she is working more on general language and memory tasks, then you can think about using a reading program like Barton. I haven't hired the SLO yet, so I don't know what they'll be doing! He was just tested last week and I read the report a couple of days ago so nothing has been done yet to build working memory. It seems like he just has problem with working memory with language...he can remember multiple instructions. With reading he struggles with everything: phonics, ortho and morphological - again, had it explained to me, now I have to let that sink in and go from there. I guess I'll just continue on with what I'm doing and wait for the SLP direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 If you've just had the eval, I would definitely wait to see what the SLP plans. I totally get where you're at- you want direction and you want things fixed "like, yesterday already, please!" At least that's how I felt at that stage. LOL! If you've been teaching one with learning challenges, you know this is a marathon not a sprint. It's great, though, to be gathering the information you can now, mulling it over and seeing how various options fit with what your son will be doing in therapy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandyKC Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I haven't hired the SLO yet, so I don't know what they'll be doing! He was just tested last week and I read the report a couple of days ago so nothing has been done yet to build working memory. It seems like he just has problem with working memory with language...he can remember multiple instructions. With reading he struggles with everything: phonics, ortho and morphological - again, had it explained to me, now I have to let that sink in and go from there. I guess I'll just continue on with what I'm doing and wait for the SLP direction. Given the reading problems and need to go see an SLP, ask the SLP if she provides the Lindamood-Bell LiPS program. We used it as part of our dyslexia remediation program, and it is great for teaching kids the basic phonemes that are at the heart of reading decoding. There are also programs out there for enhancing working memory which have research behind them. We used Lexia's Cross-Trainer for our primary cognitive enhancement program. Working on those memory skills is a critical component for enabling your child's learning. You can strengthen them via memory games or cognitive enhancement programs. Either way, at least it's one of those areas of learning that can feel more like a fun game than educational remediation to a child. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Are there board games that can strengthen working memory? I've taken to assigning the boys games in the afternoons before screens can go on and I'd love to sneak some in there that also help working memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 My son's speech therapy did not do Lips, but when I found out about and researched Lips, they were doing very similar techniques with him. He had multi-sensory techniques and they drew pictures of his mouth to help him remember some sounds. It was really a good deal. So I don't think it has to be Lips per se. I think the bottom line is if he improves with the approach used. And if he doesn't and meets criteria for Lips, then Lips is an option. We were at a speech clinic and I think they did a great job with my son. He was doing articulation and telling apart speech sounds. I think it is a good time to read Overcoming Dyslexia. I don't think it is the best for dyslexia. I think it is very good for information about reading. I think it is good to read some books before picking a program. There are a lot of programs and it is a big decision. The recommendations in Overcoming Dyslexia are not too helpful for a parent, though. I keep going back to The Mislabeled Child, too. I wish you the best getting started :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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