What types of "reading problems" do you feel like Dancing Bears reconciled?

[rachelpants]

I bought DB A for DS to use this year.  We haven't started school yet, but I still have a couple of questions before we start.

 

These are the things that DS struggles with and I'm wondering (again) if DB will be a good fit for us:

He misreads words such as stop/spot, run/runs, the/a.

He struggles with skipping lines of text (usually only when there are many lines of text per page, he does okay with 2 or 3 lines.)

He *sigh* still struggles with reversals at 8 years old, mostly d/b sometimes B/D, sometimes ch/ck.  I see him silently read through words with b/d sometimes and try the word both ways, he will then audibly say the correct word aloud.  LOL, okay....as a test, I just made some flash-cards and bribed him with some caps for his cap gun, 24 random D/B d/b's....he just scored 100%

He struggles with new fonts (that aren't ball and stick)

 

Are these the types of problems your kids struggled with?  Did DB help?

 

My hunch (from my research) is that he is not dyslexic nor does he have vision problems (although I could be wrong). Every once in a while (not very often) he will cover one eye or the other, rub his eyes or say they itch.  Honestly, I have "backed-up" so many times in his reading instruction that he has not had a lot of practice with longer passages and I wonder if the skipping lines will resolve with more practice.

 

Mostly, I suspect that he doesn't like reading and is trying to get through his lessons with as little effort as possible. Thus, he guesses at many words or tries to read them as a whole rather than reading through the words accurately.

 

Any advice? Thoughts? 

 

 

[alisoncooks]

My daughter did all of the below:

He misreads words such as stop/spot, run/runs, the/a.

He *sigh* still struggles with reversals at 8 years old, mostly d/b sometimes B/D, sometimes ch/ck.

... he guesses at many words or tries to read them as a whole rather than reading through the words accurately.

...rubs his eyes or say they itch,

My daughter also would sound out the same CVC word *every* time it appeared in a text (in other words, didn't seem to hold it in her short term memory after sounding it out the first time).

 

Dancing Bears helped with fluency/decoding speed -- even with slowing down to use the cursor. Her reversals are almost nonexistent now (though I don't know that I credit DB with that -- we worked really hard with a few different mnemonic devices). She still does some reversals when writing, though (just noticed she reversed a capital J today... :wacko: )

 

IMO, DB is dry and redundant and BORING -- but it was the first program that DD willing completed each and every day. The cursor work helped tremendously -- in fact, I'm about to take youngest through book A. She does not have those issues, but I've noticed she wants to guess at words (even though she's been through the first two ETC books and can read most words at that level). I think DB will get her looking at words and sounding them out more proficiently.

[boscopup]

Yeah, it sounds like the cursor will help your situation. It definitely helped here. We didn't stick with DB (R&S Phonics and Reading has worked well for my son, and I'm sticking with it... really!), but it did help with the issues you described.

 

Time and maturity has also helped my son, but you've already had that. :tongue_smilie:

[FairProspects]

Fwiw, those are all red flags for vision or visual processing and dyslexia - especially the eye covering & rubbing. I would at least pursue an eye evaluation before proceeding. It also very well could be dyslexia or both. All of what you have described (except for the eye issues) are the same types of errors made by my dyslexic boys. At age 8, I think you need more information.

[LaughingCat]

 

He misreads words such as stop/spot, run/runs, the/a.

He struggles with skipping lines of text (usually only when there are many lines of text per page, he does okay with 2 or 3 lines.)

He *sigh* still struggles with reversals at 8 years old, mostly d/b sometimes B/D, sometimes ch/ck.  I see him silently read through words with b/d sometimes and try the word both ways, he will then audibly say the correct word aloud. them as a whole rather than reading through the words accurately.

My tween DD still struggles with these types of errors (the b/d is rare nowadays but still happens) even including the length affect (although she can read several pages now rather than several sentences before it kicks in).  I don't feel that DB helped with these particular errors (although it did help her guessing!).  Two times through VT has had little effect either. 

 

However, I do not believe for my DD that these errors are due to not liking reading and wanting to get through as quickly as possible or even due to guessing (since improvement in guessing has not improved these errors) - all of which imply that a conscious attempt to actually work on reading would cure the issue - if a conscious attempt to stop them or to read more would have cured it then my DD would not be having these issues anymore. 

 

OTH I don't really have a suggestion as to what will work - I've had much more success with working on guessing (DB and then Rewards) but nothing so far has appreciably affected the misreads/skips.  

[alisoncooks]

Yeah, it sounds like the cursor will help your situation. It definitely helped here. We didn't stick with DB (R&S Phonics and Reading has worked well for my son, and I'm sticking with it... really!), but it did help with the issues you described.

 

Time and maturity has also helped my son, but you've already had that. :tongue_smilie:

Lol, we're the opposite. We started with Rod & Staff, saw progress but then stalled... Then moved on to DB. :D

[boscopup]

Lol, we're the opposite. We started with Rod & Staff, saw progress but then stalled... Then moved on to DB. :D

Yeah, this one just clicked for him. I think he really needed the sight words mixed in to help him progress. They gave him confidence while the other stuff caught up.

 

And there is always that 5th curriculum is the one that works thing. :lol:

[Storygirl]

Fwiw, those are all red flags for vision or visual processing and dyslexia - especially the eye covering & rubbing. I would at least pursue an eye evaluation before proceeding. It also very well could be dyslexia or both. All of what you have described (except for the eye issues) are the same types of errors made by my dyslexic boys. At age 8, I think you need more information.

 

:iagree:   You want to go to a COVD eye doctor for a developmental exam.

 

I don't see anything in your post that shows that it is NOT dyslexia, but there are some signs that it MIGHT be.

 

With that said, Dancing Bears might help, either way. I'm using level A with DD9 right now. She's making progress through the book, but I haven't figured out for sure if it is translating to an improvement in her other reading yet. Using the cursor will help his eyes look at only the next sound or letter, and DD, who has trouble sounding words out, is definitely getting practice with that. She is a word guesser, and she can now read on grade level (after years of struggles), but she cannot sound out even easy unfamiliar words or spell much of anything. We need to have a full evaluation done on her before we spend money on additional reading programs. I'm guessing that in her case DB will help but not be the final solution (I suspect she has auditory issues that will need a different intervention). Many people have found DB to be a big help, so give it a try! But I'd recommend pursuing some screenings so that you know what his issues are and can choose a program that specifically targets them.

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree with Storygirl and others, every single thing you posted could very well indicate there is a developmental eye problem or even dyslexia/stealth dyslexia.  I have found over and over and over, including with my kids and in my DH's family, when kids resist reading it is NOT because they simply "don't like reading" it is because reading is difficult for one reason or another.  

 

Unfortunately, some reading challenges are not easy to tweak out by a layman.  My son has 20/15 vision.  In other words, more than perfect.  He has excellent eye sight and has passed every single eye exam he has ever had with flying colors.  But after the ladies on TWTM insisted I try getting him a developmental eye exam instead of a standard eye exam we found out he has heterophoria and it was causing a lot of reading strain.  

 

FWIW, some developmental vision issues can be helped by Vision Therapy and some can't, but at least if you got the exam you would know whether there WAS an underlying vision issue causing at least part of his difficulties.  Insurance may cover the exam if you ask for the developmental vision screening as part of a normal vision test.  You need to use someone recommended through the COVD, as mentioned upthread, to make certain they are trained to look for developmental vision issues.  Most Ophthalmologists and normal Optometrists are not.  And frequently pediatricians know little if anything about this area of vision difficulty.  Look on this site:

 

http://www.covd.org/

 

 

Also, you might want to read up on dyslexia/stealth dyslexia in more depth.  Dyslexia, especially mild dyslexia in an above average intelligence child can be extremely difficult to confirm by a layman.  Possibly start with the following websites, since they are free and it won't take that long:

 

http://www.bartonreading.com/dys.html

http://www.scoop.it/t/dyslexia-research

http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/04/09/is-your-child-a-stealth-dyslexic/

 

 

The following books may be helpful, as well, even if your child does not have dyslexia:

 

The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide

Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz

The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock and Fernette Eide

Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner by Kathy Kuhl

 

Your child is old enough that pursuing additional evaluations through a COVD and possibly a neuropsychologist may really help tremendously with giving you answers and getting him the tools he needs to be truly successful.  I had similar markers and I did not pursue evaluations until my DD was 11 and my DS was 8.  I wish I had done it much sooner.  It would have saved all of us a lot of frustration.

 

Best wishes.

[rachelpants]

Thanks again for all of the advice and help :) I'm looking into these resources :)

[Dscampbell1979]

I love love love DB! I've been teaching my first to read and have been using AAR. We stalled a few lessons into level 2 and were both getting discouraged when I saw Alisoncooks posts about DB. I resisted the urge I was having to switch to something else because I hear so much about consistency so we plugged away at AAR but we just weren't getting anywhere and she was really starting to hate her reading lessons. I bit the bullet and bought DB. She had all the same obstacles your DS is dealing with but DB has helped her almost overcome them all. She still does reversals though. I can't believe the difference in her reading since starting DB just 3 or so weeks ago. It really is wonderful! Her fluency/decoding has really picked up and she is no longer sounding out everything. With her new found confidence she is comprehending her stories better also. All this to say I am obviously very glad to be using DB with her! It's working!