Dyslexia

Hi Melissa,

I tried many programs and Barton was the first program that worked for us. My advice to you would be to make sure you use an O-G program.

If you want to use Barton, you could purchase one level and then sell that one to buy the next. They hold their resale value very well. I know someone on here mentioned being able to borrow the levels from the local school district. If you happen to be fortunate enough to live in Michigan, I just heard that someone opened a free local Barton tutoring center. You could also email Susan Barton and ask if there are any free/low cost tutors near you.

I will say that All about reading/All about spelling is the next closest thing that I have seen to Barton for use in the home setting. I found it more difficult to implement, though. Wilson would be another option…though I do not know if you could teach the program without special certification. It seems to be the O-G method of choice with all the tutors in this area.

Have you checked out Susan Barton’s website? It is the best information I have found online about dyslexia. It is a great resource whether or not you choose to use her program. The videos are excellent. Also the book Overcoming Dyslexia is a great resource.

Pink

Have you looked into Dianne Craft’s materials?  I’ve gotten lots of great recomendations for her books – we’re just starting with them this fall.

I could definitely use some encouragement from those of you that have successfully taught a dyslexic child.

Melissa,

My son was older (4th grade) when we found out we were dealing with dyslexia, but looking back I know many of the signs were there early on, I just didn’t know what to look for. Many of the things Susan talks about on her website fit my son perfectly even when he was as young as three years old. 

That was several years ago. Now he is 13 years old, and a really good reader. He reads at grade level or slightly above. He is not a fast reader, but he reads well and he loves to read. He is spelling well… slightly below grade level but improving by leaps and bounds every year. We have used some O/G matherials, and they were helpful; and we have relied very heavily on CM’s gentle methods. We have allowed him room to grow at his own pace, and we’ve been SO GLAD he is not in a classroom where he’ll be compared to other kids his age. Being home he gets the pure joy of comparing himself only to himself! He gets to see how far he has come. He works harder than my other kids have to work … but his successes are sweet indeed.

You can do this, Melissa! Your ds is so young yet. You have a long time to gently work with him. You know him better than anyone and you are his number one fan. That is what he needs! I can’t wait to hear of his little victories along the way. 

~Jenn

My 14 year old son struggled with dyslexia.  A few resources that I found helpful were All About Spelling and Reading Reflex.  He is reading well now, definitely at grade level.  His spelling has improved drastically also.  That will probably never come naturally to him, but most of the time he catches his mistakes.  Hang in there.  It’s not always an easy road, but it will get easier.

I know this thread is months old. I just joined this group on Monday, so I would like to tell you about our situation. My dd was born with hemiplegia(CP that affects just one side of the brain). We adopted her at almost three years of age. She has numerous things going on. Even though she hasn’t been tested, from my research and even some classes I took on currclick, I am convinced there is some visual porcessing delays, SPD(probably mild compared to some), and eye teaming/tracking problems(she was born with badly crossed eyes, had surgery to correct it, and is wearing prism glasses). She has made progress in our 2.5 years of homeschooling, but there are still some issues that are affecting her learning. After more researching, I am convinced that dyslexia may be a problem.

My focus has been on finding something to strengthen her reading. We recently started with Phonics Pathways. That is supposed to help those with dyslexia. When I read the posts here about the O-G method, I started wondering if I should use something like that. My dh has been basically unemployed since Christmas, so I cannot spend a lot of money on books. I thought I was going to be getting dd tested in the near future, but after some communication that seemed to be leading up to testing, unfortunately, I’ve gotten no response to my last two emails. It seems they have forgotten about me. It bothered me for a while, but I came to the conclusion that if they don’t get back to me now, I am going to tough it out on my own, with the Lord’s wisdom. I am limited to where I can take my dd because of insurance purposes. I finally found someone who was in network and not too far from home. This neuropsychologist is actually a homeschooling dad who used to be in our local hs group. That is why I was able to have some personal communication with him. I can’t call the office because there are other doctors in the group and they are booking like 2 years out. this doctor was going to try to squezze us in earlier. He has not repsonded to my last two emails. My husband and I are content to just let it go now. If he gets back to me, then I may pursue the testing.

My dd is progressing in her reading, but it is slow. Her weakest area is math. So, should I just continue with Phonics Pathways, or do you think the O-G method would be the way to go? I’m always looking for advice since dd hasn’t had testing. I know that makes it hit-or-miss, but that is what i have to work with right now. Thanks for any input.

Pam

dynaread has free online evaluations for reading that has a trained person look at it….  It doesn’t help with what to work with – but it might help a bit on diagnosis.