Dyslexia

We are in a similar situation, with DD15 struggling with reading over the years, and we couldn’t quite figure out what was up.  I do believe if we had her tested somewhere, they would likely place the label “dyslexia” on her.

Recently, I attended an event where one of the workshops was led by Jan Bedell of Little Giant Steps.  She has focused on neurodevelopment of children for many years, and she favors the use of brain training methods for dyslexia (and other developmental issues) rather than simply teaching dyslexics to acquire coping skills to address the problem.  The things she spoke of during the workshop really made sense to me.

If you live in Texas, you could schedule an appointment with her team to have your child evaluated, but she does not have locations outside of that region.  If you do not live near enough to travel there, you can fill out an online survey (which is what we did) to submit, and they will have someone get back to you with some general information.  Then you can dialogue with them to see what their recommendations are. They have materials available to purchase (we hope to start with them soon) that will show you how to implement some therapeutic exercises designed to train your brain.  The entire family can do these.  They also have materials specific to math and reading available.

I think you can also arrange for some distance consultations, but I’m not sure what that entails.  You can poke around on their website and watch some short videos that explains more about what they offer. The site can be found by clicking here.

HTH,

Sue

I found out about Susan Barton’s Reading and Spelling Program  about 2 years ago.  I’ve used it since then with my 9yo daughter and have seen so much improvement (we are now in Level 4, Lesson 7).

It seems expensive ($250 – 300) per level, but when you figure that a tutor costs $50 per hour, plus your travel time and expense, tutoring my daughter myself is a definite savings.  Also, you can buy used curriculum from Evelyn Smith, etsmith2[at]cox[dot]net.  I’ve bought levels 1, 2, and 3 used and bought a brand new level 4 — all were in very good shape, all the necessary parts were there, so I’ve had a good experience buying used.

To use this curriculum, you basically watch the included DVD, then teach lesson 1.   Watch the DVD again for lesson 2 and then teach it, etc.  It takes us about 3 weeks to complete a lesson — they are long!  Each lesson has about 12 parts, and it’s mastery based, so you don’t move forward until it’s mastered.  But there are plenty of extra practice pages and things so that it’s not drudgery.  It is work!!! But it’s not terrible.   We spend about 1/2 hour each day (5 days per week) on Barton — but the time you spend will depend on your daughter and the practice she needs.

Susan Barton has lots more info here.

“The Dyslexic Advantage” by,  Brock L. Eide.

“The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan” by,  Ben Foss

Both are encouraging books with great ideas.

Brain Integration Therapy program by Diane Craft works on a proven method of better coordinating the two hemispheres of the dyslexic’s brain. She has taught this method to many special educators and students over the years with very promising results. There is explanation of different channels that may may be blocked — the reasons some kids have visual, kinesthetic, auditory, and other difficulties.

The program is very doable by a parent. I have showed our tutor how to implement this one day a week, giving me a break! The manual is worth reading even if you don’t invest in the program (175$) After wasting money on All about reading (which guarantees success) and countless days and several years and gaining no reading ground with my 8 year old son, I am convinced that some children just cannot “eventually click” with reading. It is a legitimate concern for many misunderstood homeschoolers and traditional reading methods just don’t work. I’m glad you are seeking intervention for your daughter. Best wishes on your search.