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Dyslexia using AAR …or Barton
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So, my 8 year old DD has been struggling with reading from day 1. I started her in AAR pre-1 in Kindergarten, and she is in 2nd grade now (just finishing up) and still stuck in AAR 1 (quick backstory: I progressed her through AAR 1 onto last year, without seeing mastery… she could do the lesson on the day, but it wasn’t sticking… so we went BACK to level 1 mid year this year… she is struggling through it and we are about halfway through level 1) I did start AAS with her, trying for some reinforcement, and we are about 10 lessons in. Anyway, we’ve been working on AAR for 3 solid years now, just waiting for it to “click”
A few weeks back I started looking into dyslexia markers and was seeing a lot of signs, so we had her evaluated at a tutoring place, we just got the results today and while they can’t officially diagnose she had some concerning scores. I have copies of 2 of the tests (GORT and CTOPP) and while I’m not 100% sure how to read them (she just explained them to me) she has so/so phonological awareness, great phonological memory and very poor rapid naming, basically she really struggles with fluency, rate and accuracy. None of this is a surprise to me, exactly what I was seeing… but I guess I’m a bit shocked with how severe it seems (she scores in the 2% oral reading and would be labeled “very poor” reader) reading level K. She gets how to spell (well at least the why of it where we are at in AAR and AAS) but transferring that to actually reading is just not happening.
Sorry this is long, I’m mulling over what to do next. The center that evaluated her suggested (obviously) we do their Barton tutoring program… but right now I just cannot do $500 a month. I’m able to get 2 afternoons a week for just her and I to go down to the library and do “tutoring” and I’m thinking I will give that a solid try before I figure out a way to pay for a tutor. I’m not sure I should stay with All About Reading/ Spelling, which I do like, and it is orton-gillingham based and good for dyslexic students or move on to Barton, which is an o-g program written FOR dyslexic students. Maybe she just needs something a bit heavier? I am tempted by the “all in one” aspect of Barton (I’m kinda struggling with fitting the AAR, AAS, readers, supplemental games etc all together into one program.)
Can anyone weigh in on switching from AAR to Barton? Or any other ideas/suggestions/encouragement? I’m feeling really defeated, confused and discouraged right now
I have heard that if Orton Gillingham programs are not enough for a dyslexic, then proceed to Lindamood Bell.
I have two with dyslexia and am starting All About Reading next week with the younger one. I used Stevenson Learning with the older one for three years. He is better, but still has minor issues.
HSLDA has a struggling learner newsletter that is helpful.
Hang in there and don’t give up! Progress will come with some sort of work. It isn’t always the magic program, just the continued work.
I know as a mom sometimes we need a change to maintain our hope and enthusiasm. Of course sometimes a tutor has a fresh approach that helps.
Blessings,
C
You can purchase the Barton system to do at home, if you feel comfortable with that. I believe it comes with video instruction for you to learn how to do it. Its still pretty expensive, but would be way less than $500/month: http://www.BartonReading.com.
Another one I’m seriously considering is Logic of English. That is looking like a good fit for my 11yo ds. I have found it at Rainbow Resource for significantly less than they sell on their website.
And an online OG program I’ve looked at is Reading Horizons: http://athome.readinghorizons.com/.
Here in Austin (and Dallas) we have the Scottish Rite Dyslexia Center that offers small group tutoring for $800/year. Maybe you can find something like that in your area?? Don’t know. I agree with the others that say don’t give up. Part of me is feeling bad that we’re just figuring out that my ds has dyslexia (thanks to this wonderful group, right here). But now we have a better idea how to help him read. So I’m moving on from here. 🙂 I’ll post if I find anything else as we research our options. Hang in there!
Melissa 🙂
One other resource list I just found (for accomodations): http://allinonehomeschool.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/resources-for-helping-your-special-needs-students.pdf – scroll down to the dyslexia heading.
I almost forgot about this one – Dyslexia Games:
This approach is pretty different. I don’t think the whole program would work for my ds as his strengths do not include art. 🙂 But if I could I’d get some of the books for him. It appears you can only purchase the whole set, though. I thought you’d want to check it out if it sounds like it would fit your dd.
Melissa
On the other board, I already wrote about our experiences about AAR/AAS and Barton with my dyslexic children.
FYI, Scottish Rite in Dallas provides FREE dyslexia testing on all children in the state. We completed testing through them this year. At local centers, we would have spent about $1700 per child for equivalent testing.
I didn’t have my 11yo tested until this year. Yes, I feel bad about waiting so long as well! In addition to being a moderate dyslexic, he is also a moderate dysgraphic. This child completed 5 levels of Barton this year, which has greatly improved his reading and spelling.
I choose to go with Barton due to ease of use. With Barton, I watch a lesson, and then teach it the lesson. It tells me exactly what to do with each and every step. When I got “stuck”, I email Susan Barton and get specific instruction on how to work on the concept.
When I was making the decision last year regarding which program to use, the advice I received was……If I failed teaching another program, then go with Barton. IF my child has already failed another program, go with Barton. If learning to teach an O-G program seemed overwhelming, then go with Barton. If I seemed unsure what to do, then go with Barton. Or pay for O-G tutoring. So I went with Barton.
It was a big leap, and I was really disappointed when I received that first level in the mail. However, 9 months later, I am a total Barton believer.
How about the tutoring? That’s what I was looking at. We were too close to the end of the year for them to do the testing, but had it done with our school district. I’ll have to call them.
I’m still reviewing our options, and Barton is still on the list. Hoping I can get my husband to look at them and give some input. He’s always left deciding school materials up to me. But this feels like a bigger decision and I’m tired of trying this, that and the other. Want to make the right choice this time.
Thanks!
Melissa
I’m too far away from a Scottish Rite center to even consider using them for tutoring, so I don’t really know anything about that process.
The testing process for the Dallas center is year-round and took us about 7 months to get our appointment. Were your kids tested or screened at your local school. In my area, screening is available at the local school but not formal testing. I left Scottish Rite with documentation that I can use for Learning Ally and Bookshare.
Thank you ladies. It’s SO encouraging to hear from others who are walking this road too.
We don’t have any Scottish Rite Centers close
Actually Susan Barton is local to me… from my searching it looks like locally Barton is what is used. I think there IS a Lindamood Bell based center about 45 minutes from me.I’m really leaning towards getting Barton and giving it a try myself at home… re-evaluating in 3-6 months and if I feel that we are just not making progress I will look into paying a tutor. I’d really prefer to save the money, and if I’m tutoring her I can devote more time to her (rather than just 2xs a week)… on the other hand a friend I bumped into today who has tutored with Barton (is trained) and has her kids going to the place we were tested through really felt that the only way to really make headway would be the tutor route.
thank you for all the resources! I’ve got a long list to look up tonight 😉
Has anyone ever used dyslexia games ???
they look cool and something my DD would love (she is very artsy and adores logic puzzles)I fear they would not be something to pair with barton though??
I don’t know about alongside Barton. Maybe use for summer, or just for extra fun work? It is completely different from a Barton type program. I wish I could just purchase the logic games, but I’m looking elsewhere for those. My ds would not like the drawing or coloring at all, but does like games and puzzles. Sorry I’m not much help. 🙂
I know I am late chiming in here, so I hope you see this post. 🙂
I have 2 dyslexic children. 12 and 10. Both are now reading with some fluency so I guess I have had some success teaching them how to read. Barton is an excellent program but there are other programs out there that are just as good and not as pricey! Check out the Scaredy Cat Reading System by Joyce Herzog. She posts her # on her website and she is so helpful. This is what got my children reading and it is O-G based. It is also lots more fun than Barton which just about killed all of us from boredom.
Another one to check out is The Struggling Reader by Kristen Eckenwiler. Also O-G based. I emailed Kristen repeatedly and she was very helpful. She has a nice variety of activites that also makes her program fun.
Dyslexia Games is excellent. It is totally different than reading instruction. It is more of training the mind to recognize differences. It helps with reversals, recognizing letter patterns, etc. You can do it with anything I think as it won’t interefere with your reading instruction.
Hope this helps!
I have an 11 yo with dyslexia. Just as ShelleyW said, my daughter became bored with Barton. She has very good phonemic awareness, so that is a plus. The first 2 Barton levels went well. When we got to level 3, it was learning so many spelling rules. When I looked at what was ahead in later levels, all I saw were spelling rules. My daughter has some processing difficulties, and trying to remember all the rules was too much for her. And there are so many exceptions to the rules. Her mind just could not process all of that together. I think spelling is going to improve with exposure. As far as reading, my daughter got annoyed or bored with just reading silly sentences or goofy one page stories. She wanted to read real books. But, they told us in Barton to only read controlled books (books that only contain words that have been learned in Barton). I believe it was in the CM Companion book by Karen Andreola that said Charlotte Mason called it twaddle (nonsense) to just give your child books that are basically controlled in certain word patterns. When we stopped Barton and began reading regular books, I couldn’t believe the difference. She is not fluent or independent in her reading, but she is progressing. I am currently having her work in a regular phonics program along with just continued practice in readers or fun books on her level. I know some with severe dyslexia may need more of the controlled reading for practice, but if they want to try other books, it will not hurt them. When we were doing Barton, I felt like I was depriving my daughter by not giving her other books to read. She is much happier in her reading now.
I do want to check out the links that were given in this thread. I haven’t looked at it yet, but the dyslexia games may be a good resource for us. My daughter is artistic. I’m not sure if another OG program (like Scaredy Cat) would benefit my daughter since she technically is reading. Phonics Pathways and Reading Pathways is another program that has reading exercises good for those with dyslexia. We did use it for a while, and sometimes I think about going back to it, just for the tracking exercises along with the regular reading. But, she has improved in that area, so I think we will probably stick with Plaid Phonics for teaching some spelling rules and just have her keep reading good books.
I am using Dancing Bears with my likely-dyslexic 11yo son. Inexpensive, open and go, 10 minutes a day, and it is working. Barton was next on my list but I’m so glad I didn’t need it.
Just wanted to mention that we used Barton for our son through our public school’s SPED department. I went to them and asked if we could use the materials at home. Even though our children are not enrolled in public school, we are still allowed to use their special ed. services (we pay taxes for the public schools!) They were very willing to help, and allowed us to check out one level at a time; books, videos, blocks and all. Can’t hurt to ask, was totally free this way. The videos are all you need, no tutor necessary. Marie P.
I am amazed at the OG programs I continually learn about. Unfortunately when I tried a search for OG programs I did not come up with much. Since we were gifted with The Logic of English, I’m going to go with that for now. We’re planning to start on Monday. I’ll aim to let y’all know how it goes a few weeks in.
I wanted to speak to the issue of not being allowed to read other books while going through Barton. I am sure she has very good reasons for that. However, I don’t beleive it would mean that you can’t enjoy any good books at all. I would think it would be OK to ear-read. We have long enjoyed audio books, long before we even knew ds had dyslexia, and will continue to utilize that option now. And at 11, I’m happy to say he still enjoys a good family read-aloud. So even if your student isn’t aloud to read things outside of your respective program, or maybe isn’t able yet, doesn’t at all mean they cannot enjoy some really great literature. Just enjoy it by ear, instead of eyes. 🙂
Here is another online program I recently ran across: Max Scholar (maxscholar.com). They have Max Phonics and Max Reading. I have Max Reading on my list to maybe use after LoE. It teaches highlighting strategies to help with thinking and comprehension.
Finally, for now, 😉 There are some other services that provide accomodation for study while reading skills are being improved. I just signed my ds up for Bookshare, which is available for free to students that have an official print disability diagnosis. You do have to submit proof. I found that they have many of the merit badge books for Scouts availble as etexts. What you do is have the etext read aloud on your pc or tablet device. Another one is Learning Ally (not free), which is mainly audio. Here are the links.
HTH,
Melissa
Actually Susan Barton is local to me… from my searching it looks like locally Barton is what is used. I think there IS a Lindamood Bell based center about 45 minutes from me.
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