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Reading and Dyslexia
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My son is going into 4th grade. After teaching him the way I’ve taught my others to read, he still wasn’t progressing as he should. Thinking he just needed more time, I’ve tried to be patient. and give him all the time he needed. However, he is now entering 4th grade and reading well is holding him back from so many things and has affected his outlook on school and even his self esteem. I have researched and read and found the Barton System for Reading. After reading some of the signs and symptoms, I realize he has at least 5 of these, which is not severe, and maybe even mild (to at least moderate). My gut is wondering if I need this or if there is still a more natural way. Surely, Charlotte Mason ran into this at some point? And then the fact that they suggest ONLY using this program for all language arts bothers me a little. However, I am ready to do what I need to do for him. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or experience with dyslexia or the program? It’s weighing heavy on my heart!
And Sonya, I would love if you see this to have your thoughts, if you have the time! 🙂 Have you ever taught a child with dyslexia to read or have any advice?
There are several options for dyslexia, especially if he is on the mild side. Barton is one.
Reading Reflex is another. I bought it used and didn’t make copies because it is $4-6 for the book (cheaper than ink). I used All About Spelling tiles instead of paper letters that blow around.
They have companion materials at phono-graphics.com. I especially like the Washington Reads card games.
All About Spelling and/or All About Reading is another option.
“The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan” and “The Dyslexic Advantage” are both good for parents.
When he is a senior in high school, a speed reading book or class can be helpful.
Not all children need an intensive phonics approach, but some do. So please feel free to do what works best for your son. You have several choices of resources listed here, happily. And this post from Melanie Young on Helping Boys Love to Read might also be helpful and encouraging.
My 3 school-age kids have dyslexia. My 11 YO is mildly dyslexic and actually learned to read early and well, but really struggled when she got into multi-syllabic words. My 8 YO could barely read at the end of 1st grade, which is when I figured out that he was dyslexic. My 6 YO was in K last year and appears to be the most severely dyslexic of the 3. We started using Barton mid-way through last school year, after trying a couple of other programs for remediation first. My 11 YO made some progress with the other programs we used (Abecedarian and Sopris Rewards which is specifically for multi-syllabic word reading skills) and my 8 YO improved quite a bit with Abecedarian but then hit a wall and it became obvious that he needed more to continue making progress. I really, really didn’t want to use Barton, both because of the cost and the time commitment, but after hours of research it seemed to be the one program that worked for almost every kid with dyslexia, and I didn’t want to spend any more time using programs that might prove to not be enough like the others we’d used. I wanted to believe AAR would work, but found too many stories out there of moms who tried AAR first for their dyslexic child and found that it wasn’t enough for me to have confidence that it would be enough for my kids. My 8 YO has done so well with Barton–reading really “clicked” for him a few month into using it. He still has several levels to finish but has made huge improvements. My 11 YO’s reading has improved noticeably also. In hindsight, I really should have just gone with Barton from the time I first realized that they were dyslexic and not messed around with programs that, though they helped, just weren’t enough.
Anyway, I would encourage you to choose a program that’s designed for dyslexia for your son at this point. In my experience, the number of symptoms that a child has isn’t necessarily a good indicator of how severely dyslexic they are–my 6 YO only has a couple of symptoms of dyslexia, fewer than either of his siblings at his age, yet he struggles more than either of them in spite of using Barton nearly from the beginning of his reading instruction.
Oh, and as far as using Barton only for language arts, I think that actually fits in fairly well with a CM approach. Barton covers reading and spelling thoroughly. Most dyslexic kids don’t have a good visual memory for words, so studied dictation isn’t a very good method for them of learning to spell. Barton also introduces the basics of grammar, though not necessarily with formal terms (at least not through level 5 which is as far as we’ve gotten so far), and delaying formal grammar goes along with a CM approach. If you really wanted to, I think you could do a light grammar program along with Barton. I think the point of not using additional LA curriculum is to minimize what the child has to learn since Barton is fairly intense, and also because (at least IME) dyslexic kids tends to struggle with grasping grammar and the way Barton introduces it gives them a good foundation. I did have my DD continue with Easy Grammar once she started Barton, and continued English Lessons Through Literature 2 with my son for a very light exposure to grammar. We did 1/3 of ELTL 2 last year and will finish it up this year. I will have him start Easy Grammar 4 in 4th grade even if he’s not done with Barton, though hopefully he will be by then. Barton does recommend a formal writing program after level…4 I believe. I just had my daughter who was in 5th grade last year continue weekly written narrations as she’d been doing them before starting Barton. My 8 YO will be in 3rd grade this year, and though he’s finished level 4, I won’t have him start written narrations until he starts 4th grade. You could certainly still ask for oral narrations while doing Barton.
Anyway, I hope all of that is helpful!
Retrofam….I would love to hear your results with reading reflex. I just bought it to use with my 15 yo and my 7 yo who both have Language Processing Disorder. Did you find it worked well or not? We have also used AAR and Abecedarian.
I’m a big fan of Barton. It’s the only program I have ever used with my dyslexic daughter. We don’t have a formal diagnosis, just the checklist from Susan Barton’s site. BUT, what a difference the Barton program has made!
The reason Susan Barton says to use only the Barton system is that the Barton system EXPLICITLY teaches phonics. All the stuff you and I do naturally, without thinking about, a dyslexic doesn’t get. So the Barton program is set up to teach every little, minute detailed step of how to read. I am learning SO much (“so that’s why we spell it this way”, etc type things).
The other reason Susan Barton says to use only her system is because she doesn’t want the student to become confused. Barton teaches in a step by step (small step!) approach, to add another philosophy will add another difficulty. I can say from experience that the Barton program is very thorough, very organized, very well thought out.
Charlotte Mason wanted children to learn to read “sightwords”. Sudan Barton includes sight words, too. So your child’s progress is not held back because of not being able to sound out the word “the”, for example.
We are not wealthy, so I buy each level of Barton as we need it, I try to get it used. And I sell back each level as I’m done with it, to help finance the next level. I wish I could keep them, but we don’t have the money for that. If your buy from Evelyn Smith, you are buying a certified used level. The customer service from Susan Barton is fabulous. I’ve had several questions and she answered within 24 hours. She has emailed me pages from previous levels because my dd needed a review (of contractions), they have been super supportive.
Do what’s right for your family, but in my mind, Barton can’t be beat and is well worth the money. We’re in Level 5, my dd is in 6th grade. I plan to start IEW SWI-A with her around January, to start writing composition.
Best wishes!😃
One of the above responses talked about other dyslexia programs not being enough. There are several factors there. One is that in my opinion, the teacher is the most important element. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but often we give up on a program too soon. Contacting the curriculum writer and asking for help is often the key. Susan Barton connects with people and is available. That’s an important part of her success. She also exudes confidence.
We would do well to do that with our children;)
That said, the best program is the one that we are most enthusiastic about, and determined to make work.
Reading Reflex is my favorite. I don’t like memorizing rules, nor do I think every child needs to do that. There are other ways to learn.
Phono-graphix.com has supplemental products to go with Reading Reflex, as well as trained instructors you can hire, or take the training yourself. When someone asks me if Reading Reflex will work, I’m thinking methodology, and the full range of support, and would say yes! However, if mom races through the book with her child and practices very little, she may say it doesn’t work.
Also, the child’s age plays a large part. A six-year-old boy who waits to learn to read may not be diagnosed dyslexic. He may be a right-brain dominant learner. Read “The Right Side of Normal ” by, Cindy Gaddis or “Upside-down Brilliance” for more information.
Sometimes it is best to stop reading lessons with a kindergartener and wait until their brain matures. In the meantime, you can work on phonemic awareness, and read to him.
Our 12-year old son is dyslexic and didn’t begin reading until around age 11 in 5th grade and that was after 2 1/2 years of tutoring at our local Children’s Dyslexia Center. They use an explicit phonics method for teaching. Once his dyslexia was diagnosed and he was accepted into the program, we still had to wait for nearly a year on the waiting list. I did use AAR during that time at home, but stopped once he started his formal tutoring because I didn’t want to present multiple methods as that may have been confusing.
The thing about dyslexia teaching is, it needs to be multi-sensory. A wonderful book to learn more is Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz.
I have heard about and researched Barton. I also know families who have used it successfully. I’ve written several blogs in the past about our journey with dyslexia and the research I’ve done. There’s one that specifically details how I’ve used CM’s methods in our homeschool. You can find them by scrolling through here…
http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/search/label/Dyslexia
Something you should know is that dyslexia affects up to 20% of the population. It is not a cognitive delay and often goes undiagnosed. It’s a medical diagnosis and most schools don’t have the resources or ability to test and remediate. Dyslexia is often hereditary and is an actual difference in the wiring of the brain. This is why multi-sensory teaching is so important.
Hang in there dear mama! Dyslexia can be remediated and most likely one day your son will read 🙂
Blessings in your quest,
MelissaFWIW Abecedarian, which we used before Barton, is a Phonographix-based program like Reading Reflex. Perhaps RR goes farther than ABCD did, but I did ALL the supplemental materials that ABCD offered with my 8 YO, and it became obvious that it just didn’t go far enough for him to continue making progress. It wasn’t for any lack of effort/time in working with him that we needed to switch to Barton. I also contacted the writer of ABCD on a couple of occasions asking for advice. Also, my DD tested into a different (higher) level of ABCD than my son, and while it did help her some, Rewards helped her much more than ABCD did, and Barton much more than Rewards. So I don’t know that I really buy that one program for dyslexia will work just as well as another if you just put enough effort in and contact the developer with questions. There are some things that work for some kids. There are others that work for most kids, at least based on my research. JMO though.
My son is 11 and was diagnosed with dyslexia in Dec. His biggest trouble is spelling. I researched several programs and I chose Reading Horizons mainly because I was worried about me teaching the program. REading Horizons has a one on one course where I could teach and also an online program where they can get extra practice working at their own pace. He started the online program while we waited for the teacher stuff to arrive. He did great with it and I didn’t even start the one on one. He is just finishing up the program and I can tell a huge difference in his spelling.
So, I won’t recommend any particular program, but will say that a formal program can help a lot. They are expensive, I know, but his confidence is much better. His reading is better, so I am glad we moved forward and had him do the program.
hope this helps.
The Children’s Dyslexia Center our son attended used How to Teach Spelling by Rudginsky and Haskell, which can be found at Rainbow Resource and is relatively inexpensive.
I’ve been using IEW’s Phonetic Zoo with our 13-year old dd. She started it last year in 7th grade and will continue through the levels until completed. We had used Levels 1-4 of All About Spelling prior. She is not diagnosed dyslexic like our son, but certainly has tendencies, particularly with spelling. It’s been a read struggle for her and has stunted her writing. So far, I have seen progress and improvement with PZ.
Best of luck,
MelissaYes, I agree that one program will work better for one, and a different program will work better for another.
I was trying to say without saying it that there are several programs out there that use O-G based, multi-sensory teaching that work well for dyslexia. Parents need not worry that they aren’t doing enough if they don’t choose the most popular or expensive program.
I do think that in some cases we give up too soon, myself included;)
Yes, I had tried All about Spelling with my son when he was in 1st grade and it got to where I would just start to reach for the box and he was in tears. that is when I knew we weren’t going to be able to work through it. LOL
Even though it was touted as being one of the best spelling programs out there and had everything needed for people with dyslexia. (I diagnosed my son around age 4, but he wasn’t formally diagnosed until dec last year. I just taught him as though he had it all these years and yet when I wasn’t seeing progress decided to get the formal diagnosis. They recommended the reading horizons program. I had been looking into Barton at the time. I went with REading because of the online program. It worked well for us. I was even more pleased because I had very little to do with the teaching part, but I definitely saw improvement with his reading and spelling. He was reading at about 6-7th grade level so he was ahead for his age there, but now he is high school level. He does use Capti with all books I assign him to read on his own as it does help him to keep up and not get frustrated, but I believe over time he will wean himself off as his confidence grows.
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