Struggling Learner Getting Further and Further Behind

[aecastleberry]

My son is 12 (13 in February), and he is a struggling learner with dyslexia. He places somewhere between Preparing and CTC...yet CTC is brutal for him. He can read and retain absolutely NOTHING for an oral narration (have not even attempted a written narration in CTC). I have to help him with every.single.area of CTC b/c he cannot read cursive to do Draw and Write Through History, he cannot comprehend what he reads in history/independent history, he struggles with ALL THE WORDS in Apologia science, and he has difficulty doing anything independently.

I just don't know what to do. I am questioning whether HOD is the right fit for him with all of the reading that is required. How do I decide? I have an 8 yo son who is thriving in Bigger, and I have a 14 yo daughter who is thriving in WG. HOD is {mostly} all we have ever used, but it doesn't seem to be "working" for my middle son.

I don't know how to make it work, and I don't know what other curricula I'd switch him to...I just know that he is getting further and further behind in academics.

Help!

[daybreaking]

How does your son do when material is read to him, rather than him reading it himself? If he does much better with comprehension with materials read to him, then I'm wondering if you could move from having him read the CTC material himself, to listening to it read aloud. If he has dyslexia, it is not surprising that he is not comprehending what he is reading, because so much effort needs to be put into deciphering the actual words. Apologia offers audiobooks, which your son could listen to while following along in the textbook. For the history, would you or your older child have the time to read the books to him? For his difficulty with reading cursive, Zaner-Bloser offers a free program on the internet, where one can type in material and adjust it to varying sizes, as well as manuscript versus cursive. Then, it can be printed with the traditional handwriting lined paper markings. I used to use the program for my children for copy work and found it very helpful. If you can look up posts from LynnH on the board, she made many modifications of HOD for her son, and I was always very impressed with what she did. She has some great ideas that you might find useful.

[StephanieU]

Siri what daybreaking said. I recorded or found the audio for all of CtC history and science for my son. He was able to do the independent history reading himself, but the reading about history box and science he listened and followed along. He was able to open the audio on an old phone, so he was still doing it independently. But he wasn't struggling with all of the proper nouns and other vocabulary.

Another option is to drop down to Preparing and help him learn cursive in that guide. History is read by the parent (we actual bought the Audible version of CHOW), and the science books are easier reads.

[crlacey]

I have kids who are dyslexic. For them, I continue to read out loud to them long after the guides say they should be doing it independently. For Apologia science, I buy the audio books so they can follow along as it's being read to them. Also, I allow them to type as much as possible since that seems to help them be able to write easier.

[Rice]

Your signature says that your 12yo is doing Bigger with Extensions. I dont know if that was what you started then bumped him up or if that was more than a year ago, but I would suggest going down to Preparing, if he hasn't done that guide yet.

That's what we did with our oldest when we came to HOD and he was your son's age (in 7th). He could not handle CTC and the relief was palpable when we moved him down to Preparing. We got to unit 10 before we made the switch, and were able to jump back into unit 11 in 8th, after he finished Preparing. However, if you're further than that in CTC now, you might want to go back to unit 10 or so when you return, simply to have a decent amount of time in CTC to acquire those skills at that point.

If he has already done Preparing (if your signature hasn't been updated in a while ), then I would slow down and do as the others suggest, doing almost everything orally or with audio.

(In fact, I'd probably do a great amount of Preparing aloud, as well. Allowing him to read the science and Independent History Study only if it is not frustrating for him.)

While you do need to find a way for his reading skills to develop, that doesn't mean that working independently in CTC is a reasonable expectation of someone with Dyslexia. Keep reading separate from the knowledge subjects.

Our oldest graduated last year after completing WG. He did higher science and different LA (he actually did LA from WG and WH, but reading was not his issue - executive functioning was; his sister with reading issues due to Irlen Syndrome was never able to do HOD's high school LA. She graduated last month after WH.)

Blessings as you decide. I'm sure Carrie or Julie will chime in with their suggestions, too.

[Carrie]

Amber,

The ladies are doing a great job of helping you talk through options. I agree that if your son has not already done Preparing Hearts, it would be very good to drop down a guide. Does he have some sort of a reading program he is working through for dyslexics? Or has he worked through some programs for dyslexics in the past?

If you do drop down to Preparing Hearts, depending on where he is at reading-wise, it would be good for him to read at least part of the science readings and the Independent History Study readings if he can. In looking ahead at CTC and the guides to come after, it is a good idea to look at audio recordings for the main history and science texts. If you cannot find audios, you can actually record yourself reading the texts aloud or just read some of them aloud to your son and record others. If you have any family members, grandmas or grandpas or aunts or uncles who would be willing to record themselves reading the texts that works too. Perhaps it can be a summer project before the next school year. Then, you can continue with your son's dyslexic reading program and/or use DITHR books at his level to be sure he is doing some reading.

Feel free to pop back and share your thoughts. I agree that searching for posts by LynnH and also by Laura (lmercon) on the board will be very helpful.

Blessings,
Carrie