DITHOR Questions - How Much Time, etc.?

[Heart_Mom]

Hi!

I'm thinking of starting DITHOR with my 9 year old son. I would start him at the 2/3 level. Could you give me a general idea of how much time each day that would take? Would he be reading to me, or by himself? Also, is there generally written work every day? Do most people do it every homeschool day, or just a few days per week? Our schedule is very full right now, and I don't want to start anything that we can't handle.

My son had some vision issues that are almost resolved with vision therapy, so he's a little behind average (whatever that is!). He did recently read "Twenty-One Balloons" on his own with good comprehension, so he's certainly improving. (Last summer The Cat in the Hat was a challenge for him!) Right now he's reading through the Grade 1 Christian Liberty Nature Reader, and the 2nd Grade Pathway Reader. (Plus other books for fun!) I could just have him keep reading books from the emergent reader set for this year and wait until next year for DITHOR , but I don't know. Writing is getting easier for him, but he's not up for writing more than a few sentences at a time.

Any advice you could give would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much for any help you can give me!

[mamayi]

We just started DITHOR this year with my 8 year old son (who also had vision therapy and is now doing quite well in that area!) He's doing the 2/3 level as well using books from the Level 2 Book Pack. We are going "half-pace" with reading one day and then using the DITHOR guide the next. It's worked out quite nicely with that pacing. I don't feel rushed to fit it all in and on the days we do the guide we have time for good discussions. It usually takes on average 15-20 minutes.
It really is easy to use and to customize according to your child's level. I was also a little leery about the program before I started it but once I got the guide and student book in hand it all made perfect sense.
I would encourage you to give it a go. I don't think you will be disappointed. (plus the books in the Level 2 book pack are really good stories!)

[mrskturner]

Could either of you explain the vision therapy for me?

[Heart_Mom]

Could either of you explain the vision therapy for me?

Sure, I'd be happy to!

Some children have vision issues that are not necessarily picked up by typical eye exams. These vision issues can encompass lots of things, but I can tell you what my son had problems with. I didn't know he had any problems for a long time, but he was having more trouble than I thought he should with reading and writing. About 2 years ago, I noticed that he was covering one eye when he was reading, and I wasn't sure what to do about that. Soon after, I heard about a presentation about vision problems and decided to go. After I went to the presentation, I came home and asked my son what words look like while he's reading, and after some probing I found out that the words looked like they were moving around on the page!

We took him to an eye doctor who specializes in vision therapy and found out that he had problems in several areas:

1. Focussing: His eyes had difficulty being able to focus on close objects. When he would look at something, it would take several seconds before it would come into focus for him. The vision therapy for this consisted of practicing focussing on very small print while alternating lenses of various magnifications.

2. Eye Teaming: His eyes were not working together.

3. Convergence Excess: His eyes tended to want to cross when he was reading. (This was not noticeable by just looking at him.)

4. Tracking: His eyes were not able to easily stay on a line when he was trying to read.

He's done vision therapy for over a year now and I've seen HUGE improvement! He's still struggling with some b/d reversals occasionally, but that's getting better. If you search online for "Vision Therapy" you might get a better explanation.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me!

[Heart_Mom]

We just started DITHOR this year with my 8 year old son (who also had vision therapy and is now doing quite well in that area!) He's doing the 2/3 level as well using books from the Level 2 Book Pack. We are going "half-pace" with reading one day and then using the DITHOR guide the next. It's worked out quite nicely with that pacing. I don't feel rushed to fit it all in and on the days we do the guide we have time for good discussions. It usually takes on average 15-20 minutes.
It really is easy to use and to customize according to your child's level. I was also a little leery about the program before I started it but once I got the guide and student book in hand it all made perfect sense.
I would encourage you to give it a go. I don't think you will be disappointed. (plus the books in the Level 2 book pack are really good stories!)

Thanks for your encouraging reply! It's good to know that it's possible to do half-pace. Do you have your son read to you, or does he read on his own?

[mamayi]

Most of the time he reads on his own (while I work with one of my other children) but at least once a week he reads out lout to me.
Usually when he's just starting a new book we'll take turns reading the first chapter.

[Heart_Mom]

Most of the time he reads on his own (while I work with one of my other children) but at least once a week he reads out lout to me.
Usually when he's just starting a new book we'll take turns reading the first chapter.

Thanks, that's helpful!

It looks like our children are pretty close in age, and we both have: boy, girl, girl, boy. Neat!

[mamayi]

We're also doing the same programs! Older two in Bigger, one in LHTH and the youngest wanting to do it all!!