? for Carrie or anyone else about dyslexia

[lmercon]

I'm almost convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that my ds is dyslexic. While some indicators for dyslexia don't ring true for him, most of the classic signs are there. He has no word attack skills. He is dumbfounded by "big" words. He skips or mixes up articles and other short words. He substitutes and mixes up letters and generally guesses. He is convinced he is a great reader if he can read to himself. He thinks the problem is the reading aloud part. He is nine. He is incredibly smart, and I'm not just saying that because he is my child. He truly is highly intelligent. I've had a lingering concern in the back of my head that his problem is much more acute than just being slow to read. I've been waiting for it to click, but it hasn't. We will have him tested shortly and will be using a reading program designed for dyslexics. DITHOR will have to wait a while. Whaaahhhh.....

We have used Beyond and Bigger and are about to begin Preparing. We are in love with HOD. I feel truly blessed to be using these amazing programs. I'm so happy that my ds has been exposed to wonderful literature, vivid history, and engaging science and was not held back because of his reading ability. This literature based program has been a God-send, and I didn't even realize to what extent until recently. I can't imagine how stunted his education would be if he only learned what he could decode from a low reading level textbook!

The reading program that we will begin will take several years to accomplish. We won't even start working with consonants or short vowels for a few months. I think I will continue to use the easy dictation passages from HOD. He does fine with the grammar as long as he has my help. He is able to read some, but I can see that he will hit a wall soon. He thinks that he can read really well in his head. He believes there is only a problem when he reads aloud. Do I allow him to continue reading to himself if the book is just for pleasure? I've been encouraging him (wringing my hands pleading with him) to read more to get better. I can't imagine telling him now to just lay off on the reading! My bigger question is should I have him read aloud? Is there any value to it at all? From my reading about dyslexia, is seems that they simply can not decode using the phonics most of us learned to use. It is a struggle for him to read aloud to me. It is agony for him (and me if I am honest). But he soldiers on and rarely gets upset. He doesn't have anyone at grade level to compare himself to so that has helped. But he's a a smart boy and is beginning to realize that something is very wrong. In Preparing, there are independent and student-led portions. Should I work with him in reading those or simply read it to him myself? I don't want to stop him from reading aloud if there is value in it, but I don't want to torture him if there is no point to it. Please help!

Thanks so much,
Laura

[Tansy]

Is he able to narrate to you a story he reads to him self? Is the comprehension there?

Books on tape may be a solution for you to help him along. Do DITHOR, with him reading a book that is also being read to him. I am Dyslexic and my school used a whole word program and no phonics so I actually learned to read. But for the longest time didn't understand why words were pronounced the way the were.
For me the words do move around on the page. It was hard to read out loud because if my eye jumped and read a word from 3 lines away. My teacher would sigh and say "that word is not in your sentence try again" Very frustrating. Then the story wouldn't make as much sense as when I read to myself... as I would ignore words that were odd, self correcting in my head. Speed reading also helped me. I read very fast and often don't read the small words at the margins of the page. My brain fills them in for me. I think DITHOR teaches such great principles and could be a blessing if say he follows along with the book on tape. This could act as a training for his brain seeing the words as they are being read to him, should help him get the flow better.

But I am not a professional and dyslexia is a huge catch all for many Issues... Many dyslexics see the world very differently. They really think outside the box and are very creative people. I loved what my therapeutic Optometrist said to me when I was 30 and seeking help. "You do not have a problem, your brain is functioning faster than your body can process it." When He gave my brain other things to do while I was spelling, I spelled so much faster and more accurately. But I don't think your son would do well reading while jumping on a trampoline. vision therapy really helped me. At the time 40% of my work was proof reading... and My dyslexic oh ya that was working..

Edit: see I sped read your post I see Your not going to do DITHOR eep! but my suggestion would fit well for books for pleasure as well.

[Carrie]

Laura,

Here's a few past threads that may be of help:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6460&p=47102

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2205

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=817&p=6048#p6048

Blessings,
Carrie

[Carrie]

Laura,

Since your son is 9, I'll pop in with a few thoughts of the steps we went through with kiddos in grades 3-4 who were exhibiting some reading issues during my school teaching days. The first thing to do is to make sure to rule out all eye-related issues, which perhaps you have done already. But the posts I linked above will give a few pointers in that direction for further evaluation.

I would also check to see if there is some sort of tracking/visual processing issue going on (which I know overlaps into the dyslexia department), but those types of problems are easier to test than dyslexia. Many types of vision therapy work well for kiddos with a myriad of issues so that is another good route to ponder.

I would continue to let him read on his own as much as possible for pleasure, whether he seems to be getting it all or not. I would limit his read-aloud time during the day to several paragraphs of each text he is supposed to be reading on his own for school. To make the reading aloud go more quickly and keep him from becoming too fatigued, I would alternate reading aloud by sentence. In this case, you would read a sentence, and then he would read the next sentence. Then, you'd read the next one and so on. After that, I'd have him finish reading the rest to himself. As long as he's comprehending fairly well, it is very typical for kiddos with dyslexia to prefer reading to themselves as they learn to deal with the problem themselves and aren't as bothered by the "exact wording" as we are! If he isn't comprehending very well, then you may have to consider reading some of his "independent" texts on CD for him to follow along with instead (at least until you are able to get him going on some vision therapy or whatever you find is most beneficial to his needs).

I would definitely use either a large index card or a folded paper held under each line of text to help him focus as he reads. You can instead use an index card or a sheet of paper with a window cut out of it that shows only one line of text at a time to help with this as well. You may have to make a new card or paper for the varying font sizes in some of the books, but it is well worth it as it blocks out unwanted text. This is my personal favorite for helping kiddos focus on the line at hand.

Another great help is books on audio. Having the child follow along in the book while the audio plays can make a huge difference in reading comprehension, is a great exercise for developing eye muscles needed in tracking, and increases a child's vocabulary! I love the option of books on tape/CD as a solution part of the time, as they work for kiddos with a myriad of issues.

Just a few thoughts!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Tracee]

We've just discovered that our ds is dyslexic, and I do know that dyslexia is an umbrella term that can be manifest by many different symptoms. Some people can intuit a lot from language, but some people need to be systematically and explicitly taught. The opposite of what I was doing. I had some nagging feelings that ds was dyslexic and he is only 6. We haven't had him tested by a psychologist yet, but I did have an evaluation done by an expert in dyslexia, and they agreed that he is definitely showing signs. Like you, my son is very intelligent and creative.

I'm curious as to which reading program you will be using. I just ordered the Barton Reading System which is based on Orton-Gillingham methods. I've also been doing a lot of praying and asking God to show me how to homeschool ds. I'm totally dependent on God for my homeschooling, because this isn't the way I had planned to homeschool. I'm a language person. I can learn almost anything by simply reading, but ds is going to be different. Homeschooling isn't going to look the way I planned, but that is O.K. In a strange way, I feel freed from a lot of things that were bugging me before. Ex: constantly comparing my ds to others his age, feeling compelled to teach a certain way because "all our friends were doing it" I'm actually free from all that now. Now, I'm embracing ds strengths and want to help him learn the way that works for him. I'm embracing the idea that dyslexia isn't a disability is is a difference in learning style.


Tracy


Also, we found a foundation here that specializes in Learning Disabilities, and they are a great support. They said I could come in anytime and they would go over the new reading system I bought for ds. They said if I ever had any questions or needed help they were there. They also said, that you don't want to give him anything to read that has words that he hasn't been taught. Right now you really want to build his confidence and not give him too much to stumble over. Maybe you could find some sort of support system in your area. Also, I would be very careful about a lot of advice from people. Make sure that you get your advice from an expert in dyslexia, someone who has dyslexia, someone with a dyslexic child etc. Also a good book to read is Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz.

[lmercon]

Thank you, Carrie and Tracy, for responding to my post. I should have mentioned that he has had his vision checked and did receive vision therapy last year because of some eye muscle focusing issues, but that has been mostly corrected. Thank you both for your suggestions. I have used the index card with him. He tends to not want to use it, but I think I need to insist on it or something like it. While I did use it when teaching, I've not tried the window card with him. Thanks for reminding me of that modification! As I've read more about dyslexia, my dh and I are both fairly certain that my dh is also dyslexic. He exhibited many of the same problems and still has issues but has learned to deal with them and has been very successful. We are having our ds tested by a dyslexic educational specialist, so hopefully we'll have a better idea of what is going on soon. Thanks to HOD, I feel confident that he has and will continue to receive a top-notch education!
Thanks again,
Laura

[Tracee]

Yes, I'm thankful for HOD also. This summer I focused only on phonics, handwriting and math. It was torture. I guess, I took all the fun out of school. Now, that we are back doing LHFHG, he's enjoying school. He even told me tonight that I was a fun teacher. God knew what I needed to hear. Thanks Carrie. We are loving it and plan on using HOD for a long time.


Tracy