Waiting for tutouring program in LIPS to start for 6 yr old boy with CAPD. Started using Earobics 1. He’s ok in all but rhyming which seems to be form of torture for him. Mat, Bat, Brick, Cat-he’ll be totally lost which one sounds different until I tell him to say words and feel difference in his mouth. But then he doesn’t have enough time to put finger on frog and get mouse in right place to click. This tells me LIPS is right for him but questions are:
1. Is there any virture in making him continue to try to learn rhyming?? Or just forget this game and do the others….
2. Does this help pinpoint his cognitive problems any better. Is this any indication I should be planning to follow LIPS with Fast Forward or another program???
Just trying to get ahead of this. Any advice from paretns who’ve done LIPS or spec ed teachers most welcome!!!!
Re: earobics-LIPS ?
Any suggestions for rhyming games that aren’t babyish? He hates songs that rhyme-all rhymes. Not surprising. Hard to appreciate long discussions about all the different shades of blue when colorblind. He makes up his own “ballads” that feature brilliant words-but no rhymes. The other game he has trouble with is the keep a beat one-but he sort of enjoys trying to “beat” that one.
Re: earobics-LIPS ?
Personally, I don’t worry much about rhymes. One LD kid I tutored had absolutely no idea what a rhyme was, but we got him reading up to around 1.6 level in six months so who cares if he could rhyme or not? A lot of half-hearted reading programs teach rhyming as a way of teaching a little bit of phonics without mentioning that they teach phonics. I just teach reading and let that pass. Some kids will figure out rhymes later, especially when they can sound out and realize that they have the same vowel and final consonant; in fact, this is a “back way” into teaching rhymes and sound patterns to someone who doesn’t get them just by hearing. Also I don’t know about LiPs, but a lot of reading programs introduce rhymes by asking for words that “sound the same”. What the heck does that mean? Some kids learn by example and some don’t, so take it easy.
Re: earobics-LIPS ?
Thanks for the reasurance. LIPS uses Socratic method and teaches child to feel sounds in mouth he can’t “hear.” Instincts tell me to build on his strengths and let the rest drop for now but it’s good to hear someone echo that. It’s just interesting to get a solid look at his problem. Because he’s so obviously bright it’s hard to convince people he’snot just goofing off or lazy. This is real. Including LEA when I have to show why I’m homeschooling
The “rhyming” game is made more difficult because you have to find the one that does *not* rhyme. I’ve watched kids that I knew were just catching on to rhymes really flop on their faces with that because of that extra element. So, I think I would substitute just playing rhyming games with him — you want him thinking of the sounds, not about all that extra stuff and *then* finding the mouse, etc.
If he’s okay in all but rhyming — which I suspect is probably okay except for the extra frustration factors — FFW may really not be necessary. LiPS does a lot of work 1:1 with slowing down sounds and getting him to think about them the right way. Of course I don’t know your kiddo… and it’s hard to predict the future.