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Dyslexia and twin sons

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

We are getting ready for our transitional IEP to middle school. Both boys read at 1.5 grade level and writing skilss about the same. Verbal comprehension and attention is excellent. I’m worried, they both have great social skills and make friends very well. No behavioral problems yet, want to make a great transition. I’m new to this list. Would love some creative suggestions. Thanks.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 05/05/2001 - 1:50 PM

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Sometimes a school district will not offer FastForWord, but will provide it if parents ask for it specifically. Might be worth a try. (Most school districts do not have FFW.)

What kind of reading instruction have they been getting? If you haven’t requested Lindamood Bell or Phono-Graphix, now might be the time to push for that.

Do you want only ideas for the IEP? There are other therapies you could check out, but they are not offered by schools and so would be out of your own pocket.

Mary

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 05/05/2001 - 5:40 PM

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Thanks for your prompt response. They have been doing a reading series Language Readers by Sopris West. We have been pleased with their progress in this series so far. They are doing much better with sounding out, but still very reluctant about reading from other texts or even letters written to them. It is a struggle to get them to read other than from their reading books. They get the books on tape from the Reading libary for the Blind from our local state system. Last summer we read aloud the Harry Potter new book, and then they listened to the book on tape. The books on tape have been wonderful.

No, we need other ideas, not just for the IEP. I’m not familiar with the FastForWord, what is that? Thanks again.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 05/05/2001 - 8:32 PM

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Typically dyslexia involves some combination of visual processing problems, auditory processing problems, and phonological awareness problems. A child can have any one of these, or any combination of them in differing degrees of severity.

Developmental vision delays can be either identified or ruled out with an evaluation by a developmental optometrist. A developmental vision eval includes about 20 tests of visual function not done in a regular eye exam. The eval is often partially or completely covered by medical insurance (often as a regular eye exam, although there are many more tests). You can find certified developmental optometrists in your area at http://www.covd.org. (If you have a choice, a Fellow typically has more in-depth training.) Developmental vision delays usually respond well to vision therapy and cognitive training programs (such as Audiblox and PACE).

Phonological awareness testing is typically included in the speech and language eval done by the school. The LAC and CTOPP are common tests that identify areas of lag. For serious delays, the best remedial methodologies are probably Phono-Graphix (http://www.readamerica.net) and Lindamood-Bell (http://www.lindamoodbell.com). PG is much newer and tends to work faster, and is my preference. LMB has been around for 20 years, takes longer and is much more expensive, but a few kids need it. The Sopris program is not bad, from what I have seen. However, it is more of an academic remedial approach to reading. PG and LMB do this, but work more intensively on also remediating the underlying phonological skill lags that make learning to read so difficult.

I left auditory processing to the last because it is the most complex area to check out. Because of your boys’ age, it would be a good idea to get a complete CAPD eval by a qualified audiologist. As is the case with developmental vision tests, this is a specialty area and regular audiologists do not conduct these tests. CAPD eval’s are often completely covered by medical insurance. You can find CAPD audiologists in your area at http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/. (If you have a choice, audiologists associated with universities or major medical centers tend to be the most up-to-date on research and therapies. If you call the office, they can usually tell you what you need to do to get medical insurance coverage.) There is a subtype of CAPD called “auditory decoding deficit” which tends to respond dramatically to FastForWord — a computerized auditory training therapy some school districts have adopted. FFW website is http://scilearn.com Children with auditory decoding deficit who go through FFW often gain two or three years of reading level in 8 weeks. (Children who don’t have auditory deficits gain nothing from going through FFW, which is why it is a good idea to get a CAPD eval first.)

Mary

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 05/07/2001 - 3:24 PM

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As the parent of a dyslexic son these sources have been enormously helpful to me!!! Check out the International Dyslexic Assoc. web site www.ida.org. It is very informative web site for dyslexia. The local groups can also provide information on the Orton Gillingham method and tutors. Also Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic www.rfbd.org offers TEXT books on tape and soon cd-rom.

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