Limited Resources

You do it yourself.

You can go to the library and find montessori books and other books on teaching reading (phonics). One of the easiest things to do multi-sensorily is to get some sandpaper and make lower case and capital letters and numbers cut-outs so that your d can trace them and practice sounds the letters make separately and together.

You might also check out borrowing or buying older Open Court reading books. They integrate well with phonics.

It might seem like a large time waste, but 1) it will likely work and 2) you would be spending time driving d to tutoring and waiting in a lobby until tutoring is over.

I believe any child with a learning disability is eligible to receive services under the federal IDEA law. If your school cannot provide services I believe they are required to pay for her services such as a private school. Every child has a right to an education whether they are LD or not. I find it unusual that they have not encountered a dyslexic child before. Does your school have a special education program or special ed teacher? If not, is there another school in your county/district that has a special ed resource program? Don’t give up, you are your childs biggest advocate. Good luck!!

Reading Reflex is a book that costs $16 and teaches you a wonderful method of tutoring your child in decoding skills. This approach tends to work really well for dyslexics.

Another wonderful, inexpensive program that usually helps dyslexic children is Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com). You can get started in this program for about $80 (book, video, and starter kit). Audiblox requires a time investment of 1/2-hour one-on-one per day 5 days a week, usually for 6 months to a year (although gains are usually seen within 6 weeks). The gains can be dramatic.

If your daughter has a lot of writing reversals, take her to a developmental optometrist (you can find them at http://www.covd.org). A developmental vision eval includes about 20 tests of visual function over and above a regular eye exam. Before you make the appointment, make sure the optometrist is willing to supervise home-based vision therapy if VT is necessary (many will do this, but some will do only in-office vision therapy). This exam is usually partially or completely covered by medical insurance as a regular eye exam.

If you haven’t already gotten one, request *in writing* from the school a complete speech and language evaluation. Be sure the eval includes tests of phonological awareness (LAC and CTOPP are good) and the SCAN (to screen for auditory processing problems). The “LD in Depth” section of this website has some good articles on how to work with the school — see especially the “assessments” and “IEP” sections.

If the SCAN is borderline or fail, see about getting a CAPD evaluation. You can find CAPD audiologists at http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/. This eval is usually covered by medical insurance. You can call the audiologist’s office before making the appointment, as they usually can tell you what you need to do to get coverage. If there are auditory processing problems, a CAPD audiologist can make recommendations about appropriate therapies, academic approaches, and academic accommodations the school can make.

If this is overwhelming, just start with Reading Reflex and Audiblox. You have the whole summer to do this with your daughter. Chances are your daughter will make a year or two of gains over the summer, just by working one-on-one with you using appropriate materials. Schools often provide inappropriate materials, and often work only in small groups — less than what you can do at home.

Mary

Why is she an engima to them? Dyslexia isn’t that uncommon. I used to live in Buffalo area and have fond memories of the services we received compared to Florida where we live now. I do remember though there was a friend of a friend who had some unusual LD that the district couldn’t handle. She went to a private school at their expense while they educated themselves

Is there a university in your area? You might try calling their education department or their psychology department. Explain that you’re interested in finding a tutor for your dyslexic daughter and that you’re working with limited funds. Students will always tutor for much less money than anybody else and often bring greater energy and enthusiasm if not experience.

I did have my dyslexic son tutored but what seemed to help him the most was time and me reading out loud to him. Trips to the library for books to read together is a very inexpensive way to approach this problem. It’s also true that as a dyslexic, your daughter would qualify to use the services of the Recordings For the Blind and Dyslexics in your area. You would only need a note from her doctor and they would provide your daughter with a tape recorder for free and send her tapes for free as well.

In the meantime, you could be thinking about what you want the school to do since they don’t know what to do. If they can’t provide her with tutoring, they can provide her with other accomodations to help her be successful in school until her reading improves.

Good luck.

is “Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills” edited by Judith Birsh. It’s about $60 from Amazon, but you can probably get it through inter-library loan to look at first. This book is aimed at teaching dyslexics, and includes chapters on teaching reading, spelling, writing, mathematics, and organization skills. This book has many, many good strategies, tips, and explanations.

Mary

We have ended up doing almost all of our remediation at home. I’ve even gotten to a point where I don’t always trust outside - they seem to have a cookie cutter approach and I feel you need to address each child individually - I can do it better(and cheaper) on my own.

We have been successful with the programs that MaryMN mentions at home - they are not hard to do - just require time.

Also on the CAPD issue - I would check out the University of Buffalo. They have a big research department under Jack Katz and have developed a CAPD model used in various parts of the country. I would assume they can provide you with testing services, recommendations and latest research.

Cheryl
What someone said earlier is true: you are your daughter’s best advocate. It seems to me as if the educators in the school where your daughter goes are trying to wash their hands of doing their work. They are required by law to help your daughter.

You can find our more how to help the school help her by looking at this site: wrightslaw.com.
Its a very comprehensive site that can be overwhelming at first, but after you get over the initial WOW shock, you can read articles telling you what your rights are and how to go about getting them met. Its very helpful for anyone with the type of problem you describe who lives in the US.

Another program that you might want to checkout is the Davis program, which you investigate at this site: dyslexia.com.
The book, written by Ronald Davis, called The Gift of Dyslexia, explains what the program is, how it works and how to do it with your child. You can even get this book in the library, but its a sound investment at $16. This program has worked with many children and you can find out alot about it at their website.

I hope you find something that helps you and your daughter.

Ellen