Dyslexia

I would be interested in knowing what tests were done and how the determination of dyslexia was made.

You may want to join the DyslexiaSupport group at http://www.groups.yahoo.com (the list is free) and post your question there also.

Although I believe everyone must accept limitations, sometimes this is done too soon — before attempts have been made to reduce deficits. Often the remediation that schools provide falls far short of what is available to parents. If you post more about your daughter’s specific difficulties (reading level, history of tutoring problems, etc.), you may get some good advice about therapies that will help. I’m not sure what you mean by “simpler format”.

Most dyslexics have a problem with visual processing and/or auditory processing and/or phonological awareness. Some dyslexics have one area of deficit, some have all three, and the deficits can vary in degree of severity. There are specific therapies available that address each issue, but it’s difficult to make recommendations for an individual child unless there’s some idea of what is going on.

Mary

I would recommend the following two books:

Succeeding With LD: 20 True Stories About Real People With LD — Jill Lauren, Elizabeth Verdick (Editor); Paperback

Keeping a Head in School : A Student’s Book About Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders — Mel Levine, et al; Paperback

Hi Kathleen!

I don’t know of a video or such to help your daughter. But I can empathize with you, as my 14-year old 7th grader has both dyslexia and ADD. I don’t know if you’ve read any of my posts from the past week, but my husband and I are just now able to get the schools realize that they have an even more important role to play in her education than they’ve been willing to take on since she started first grade. As a result, we will be sending Saundra to Lindamood-Bell Processing Center for an assessment and treatment this summer. It will cost thousands of dollars, but thank the Lord above that she has a trust fund from which we can withdraw the funds. [She was severely injured in a car crash 10 years ago when our car was hit by a drunk driver.]

Anyway, it’s places like this message board and tons of internet searches that gave me the information, not to mention the peace of mind, to find her the help she needs and deserves.

HTH,
-Marcie

Thank you for the advice Mary. I am awaiting the doctors report but went for a meeting yesterday with her and tried to absorb all this new information. She did do an IQ test either the WISK test or something akin to that. She was tested on two seperate days three hours the first day and two and a half the next. I am trying to get more help for her next year in High School, and this doctor is going to advocate for her to get help three times a week with learning strategies. As it is now she will be going to a study hall for help with homework once a day. All the modifications are done from this study hall, with the special ed teachers acting as liasons between student and teacher. Anyway, getting totally lost here…my daughter has really lost alot of hope, interest and self esteem this year. I am trying to learn about Dyslexia so that I can help her. But she needs to learn about it too and I feel that there may be material out there that can help her understand it, accept it and learn to move forward. Her disability is language based, moderate severity. Not only does she have a difficult time reading and writing, she has a problem verbally expressing herself. I am just a novice here, stumbling along in the dark trying to bring my child to the light, where she will feel content and whole again. Thank you for your patience! Kathleen

Keeping A HEad In School is a good book and F.A.T. City is an excellent video for you and perhaps her (it’s designed to show people without LDs what they are about and what it’s like to get through a day in a classroom with LDs). Click on “LD Store” on the top of the page and you’ll see other ideas too.

The testing you describe almost certainly did not include a developmental vision exam, which includes about 20 tests of visual function over and above a regular eye exam. You can find certified developmental optometrists in your area at http://www.covd.org

If you haven’t already gotten one, I would also recommend a CAPD eval. Auditory processing disorders have a far-ranging impact on learning, and especially reading. You can find a search engine that locates CAPD audiologists in your area at http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/

Developmental vision delays usually respond well to vision therapy. There are a number of sound therapies available for different types of CAPD.

After ruling out visual and auditory processing problems, you may want to take a look at PACE (Processing and Cognitive Enhancement, http://www.learninginfo.com). This is a very comprehensive and intensive cognitive training program that tends to be very helpful to dyslexics.

If PACE is too expensive, you may want to do cognitive training at home yourself using Audiblox. (Website is http://www.audiblox2000.com)

You don’t mention reading programs. Probably the best program currently available is Phono-Graphix (http://www.readamerica.net), which is also relatively inexpensive. Lindamood Bell is another good program, although considerably more expensive.

Many dyslexics never get appropriate diagnosis and remediation. Typically you first need to rule out or remediate problems on the sensory/motor level (vision therapy and sound therapies would come under this heading). Once sensory/motor level deficits have been reduced as much as possible, cognitive therapy can provide significant overall improvements in the ability to learn academics. Once cognitive skills are in place, a good decoding program (such as Phono-Graphix) can seem to work miracles with reading.

By following these strategies, we were able to raise our dd’s reading level from pre-K to fluent 5th grade level in 18 months.

Every child is different, and there are never any guarantees. However, it’s a shame that many children are never appropriately assessed in the first place. If you can identify the specific deficits, you are then able to choose therapies that are likely to reduce the deficits dramatically and make learning much easier. Most professionals see only one piece of the picture and don’t address the individual child’s specific needs. There are still some things that parents do best!

My advice is to give careful consideration to the neuro-psych’s evaluation. However, don’t assume any one professional knows everything. Research all the things above on the internet, and explore these options too.

Mary

Read the book The Gift of Dyslexia. I think it will really help.

A good one would be worth her weight in gold. She could help her with pragmatics, teaching her how to express herself, etc. all the areas that she has deficits would be what I would work on with her if she was one of my clients.
She needs much more than learning strategies and study hall. She needs to work on her reading, writing, vocabulary, expressive and receptive oral language to name a few..

Daniel Amen has some good video’s out about Attention Deficit Disorder and how it affects learning and self esteem but I am not sure if he has one about dyslexia.

The Gift of Dyslexia helped me quite a bit. I have a 7 year old son who is dyslexic and has ADHD.

Mary,
thank you for all the advice. You seem to be greatly knowledgeable and informed. I at this point feel quite lost and ignorant. I very much appreciate your input. Thank you again. Kathleen

Thank you for your input. Where would I find a speech and language pathologist? Kathleen

Thank you Helen. Barnes and Noble tomorrow! Kathleen

Hello Marcie,
thank you for your empathy. And I hope your daughter finds her wings this summer. Best of luck to your family. I feel overwhelmed at how much I need to learn to help my daughter. And I now wish I had her formally tested a long time ago. She was tested by the school (public) in third grade after a lot of pushing on my part. And up until this year she seemed to be doing well enough with the services they provided for her. But this year, eigth grade, her life has begun to unravel. My heart breaks for her and her struggle to be like “everyone else”. She feels stupid and unfulfilled as far as her school life goes. She’s a lovely kid who is incredibly artistic and wonderful and defeated this year. I feel like I have failed her in some way and I’m trying really hard to learn so that I can make it up to her. I wish you and your daughter all the best. Kathleen

Thank you Sue! Kathleen

Hello Sarah,
Our local library is scouting that one out for me. If they can’t get it soon, I will buy a copy myself. Thanks! Kathleen

Thank you Becky. It’s on my list of a million things I have to do and learn this week. I appreciate it very much. Kathleen

You would find one at the High school. Another option is at a college that has a program to train Speech and Language pathologists and you could access therapy on a sliding scale. You can start with your pediatrician or family doctor and see if they can refer her to a speech and language pathologist for testing. HAs she ever had her hearing checked or has she been tested for ADD? My HMO was able to approve speech testing, a specialist for ADD for my daughter and received services through my HMO. It can be done

Kathleen,

First know that you are NOT alone. All of us on this board share your same concerns. You came to the right place to find answers. Check out the other boards on this site. They all offer a little bit of different information. Don’t be afraid to posts questions. I have yet to see a dumb question. There are probably others who have that same question and the threads that produced just from everyone’s opinion are very interesting.

May I suggest something to help yourself. Go to the following.

www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/tests_measurements.html

If this doesn’t work go to www.wrightslaw.com and look under understanding tests and assessments. They explain, in a very easy to understand format, how to understand tests and assessments that were probably given to your daughter including the WISC-III. This is the first place that you need to really look at to find your child’s weaknesses. This will help point to the correct path to take to help her. They have a suggestion to write down all the tests that were given so that you can compare each subtest’s scores. That is very helpful to do.

Hope this helps.
Donna