Help is this the answer?

You might want to read Jacqueline Stordy’s book on the relationship between essential fatty acid deficiency and ADD and dyslexia. You can order it from amazon.com or go to her website: www.drstordy.com.

Taking a nutritional supplement of essential fatty acids helps my son tremendously. It does not resolve all his learning issues but it does make a difference.

If your child is having difficulty reading, you may want to find her a reading tutor trained in the Phonographix method or you can teach her yourself using their book, Reading Reflex, by Carmen and Geoffrey McGuiness. If you start reading posts on this board, you will find many parents and teachers who have had great success teaching and/or remediating their students/children with this method of reading instruction. They have a website too. www.readamerica.net and you can get referrals for certified tutors in your area.

Thanks for the advice. I haven’t looked into any of the
nutritional options yet. I will also read more about reading reflex.

Those WISC scores are consistent enough so that the school has trouble finding an LD. However, more recent research has shown that people can have specific problems with making that sound-letter connection that have absolutely nothing at all to do with intelligence (which is what the WISC measures). This is the stuff that shows up more in a speech and language test. Does your daughter know what rhymes are? Can she play with the sounds in words? These are real clues to troiubles in reading and fortunately are things that can be worked on and improved ;)

There are lots of “The Answers” out there - and one of my first red flags is that something is advertised as The Answer. Many approaches and products work with many people - but not with others. The most helpful people are the ones who don’t feel like they need to sell their idea because it is so wonderful, but who are willing to help others figure out what will be likely to work and how and why.

The Davis Correction program was designed by Ron Davis, who is dyslexic himself. It’s what worked for him — but he also is *very* gifted in the visual-spatial department. I could pretty much guarantee that his WISC scores would have some fascinating highs and lows. In general, people with similar profiles to his benefit the most — but that program doesn’t address the “sound-symbol” issues directly. Instead, it works around them by using spatial strengths. (I believe that Mr. Davis still has significant language challenges, by the way.) There are many other programs wiht established track records that directly teach the “missing links” to reading. The importance of diet is not to be underestimated, but of course no supplement is actually going to teach you to read. (Recognizing sensitivities to foods and not eating the wrong ones can also be critical — and how many adults do you know that can’t think clearly without their coffee? Think about it…)

There are two places to go to get a clear encapsulation of reading: http://www.auburn.edu/~murraba , the “reading genie” (if you put “reading genie” in a search engine he’ll come right up) and the LD In Depth section of this site. Digest the materials on either one and you will know more than most of the “professionals” you deal with. A real stark reality is that many parents really are left with the responsibility of teaching their kids themselves. Reading REflex is a good program if you can get past the total hard-sell approach of people who push it, and keep in mind that its “keep moving along even if you haven’t quite got it” approach is fine for some kids but really not the ticket for others.

Does your daughter know what rhymes are? Can she play with the sounds in words? These are real clues to troiubles in reading and fortunately are things that can be worked on and improved ;)

My daughter does know what rhymes are, and doesn’t seem to have a problem with playing with the sounds in words. Her problem with reading seems to be knowing basic site words such as the, and , is, it, of, for ect.
she has no clue and makes up a word to fill in when she sees these types of words. Another weakness is in her writting skills. She still reverses some numbers, reverses b’s and d’s , and uses the wrong tense such as instead of saying running.. she would say.. ranning ect. She also has trouble with spelling words she should know like “because” would be.. “becace” the spellings change each time. She doesn’t sound words out she guesses by what ever the word starts with.
I am new at searching for a method that will work for my daughter. The Davis site was one of the first sites I’ve looked into so my mind is open to any and all methods for helping her. I’m just praying that the fourth grade isn’t as frustrating as this year has been. She is a bright girl whos self-esteem is at an all time low. I will look into the sites you’ve suggested.

Thanks so much for your advice
Shannon

Shannon,
This may sound absolutely off the wall - however, I shall forge ahead because I can assure you that fourth grade will be more FRUSTATING because it is MUCH more challenging than third.

You stated that your daughter was 8 1/2 yrs old. I am assuming this to mean that she has a December or November birthday. In some states, if your child is 5 by Dec., they MAY enter kindergarten that year. (Doesn’t mean they should.) Other states require the child to be 5 by September. It is my opinion that 8 1/2 *may be* just a little young to be completing the third grade, particularily since you also mentioned that she has been struggling since the first grade despite the help of a resource teacher.

I know that you have had some testing done and MD input re: ADD but I think you should seriously consider that this little girl may very well be having difficulty with reading and math at the third grade level, not because she is not bright but because she is not *developementally* ready to learn third grade material. Yes,yes, I know - girls develope faster than boys and it is usually boys who have this problem but that doesn’t mean that girls *do not* have this problem. She may very well be dyslexic as well. However, it is a lot easier to hold a child back in the early elementary years than it is to do in later years and much, MUCH easier than watching them fail to succeed. It is just something to consider along with everything else.

There are many excellent O-G based reading programs out there that you could use to help her. You may have to invest the entire summer in remediation to “catch up” to the fourth grade level. Think - it is now May. There are about six weeks of school left. If she had private tutoring everyday after school and all through the summer, would she be up to the level of most of the children entering fourth grade?

Please be careful about “fad” treatments- sound good but like “fad” reducing diets, don’t usually produce long-term results.

I would also mention that if your private parochial school offers a smaller class size than your local public school ( despite services they may offer but she may not qualify for) I would consider keeping her at the private school. Small class size is always preferable for any child but paticularily for one who is having difficulty.

I wish you well - not luck because you will need more than luck. You will have to persevere to get the best for your child.

My daughter is 8.8 years old, the 8 1/2 years was rounded she has a late August birthday. She is also a twin, her sister is doing extremely well in school.
They are in different classes. Holding her back would really be really hard having her twin move to the next grade. She is passing, and has a fear of being held back. The class size is 28 students per teacher at her current school, the public schools here are smaller in class size around 20 per class. I’ve been struggling with deciding which school to send them to.

As far as treatment goes the speech therapist who did the evaluation is suppost to be sending me qualified tutors this week that deal with dyslexia, so thats a start.

Thanks for the well wishes
Shannon

Shannon,

Please, please do not compare your twins - even silently in your own mind. Even identical twins are two different children who happened to share a womb.

Do not delay in getting a tutorial plan in place. If you plan to move her to the fourth grade to keep up with her sister, then you will have to start right away this summer and continue throughout the school year. If she is dyslexic, an Orton-Gillingham based program is the best type and you can get information on them by reviewing this site.

Academic tutoring, while initially helpful, does not address the underlying learning disability but there are programs (like PACE) that do.

Most educators will agree that smaller class sizes are desirable. If the public school can provide that then I’d go for it.

Realize that this is going to be a challenging time for yourself and your family. Get all the support you can and be sure the school is aware of it so there is no misunderstanding regarding your daughter’s progress.

I just wanted to tell you that you are right in not wanting to hold one twin back.I was forced into holding one of my twins back in K and it has created more problems than I already have. Also when deciding on a school for next year, does your private school provide any special services. Mine doesn’t and they decided that they can no longer teach my son next year, so we are headed back to the public school. Just some things to think about

I have twins, they are 16 years old now, a boy and a girl.

I started them at 6 years old in kgarten.

They both have mild dyslexia.
(They have a little brother, 12-yrs-old, and he is the
most dyslexic of them all.)

My 16 yr old son has the tense problems, still.
He knows it and accepts correctionl
He was in sped from
third grade thru fifth grade.

My daughter had help in second grade.
Her writing skills are first class, she is 45th out of 470
students but her spelling?!
We spent $350 for a summer spelling boot camp
and while she tested out at college level reading, her
spelling is still very, very creative.
She knows this is her challenge and uses the computer
and dictionary and is not afraid to ask for help.
She will also tell the teachers right out that this is her
problem and enlists their suppot.

And I agree with the other posters. Do not separate twins
in grade level.
Being held back and going over the same material will not help your
daughter.
Being taught that way didn’t work in the first place.
Why repeat a failed concept?
She needs to be taught in a manner that is n for dyslexics.
Starting with a tutor is a great idea.
You need to get ahold of everything you can about dyslexic children
and read, read, read.
Then you need to be very assertive with the school.
And don’t rely on the school to do everything. You are going to have
to supplement her education. With a tutor, with computer teaching at
home (try Lexia.com) and reading with her - very simple, gentle guided
reading.
We also read a lot of novels to our son for the literature value and the
‘keeping up with the Harry Potter storyline’.

Above all, since your daughter is feeling such stress, make home a safe
harbor for her. Most dyslexics do fine, over time. She needs to grow
and discover her strengths. And dyslexics do have marvelous strengths.
Once they survive schooling they do great!

Anne

IT sounds like her problems are more visual than auditory — exactly the opposite of the kind of kids the Davis program would work best for (in my opinion, *not* having direct experience with the program). One cheap and easy thing to try is a little ruler called an EZC Reader (http://www.reallygoodstuff.org/theme.asp?theme=EZC&Submit=go)
that might make reading a little easier on her.

You can also have her vision evaluated — my brother and sister both benefited greatly from “eye therapy” from a developmental optometrist. In their case, they had a lot of trouble focusing on the letters with both eyes at the same time. I remember my mother showing my grandmother by having them try to follow her finger as it got nearer and nearer to their noses… I would end up with lovely crossed eyes (no, she didn’t go around doing it a lot ;)) but they just couldn’t do it. Their reading improved drastically once they were seeing the words — that was essentially their whole problem! Mary’s the local expert on it and other things that have helped her daughter - if you look for her name you’ll find good info. (Mary, do you have a “cut and paste introduction to vision therapy” post yet? :-))

Lindamood-Bell has a program called “Seeing Stars” (that’s a lot less involved than their “LiPS” program) that addresses visual memory issues for spelling. It would be worth checking it out.

I realize they are two different people. My fear is seperating them by
a grade level, and the social issues with the daughter who is held back.
I’m going to find intensive tutoring for the summer and continue
through the school year. As far as schools go, I’m going to sit down with
her current school along with the county and find whats best for my daughter.
Thanks
Shannon

I am planning on having her eyes tested, just to make sure there isn’t
any problemes there. I will look into the sites you’ve suggested.
Thanks

I really want holding my daughter back to be the last resort, so I appreciate knowing your experience. She gets some resource help at her current school, however there is only one resource teacher for the entire school.. 800 kids are in the school.. So its limited to about 1/2 hour per day of help in reading.
I’m leaning toward the public school system.
Thanks
Shannon

I got in on this discussion late but let me add my two cents. Before you get all caught up in a *treatment*, make sure you have the right *diagnosis*. Some of my son’s initial tests suggested dyslexia and his pediatrician considered ADD. We went nuts collecting information and doing searches about these two issues - went so far as to purchase a relatively expensive home program which ultimately didn’t help because it was not specific for his problem (very frustrating). We paid for private tutoring 3xwk and it was the tutor who said that she didn’t think he was dyslexic (or ADD). Anyway, we wasted a lot of precious time not to mention money. Make sure you get someone to actually commit to a dx and tell you why and help you make a plan. Don’t try and tackle this by yourself.

I was wondering if you have looked into other schools in your area?? Maybe you are near a private school that offers more help to LD children??

Just a thought!!

K.

I have looked into one school near here.. that specializes in LD.. It would be great except it cost 25,000 a year.. So unless the public school system was going to pay for it.. I couldnt afford it. I do have an appointment to take her back to the Doctor later this month, and he is receiving a report from the speech and language evaluation. I guess we will go from there.
Thanks

I have looked into private schools in the area.. The cost is 25,000 a year so unless the school system would pay its not an option..