Socks - I replied below. Others - success stories with Phono

Buy the book reading reflex. There are tests in the book that will tell you what you need to work on.
I think if you are a parent doing it yourself this is the best way to go. I went through tutors, sylvan and school one on one before finding this program which got my son reading above grade level in just a few months.

You can add the concept of visualization with phonographix. It is a great fit and not hard to do. Some kids can naturally visualize letters and concepts and don’t need this.

If you want to find someone else to do it you could look for a phonographix tutor but there just aren’t that many out there. I would look for a lindamood bell center which could really help. You could also probably find a lindamood bell tutor but the center would be better as they seem to provide the intensity these types of kids need.

My problem with tutors is that they can not usually provide the intensity that a parent can. You could of course work with a tutor to supplement tha intervention but once or twice a week may not do it. That is why I would say a lmb center (see Karen’s posts) that provides intensive intervention or a parent intervention is best.

These kids need phonological awareness skills. Schools often do not provide them. That is just the reality.

Reading Reflex worked for us. I would recommend getting the parent supplement workbook to go with it, though. Call the company to make sure you order the right supplement for the level of your students (do the tests in Reading Reflex first). You probably do not need to use the manipulatives for this age level. Just start with a whiteboard and markers.

I never found any good software, and now I don’t think software is the best way to go anyway. Repetition is only a small part of learning to read. The warmth, emotional support and feedback of working with a live person count for more than repetition.

I used Reading Reflex with my son. I found it to be the best method for him at the beginner level. He had some problem areas and this book helped me to see what they were and focus on them. I have referred to the book many times. Reading Reflex also has computer programs which I would NOT recommend. I sent mine back. It was just samples of the things in the book up on the screen, no graphics, and it was very expensive.I would also stay away from their decodable text stories. I think too little attention is paid to writing something that is not only decodable but interesting. Later I progressed on to the old Hooked on Phonics which I already owned. Hooked on Phonics has a lot more word patterns and can be useful for a number of years. My son, in his 4th grade whole language program at school has to keep coming up with words with similar spelling patterns to his spelling words. If he were left alone to do this, it would be a very time consuming,useless activity. But we are able to look up words with similar patterns in the Hooked on Phonics books and turn it into something worthwhile. They also have SRA short stories and activities that can be purchased seperately which both my kids liked. They progress at a very fast rate 2nd-12th. For someone looking for beginner readers, Primary Phonics series is inexpensive and good.

In reading your previous posts you say there seems to be hearing probs with your daughter and also maybe son??? Most insurances will pay for a speech-language evaluation. If you can make it for a Central Auditory Processing Disorder test that might be very useful for you. You’ll need an especially qualified audiologist. You might also find the book , “When the Brain Can’t Hear” which explains this problem. ( available from amazon.com) One of the main symptoms can be lack of phonological awareness.
And I know everyone is reccommending PG and I’m not disputing it’s a good program but kids who have trouble discriminating between sounds may need Lindamood-Bells LIPS. They learn to FEEL the sounds in their mouth. My son didn’t have any of the other obvious symptoms of CAPD but we realized he wasn’t hearing sounds within words. Pronouncing guard as god for example. Also huge vocab and good expression. The Lindamood Bell website has some good info explaining this.(just put Lindamood Bell into your seach engine and it should come up.
Since everyone has been telling your son and not listening to him why not share your research with him and let him decide which he thinks would be more effective for HIM. I do a lot of readig to my son and the first chapter of the “when the Brain can’t hear” tells of the author testing a highschool football player and telling him what his problem was. He breaks down with relief and sobs .” I thought I was just stupid.” That description meant a lot to my boy… A Lindamood-Bell clinic is expensive which is usually what makes people hesitate. If you’d like to email me I can explain how we dealt with this.

Both of them have tested fine on hearing tests in school but it’s a thought… they both hear all the sounds in words, but then either reverse them or slur them (particularly r sounds or long words)… initially I thought it was vision, actually, but their vision is fine (so says the opthamologist) but yet Sd still says she can’t “see” words … but I think that just means she doesn’t understand them. Or maybe there is something I am missing?

Kids with CAPD will test fine on normal hearing tests-which is why you need a special audiologist. Did they have any speech delay or impediments? The Lips not only got my son reading but corrected his slight speech probs. We were told they were palatal or developmental by pediatricians etc… But were due to CAPD. I wish I had some of the web sites for these things with me but don’t at moment. You can email me at above address and maybe I can find and forward some to you.

Again this is a possible component and a regular opthalmologist may not catch it. Others can give you better info on this. But her eyes may not be tracking or focusing right when she tries to read. It’s a different prob than just seeing the letters on the vision chart. There are good websites with self tests that might give you some answers. Or she might just mean that she’s not visualizing words in her head which would be Lindamood Bell’s Seeing Stars program. Do you have any test scores for her from the school?

Unfortunately, regular hearing exams do not evaluate for central auditory processing disorders. A child can have CAPD and pass a regular hearing exam just fine. Check out http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/ for more information about CAPD, typical symptoms, etc.

The same is true of vision exams. Regular exams (including those done by an opthalmologist) do not evaluate developmental vision issues such as tracking, near-point convergence, field of vision, focusing speed, etc. A good source of information about these kinds of vision problems is http://www.childrensvision.com/

A child can often tell you what’s wrong (such as not being able to “see” the words). The trick is finding the right professional to identify the problem.

I think that software can be used for additional practice (after a student has had the skill modeled and have practiced enough that they are ready to work toward *fast* processing of a skill.) I like Lexia. They have a website. Probably lexia.com

http://www.lindamoodbell.com/

http://www.ncapd.org/

n/m

Hi Janis, we’re back! Give me a shout and tell me how things are in NC.

I agree w/ Susan Long — software doesn’t teach but so well (but OTOH it *is* a lot better than nothing!), and Lexia Learning’s software is the best stuff out there. I did see another at the IDA conference that looked like it was catching on but can’t remember its name; I”ve seen other software that tries too hard to be a teacher instead of doing what the computer can do best.

AS folks have said, there are some kdis who can “hear” fine — but somehwere between the part of the ear that correctly detects a sound and the part of the brain that decides what kind of information is contained in that sound, wires can get crossed. These folks can come up with interesting interpretations of things (one friend refers to “blessings in the skies,” not “blessings in disguise.”)
Perhaps the most important element of sound processing is addressed with “building words” — this is also described in the “letterbox lessons” at http://www.auburn.edu/~murraba if you’re looking for a different set of instructions. Do you have specific quesitons about the “how -to” or just nervous about diving in? When in doubt, just go slow and don’t, don’t, don’t be afraid of repetition.
Sue, webmastress
http://www.resourceroom.net