Audio L.D.

Hi,

I know of a very good technique for helping with decoding words. Email me if you are interested in knowing more. [email protected] Anita

I would want to know here a bit more about what the “guest” is offering here. Not saying in all cases, but sometimes people come here and sell various things. I very much respect a company or individual who will identify the “goods” like the guy from Math U See. I very much apologize if this is not the case here.

—des

Ec,
There are some limited things you can on your own for auditory processing. Cognitive Concepts has a software program called Earobics—there is an adult version—that you could try. I find this program a pretty hard slog; everything goes pretty slowly, particularly for someone who has done computer games for any length of time, and there is no way to speed it up. I felt sorry for my daughter when I made her do it. We had more success with software from Sound Reading Solutions—also available in an adult version. This is a zippier and less intensive but less boring program, which moves more quickly and takes far less time to complete. It provides a lot of practice in phoenemic awareness, which you are probably having trouble with, as well as with sound-symbol association, which is essential for reading. Both programs are in the $50 to $60 range.

Given your reading problems, you might want to locate a Phonographix tutor (see Readamerica.net) to work with you. Prices vary across the country. I’ve heard anything between $25 and $75 an hour. If you wanted to kick start this, you could look into taking a vacation in Orlando, FL and attending their intensive clinic for a week, which is about $600.

Something you might want to try instead is the entire Sound Reading Solution Program. Unlike Phonographix, the lessons are all scripted so you could recruit just about any literate person (e.g. college student wanting to make some extra income) to do it with you for about a half hour a day or perhaps an hour three times a week. They wouldn’t need any special training and that probably wouldn’t cost more than $30 a week for six weeks or so, plus the cost of the program (somewhere around $125). If you chose this route, you would do the software program as an adjunct.

Good luck.

I forgot to mention Fastforward, which directly trains auditory processing, as I was working under the impression that you had a very limited budget. A second reading of your post indicates that perhaps it is not that limited. FFW is a sophisticated computer program for auditory training. If you are very dedicated, you could do this pretty much on your own with oversight from a provider. I heard of a 15 year old girl who pretty much did it on her own this summer. The group that offers FFW does require that you use some kind of provider—but if you are not relying on them to administer it directly for you you could do it much more cheaply. I am not sure of how much this would cost, but would guess it would be in the $1000 to $2000 range. This program is very, very good for the right candidate and I would urge you to look into it and see how you could manage it financially. It would not be a bad idea in any case to do some auditory training on your own beforehand with either Earobics or the Sound Reading Solutions software.

Your mind seems pretty good to me and your post is well written. I think you’re doing better than you might realize. I’d say beware of any school or program that offers you a ‘quick fix’ and concentrate instead on what’s happening in your job that worries you. You might not be in the right job for you. Were your employers aware that you had some learning differences when they hired you? Even if they were not, they’ll be very cautious about firing someone with learning differences. The Americans with Disabilities Act offers you some protection and should give them some caution.

Good luck.