I have been coming to this board to look for advice and ideas for over a year now. I wanted to share our good news. My now 9 year old ds was reading at a pre-primer level appoximately 1 year ago (the middle of 2nd grade). He has been receiving Wilson reading 30 minutes a day. I just had a meeting with his teacher. He is now reading at and even a little ABOVE a 3rd grade level, and will be moving the TOP reading group in his class soon. He seems to have a pretty straight foward phonological processing disability, which the PROPER reading program has helped him overcome. I know we have reached the all important reading at grade level by 3rd grade milestone. I can’t tell everyone how important the information I have received from this site has been to make happen.
We still have some fluency and serious spelling issues to address but it feels really good to be on the right path.
To any other parents out there starting down this path, I know it seems overwhelming and fustrating, but don’t give up, don’t stop fighting for your child, the answers are out there it’s just a matter of finding the one that will work for your child. Knowledge is the key. Learn as much as you can about your child’s disability and then fight to get them the RIGHT program.
Re: great progess!
Yes, the school is providing the Wilson instruction. I know how fortunate we are. Our school system is working very hard to have more teachers trained. We are very lucky to have at least 3 wilson trained teachers in our school, with more getting ready to come on board next year. I am in VA which has implemented SOL testing. It does seem to be pushing them to do the best for all students. Without Wilson I don’t think my son would have nearly the progress he has, he will now be able to take the SOLS’s this spring with his classmates, and probably score fairly well. I know this is the school’s systems goal, as well as mine.
Re: great progess!
Not only that they have trained teachers and that they are doing it but that he is getting it everyday. One student I have currently had it for 6 months or so but only an hour or so twice a week. I have heard of worse where it is something like 1/2 hour twice a week.
—des
Re: great progess!
You know, a few years back when the SOL’s were first introduced, there were howls of outrage. They were unfair, kids learn at different speeds, teachers can’t be forced into a lockstep, poor kids can’t learn all that stuff, LD kids will be penalized and scarred for life, and on and on. Now here you are, happy that the SOL’s have pushed your school into transforming itself into an educational institution and teaching all children.
NO, they are certainly a long way from perfect! But having people try to do their job up to some kind of standard does work better than letting everyone make up the job as they go along, doesn’t it?
Re: great progess!
It was quite a few years back when SOL’s were done — before the big testing fervor. Our semi-rural district folks were, for the most part, very glad to have guidelines. Now there’s a lot more attention paid to testing them and it’s more of a nuisance, but it also means that there was less of a transition to the current state of Testing Mania.
It really helped me as a sped teacher in content areas — I could show my seventh graders that we were doing 7th grade SOLs. Not all of em, and presented more concretely, etc… but seventh grade, thank you :-)
Is the school providing this? You’re lucky if they are because the vast majority of schools will not do any Orton Gillingham based instruction and if they do it is limited to something like a half hour a couple times a day.
I’m sure you’re proud of them as Wilson works the kids pretty hard!
—des