Ideachain or Visualizing and Verbalizing

Well, V/V is probably the best and IdeaChain is probably the easiest, but I haven’t ever seen IdeaChain. But I have been trained in V/V which makes it much easier to understand. So I’d probably try IdeaChain in your situation. But let us know how it goes if you do try it.

Janis

I haven’t seen Idea Chain but I think conceptually the programs are similar. V/V is more likely a more developed program but it is not the easiest thing to use. It requires much more material (on a paragraph) level than they provide, even if you get the extra book. I ended up writing quite a few paragraphs and buying some other material and rewriting it. I think you *can* use V/V without training but the training would definitely help matters.

I have heard that Idea Chain, while more expensive, is much more user friendly. It has actual lesson plans, etc. It doesn’t require training. A lot of parents have preferred Idea Chain due to its user friendliness.
(I think some teachers would like that part as well.)

Ideally you’d get the manual of V/V and use the other (including ideas in V/V where needed), in a not as ideal world I’d just use the Idea Chain if I were in your position.

—des

des,

It sounds like you haven’t seen the set of V/V workbooks which are supposedly at 3rd and 4th grade level (could be used with older kids, of course). They give plenty of material and help guide you through the steps.

Janis

I have one of the V/V story books (levels K-8). I just saw a newer catalog with the workbooks. These would be great and would make V/V much easier to do. I think these are new.

—des

I have used the program quite a bit. It is loosely structured and I found it difficult to use in a “lesson plan format”. Lindamood Bell offers one day training classes and I feel that it would really be essential to use the program correctly. I use it as a portion of my program and structure it with “Step up to Writing” . One of the biggest problems with writing is, the child does not have a well formed and vizualized story. This program really can solidify that. You have to understand where the problems and delays are in order to remediate- it is not just a walk through program.

Well I’m sure it is BETTER to have the training. Not saying someone should not get training if they can afford it, but a lto of us have to make do. These programs all take serious study, though. You can’t just open the book and expect to teach it. I looked at the catalog of newer materials and they look like they would be quite helpful. Step Up doesnt’ seem appropriate in this situation here, but I have heard excellent things about it.

—des

I purchased Idea Chain on a recommendation from here and it is easy to use. All the lessons are laid out with scripts for the parent/teacher. I’m not how sure how this will work with my son because his vocabulary is poor. DS has many learning problems and I probably should get them sorted out first but since this program moves slowly I’m willing to try. However, the concept of using hand motions to remind the student of the questions he needs to ask is very good for my DS since he has sensory integration issues.

I’m still very interested in V/V but I wanted to start now and I’d have to wait until January/February for training.

And you can train yourself at home…before the seminars come to your neck of the woods.

V/V is pretty do-able with the materials, if you take some time to absorb it (and you can always ask questions from the Ad Hoc Training Symposium right here :-))

Hi,

I do think it is doable without the training as I said, but it is not something you take a causal look see to try and do yourself. It requires some study. What I did, was made the materials and then went thru the manual very carefully step by step. Lindamood programs are definitely not for someone who just wants to look at the book a couple times and do them. (BTW, not meant disparagingly, not everybody has time to do what it takes to really study them.) As I understand Idea Chain does fairly much the same thing while giving you lesson plans and being quite user friendly. (There are some new V/V materials that make things a bit easier, from what Janis says, but I have not seen these— www.ganderpublishing.com carries all the LMB stuff.)

—des

In my case I had to balance the demands on my time with the benefit. V/V is probably a wonderful program but I don’t have the time to sit down and figure out how to use it. I do not have any kind of background in teaching, my degree is in engineering, and it is very difficult for me to work with my DS. I *need* a well laid out program that tells me step by step how to work the program.

YMMV :)

Yeah, made my comment for general info. I definitely respect the idea that someone has other stuff going on in their life. :-)

—des