If there’s a reading specialist out there who trained in RAVE-O recently at Tufts, send me a message if you’re interested in tutoring. I have a 6 year old with some naming deficits, good phonological awareness, and difficulty with orthographic memory. I have a lot of patience and understand it’s a new program; I’m a reading teacher myself. Thanks!
Re: Looking for a RAVE-O trained tutor in NYC area
Hi Janis,
I know—the cost was why I didn’t go myself, and it’s just a few hours drive for me. I was hoping to find someone who could work some of her ideas into a larger program; I did end up enlisting another reading specialist with more traditional experience, and she’s working out very nicely so far. If it’s offered this summer and I go, I’ll let you know what it’s like! CM
Re: Looking for a RAVE-O trained tutor in NYC area
I’d love to hear about it and will likely go myself if the cost comes down. But I remember Torgeson, I believe, saying that there is no program that is having great success with getting very dysfluent older readers remediated. I think Seeing Stars would have about as much success of anything, but even the intensive LMB statistics are not that impressive for fluency. I think if there is any real hope, it is early identification with intensive reading therapy. But we know that getting both those will be unlikely.
Re: Looking for a RAVE-O trained tutor in NYC area
Yes, you’re right. I think I even read Mary Anne Wolf state that she thought there wasn’t too much you could really do for rapid naming on its own. I like SS too, and I’m going to have my son do it in Sept. if we don’t make too much progress this summer. (He’s never actually been taught how to read, so I’m trying to get a jump-start on next year to see if there’s really something happening. What’s interesting is that he has very good phonics knowledge and phonological awareness, especially phonemic awareness. His tutor is trying word families—I know the argument against them, and I don’t teach them, with a few exceptions—but I wonder if some kids benefit more from that kind of instruction.)
I’ve actually started using DIBELS at my school—pros and cons, to be sure, but I am using it to ID kindergarteners and may be able to do an intensive kind of program like the kind you mention with them next year, if I am asked to work M-F. We’ll see! Maybe I’ll see you this summer at Tufts!
Re: Looking for a RAVE-O trained tutor in NYC area
One thing I am really looking forward to for kids with poor orthographic memory is a new test by Lindamood-Bell. It is now being normed. It was informally called a symbol imagery test, but I recently saw the new name which has “orthographic” in the title. I really need it for my kids with reading disorders who are ok in PA but do have more symbol imagery/ memory problems (or both).
And yes, we’ll have to post here and plan to meet if we ever go to the training at Tufts! I think Boston in the summer sounds more appealing than January!
I was very, very tempted to go to that training, but at $1500 for two days plus travel expenses, I just couldn’t do it! So my guess is that there were few tutors there in this first training. If I had been convinced that it was the magic bullet for naming/fluency, I definitely would have gone. I do think Maryanne Wolf is wonderful, though!