I have taught students with learning disabilities for 25 years. i have used most reading programs that are specifically for l.d., mainly Reading Mastery (which I think is the best). This year I have a 10 year old boy in the third grade who has symptons like Apraxia but hasn’t been officially diagnosed by medical doctorl. He knows most of the sounds but cannot blend into words. He is not doing well in REading Milestones, either, which is a visual reading program. I believe he needs Lindemood but I do not have time to teach him. The speech teacher sees him every day but says he is not going to do Lindemood with him. Questions:
My research on this says stick with sounds
How long do I wait for the blending? He may never be able to do this?
He needs to go over and over the sounding out. He looks at me after every word he reads to confirm if he gets it right. He cannot tell if he got it right because he just doesn’t seem able to say even the first sound in a word to check himself. He isn’t memorizing the words either. Sight words…. not even the first 25 words….
He doesn’t talk very much but is very sweet and hard working.
What else can I do?
Unfortunately, there are two other boys in his group. They are really severe LD so the progress is slow but he needs a different approach, I think.
So, all you experts….. the in the trenches experts…. What can i do? He has a nonverbal IQ of 98 (but lacks background information so he can barely predict words)
He is an awesome boy….. he will be an excellent tax payer some day…. I will appreciate any advice or encouragement.
Thank you
Re: Apraxia
He probably really needs Lindamood-Bell LiPS. Apraxics need the kinesthetic cues.
Is there anyone in his home who could work with him? A home kit is about $500 but, if someone can work with him an hour a day, that can make all the difference.
Nancy
Hi Curious,
I am doing some research that could be relevant to this boy?
I am looking into something called Sub-Vocalisation, which is the ability to imagine sounds in our mind.
Just like Visualisation, where we picture something in our mind.
As you are reading this, you can probably ‘hear the words in your mind’, as you are reading?
That’s Sub-Vocalisation.
But consider the situation, if you couldn’t Sub-Vocalise?
Or maybe just reflect on how you handled the word; Sub-Vocalisation. Which you quite possibly haven’t come across before? As a ‘new word’, you probably sub-vocalised it, and sounded it out in your mind.
But how would you deal with it, if you couldn’t sub-vocalise it?
You might read aloud each phoneme, but that wont help with recalling it. As recall requires Sub-Vocal Rehearsal. Which relates to the Blending of phonemes. Where Sub-Vocal Rehearsal provides a space to practice blending.
Yet you mention his difficulty with ‘memorising words’. But, after memorising a word, how do you retrieve it from memory?
You retrieve the ‘sound of the word’. Sub-Vocalise it.
So I would suggest that this could be his difficulty, where he simply hasn’t learnt to Sub-Vocalise? Which is an ‘acquired skill’.
So perhaps you could ask him if he is able to ‘imagine and hear the sound of words in his mind?’
Or ‘think aloud in his mind’, as someone said.
If this is his difficulty, then I can suggest some simple exercises to help him develop his Sub-Vocalisation. Which just use his favourite songs and rhymes.
I’ll wait for your reply.
Geoff.