I’m posting this for a friend homeschooling her 15 yr old. He can read pretty close to grade level but cannot spell. He’s been doing one on one with an exellent LB tutor. He knows his phonetic system very well and is making some progress with Seeing Stars but very, very slow and limited. Would Orton-Gillingham be the next step from here? Is this called dyspraxia. Anyone have any suggestions. She’s worried about being able to graduate him with all the standardized test hoopla.
Re: 15 yr old Boy who can read but not spell
Is he on an IEP? A specific learning disability is in written language and would probably have a discrepancy if he is able to read on grade level. Within the writing of the IEP the stipulation for alternate methods for written expression could be outlined. A possible scribe could be used.
Re: 15 yr old Boy who can read but not spell
He is homeschooled and receiving LB tutoring, so I’d assume he’s not on an IEP.
Janis
Re: 15 yr old Boy who can read but not spell
Spelling almost always lags ‘way behind the reading, for a number of very valid reasons (beginning with that it’s always easier to understand something than to be able to come up with it yourself, on your own — it’s easier to “decode” than “encode.”)
Orton-Gillingham and LB are close cousins, so O-G would not be a “next step,” though there may be some O-G spelling resources that would be useful, as might the AVKO materials. LB has “Seeing Stars” for spelling, which brings in taking a mental picture of a word to using phonics to figure out the feasible spellings. SHe might want to ask the tutor if she’s thought about spending some extra time with Seeing Stars or just spending extra time on spelling.
Re: 15 yr old Boy who can read but not spell
Sorry it’s been so long since I was able to check this board. The tutor is doing mostly Seeing Stars. His phonics are OK. It’s frustrating for the Mom and tutor since this seems to be the only gap. The Seeing Stars is helping but he’s still only spelling at maybe 3rd grade level whereas his reading is pretty much at grade level. Think Mom is worrying about graduating him and passing any state exams if his spelling is so bad. He is brilliant at math and engineering and recently designed a working robot for the county science fair. (Was winning hands down too-until the band used as the drive belt broke.)
No, he would not need Orton-Gillingham if he is working with a Lindamood-Bell tutor. I have read many people say that it is very difficult to remediate spelling at that age, however, she might want to try AVCO Spelling which should at least help. I have seen Sequential Spelling 1 and 2 for Adults recommended for older teens rather than the set of seven books. The author is very friendly and is glad to answer questions.
http://www.spelling.org/Default.htm
Janis