Skip to main content

Help me to help this child

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

Thank you Janis and Eileen for the help you have been in the past. I now have been in my DD classroom for a little over a month. Rather than purchase new programs my school wants me to use existing programs that are being used in the district……….Distar(?) SRA and Symphonics(?). I have even been told that you can’t beat the Open Court program that is in use in our regular classes. I don’t know anything about either of these programs and if I am going to have to learn a program without training I had just as soon learn one that worked! I was wanting the Phono-graphix reading program; however, I can’t seem to convince anyone that is what we need to do. A lot of the children who come to me simply cannot read. They are able to sound out the letters but are unable to put the sounds together to create the word. I have one little girl who is 6 and tested low on the PIAT-R in all areas who refuses to put the initial sound on a word. She knows the remainder of the word but ignores the beginning sound. She also may look at the picture in her reading book and make up a word, though it may be a word we just decoded in the same sentence. What is this???? She has never had a full scale evaluation and I am in the process of referring her for one. She had a spelling test on Thursday and the regular ed teacher said she became so frustrated she cried. The spelling words were words like, in, an, am…………Please HELP!!!!!

Linda

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 09/21/2003 - 1:10 PM

Permalink

The book Reading Reflex which contains the Phonographix method is very inexpensive and can be picked up at book stores. You really can use just that and don’t need to make a huge investment. Some of the teachers on this board have purchased this book on their own and are using it.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 09/23/2003 - 11:22 PM

Permalink

Try a system which is multileveled, multi-sensory, and works with any text. It is also direct help for any word that is a problem for the langarts student. Go to 1stbooks.com and read about THE SOUNDS OF WORDS. Many students have learned to read using this method. [email protected]

Submitted by Janis on Wed, 09/24/2003 - 10:29 PM

Permalink

Hi, Linda. I am sorry I am just now seeing your post.

I think I’d use this strategy. Copy off an article from this site that explains the kind of reading program that kids in special ed. need. Explain that the current research supports the use of particular kinds of programs.

http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/reading_approaches.html

It conveniently mentions PG! But I’d be satified with any on this list as long as they’d send me to the training. PG would be easiest to do without training.

Open Court is fine for a regular ed. classroom. The other programs are not on any lists that I have seen lately.

Seriously, I would just buy Reading Reflex and one copy of the Parent Support Book to show you what lessons to do. And of course, that IS what I have done as no one has paid for my training or materials! But I refuse to teach with ineffective methods. No one really cares what I use as long as I pay for it myself.

If you decide to use PG, you can email me and I’ll give you some more suggestions.

Janis

Back to Top