Spelling Power for dyslexic child

I have been using Spelling Power for about two months with my 10yo daughter, and we both like it. It’s very easy to administer, and it goes at the child’s pace. We spend about 20 minutes a day on it. The progess is slow but steady, and seems to stick.The activity card pack is not necessary, and is more designed for classroom teaching than homeschooling. We don’t use it, as dd hasn’t seemed to need it.The program goes all the way through 12th grade words, so it will last for awhile! The workbooks are very handy, and I would recommend getting at least one when you start.I bought it because quite a few parents had posted positively about it over a period of several months. It has worked very well for us.Mary: Does anyone use the Spelling Power program from Castlemoyle for their
: dyslexic child?? My ds is REALLY struggling with his spelling..He
: recognizes the word when he sees it and can read it…but is
: having major difficulty with spelling the words…: thanks: ruthann

Hi Mary..Thanks for your reply..Does your 10 yo dd have dyslexia or any LD that would make it more difficult for her to spell?? I just wonder if anything will help his spelling..Right now the spelling issue is causing too many tears/frustration for him AND me..My DH is also dyslexic and he is CONSTANTLY asking me how to spell things..:)thanks again,ruthann

Ruthann,Yes, sorry I forgot to mention it. My dd has moderate dyslexia. She wasn’t reading at all at age 8-1/2 but, thanks to a lot of interventions, is now reading at grade level (4th/5th). Her spelling, however, is still 1st grade level.I kept an example of her spelling from right before we started Spelling Power, to help chart her progress (she had to make up questions about a state). “wuts the histre”, “wuts thar caputol”, “Do tha git a lot av tor its” are all typical.You might want to post over on the Reading bb, as a lot more people read and post over there. That’s where I got a variety of responses to my question about spelling.Mary: Thanks for your reply..Does your 10 yo dd have dyslexia or any LD
: that would make it more difficult for her to spell?? I just wonder
: if anything will help his spelling..Right now the spelling issue
: is causing too many tears/frustration for him AND me..My DH is
: also dyslexic and he is CONSTANTLY asking me how to spell
: things..:): thanks again,: ruthann

Hi Mary..thanks again…So you’ve seen improvements then in your daughter’s spelling with this program?? And how did you improve her reading level so quickly?? My 10 year old boy is reading on a 1stgrade/2nd grade level.ruthann

Hi Ruthann,We’ve only been using Spelling Power for 2 months, so it’s hard to tell for sure. However, she did fine on the review test we did, she’s starting to get more words correct on the first try, and she’s beginning to recognize when a word “looks right” and when it doesn’t (*huge* change for her). It seems to me I am seeing an improvement in her writing also. However, we haven’t been doing much with writing lately so it’s hard to be certain with such a small sample. We are still basically on 1st grade words in Spelling Power (Level A).For the reading, we did Reading Reflex, vision therapy, PACE (http://www.mentalskills.com), and a PG-intensive. She picked up basic decoding pretty fast using Reading Reflex (about 6 weeks). However, although she could decode words up to a 3rd grade level — given unlimited time — her actual reading was so dysfunctional we figured something else was wrong. An evaluation by a developmental optometrist showed severe developmental delays. We did vision therapy for 8 months, which brought her basic vision skills up to age-appropriate levels and helped her reading fluency a little. We then stumbled on PACE and did that for 12 weeks. This is what really refined her visual and auditory processing skills (she was also diagnosied by a SLP with “severely disordered phonological awareness”) and brought about what I would consider “normal” reading for the first time (natural phrasing, reasonable speed, fluency instead of jerkiness). The PG-intensive she did in October taught her advanced code and gave her some word analysis skills, so that she can finally read at grade level.If you haven’t investigated it yet, I would suggest that you invest in Audiblox (http://www.mentalskills.com). This is an inexpensive, home-based programs that tends to help dyslexics a lot.Are you a member of the DyslexiaSupport list? There are a lot of archived messages there regarding Audiblox, PACE, PG, etc. if you want more info. To join, go to http://www.egroups.com.Mary: thanks again…So you’ve seen improvements then in your daughter’s
: spelling with this program?? And how did you improve her reading
: level so quickly?? My 10 year old boy is reading on a 1stgrade/2nd
: grade level.: ruthann

How much is this? Where do you get it? Is it computer based?

The website is http://www.castlemoyle.com. For some reason, the Spelling Power link doesn’t work there. Go to the online catalog and click on Spelling and you’ll find it. The teaching manual is about $50. I also recommend getting at least 1 record book to start — very handy. The activity task cards are overkill for most homeschoolers. The manual explains exactly what to do, describes the research basis for each element of the program, and has word lists that start at Grade 1 and go through Grade 12.It’s not computer based. It’s very easy to do. We spend 20 to 30 minutes per day on it. Once you get used to it, you can spend 5 to 10 minutes with your child, and then the child can spend the rest of the time doing the study work independently. The program is research-based, insofar as the developer (mother of a poor speller) has done extensive research and incorporated multiple strategies that have shown some effectiveness in studies.So, for about $60 up front, you have a spelling program that goes through 12th grade. The real miracles are (1) it’s easy for me to do, and (2) my daughter actually likes it (she doesn’t usually like stuff, but she likes this and Handwriting Without Tears cursive).Mary: How much is this? Where do you get it? Is it computer based?

Hi Mary..I did go to that site (mentalskills.com) but could not anything about Audioblox….What is Audioblox?? I only found info about PACE…Is PACE just a testing tool??ruthann

Oops! Posted the wrong website. Audiblox website is http://www.audiblox2000.comPACE is a cognitive skills training program that involves about 36 hours of one-on-one with a trained tutor and at least the same amount of hours in homework. They offer a testing kit now, I think, but you can get the same testing done by a PACE provider for free.Audiblox is also a cognitive skills training program, but it is done at home. It is not nearly as comprehensive or intensive as PACE, but it’s an excellent program in its own right. The reason I mention Audiblox is that it costs only about $80 to get started (book, video, starter set) while PACE costs >$2,000.Mary: I did go to that site (mentalskills.com) but could not anything about
: Audioblox….What is Audioblox?? I only found info about PACE…Is
: PACE just a testing tool??: ruthann

oh..ok :)thanks Mary..I’ll check it outruthann

ok..I looked at the site and still really don’t understand what the program is?? Do you use it?? and Where does it come from ?? LOLruthann

Do you mean Audiblox? I just posted some long explanatory messages to the DyslexiaSupport list. If you go to http://www.egroups.com and join DyslexiaSupport, you can view archived messages and read the ones about Audiblox.Mary: ok..: I looked at the site and still really don’t understand what the
: program is?? Do you use it?? and Where does it come from ?? LOL: ruthann

Hi Mary..well, I joined the email group, have posted twice and no one has responded to either of my emails..?? But I also am not getting my emails and I should be right?ruthann

Hi Ruthann,I can see your name on the membership list of the group, so you subscribed successfully.If you go to the DyslexiaSupport home page (it should show up under “My Groups”, and you just click on it to go to the home page), in the upper right hand corner is a way to check on your subscription options and modify them. If you subscribed with “web only” messages, you won’t get any emails from the group. Digest version works well for me — you get one email a day containing all messages for the day.The easiest way to post to the group is to send an email to [email protected]. The post option on the homepage is, in my opinion, clunky. Plain email is easier.My posts about Audiblox are a ways back on the message board now. In order to read them, you will have to scroll messages back a page or two.Mary: well, I joined the email group, have posted twice and no one has
: responded to either of my emails..?? But I also am not getting my
: emails and I should be right?: ruthann

hi Mary..I realized what I did wrong…The email address I had was to the “owner” of the list…rather than to @egroups.com…Thanksruthann