Please... Need Help with LD Programs!!! Thanks

[lmnop]

Hi All,

I am a single mother and I am desperately looking for ways to help my 10 year old son (4th grade). He has been able to read since I can remember. He has been in gifted education since 1st grade but it wasn't until the 3rd grade that we began to notice that he had issues with reading. More specifically, following directions with multiple steps, drifting attention when listening, understanding the main idea or concept of a lesson or story, off topic comments or answers, when retelling something he read the information is out of order, he needs a lot of prompting, his short term memory is poor and his comprehension is nearly non-existent.

On the positive side, he is well behaved, he can read well aloud, he has an extensive vocabulary, he is an excellent speller, he is high average to superior in Math calculation and reasoning, and if necessary he will repeatedly do his work without complaining.

Earlier this school year, we had him tested by the school and he was diagnosed with a language impairment. The results of the test found a weaknesses in his working memory, his ability to remember and retrieve, semantics usage, his expressive and receptive language, and that his comprehension is adversely affected by an increase in length and complexity.

He is currently receiving 60mpw of speech/language services but I don't see an improvement. I am so frustrated with the school. I found out online that his school district may have a lot of these programs but no one has said anything. He just started with a tutor for 1hr/2tx per week but I now believe the money would be better spent in one of these programs. So far, his grades are very poor this year and I refuse to let them put him in a regular class because if he isn't getting what he needs educationally I am of the opinion that it doesn't matter if he is in basic, regular or gifted classes. He would fail.

I am thinking of trying Earobics (so far he likes the free games on the site), BrainBuilder, IdeaChain, Fast ForWord and/or the V/V program at home. I would administer the programs to him. Over the last 2-3 days I have experimented with graphic organizers and he seems to be responding well.

I am thinking I need something to help him with listening, following directions, memory, attention, word recall, comprehension and cognitive reasoning.

Can someone please suggest an appropriate program or programs to help him at a reasonable cost (< $1,500) because I am unemployed right now and I would like to begin asap.

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it.

[Momto2Ns]

My son is gifted (IQ 150) and could read at a very early age (started at 2.5). When he was 8 we did fast forward and IM (interactive metronome) along with some other training for visual/auditory processing. We did 5 days/week, 1-2 hours per day for almost the entire school year for about $3,000 as I recall. It was a package deal and we got a bargain because they guaranteed certain progress for the price and it took him longer to get through certain parts :D

Anyway, my son never had any real trouble with reading, but FF at that time may have been what kept him on track with finding main ideas (hard for him), sequencing and retelling stories. IM and the other processing stuff was great for him too. We did speech through public schools all along, but never got much help from it. OT was much more helpful. They worked on motor planning and that helped with sequencing in the educational setting.

[Dobela]

Have you looked at Brainware Safari? I don't know if this is quite what you are looking for but I thought I would mention it. It specifically addresses cognitive skill areas of attention,visual processing, auditory processing, sensory integration, memory, and thinking.



The regular website is at https://www.brainwareforyou.com/ for more information. I have friends that say it helped reading skills a great deal. You can also order it for $79 from Homeschool Co-op if you are interested.

https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=897


If you are looking for specifics for reading, Steck Vaughn publishers, Remedia Publications, and BrightApple.com have lots of good products to work on specific areas of weakness in reading and other subjects like comprehension, main idea, sequencing, and so on.

I also second looking into other therapies. OT helped my son tremendously with motor sequencing. His OT recommended we play board/card games often that require several steps per turn as well.

[HeidiD]

Hi All,


I am thinking I need something to help him with listening, following directions, memory, attention, word recall, comprehension and cognitive reasoning.

Can someone please suggest an appropriate program or programs to help him at a reasonable cost (< $1,500) because I am unemployed right now and I would like to begin asap.

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it.


For memory - "No-Glamour Memory", published by Linguisystems.

For comprehension and cognitive reasoning - Visualizing and Verbalizing workbooks. I have the grade 4 set and each lesson includes sentence by sentence analysis of an interesting paragraph, vocabulary, putting the details in order, critical thinking questions, and ends with writing a short story.

Brainbuilder and Earobics - the Earobics is geared to younger kids and the Brainbuilder is kind of creepy - a blinking eye and weird music. Unfortunately didn't go over well with my 10 yo, although I may give it another try in future.

For listening and following directions - "A Metacognitive Program For Treating Auditory Processing Disorders" (publisher is Pro-Ed). This program is designed for auditory processing disorders but some of the exercises are for developing attention, listening and language, some are for developing visualization techniques for language, and it contains an appendix of metacognitive strategies for improving reading comprehension. Some of the exercises are similar to those in Brainbuilder and V/V.

Teacher Related Resources - "Main Idea" grade 4 and "Mysteries For Writing and Critical Thinking" grades 4-8.

[beth in md]

Heidi, you mentioned the workbooks for Visualizing and Verbalization. Can these be used without buying the teacher's manual for V/V or are they self explanatory?

[HeidiD]

Heidi, you mentioned the workbooks for Visualizing and Verbalization. Can these be used without buying the teacher's manual for V/V or are they self explanatory?


The manual provides an overview and instructions for applying the method up to whole page imaging and writing - you might want to get it later if you like the program after trying out the workbooks. In the grade 4 workbooks, the focus is only on more basic two-sentence imaging.

The V/V computer CD (an animated format that provides further practice) combined with the workbooks would be a good value for your $$.

[Dobela]

The manual provides an overview and instructions for applying the method up to whole page imaging and writing - you might want to get it later if you like the program after trying out the workbooks. In the grade 4 workbooks, the focus is only on more basic two-sentence imaging.

The V/V computer CD (an animated format that provides further practice) combined with the workbooks would be a good value for your $$.
Where can these be purchased at?

[ElizabethB]

Does he understand better when he reads aloud than when he reads silently?

[HeidiD]

Where can these be purchased at?


I got them from Gander Publishing:
http://www.ganderpublishing.com/search.php?mode=search&page=1

[dtsmamtj]

Heide -

I just got my new Gander Publishing catalog in the mail and noticed the V/V cd for the first time. This past winter I ordered the V/V manual and started going through it myself in hopes of implimenting it this spring. I never thought about using "just" the workbooks alone, but am encouraged by your comments. So you think it would be possible to use both the workbooks and the cd with my son? If so, how do I figure out what workbook to start him at? He currently does 4/5 grade work for the most part. Thank you very much for any help you can pass my way.

T

[HeidiD]

how do I figure out what workbook to start him at? He currently does 4/5 grade work for the most part. Thank you very much for any help you can pass my way.

T


Just a guess, but maybe start with grade 4, so you could concentrate on the thinking processes the program aims to develop, rather than on the additional task of reading words that might be difficult or unfamiliar?

The books for grade 4 are: A-Sentence by Sentence, B-Sentence by Sentence and Multiple Sentences and C-Multiple Sentence, Whole Paragraph, and Paragraph by paragraph. Unfortunately I don't have grade 5 to compare them with, but I do have grade 6, and the format is the same. The difference is in the vocabulary, sentence complexity and the degree of detail.

I really like these workbooks a lot. They incapsulate the info in the manual into a practical lesson format. We're using them for the "verbalizing" part (my son has a language disorder but doesn't seem to have problems with visual imagery). They've been really effective in helping him organize and communicate his thoughts/images.

The cd I have is the blue one - grades 3-6. Unfortunately I find that I have to sit with him at the computer while he's using it. :tongue_smilie: I like it for the additional reinforcement and also for auditory practice. Hope this helps.

[dtsmamtj]

Heidi -

Thank you. I contacted Gander Publishing to see if I could get a sample of books 4 and 5.

T

[beth in md]

Please post here what you hear from Gander about the samples. I am very interested as well! Thanks,

Beth

[dtsmamtj]

They don't have samples. They said that they guarantee a return within 30 days. They said the books are based on "reading levels" not "comprehension levels." So say my son reads at a 4th grade level I should start him in level 4, etc. They also said that it isn't recommended to skip 4a and start him in 4b, etc. HTH

T