When Child Is Too Dyslexic for Dyslexia School?!? Help!

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend intensive older-elementary-aged tutoring programs or summer programs in NoVA or DC for intensive dyslexia remediation? This is for a child with *profound* dyslexia (3 grade levels behind) with severe language retention, processing, and memory weakness. No behavioral problems. Sweet kid. But obviously frustrated and has developed a low frustration tolerance due to trauma from public school and also Covid/virtual.

Child is currently enrolled in a private school that specializes in language-based learning disabilities, but administrators are concerned about lack of progress and are not sure they can provide sufficient services anymore.

We are at a loss about what to do bc child is already in a private special Ed school, is getting privately tutored 2x a week, OT twice a week, and speech therapy 1x a week and is still functionally illiterate. Public school was a disaster and left DC emotionally in shambles.

Help!

[Anonymous]

I’m so sorry, OP. I’m dyslexic and my son is dyslexic and it’s really, really hard.

Do you know that your son is getting effective OG tutoring at school? Twice a week tutoring is great, but that is only enough if he also getting a goodly amount of OG tutoring at school too. Are they providing the services he needs? It is a dyslexia-focused school, right?

Maybe consult another school? I know there aren’t too many, but there are a couple in DC, in Annapolis, and in Baltimore.

Hang in there. The combo of dyslexia and memory deficits is brutal (my son and I have that too) and it makes school torture. After school it is just a minor inconvenience, but you’ve got to get him through schooling with his soul intact, and that’s hard. Sending you a fierce hug.

[Anonymous]

You need to enroll you child in LMB.

[Anonymous]

I've heard good things about the Lab School's summer program (unless that's already where you are). Would your child qualify for an AHDH dx on the off chance that stimulants would help with attention and retention??? Just throwing things out there. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Linder offers OG to all kids and has made my child like school again. Multiple kids have jumped grade levels in reading/writing.

[Anonymous]

My child was more than 2 years behind so we ruled out Siena. We went all in with lab and it was a very slow process but after 2 years started to see significant growth. After year 3 - I had a child who likes to read for pleasure!!
We contemplated LMB - but after talking to them it did not feel right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to enroll you child in LMB.

I do not have personal experience, but heard that this is best program money can buy, but at ~$20K it was not in the cards for us.

I would reach to ASDEC and see if they have any tutors available and do 2 hours of tutoring a day during the summer.

If you have not done a full educational testing, I would recommend getting that done first. Second, have you ruled out any hearing or eyesight problems?

In our case, the issue was partially due to hearing loss. Did not get diagnosed until I requested a hearing test. Child passed newborn hearing test, no concerns about hearing from school. I noticed child could not distinguish certain sounds.

[Anonymous]

ASDEC’s Sounds In Syllables is a 2-3 year program, and it’s sorta the last resort. Very structured. It’s a major commitment but it does work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child was more than 2 years behind so we ruled out Siena. We went all in with lab and it was a very slow process but after 2 years started to see significant growth. After year 3 - I had a child who likes to read for pleasure!!
We contemplated LMB - but after talking to them it did not feel right.

OP here. We looked at Lab but it was $20k more a year than the other alternative dyslexia schools. So we enrolled DC in one of the others. But now I’m wondering if we made the right decision. $45k vs $65k a year after speech and OT is a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to enroll you child in LMB.

I do not have personal experience, but heard that this is best program money can buy, but at ~$20K it was not in the cards for us.

I would reach to ASDEC and see if they have any tutors available and do 2 hours of tutoring a day during the summer.

If you have not done a full educational testing, I would recommend getting that done first. Second, have you ruled out any hearing or eyesight problems?

In our case, the issue was partially due to hearing loss. Did not get diagnosed until I requested a hearing test. Child passed newborn hearing test, no concerns about hearing from school. I noticed child could not distinguish certain sounds.

OP here. Thank you. We have not explored LMB or ASDEC yet. Yes DC has been tested by a pediatric opthamologist (all good) and a pediatric audiologist (also fine) bc they also had severe articulation delays. speech therapy has helped tremendously and DC has nearly normal speech now but it’s taken 6 years of speech therapy since age 3-4 via Child Find in prek to get there. But the reading just isn’t clicking. They just can’t retain language and are still having a lot of trouble with letter reversals in very simple words like “bid”/“did” and “was/saw” “on/no”. They can read those words consistently when when they are in the same sentence. Like “the dog was glad he saw a log.” The child is now 10 and would have trouble reading that sentence. After YEARS of IEP support, special private school, tutoring, and interventions.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Sorry.

They just can’t retain language and are still having a lot of trouble with letter reversals in very simple words like “bid”/“did” and “was/saw” “on/no”. They can *NOT* read those words consistently *EVEN* when they are in the same sentence.

Like “the dog was glad he saw a log.”

The child is now 10 and would have trouble reading that sentence. After YEARS of IEP support in public, special private school for two years, tutoring, and interventions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend intensive older-elementary-aged tutoring programs or summer programs in NoVA or DC for intensive dyslexia remediation? This is for a child with *profound* dyslexia (3 grade levels behind) with severe language retention, processing, and memory weakness. No behavioral problems. Sweet kid. But obviously frustrated and has developed a low frustration tolerance due to trauma from public school and also Covid/virtual.

Child is currently enrolled in a private school that specializes in language-based learning disabilities, but administrators are concerned about lack of progress and are not sure they can provide sufficient services anymore.

We are at a loss about what to do bc child is already in a private special Ed school, is getting privately tutored 2x a week, OT twice a week, and speech therapy 1x a week and is still functionally illiterate. Public school was a disaster and left DC emotionally in shambles.

Help!

This sounds like a kid who needs something like Katherine Thomas.
https://ttlc.org/services/the-katherine-thomas-school/

[Anonymous]

What happens with comprehension when a book is read to them?

[Anonymous]

At that cost, it may be worth fighting with the school district to get them to agree that private school is the proper placement, which means they would pay for it. There are kids at these schools whose districts pay for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Sorry.

They just can’t retain language and are still having a lot of trouble with letter reversals in very simple words like “bid”/“did” and “was/saw” “on/no”. They can *NOT* read those words consistently *EVEN* when they are in the same sentence.

Like “the dog was glad he saw a log.”

The child is now 10 and would have trouble reading that sentence. After YEARS of IEP support in public, special private school for two years, tutoring, and interventions.

My college grad still mixes who and how. The brain is so weird. Keep trying OP. He will improve.