What worked for dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

I'm getting increasingly scared about DC's long-term learning. He's entering third and is shockingly behind in reading and writing. We got a dyslexia and dysgraphia diagnosis this past year and started tutoring mid year. After six months of tutoring and an intensive summer program, he seems to be not much ahead of where he was before. I literally can't read most of what he writes, he mixes up letters and writes things backwards, and his reading is rough (albeit a bit better than his writing).

We moved to a new place and we're hoping to send him to public school, but now I'm worried they won't really be able to support his needs and that he'll increasingly be socially left out and criticized. He's a sweet kid who is well behaved, a great friend, and gets along with everyone. He's creative and smart in other ways. There's a dyslexia school we're considering, and I guess that may need to be what we do, but even so, I'm just not seeing the level of progress we had hoped for. It seems like he's getting farther and farther behind instead of catching up! We're doing tutoring the rest of the summer, but I'm not sure that will change much.

What worked for you? Is there something more we can do? I don't even know what to do at home that would help!

[Anonymous]

It has to be systematic approach, OG and Wilson are the big ones. We did intensive tutoring with an OG trained teacher, daughter grew leaps and bounds, at grade level after 1 year (end of third grade).

Does the child have ADHD? My child would not have learned as much if they weren’t on ADHD meds, something to consider.

[Anonymous]

If planning to go to public school, contact them ASAP for an IEP. This will he will be on the master schedule for reading pull outs.

Trained tutors are expensive, consider contacting ASDEC in Maryland to get one of their tutors. They are highly trained, but it needs to be the right fit for your child.

[Anonymous]

I’m unclear whether or not you are in the DC area, OP?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Not in the DC area anymore.

He does have ADHD-I and we have been trying meds this summer, but so far, they have not helped. I'm hopeful that if we get that right, it will make a big difference. Without that, I'm just not seeing things locking into place anytime soon.

We are working on the IEP but for an annoying vary of possibly illegal reasons, they have not yet allowed us to start the process. Hoping to do so at the beginning of August as soon as they allow us to.

For "intensive" tutoring, what did that involve? How many hours/days a week? We were doing Wilson two times a week this past half year. We're doing 3 times a week during the rest of the summer.

Any tips of what to do at home?

[Anonymous]

You want to go visit that dyslexia school 😁

[Anonymous]

Do Nessy reading program at home

[Anonymous]

OP can you afford private? I've seen that be beneficial

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Not in the DC area anymore.

He does have ADHD-I and we have been trying meds this summer, but so far, they have not helped. I'm hopeful that if we get that right, it will make a big difference. Without that, I'm just not seeing things locking into place anytime soon.

We are working on the IEP but for an annoying vary of possibly illegal reasons, they have not yet allowed us to start the process. Hoping to do so at the beginning of August as soon as they allow us to.

For "intensive" tutoring, what did that involve? How many hours/days a week? We were doing Wilson two times a week this past half year. We're doing 3 times a week during the rest of the summer.

Any tips of what to do at home?

PP: Maybe you need a new program or new tutor. Some programs work better for different kids.

It can be frustrating to find the right meds, keep it at. I believe it made a huge difference in our child’s ability to learn and retain information.

Intensive: 3 times a week 1h, for the whole school year. I am a big proponent of early intervention. At school, intervention was 3times a week for 30 minutes, do not rely on the school to mitigate things. I consider what they do at school a bonus.

If you can afford a dyslexia school, I would seriously consider.

[Anonymous]

Can you homeschool and do an 1 hour and a half a day of reading and writing with a systematic approach. Wilson is good for older readers. You have until ages 10-12 to remediate. Then it becomes much harder. This year is critical. For writing, teach him how to type. Public school is fairly worthless for remediation.

[Anonymous]

Orton -gillingham

[Anonymous]

OG private tutor with 4 one-hour sessions per week.

If you can afford private school on top of that, small class sizes help.

Good luck, it’s not easy but kids can do well in school/life with the early supports.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We can afford the dyslexia private if we're careful about other expenses and don't save much for retirement. It only goes through the end of elementary, with the middle school and high school options here being more limited in terms of specific dyslexia schools. Part of my hesitation is that now seems like the best shot of public school working. If he goes to this tiny dyslexia private, I can't see him walking on into a huge public middle school, even if we are lucky enough to get him close to grade level in reading. I worry that means even more and more expensive private school after that. I guess we can take it a year at a time, though. My other thought is that now is the best time to invest and try to get his level up so he's not even farther behind later.

[Anonymous]

It is best to intervene as early and intensively as possible. It only gets harder to remediate. “Standard” Wilson intervention is three 1-hour sessions per week. Anything less is really just maintenance. Intensive intervention is five 1-hour sessions per week.

Private Dyslexia school can help in elementary because all subjects are taught in dyslexia- friendly way. They also tend to work on executive function skills and writing alongside reading. But that will depend a lot on the school. You want to understand their curriculum, intervention, and teacher qualifications. The school should also be able to share outplacement.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the other posters who suggested you find a new tutor and increase the frequency of the sessions. Four to five times/week is ideal over the summer, to get kids as caught up as possible before the next school year starts. Find a tutor who follows the Science of Reading (including a strong phonological program plus OG-type tutoring for the phonics). Zoom tutoring with Kids Up Reading Coaches works really well.