Homeschooling moms.. I need advice

[Drivegirl54]

Hey guys, thought I would throw this out here for some advice. Weird place for it...

I have a 9 year old with dyslexia. LSS, she came to us 6 months ago from a very bad environment and needs 1 on 1 instead of public school. I'm looking for curriculum for her and have decided to either go Alpha Omega Switched on Schoolhouse or Lifepac. Maybe even a mix of both.
Anyone out there who uses these? If so, how do you like them?
Thanks!!

 

[Chickenmaven]

I've got more book learnin' than common sense; I usually think I can figure most things & I wouldn't touch this one. I think you need to consult with an expert that works with dyslexics. I know that we all enjoy BYC for the access to many well-considered opinions, a little armchair psychology and folk remedies, but in this case my vote is for the paid expert. Maybe your ISD could help?

Best of luck to you. That child is fortunate to have you in her life!

 

[mommathea]

I've used both programs. The lifepacs are nice because of the smaller books rather than 1 huge book is nice in the way that it doesn't overwealm the child by seeing a huge book that has to be finished.
With dislexia I would recommend the lifepacs because of how hard it is to focus on words on the screen. Switched On does have vocal reading ofcorse but none of the questions are read outloud, and can cause the child to overwealmed.

 

[Drivegirl54]

Quote:
Thanks! The lady at AO said that kids with reading issues benefit more from SOS b/c they read it out loud but I was thinking that she would still have to read it off of the screen so I totally agree with you. The more my husband and I look at it, the Lifepac is making the most sense. However, they did get some bad reviews for not having a lot of content.

Chickenmaven- We got the idea to homeschool from her Psychologist after he began her testing. The schools here don't recognize dyslexia as a learning disability, therefore they won't work with us. She's a blessing!

 

[farmerlor]

Just another thought to throw out there at ya. We have several kids with a whole spectrum of special needs that we adopted and now homeschool. My son has a LOT of difficulty with reading and one program that was recommended for him was Reading Without Tears. I saw that it was used for dyslexia as well as other processing problems. You may want to arrange to get that in addition to whatever program you eventually decide on.

 

[horsejody]

My daughter is dyslexic. She wasn't homeschooled. She learned at a very good rural public school. At first we lived in a bigger town and the school was horrible. Then when she was in 2nd grade we moved to the more rural area. The special ed teacher was great there. DD only spent a little while in the spec ed room every day. In a few months she went from not reading at all to reading on a 3rd grade level.

There are different types of dyslexia. I'm sure that different methods work better for different kids. One of the things that DD was taught to do was to take an index card and cut a hole in just big enough to see one word at a time. That was a very helpful tool for her because it limited the amount of letters to be scrambled at one time. The teacher didn't teach her to see differently. She taught her to think differently. She had to learn to quickly identify words by their letters in any order. She was taught to determine what word it most likely was based on the letters and the context of the sentence and to do it quickly. By the end of the school year she could read as fast or faster than any of her class mates.

BTW. DD graduated from college in December. She got her 4 year degree with a double major in 3 1/2 years. She is now considering getting her masters degree. Dyslexia is not a disability. It's just an obstacle.

Good luck!

 

[Wynette]

I have no experience w/dyslexia, but horsejody....WOW!

 

[mommathea]

Quote:
Thanks! The lady at AO said that kids with reading issues benefit more from SOS b/c they read it out loud but I was thinking that she would still have to read it off of the screen so I totally agree with you. The more my husband and I look at it, the Lifepac is making the most sense. However, they did get some bad reviews for not having a lot of content.

With the content, it is simplified, but with each book in the subject pac it covers all the info and knowledge that a "reglular" text book would. Some forget that you can get the same amount of learning from fewer words as you can more words.

And with the lifepac, as was mentioned by the AO lady, it can be read outloud.
I also second the pp about taking a index card and cutting a word whole out if it. It does help.


Also off topic - My sister is dislexic (and was homeschooled - as was all of us kids, and now I homeschool my children) Her dr recomended piano lessons as part of visual therapy. It helps them to be able to see- read in line the notes while hearing the order on the keyboard.

 

[hoosier]

I don't have kids, but I have noticed a homeschooling section on the SufficientSelf Forum. Maybe you could get some info there.

 

[Parson's Wife]

I bought SOS this year for my daughter, tried it a coupla days, hate it. However, I have a great friend who recommended it....and they love it!
Bought Abeka...will not change again. (I've been using Abeka from the beginning - - -K )