Barton curriculum for dyslexia

[ArmsOfLove]

The more I've researched the more convinced I am that, like DH, the older three children have various presentations of dyslexia.
I asked a friend who has 2 of her 3 children dealing with dyslexia and she highly recommended Barton's curriculum. http://www.dys-add.com/ It's a very expensive program (each level is $250 or $350 depending on the level). But my friend is loaning me level 1 and each level as we need it as long as she's not using it :)

I'm so excited! And I'm wondering if anyone here is using this so that maybe we can ask questions back and forth and encourage one another :heart

[SweetMelissa]

I haven't heard of that curriculum, but I just went to a homeschool conference where one of the speakers, who has worked extensively with children with dyslexia, highly recommended this (http://www.verticalphonics.com/) curriculum. It is very cheap, and apparently very effective. I have also talked to a mom that I know personally who uses it and loves it.

Whatever you end up using, I hope it works wonders for your children's reading success. How awesome that your friend is lending the program to you!

[Heather Micaela]

Interesting. :popcorn

I am convinced there is *some* sort of dyslexia or similar disablity in ds as well, bt haven't been able to get it tested. He can sound out words just fine, but it takes so much effort he cannot comprehend what he has read after he read it. It is just a series of sounds, like : "Blap murk fwip plag noo." I ask, now what did that say? Ds: :shrug

And DH reads so slow I think for the same reason. There is little comprehension

[ArmsOfLove]

wanted to update that only a few lessons in we are loving this! He feels so competent and I'm able to figure out where he's struggling--what sounds he doesn't hear as well, what parts of words are being lost to him AND help him work beyond that! So far this is great!

[Heather Micaela]

can you give some details about what you do. I am fascinated

[knitlove]

can you give some details about what you do. I am fascinated
:yes :popcorn

[ArmsOfLove]

gosh . . . well the whole thing is spelled out for what you're supposed to say and do which nice. I don't follow the script exactly, but I do the lesson exactly if that makes sense.

there are small wooden squares of 4 different colors. So some are red, some blue, some green and some yellow. The first lesson is me saying a two-sound nonsense word (like "ob") and using my hand to emphasize the sounds as I say the word normally, then slowly. He is supposed to pull down blocks for however many sounds he hears. In this case--2. And if he doesn't do it automatically (which he did) I encourage him to have two different colors. And we do this for easy nonsense words up to complicated ones. So I can see how he hears different sounds.

then I pull down 4 blocks--say 2 reds and 2 yellows. I give him two nonsense words ("ob" and "od") and he has to figure out which block represents the sound that has changed and change it to a different color.

Then we did three sound words.

that's as far as we've gotten. And I was able to see patterns in what sounds he is missing (both the phonics and the order in the word).

[Heather Micaela]

very interesting :think

[Stonebeck Farm]

Crystal-

How is the curriculum continuing to work? Are you still pleased with it?

DS (9) is severely dyslexic. We have tried several programs that have not seemed to work. We are making some headway using the exercises from Brain Gym (a local special ed teacher gave me a crash course) and Diane Craft's Brain Integration therapy. We are supposed to start learning juggling as well as his dyslexia seems to be stemming from a visual processing issue (as well as auditory). The teacher said she could see the glitch in the processing just from one simple test she did with him. (Eye Dr has maintained for years there is nothing wrong- gave us glasses this past fall more to appease me than anything else.)

We are continuing to slowly progress through Phonics Pathways adding recommendations from Diane Crafts info.

It seems that each person I talk to recommends a different program. :lol

I did request a list of the testers from the Barton site

[Chris3jam]

Is it phonics based? Everything I've learned so far (ds has severe issues) says that dyslexics cannot learn phonics. It must be whole word based. I would love to learn more about this. So, learning that words are essentially symbols and helping them to connect those seems to be part of what works.

[Quiteria]

I'm fascinated...going to go through and click on all the links and look up everything y'all have mentioned. Thus far, we haven't gone with a dx of dyslexia for dd since her reading comprehension is fairly good, but her spelling is atrocious. So, we've labeled it dysgraphia, but I feel like the phoentic component is so very similar, and she does things that could affect reading, like not crossing the midline well with her eyes.

My brother has recommended the Brain Gym stuff for improving ADHD or SPD...I can't remember, but so many of these things occur together. Makes total sense they would have stuff for improving dyslexia.

Anyhow, thank you for posting!!! If your friend ever wants to sell her curriculum after you're done with it, I'll bet there are mamas here who would jump on it...

---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:34 PM ----------

I haven't heard of that curriculum, but I just went to a homeschool conference where one of the speakers, who has worked extensively with children with dyslexia, highly recommended this (http://www.verticalphonics.com/) curriculum. It is very cheap, and apparently very effective. I have also talked to a mom that I know personally who uses it and loves it.

Whatever you end up using, I hope it works wonders for your children's reading success. How awesome that your friend is lending the program to you!

oooh---I love that the second half of that curriculum includes learning additional sounds by reading the Bible! and they offer pencil grippers!

:giggle ok, I get excited easily. :o

[ArmsOfLove]

this is phonics based and, Chris, they can't learn phonics the traditional way but Aidan is totally learning phonics :) Phonics is the sounds letters make. you can't read if you can't learn the sounds that letters make :shrug3 For the adult portion of the lessons it actually starts out asking if they sound words out or if they just know them. Then it explains how "just knowing them" isn't the best way to read because it's harder to learn new words. I'm going back through box 1 with the rest of my family because they all have dyslexic issues.

As for how it's working now . . . Aidan is reading :jump2

3 letter words with only the A vowel and a handful of consonants but he can make the word when I say it and he can say the word I make :dance

I'm thrilled, and so very proud of him :yes

As for selling them--I know she's been going to extra seminars and such so that she can teach this program professionally when her children graduate so I'm guessing she'll want to keep them ;) The price is the major drawback, but considering how much I've spent on other things (or, rather, I borrowed many but would have spent tons if I didn't have friends with curriculum to borrow) it would be worth it to start with this imo.

[sweetpeasmommy]

My bro and SIL use this for my nephew and they get really excited whenever they talk about it, so it must be pretty good.

[Chris3jam]

this is phonics based and, Chris, they can't learn phonics the traditional way but Aidan is totally learning phonics :) Phonics is the sounds letters make. you can't read if you can't learn the sounds that letters make :shrug3 For the adult portion of the lessons it actually starts out asking if they sound words out or if they just know them. Then it explains how "just knowing them" isn't the best way to read because it's harder to learn new words. I'm going back through box 1 with the rest of my family because they all have dyslexic issues.

As for how it's working now . . . Aidan is reading :jump2

3 letter words with only the A vowel and a handful of consonants but he can make the word when I say it and he can say the word I make :dance

I'm thrilled, and so very proud of him :yes

As for selling them--I know she's been going to extra seminars and such so that she can teach this program professionally when her children graduate so I'm guessing she'll want to keep them ;) The price is the major drawback, but considering how much I've spent on other things (or, rather, I borrowed many but would have spent tons if I didn't have friends with curriculum to borrow) it would be worth it to start with this imo.
"Phonics", as in building the words as you go, sounding out the sounds (that's more of a phonemic awareness), and trying to remember the "rules" ('when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking' -- those types of rules). Ds cannot sound out as he goes. . . he cannot remember the 'rules', and combining the two makes it impossible for him to read. He knows all the sounds of the letters, and I face resistance, since he thinks that anything we try is talking down to him. I would love to see an example or something, but every link I clicked on didn't work. :shrug3 I've read about the Linda-Bell-Mood (? -- I think that's what it is), I've read about "Reading Horizons" and many others, and they all have something that just seems to be a stumbling point for ds.

[Stonebeck Farm]

Crystal thanks for the update. I am awaiting my requested links of evaluators. Congrats to Aiden

We decided to skip the $1000 neurological assessment from the local university brain center because the behavior issues and social issues we were having have dramatically improved. He seemed to be a really slow learner in this area. (Slowly I am learning that with him, he just needs more time than the overage bear in certain areas- in other areas, like math- he excels and already has plans to finish both 4th and 5th grade Singapore Math this year. He is on track to do that ) It seems a lot to pay $1000 to get just a dyslexia diagnosis. I am interested in seeing who Barton recommend’s locally to do the assessment.

I gave DS the Johns Basic Reading Inventory- his comprehension was at the high school level but decoding was back at the beginning. He completed all Reading Made Easy (took 2.5 years) and Pathway Readers Grade 1 but could go no further. He could not transfer what he learned to other print materials. We started Phonics Pathways last year but the going was very slow.... then I heard 4 hours of Diane Craft lectures from the NY state home school convention. I finally got her book. We started with her right brain flashcards- did nothing for DS (but his sister went from a beginning reader to a fluent reader in a month ) I held off to starting the brain integration therapy program until this summer as I wasn't sure about it since everything I read said an Orton Gillingham method was needed (which Barton is one). I wanted to read more first because the special flash cards which should have made a difference, didn't do anything.

Since starting the Brain Integration stuff and using Phonics Pathways with the multisensory activities I read about from various Orton methods and implementing a number of Diane Crafts other reading directives, (listed at her site for reading remediation) we have seen great improvements. I am very intrigued by the Barton curriculum--but since we are seeing so many improvements in reading in just 6 weeks, I am afraid to just switch what we are doing just yet. I want to hear more.

Here is a link to the author of Phonics Pathways http://www.dorbooks.com/about.html (http://www.dorbooks.com/about.html) She is a member of the Orton Dyslexia society---one reason I decided to stay with the book and come up with all my own multisensory additional activities.

I am interested in learning more about the Barton blocks.

Is it phonics based? Everything I've learned so far (ds has severe issues) says that dyslexics cannot learn phonics. It must be whole word based. I would love to learn more about this.

I read many of the articles on the link Crystal provided-- some alluded to what you wrote --"their program addresses this." It is an Orton Gillingham approach.

"
From National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research
Results Released in 1994:

6. Reading evidence does not support the use of "whole language" reading approaches to teach dyslexic children.
7. Reading failure caused by dyslexia is highly preventable through direct, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness.

There is a website I found a year ago that evaluates the different programs. I can't find it right now- I lost the link. But I will look it up. I found it helpful to compare the strenghts and weaknesses of various programs.

Interesting the Barton site has a whole section of things that do not work--including brain gym and supplements! They are working for us. I read quite a bit about Brain Gym before I tried it--it does NOT cure dyslexia, but is used in conjunction with an Orton program. There is quite a bit of double blind research on it and how it readies the brain to learn. We also added scripture to recite while doing the exercises based on the work of Suzanne Day (of Montreal). A friend lent me her video. She is into “re-patterning” while saying “poetry”—ie scripture.

Today DS read all his third grade grammar lesson himself. Like Aiden he is really learning phonics now. (He was 7 before he got rhyming. We started playing games when he was three.) But he still has a long way to go to read what he can understand.

[ArmsOfLove]

I wanted to share what is on the box:

Barton Reading & Spelling System
An Orton-Gillingham Influenced Simultaneously Multisensory Explicit and Systematic Phonics Program


and ds was doing dictation today :rockon