dyslexia//what can i do for ds?

[shyla01]

hello all. my ds who is 8, has finally had his assessment and we have been told he is definately dyslexic. i have been aware of his problems since he was in nursery so i am not surprised. im more relieved than anything.

my main concern is that when i asked what i could do to help at home, their answer was to just encourage him and to make sure we dont call him thick. tbh i was hoping for some more practical advise! i mean, as if i would ever call my darling boy thick!

is there any good programmes that i could buy for us to do together at home? anyone got any experience they could share. what has worked for you?

i should add that ds is 8+9yrs and has a reading and writing ages of 6+1 yrs and he also has below average sequential memory. i am waiting for the ed psyc. report to be sent to me but they were they main issues. everything else they tested was average or just above.

any advice is gratefully recieved and am off to google like mad!
xx

[teamcullen]

hi shyla, I have two boys one aged 10, who cant write and only just got better at reading the past 18 months. He has not been diagnosed with dyslexia but I strongly think he is.

DS2 is 7 and has similar problems although this is caused by Irlens syndrome.

We signed them both up to a web based programme called Easyread to help wih their reading and specialise in helping dyslexic children read. Its very fun and lessons are short in order to build confidence. They get prizes at regular interals, which keeps them interested. It has loads of information to read through on the site and also a taster lesson so you can see what you think. I have been very impressed with the programme over the past 6 weeks.

Ive also been looking at this which is much cheaper and covers reading, spelling dictation and memory. Its endorsed by dyslexia action and I think they use it as a tool when they are teaching. However it doesnt look as much fun and I think it would be harder to get the DCs to do it regulary.

[Sandy22]

shyla01: my son is also dyslexic - he does a lot of extra work at school so at home I try to play games (memory games) and his visual verbal and sequential memory tests were particularly low. He still can't do the days of the weeks,month or alphabet so I have stuck these up around his wall.

[aprilflowers]

He will love wordshark - a computer programme that help children with all sorts of reading difficulties love.
www.bdastore.org.uk/

Also look at the Nessie programmes
//www.bdastore.org.uk/

Get him to learn touch typing.
When he is older he may well use a laptop in secondary school.
I think all children should learn to touch type by the way but it is especially useful for dyslexic children.

Join the national listening library.
You can order all the latest and classic children's books which he can listen to in the car or at bedtime etc. It will ensure his vocabulary and creative thinking is enriched

At school ensure he is following a specific, individual, structured reading and writing programme. A reading assistant hearing him read is not enough . Insist on this - he needs specific help now so the gap will not be come wider.

The Dyslexic Institute and British Dyslexic Association have specific reading programmes.

[yesitsme]

My DS is severly dyslexic and has been using the 'toe by toe' reading programme at home and school which was reccommended by the Ed Psyc, he has a specialist Dyslexia trained tutor who comes into school who also does his 'toe by toe' with him.

[Sandy22]

yesitsme: I bought the toe-by-toe book from Waterstones last September and after some arguing with the school I finally got them to use it with my ds. He now has it 10mins daily with one of the senco teachers - have you seen any improvement with your DS? Also would you mind telling me your DS age?

[yesitsme]

Hi Sandy My DS is in Y6 he is nearly 11 and has been doing Toe by toe for about a year. It has helped him learn how to break words down and his reading has improved but it is a very slow process. It needs to be done everyday but I find my DS is so tired and drained after school it is unfair to ask him to do more, School have recently allocated him a TA to do it with him during the day which makes things easier.
We struggle with the desire to help him learn and not wanting to force him to do stuff after school when he's tired and had enough for the day.

[Sandy22]

Hi Yesitsme: I fully understand what you mean, my ds comes home really tired and the school say he is doing a lot of extra things. He is in Year 3 so hopefully the toe-by-toe will have time to work before he goes to high school. Also after coming home from work myself the last thing I want is to get annoyed because my ds doesn't want to do his homework.