Moondog, some feedback on Headsprout

[tiredmummyoftwo]

Moondog, just to let you know we have started headsprout with DS. He is on episode 4 at the moment and it has become very hard for him to follow the instructions. He still does not understand exclusions (he is 5.3) and have found it very hard to follow instructions like 'click on see and if does not say see click on the arrow'. He is able to point to the right word when we ask him to, but the instructions on the programme is very hard for even NT DD, so I am not surprised DS is finding it hard. I wonder how other people are getting on with headsprout.

Have you come across a set of games called neurogames? I was reccomended them by a friend. They are an small independant UK based games company, so all verbal instructions are with UK pronunciation and their really simple to use. Might be worth looking at their website, www.neurogames.co.uk.

You can buy them amazon for around £20. I found them great for my 4 year girl who had difficulties with learning to read and basic maths.

We had the same problem, I had to try and translate for ds1 but the language very quickly became too much for him.

Also he didn't 'get' the inbuilt rewards iyswim so would quite happily press the wrong button to watch someone go back to the beginning (he doesn't care whether he finishes a level or not). I would have liked to have a mistake make him stand still rather than constantly go back (esp as he was doing it wrong on purpose a lot of the time - laughing as he did it, or sometimes he was just being dyspraxic).

Hi
This is a BIG issue and one we have spent a lot of time dealing wuith as part of our research as the ability to respond appropriately to this is a central part of headsprout (and indeed without getting too heavy, an essential aspect of a programme based on behavioural theory).

We got over it by taking it out of the programme and doing it as a table top activity using TAGteach (look that up) as a marker for the child to know they had responded appropriately. They then moved back to the programme.

I am talking about kids with significant difficulties who managed successfully with this additional input. However it is to be expected that many kids will have trouble with this and headsprout has an inbuilt error correction system (ie it expects errors to be made and adjusts accordingly)

daft question but is there just one version of headsprout @ headsprout.com or is a UK IRL somewhere (thinkng ahead for Uk spellings)

just one version. we've done first forty lessons and certainly at that level American spellings weren't ever an issue (probably the sort of readily phonetic words that it is focussed on wouldn't tend to be ones with different spelllings iyswim)

There were lots of times that we had to take ds 'out' of headsprout and focus on the bits that he didn't get. We also had to be incredibly patient in the early episodes when it felt we were getting nowhere and just stick with it and even though it felt we weren't progressing repeat episodes and repeat and repeat.

The biggest mistake you could ever make however is to compensate for the lack of instruction understanding and prompt or do it for him, even though it feels like it is missing the point because the instruction thing isn't actually reading iyswim. If you do that, or help in any way except for additional work outside of HS or with additional reinforcement 'i.e. one more friend ds and then we can play with the helicopter, - come on pay attention nearly there' etc. then it will fall apart as you progress.

I don't think Headsprout is a stand alone tool. I think it can be, but for ds it was something that we could hinge his learning on and direct it, rather than take over it iyswim.

We are currently using clicknread for basic phonics/early reader instruction. It's cheap, predicatable and allows you to repeat each lesson as many times as you like with no hassle which DS asks to do from time to time. He sudeenly want to revise a specific sound a month or two late often cos his teacher has used a new word from that family at school & this programme allows for that. While he's at the stage of learning very basic spellings this is a handy feature. Now school is settled we are plodding away nicely again with this programme, after all the upset in year 2 threw everything out of the window for months.

Then I predict we'll need a space to just read books/do roy the zebra/play hangman for a couple of months before cracking on with the reading comprehension product after easter/this summer.

It's not cheap so I need to be sure of getting the desired benefits with the comprehension product - is it easy to repeat lessons at will or do you have to have to ask permission?

my ds (5 - ASD) got on much better with Reading Eggs than Headsprout. It might be worth a look? You can get a 2 week trial for free anyway.