Which reading program for 13 year old son?

I am glad V/V is a good program. There's a Lindamood Bell almost an hour away. I'll check into their training.

I've been lurking over at millermom. I'll start a thread! If you give charlotted a heads up, that would be great.

I'll also be checking out all of the suggested books!

I don't have direct experience with Language! My son's school considered adding this to his program, but we kept with OG and Read Naturally. Read Naturally is pretty easy to implement - sounds like you'll be learning a lot of programs, so you might want to start with that. It is a solid program and will compliment Barton well. (make sure you chart and graph progress - it is really important to keep the student motivated!)
Language takes a bit of training and must be implemented with fidelity- If you want more info, I would contact the publisher - I really am not that familiar with the details!!

VV is a great comprehension program. Since you are a teacher, you should have an easy time with the manuals. LMB offers training - you may consider taking a course or two. Perhaps you could tutor and help other kids once you have the time!

As far as home schooling - I know that it is not uncommon for kids with LD. I couldn't do it, but since you are a teacher by profession it might be a good option. I know there are groups that can help bridge the social issues. Check on this site for a home school group.

Also, there is a poster named CharlotteD at another LD forum I visit. If you go over there, she may be able to help you. She posts a bit here, too. But I haven't seen her lately. Here's the site. millermom.proboards.com/index.cgi If you use the same screen name, I'll alert her to your post!

Thank you michellea! You gave me some important information.

I did buy Read Naturally products to work on over the summer. You mention Language! Isn't that the same publisher for Rewards? What is the difference between the two of these programs? Are they economical enough to work on at home? I have also considered buying Lindamood Bell's V/V manuals/workbooks to work on at home.

I recently bought Earobics. Not sure if that will help with any processing/memory issues.

I have considered homeschooling (for at least one year). Any thoughts on that? He is struggling so much this year; he feels completely lost. If he gets some basic skills under his belt, they might help him to understand/use his strengths and weaknesses. Not that it means squat, but I used to teach 6th grade (how little I actually knew in my early 20's). Ironic huh? I would enjoy teaching him; he would miss his friends though.

One more question (I have so many). He can't write in cursive and can't read it either. Does this matter? I understand that just the act of learning and writing cursive is important to make new brain connections. or is it pointless to learn in this day and age?

Thanks again!

Lisa

You ask about conclusions/trends from the testing -
It seems that when a test has a time constraint (GORT), his scores are lower. Tests like the WJ are not timed and he does much better. I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that he does better with words in isolation. It could be that he does better when he is not timed. I wish they gave him the TOWRE Test of word reading efficiency. This is a test that measures the ability to read word lists like the WJ - but it is timed. Often times kids with poor processing speed, working memory or word retrieval skills do better on WJ than TOWRE.

Given his processing and WMI, fluency is likely to be an ongoing problem. Even once decoding skills are taught using LiPS, Barton, OG or the like, he will still need to work on fluency. LANGUAGE! is a reading program that is designed to work in conjunction with an OG based program to improve fluency. Great Leaps and Read Naturally are also well known fluency programs. In general, multiple oral readings of text at or below the student's independent reading level is the way fluency is addressed. LANGUAGE! is a bit different from this approach in that it considers vocabulary, automoticity of recognizing spelling patterns and other techniquest to address fluency.

You ask if his PSI and WMI can be improved. Some people have found that ADHD medication helps to some degree. With my own son, medication does not help his WISC scores in this area, but he is better able to use strategies to compensate for deficits in this area when on meds. He is also dyslexic with ADHD-in.

In addition to your son's reading struggles, you may find that as he gets in the higher grades that he finds it difficult to keep up with Input (teaching) and output (completing assignments) without help. Many kids with your son's profile benefit from extra support that previews and reviews concepts, study skill instruction on how to take notes, organize work, study and complete assignments, and extra supports like copies of classroom notes, more time on tests, alternative ways of demonstrating knowledge (ie. presentations vs papers or orally presented tests). Assistive technology such as laptops can be very helpful.

I agree with teachermom that you should consider to seek medical consult about the ADHD. While medication cannot cure adhd, it offers the best relief from the symptoms. When my son is on meds, he can take advantage of the specialized instruction, he is better at using his strategies, he is more adept at staying on task and filtering out competing distractions.

Only a medical doctor can make a diagnosis and there are many conditions that mimic ADHD. But, the co-morbidity rate of ADHD and LD is very high. The chances are very good that if a kid has LD he or she also has ADHD. Low PSI and WMI are a red flag for ADHD.

In addition to The Myth of Laziness (which I love) I would also recommed:
Straight Talk About Reading and Parenting a Struggling Reader both by Louis Moats
and Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz.