5 year old with Dyslexia...suggestions please?

A little late but, here you go. Readplease.com or Balabolka (see my blog for download links, they are freeware) has helped me, have the child type his name and then allow him to hear it and see it. The quicker you teach him to type the faster he will master the world of the written world.

You must see Dr. Harold Levinson of New York. He can cure your daughter like he did my son. He is a neurologist and psychiatrist and dyslexic himself and has written over 13 books and multiple papers on dyslexia and he has breakthrough treatments. He has treated over 35,000 patients in his 35 + year career. Please google him. I am on his web site under Multi media with my son from 1996. He treated my son( John) in 1996 when John was 11 years old and in Grade 6. John went from a Grade 2 reading level to a Grade 5 reading level in 3 weeks and a grade 6 reading level in 3 months using Dr. Levinson's medications which are very simple and showed very dramatic results. I am a Special Education teacher and I had my son tested every three weeks by his Special Education teacher in Grade 6 when he started his medications and his reading and spelling and math levels had amazing results and are all documented. John is now 26 and has 2 college diplomas. When John was in grade 4 he could not even recognize the word "the". His teacher and I were at a loss. I also found an eye doctor who gave John prism lenses in eye glasses which were for a binocular focal point misalignment which was corrected in Grade 4. I urge you to read Dr. Levinson's book "Smart But Feeling Dumb" and then implore you to go to him. I have sent many clients to him over the years and they have all been amazed at their child's improvement. His medications really do work and your child will learn to read and gain incredible self confidence.
I also recommend the computer program Fast Forward and the coloured Irelen lenses which Dr. Levinson also endorses.

The key to unlocking the Gift of Dyslexia is to create an environment which enables me or the person with dyslexia the ability to read. Recently, I read "Dyslexics are over represented in board rooms and prison cells", and yet our archaic education system remains. Today, like 'many my life has changed with the "Gift" of Dyslexia. If any one has dyslexia they are living in a technical dream come true world which can equip the 10-20% of those who have the Gift of Dyslexia with tools such as Balabolka, Readplease, Xmind (note taking tool) and Bookshare.org which will change the landscape of their future outlook. It is my hope nobody has to go through what I went through in high school, grade and middle school, but the word needs to get out to the public. Today I read with not boarders or hurdles to the written word at speeds of 340 to 510 words per minute with 90+% comprehension. Bookshare has changed my life and Bookshare is free for all U.S. students with qualifying disabilities, thanks to an award from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Bookshare has 125,000 digital books and textbooks of which are awaiting access to those who struggle with the printed word. Read:OutLoud is the text to speech software which comes with the membership (free for students or $50 for non-students who qualify) and can take any textbook, or book and turn it into a virtual book.

Today, in this awesome digital and software landscape for a dyslectic I am free to read. The journey I have experienced has been similar and can be read at: manateediagnostic.com/davisgraham.aspx or mygiftofdyslexia.blogspot.com/

Please look into Orton-Gillingham based methods of teaching reading, writing, phonemic awareness. It is research-based and the roots from which all other programs for reading disorders stem. Specific programs for working with young children include Wilson Fundations, PhonoGraphix, Lindamood Bell (there are several programs through Lindamood Bell). Do not use any program that claims to "cure" dyslexia. Dyslexia is not a disease, there is no cure. People with dyslexia are generally very intelligent but learn in a much different way because their brain is wired differently for acquiring language and reading skills (and therefore writing and spelling is also impacted.) The key: Multi-sensory instruction that is research based... Look up Orton Gillingham! (For example, when teaching letters, there is a scope and sequence that can be followed depending on the program. Teaching the letter needs to be associated with its sound, and it needs to be taught by having the child HEAR it, identify it in words, write it in the air, write it in sand, etc. Another great resource is Handwriting Without Tears and Really Great Reading. They have wonderful resources to buy for working with such children. I'd also look into Explode the Code series, which supplements the Orton Gillingham approach for teaching students with reading disorders- and is also a wonderful resource for teaching ANY child to read. Good luck!

I am aware of the Orton- Gillingham Methods of teaching and they are very useful teaching methods which stimulate and create new neurological pathways or connections to word symbols. The Orton- Gillingham , Dr.Harold Levinson and Fast Forward computer programs are all SIMILAR in their solutions. They all enable students to create new neurological pathways or patterns to help improve letter symbol recognition for students who can not process visual perceptions correctly or efficiently- (ie) Dyslexics, Language Impaired, or general LD students. I don’t devalue one over the other but rather they should be used together for more effective treatments.
They DIFFER in their approaches only - one using repetitive and total sensory input, another uses medications and another uses computer stimulation and clarification of sounds to create new neurological pathways or connections to word symbols. Like a headache, there are many successful ways to treat the problem, mechanically, medication, electrically. You can rub your neck and head mechanically and increase blood flow, take chemical medication- an aspirin, and dilate capillaries in the neck and head to increase blood flow - or use electricity like a tens machine to stimulate the neck and head and stimulate blood flow. All work because they all stimulate blood flow. Orton- Gillingham works for dyslexics by mechanically stimulating all senses, Medications work by dilating and stabilizing canals fluids and Fast Forward computer games work by using electrically modified sounds which are beyond the range of the person’s normal hearing range to create new neurological pathways or connections to word symbols.
Dr.Levinson's treatment offers a medical/ chemical medication treatment which similarly creates new neural connections and pathways to correct visual perceptions as they are processed by our neurological system. All senses are controlled through the inner system which feeds signals to the lower brain or cerebellum. Therefore- vision perceptions are controlled through the inner system which is an irrefutable fact- ask any doctor. I agree there is no guaranteed lasting cure for dyslexia, however the medications which Dr. Levinson prescribes definitely work dramatically for the short term and longer terms of a person’s life. His medications affect the inner ear system -the cerebellar- vestibular system . Astronauts go dyslexic when they are in zero gravity, but if they take similar medications to Dr. Levinson's they do not stay dyslexic in zero gravity. His medications are NOT to be thought of as medications which fight a disease. I agree Dyslexia is certainly not a disease. They are medications which enhance the operation of the inner ear system, in which canals can be dilated and the inner ear fluid stabilized. Once the inner ear system is balanced by the medications, the person's visual perceptions become more accurate and stable. Please do not accept that the mechanics of the inner ear can not be enhanced or fixed. They can be. When the inner ear is stabilized, the improper distorted dyslexic images the inner ear interpretive system was receiving and sending to the brain are changed. After medication, the visual images processed by the inner ear are stable, not distorted or changing or mixed up images, which can then be easily interpreted by the brain. The brain can then link these new repetitively stable or consistent not mixed up images to letters and words like a normal non- dyslexic person. Dyslexia can be dramatically cured when the person is on the medications. I have evidence of very dramatic handwriting changes and spelling and reading changes in students and Dr. Levinson’s 13 books are full of examples and case studies. Usually after 2 years on the medications which are also modified over the 2 years the person does not need them. The inner ear adapts with more stable fluid levels and dilated canals naturally. As time goes on sometimes they may need a repetition of the medications, like a tune-up in order for the fluid and canals to maintain their stability. I also agree dyslexics are often very bright - Edison, Einstein, Branson, Leno, Cruise, Goldberg and many others like my son are bright, but they cannot read or spell. This is because their eyes feed signals to the inner ear which in turn sends dyslexic or mixed and distorted images to the lower brain which can not rely proper messages to the higher order thinking brain to decipher consistent letter and word relationships or meanings. It is a shame more people do not know about the pioneering treatment of Dr. Levinson's work. He is a neurologist and psychologist and dyslexic himself, as is his daughter who is a pediatrician, and had to have her medications fine tuned during medical school.
The computer program Fast Forward from Scientific Learning is a computer game based program which can retrain and create new brain connections or pathways for Language Impaired Students to hear proper sounds and relate them to letter and word symbols. The computer games of Fast Forward changes the pitch, tone, duration and length of particularly the hard consonant sounds like “B and D” or “C and K” sounds which they say Language Impaired students can not hear or differentiate . It can raise reading levels up to 5 grade levels.
The Irelen colored glass lenses also work mechanically and I have seen dramatic results for dyslexics who have the Irelen syndrome. Dr.Levinson highly endorses the use of these glasses. There are many treatments or interventions which are available and should not be seen to be competitive- as which is best, rather we should provide information to people and encourage them to use different things together to enhance each treatment.
I invite people to share any type of treatments or interventions they know of or have experienced for LD students. Lets build a wonderful resource clearing house for LD information.

hi, I just joined this site. so, perhaps my input will be passe. However, look at the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a noted pediatrician who has spent a lot of time sudying these individuals and their learning difficulties. Let me know if this helps at all....