A Workbook for Dyslexics [Paperback]

I am the homeschooling parent of a dyslexic son aged 8 years. We had begun working on traditional phonics, spelling, reading topics around 3 to 4 years of age - the basics of alphabet followed by sounds, etc. - with all of our children. We quickly realized that our son was not progressing like some of the other children did. After two years of intense focus on phonics we were at wit's end when his achievement testing still indicated a reading level of Pre-K. We began researching curriculum that might be of assistance and came across this workbook which offered a downloadable trial version from the internet. Our son actually responded to the first few lessons quite well. We purchased the book and began using it for instruction.

I will admit, this curriculum is VERY hands on. It's not a 'toss the book at him and let him do it on his own' type curriculum. Mom or Dad MUST work alongside the child daily in oral exercises and dictation in order to fully utilize this curriculum. This is VITAL!! Also, in our experience, we found that we would do a chapter and then our son would need to review it (oftentimes MULTIPLE times) in order to fully master the concepts. We spent an entire year of instruction only covering the first 16 chapters of the book!

However, upon achievement testing, our son's results showed that he had progressed TWO grade levels in 6 months time! We were amazed! Since using this curriculum, our son has begun reading books on his own and is now reading at or above grade level. We still pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming when he asks if he can stay awake just a little longer because he wants to read his book! We continue to use this curriculum, reviewing as needed, and highly recommend it to anyone educating a dyslexic child.

I totally disagree with the negative review....having worked with the LiPs system myself, this workbook is a god send for parents. This so called needed "intense intervention" is not always financially suitable ($6000/mo-Atlanta) and I have seen many kids walk away with little more than when they started. This book is a great tool for parents who want to super charge their childs reading level. "intense intervention" as I know of first hand, is "tutoring with repeat, reapeat, repeat...." which most parents do not have time for and the school system offers no hope for. Therefore, "intense intervention" becomes the ideal choice by many. However, if you take/have the time to invest in YOUR own child, you can easily help your child suceed at reading.

As far as the workbook being designed to "teach people to read", yes, thats the goal!! Most parents that are picking up this book are at their wits end. Most kids that are introduced to the book, will most likely be over the age of 7. The cover also states "8 years and up"....NO where in the book or cover does the author promise to have a complete program for dyslexics or promise to teach "phonemic awaremess" of which I believe you are refering to phenome awareness....Most parents are NOT going to be seeking this book out at 4-5 or even 6 years old. Also, if you call any "intense intervention" center (e.g. Dyslexia Inst. of America) they will advise you that the "ideal" time to begin evaluations for dyslexia is around 8 or 9....though they will take younger children. Many children without dyslexia have problems with reversals, blending, etc. Any good teacher will caution you to "wait and see" in grades K-1 (sometimes 2) before officials or parents begin to start the evaluation process. Therefore, most kids have had 1-3 yrs of an unsuccessful phonics program of some sort and though the program failed the dyslexic child, they learn their letter names and sounds through this method. (Even though they may still mix up or confuse the sounds.) When starting this book, a child may still be mixing up some of the letter sounds which is what you are refering to as "concept imagery". This means, the dyslexic, sees a letter as a shape or picture not assigned to a certain direction in order to mean something individual of that letter name and sound. If you have actually looked at the book (I suspect you have not based on your review) you would see that for example, Lesson 1 begins with blending short vowels with ONE constanant. We are talking about blending TWO sounds...that is pretty basic. A matter of fact it starts so basic, that the author discourages you from skipping ahead even if the child knows the basic vowel sounds.

As a side note: "Phenome Awareness" is a fancy word for breaking down blended sounds and making them individual or taking individual sounds and blending them...

"Intense Intervention" is someone certified (not always degreed) in a particular program (e.g. LindaMood Bell) NOT DYSLEXIA itself. This person spends countless hours implementing a program to your child so that they can learn to read with success....Its not a cure, magic, or always a complete success the first time around. Hands down, if you have the money, (which is really all you need~and a lot of it!) then this is the IDEAL approach to take with your child...

This book is well worth the $30 and WILL improve your childs reading. No, its not magic and will not "cure" your child, but no you will not be disappointed because, if you are looking to buy this book, then you already know that "intense intervention" is far from a "cure"....DYSLEXICS CAN NOT BE CURED, but through patience and love, your child can learn to read.....successfully.

This book is AMAZING!!! It is practical, efficient, easy-to-use, and best of all EFFECTIVE!!! This book is a rare find because it is all about actual teaching lessons! This book is for parents/teachers who want to dive right in and start teaching to help kids learn to read immediately!! My daughter's reading improved more by using this book than with any other tool we've used! The book is economical and simple, yet the results are worth their weight in gold! Buy this book and you won't be disappointed!!