NILD

I have no specific information about this program, but what I have read leads me to have some doubts. What are your child’s weaknesses and what are you looking for?

His weaknesses are processing speed and attention to visual detail. He also has terrible handwriting, poor written expression and mechanics, and reads painfully slow (math and writing are slow too, but not as slow as reading). I’m looking to have his weaknesses strengthened and his academics to improve. He’s a bright child (FIQ 117), but scores in the low to low avarage range in the above-mentioned areas. The folks at NILD say they can help and have given me some hope that they can improve (not fix) my child’s weaknesses; but the school says they can’t offer any other help that he just needs accommodations and compensatory techniques because he’s in middle school, i.e. just learn to live with it. I want to know if anyone here has gone the NILD route and what they experienced for their child. Please tell me why you have doubts. I know they don’t have scientific research yet, but they do have research on the long-term effectiveness of their method that they say is under peer review. Thanks again, CG

Sorry, I saw your post on the other board first.

With the additional information you have provided here, I would definitely recommend PACE (http://www.processingskills.com) or LearningRx (http://www.learningrx.com). These tend to be very effective programs for bright kids who struggle with the areas you mention. They are intensive, comprehensive programs that work on a wide range of cognitive skills that affect academics — including visual short-term memory, visual sequencing, auditory short-term memory, auditory sequencing, working memory, attention skills (ability to sustain focus, ability to sustain focus in the presence of distractions, ability to multi-task), pattern recognition, logic and reasoning, visualization skills, auditory processing skills (segmenting, blending, phoneme manipulation), and probably some that I am forgetting at the moment.

It is helpful, before embarking on a program such as PACE, to get a developmental vision evaluation to rule out undiagnosed developmental vision delays. (Visual efficiency skills are not evaluated in regular eye exams.) For more information about this type of problem, see http://www.childrensvision.com. To find board-certified developmental optometrists in your area, see http://www.covd.org. You also may want to check out http://www.homevisiontherapy.com.

It is also a good idea to get an occupational therapy eval to rule out sensory integration disorder.

Both developmental vision delays and SID can create the types of problems you describe. Cognitive skills training (such as PACE) is limited by any unremediated sensory-level deficits. It’s not absolutely necessary to get the above evals, but sensory-level problems will lower the ceiling on gains from PACE.

PACE first came on the market in 1995. Although there are no independent studies of its effectiveness, it does have a very good track record. Responses to the program pretty much follow a bell curve. Some children get dramatic improvements, the majority get significant observable improvements, and a few get only minor improvements. It is a great program to do over the summer. The typical program lasts 12 weeks (16 weeks if you add on their Master The Code reading program. I recommend waiting and seeing how the child does with PACE before adding on MTC.)

The problems with handwriting and written expression could be symptoms of dysgraphia. An OT eval is helpful in ruling out fine motor problems and, when fine motor problems are involved, occupational therapy can be helpful. When motor planning is an issue, Interactive Metronome (http://www.interactivemetronome.com) can be very helpful for handwriting. However, the underlying problem for many dysgraphics is neurology — which tends to be very unresponsive to interventions. You may want to join the dysgraphia email list at http://groups.yahoo.com to learn more about dysgraphia and assistive technology options.

Nancy

I work with students like this all the time. In the great majority of cases, direct instruction in the specific skill will lead to immense improvements. I teach handwriting, reading skills, phonics, spelling, and math skills. It is truly amazing how students are pushed through elementary without fundamentals, so that in middle school they are so far behind that they cannot possibly catch up on their own. A good knowledgeable tutor teaching a truly individualized program can do a lot to help turn things around. Slow but sure is what works.
Programs that promise miracles and somehow have never yet gotten the peer review done after many years — these raise large questions

I took some time to read information at the NILD website. I agree with Victoria that a dedicated tutor can accomplish much.

If the search function on the forums here was working, you could pull up lots of comments about PACE. I’m not sure anything would turn up about NILD, though. My guess is that not as many families have used it.

Nancy

There are different approaches you can take for a kid like yours. One is to get a tutor, like Victoria suggests, and try to rebuild the foundation. This doesn’t neccessarily address processing speed though. Repetition can help but learning new material may still be slow. Another approach is to use a cognitive enhancement program. PACE and the like which Nancy recommends are examples of this. They can lead to increases in processing speed. Depending on the kid though, you won’t necessarily have a better reader or math student. They still may have gaps that need to be addressed with a tutor. And if your child has gaps at the sensory-motor level, well you won’t see big gains. So a third approach is to address the sensory motor level. Here you have vision therapy, auditory processing programs, OT, Neuronet, interactive metronome and other sensory based therapy. We have made great gains in processing speed using sensory based therapy. You might look specifically at interactive metronome because of handwriting issues.
But again, you may need a tutor to fill in academic gaps.

With both cognitive and sensory-motor programs, you ideally end up with a kid who has a much easier time learning.

I am not sure what NILD’s approach is. It seems like it is trying to address thinking skills rather than academics but not at as sensory of a level as PACE does. I have not heard of it, although their information on LD is right on.

I would say you need to determine what their approach is and figure out what your son would benefit from most.

Beth