Im looking for recommendations for a reading program that would match a student’s needs. He is 7.7 years old and his reading skills have remained at the preK-K level. He still confuses similar looking letters and still makes mistakes writing his first name. He can rhyme some and match some sounds to letters and words, but cannot even begin to decode a word at all. He has CP and ADHD. He is ambulatory but drools a lot due to oral motor weakness and he has trouble with fine motor tasks. He has significant visual- spatial deficits which I know are part of his issue- those letters must look very confusing to him, never mind words. There was evidence of some word retrieval and working memory problems in the assessment although his rote memory skills were generally fine. His IQ is 78, with his verbal IQ 12 pts higher than his nonverbal IQ.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! And yes, his math calulation skills are just as weak as his reading skills-
Re: recommendations for reading programs
I would really recommend contacting the nearest Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes. They will tell you if they can help. They actually will also tell you if they can’t. It is costly…I know from personal experiences. I can tell you that if you are serious about early intervention it is worth every penny!!!
Are you using enlarged lettering? Does that help with letter recognition? If so, he might benefit from a Text to Speech program where the text can be enlarged enough for him to see it well visually. You might also try http://www.starfall.com which has a good phonics program. We use it a lot in the schools I work in, not only for mainstream kids but kids who are learning english and special needs kids.