One of our 8yr old twin boys has just been diagnosed with dyslexia. This is a huge relief to me to know why he has been struggling so much. It’s all a bit overwhelming at the same time. We plan to use The Barton Program for reading and spelling, but math remains to be seen. Yesterday was our first day of homeschooling for the year and we already had tears over math. It’s heartbreaking to see my son struggling so much and not be able to fix it. I know we need to use lots of manipulative to even begin to make progress for him. If anyone has any input on good math support for kids with dyslexia, please fill me in!
My son was just diagnosed a month ago. The short math answer for us is math u see (MUS).
Also a blog called “homeschooling with dyslexia” blog. Busy day so short answer. Please let me know if you have other questions. I have. A very good meeting but I can’t remember the name of it right now I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
Kelly
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@kellyc Thank you so much! I will look into it!
The book is called:
“The everything parents Guide to children with dyslexia” by Abigail Marshall. I found this one the most helpful. I will probably end up getting my own copy to keep.
I’ve also read the “gift of dyslexia”. You can find both at your local library.
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sorry for all the typos- I really needed to be wearing my reading glasses. So sorry! “a very good meeting” was “a very good book,” which I posted below. =)
My DD was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 8 earlier this year. We are also doing Barton Reading and Spelling. For Math, we switched to MUS recently and she is excited about it for a change. She tends to pick up the concepts quickly when she can see visually how they work (we started out in RightStart and it was a good fit for a while). She takes a while to become solid on math facts though so I am debating adding in CLE math due to the type of built-in practice and review.
I have read of some dyslexics liking Teaching Textbooks, but when I showed the samples to my DD she hated it. The biggest thing for her is to be able to see concepts demonstrated with hands-on items and then clean math pages. She does like to visualize in her head the math once she has seen it demonstrated. Some dyslexics have done well with Singapore Math (not my DD) and some CLE math as well. Ronit Bird has a lot of great information and teaching strategies for dyscalcula (like dyslexia for math). Her ebooks are pretty inexpensive and I’m about to get her dots book for my kindergartner and the times tables one for my 9 year old.
If your son struggles with subitizing I would go straight to Ronit Bird. He may also be struggling with it and not realize it as well. http://www.ronitbird.com/ Many kids often move onto other curriculum after Ronit Bird’s materials, but I’ve been told the foundation is amazing for those who otherwise struggle with math.
I highly recommend the Dyslexic Advantage by the Eides. It really helped me understand and identify the strengths my DD has better which has helped in other areas and even in curriculum we choose. Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz is a good book too. I have on my list to read The Dyslexia Emplowerment Plan as well, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Homeschooling Your Struggling Learner by Kathy Kuhl is also good and has helpful tips.
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I forgot to add that sometimes I put DD’s math on graph paper with 1/2" squares. She loves it when I put it on graph paper. It helps so much with lining up numbers for her and giving her enough space to write her answers (writing has been a struggle here). If writing is a struggle for your son as well (it is common to go with dyslexia), you may want to consider having him/them answer a certain number of questions orally and a certain number written. It may reduce some of the tears.
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We just started vision therapy for my 9 year old with dyslexia. I was referred to therapy from a friend who had great success. Will see in 6 months! We also use math u see, all about spelling and all about reading. It is all hands on for us right now, but hope to get past the hump soon
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I wanted to share a free dyslexia 101 book FREE through October. This has been a helpful site since my son’s diagnosis. Here’s a link:
https://homeschoolingwithdyslexia.com/free-resource-for-dyslexia-awareness-month/
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I use Touch Math with my dyslexic kiddo. This is the only thing that has worked successfully, and he enjoys it. They have software that covers K-2nd, and then downloadable for the upper grades. Make sure you click on the homeschool link, or their prices are sure to scare$$$. They will also allow you to use coupons.
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Are you using Barton at home? We do Barton through a Speech Therapist. My daughter did amazing with Math U see. We did Abeka last year for language arts and she really liked it. Budget issues have made us get creative and still trying to figure things out.
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My son has reading troubles which MAY be due to dyslexia (but maybe not…I’m looking into vision problems too…someone told me about “convergence issues” and this could be it as well. We’ll be testing him soon). Regardless, math was a struggle as well. Memory was a big stuggle.
Physical activity while doing rote memorization (ie addition and subtraction drills) helped with us. Also, Addition Facts that Stick and Subtraction Facts that Stick seem to be helping. Math U See worked great for place value, but my son did not do well with it for addition/subtraction.
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