Dyslexia Expert | Imamother

amother

OP ↓

Tue, Jul 09 2024, 8:47 pm

I'm posting amother because I've been asking IRL and don't want to be identified.
DD is going into 4th grade. She is bright (we had her tested), adorable, creative, well-behaved and CAN'T READ OR WRITE. It is a huge problem and we and the school are seriously concerned, especially because as the grades get older, you need to read and write for every subject, not just reading. She is a smart kid who is failing through school. I'm worried that it is going to affect her self-esteem (right now she is a sunshine 🌞) and her social standing, too.
DH and I have invested thousands upon thousands of dollars in reading help, therapy, tutors, vision specialists, medication, etc etc etc to help DD. DH and I spend nearly an hour every night including summer to help her keep up academically, but the gap just keeps widening. I'm at my wits end.
I'm looking for a top dyslexia expert who can do a big picture evaluation and figure out for us what is going on and how we can get DD to read and write. I'm specifically looking for someone who has a broad knowledge base on many methods and theories and can design an evidence-based treatment plan that I can give to our tutors here at home (not someone who is an expert in only one method). We are willing to travel, if needed. We are also perfectly fine with someone not from the frum community.
Does anyone know of such a professional? TIA!

amother

Blush ↓

Tue, Jul 09 2024, 9:25 pm

My child attends a private not Jewish school specifically for kids with dyslexia. It’s in Ohio and there are other frum kids in the school. There is a summer program but it sounds like you need more the just a summer program. Not sure what’s available near you.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Jul 09 2024, 9:30 pm

amother Blush wrote:

Yeah, we need much more than a summer program.
For many reasons, switching out of our current school isn't an option.

behappy2 ↓

Tue, Jul 09 2024, 11:36 pm

I'm not an expert but I have done a lot of online learning on this topic and taught some kids to read.

One thing to know is that there are many reasons a child can't read and dyslexia is only one of them. Dyslexia is the inability to remember the rules of reading as they apply. You said you've done vision therapy, so that speaks to visual processing issues. There is also auditory processing issues. Then there is the ability to Intuit what makes sense for the word to be. There is also reading comprehension skills and vocabulary. Then there is the not obvious, confidence to read. There is for sure more. I am currently working with a child who has many reading blockages and for many many years couldn't read. BH I was successful in pushing her ahead with a blend of different things. Feel free to pm me. I will be happy to share all I know that can be helpful on this topic.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 5:53 am

amother Oak wrote:

Medication will not help her read, nor will just “any” reading specialist. Have you tried Wilson? I am a reading specialist and I’ve taught many children with dyslexia how to read following the Wilson program.

Thanks for the insight. I know that medication won't teach her to read, but we were advised to remove all other potential issues that can prevent her from reading, such as difficulties focusing.
I'm not sure what we've tried. Until now, we've been working with frum people that the school recommended. I don't know if they've used one method or a combination of a few.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 7:06 am

behappy2 wrote:

Thank you!
We've tried many things and at this point, we are very confident we are dealing with true dyslexia. We graduated vision and language therapy, but DD still isn't reading. She is otherwise a pretty confident kid and keeps trying to read, but I am worried that as she gets older and more self-conscious, she'll stop.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 7:07 am

amother Gardenia wrote:

Shira Naftel in Monsey is a top reading specialist. Finishing her doctorate in reading and has helped many struggling children. Please try to find her number with someone you know in Monsey.

Thank you. I don't know too many people in Monsey. If anyone has the number, it would be greatly appreciated.

↑ behappy2 ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 7:10 am

amother OP wrote:

You specifically wrote 'big picture evaluation' that's why I broke down types of reading issues. There's a place I think it's called Davos in Williamsburg that does one week intense reading help and it's specifically for dyslexia. I don't have experience with it though.

Also if you want to just pick my brain I'm still happy for you to reach out. Happy to give you my time for free.

amother

NeonOrange

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 7:47 am

amother OP wrote:

https://www.talacademy.org/

↑ mha3484

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 7:48 am

I have a son the same age that really really really struggled with reading in pre1a and at his yearly meeting with his teachers and case manager last month his reading was his strongest area. There is a lot of help out there. If it were not for his school he would have fallen off the cliff.

For my son, the resource teachers in his school use Wilson Fundations and IMSE. We also treated him for ADD and he got OT for sensory issues and anxiety. I found the year he made the most progress was when the school SLP was his reading group teacher. She had a combined expertise in the language area and the reading that just really worked for him.

Being totally honest here, if your school is not going to support her and you cant change your going to have a much harder time helping her. If you cant read by 4th grade, when school gets a lot more academic I dont know how much outside tutoring on its own can help.

amother

Celeste ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 4:01 pm

my daughter is going into 5th grade and is very dyslexic we have been working with a reading specialist and the school for years, and she's just so behind. Theres a school in NJ (modern Orthodox) for children with language-based learning disorders we are moving her to that school for September she actually asked to switch because its so hard for her not to be on level. I'm really hoping that being fully submerged in an all day program geared for kids like this is the answer so far the parents that have sent are very happy . The first tutor we used did ordin Gillingham and now we are using the Wilsons program. We did repeat a year in preschool . I've tried so many different methods to be able to stay in a main stream school. But Ultimately I wasn't doing her any favors this way. Schools like this are starting to pop up as more and more people understand the needs of a dyslexic child.