Written by Dr. John Carosso & Mrs. Beth Coulson
Your child is in good hands at the Dyslexia Diagnostic & Treatment Center. Evaluation and treatment services are overseen by Dr. Carosso, Clinical Child Psychologist/Certified School Psychologist, Dr. Robert Lowenstein, Board Certified Child Psychiatrist, and Mrs. Beth Coulson, Certified Language (Dyslexia) Therapist and our Lead Teacher.
In addition, we have a fantastic team of Reading Specialists all of whom are certified in Orton-Gillingham, which is the foundational approach in treating dyslexia and have years of experience.
Our treatment process begins with a comprehensive evaluation that may culminate in you, the parent, being informed, “your child has dyslexia.” That information can be a welcome relief to hear. Finally, someone can tell you what is happening with your kiddo. However, for many, it’s also a scary place full of unknowns and what-ifs. No matter where you find yourself on this spectrum of emotions, your next question generally is, “So, what do we do?” The good news: there is an answer to that question!
Today, we will be outlining dyslexia remediation: what should be included in a successful program, who should be facilitating those programs, and how long you can expect to have your child in remediation.
When you are looking for a successful dyslexia remediation program, you should look for the following characteristics:
Proven remediation methods always use all three learning tracks to teach children: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic-tactile. Any proven dyslexia remediation program will have extensive practice in all three modes. This helps create stronger links in the brains of dyslexic learners!
Those with dyslexia thrive on structure when they are learning. The more predictable and systemized the lesson, the easier it is to retain the knowledge. In addition, the more predictable the systems and procedures, the less brainpower necessary to determine “how” to practice and, as a result, your child can direct all the extra resources to practice the “what” of the lesson. All successful remediation programs will include a structured and systematic lesson plan.
Proven and successful remediation programs will ALL be individualized in their approach. This is arguably the most important part of a successful program – there are no cookie-cutter lesson plans here! Each lesson will be planned for your child specifically: highlighting their strengths, practicing their weaknesses, and using both to create a beautiful learning environment for your child!
Who is teaching your child is almost as important as what they are teaching. Dyslexia Reading Specialists are NOT tutors. In fact, they are often called dyslexia therapists and they have been through an extensive training program. Generally, this is many hours of training plus a supervised practicum. It is even better if your child’s therapist has an official certification, given through the International Association of Dyslexia or the Academic Language Therapy Association. Anyone with less training will ultimately be unable to effectively remediate dyslexia.
There is no “quick fix” for dyslexia but research shows that students with dyslexia can be remediated (reading at grade level) in 1-3 years though progressive improvement is evident from the beginning of treatment; as one would expect, more severe cases take longer. Many things affect this rate including the level of severity of the dyslexia and the number of sessions per week. It is advised that your child has sessions no less than two times a week, although 3 or 4 are even better.
Remediating your child’s dyslexia is an investment in both time and money. Our students often come to us feeling dejected and frustrated but are discharged from services feeling more confident in their reading ability and happier with their classroom performance, which is priceless.
The Dyslexia Diagnostic and Treatment Center is committed to fulfilling all these requirements and more. Our therapists are certified, trained, have vast experience and all use a version of the Orton-Gillingham curriculum. Our remediation services are intensive and effective, and can really help turn around your child’s academic life! If you would like more information on dyslexia remediation and options that The Dyslexia Diagnostic & Treatment Center offers, please email Beth Coulson at bethcoulson13@gmail.com or click this link: https://forms.gle/pE5fdLeSJy2hVMZX8.
Hurry, spots for our summer intensive program are filling quickly!
You can check out my eBook that explains why many traditional discipline or behavioral management practices fail. In that respect, it’s vital to fully understand what works, and what can sometimes not work so well. Yes, we all know, as parents, that being able to effectively discipline your child is vital to their well-being. However, surprisingly, there is something that trumps discipline - there is something more important; a foundational element that, without which, you’re in a very difficult position.
So, what is that foundational element? It’s your relationship!! The key to parenting and discipline is you and your child doing things together, laughing and enjoying each other’s company, and spending time (quality and quantity time) in fun activities. Now that Spring is here, and Summer is approaching, there are many more opportunities for such relationship-building fun, so go for it! Even ‘not so fun’ activities can be quite bonding and reinforcing such as helping with homework or school projects, assisting in getting your child ready for bedtime... In any case, without a healthy relationship, there is no glue to connect a parental directive to the subsequent (hopefully) compliant behavior. We want our kids to comply because, ultimately, they love their parents, want their parents to be happy, want to get along and have a good relationship and realize that ‘we’re all in this together’ so I might as well do my part.
If your child is complying predominately due to a fear of punishment, then you’re in trouble. In that case, your child’s “compliance” is based on manipulation and fear, and tasks are often completed superficially and marginally.
Instead, build the relationship and you’ll have a “disciple” (a willing follower) and be less reliant on discipline. Don’t get me wrong; both are vital, but the former is a lot more fun 🙂
At the Dyslexia Diagnostic & Treatment Center - DyslexiaTreaters.com – we assess for and treat dyslexia. This process includes explaining the nature of “dyslexia” and what a parent can do to help.
Dyslexia is largely inherited. In that respect, if a parent has dyslexia, there is at least a 60% chance that offspring will also have the condition.
“Lexia” refers to “words” and “dys” means “poor” such that dyslexia is a “difficulty with words” or a difficulty in the reading of words. Think of it this way: when you see a page of text, it’s not really a page full of words; actually, it’s a page full of letters. In that respect, all those letters are like a big code and it’s our brain’s job to ‘decode’ the letters by associating sounds to the letters and blends. That’s why we refer to reading as using ‘decoding’ skills. People with dyslexia have trouble with that ‘decoding’ process. However, it’s no different than any other strength or weakness; some of us are good, or not so good, in math, athletics, music, art, reading, or whatever.
At the Dyslexia Diagnostic & Treatment Center, we conduct a thorough evaluation that will include an assessment of intelligence, which reflects a person’s ability level. We then compare that ability level to measures of reading, spelling, phonetic ability, and reading comprehension among other assessed areas. We then look for the telltale signs, namely in the areas of difficulty with specific decoding skills and we diagnose based on evidence of such difficulty and severity level.
You can find more information at our website, DyslexiaTreaters.com, that we can provide treatment online in the convenience of your home. We have the best Reading Specialists who are vastly experienced and certified in treating dyslexia. We rely on a structured, systematic, and ‘multi-sensory’ approach that incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning processes. The Orton-Gillingham Approach is foundational and incorporates this multi-sensory approach.
Read to your child daily. Books on tape can be helpful and Kindle, Audible, and Bookshare is a valuable resource (read-aloud option).
When reading to your child and taking turns, use the ‘two-second rule’. When your child struggles to read a word, wait two seconds, then quickly pronounce the word for your child and move on with the reading. Otherwise, the reading experience becomes burdensome, boring, and your child will resist. Moreover, basic reading passages have lots of repetition of words, so you’ll re-encounter that word soon enough. You want to choose reading material with which your child can read at about 90% accuracy.
Practice writing by tracing and progressively moving to freehand. Tracing and writing problem letters (b’s, p’s, d’s…) is helpful. There are also various helpful tricks (“bed” featuring a picture of two people – pictured as the ‘b’ and ‘d’ – holding between them an ‘e’ on which a person is sleeping…).
Use off-white paper or background, larger-size (14 pt or more), and sans serif fonts to reduce the letters appearing to “move around on the page” (a common complaint from kids struggling with dyslexia).
Practice phonics online; simply google “free phonics games” and plenty of sites will be available for daily, fun-filled practice. There are also inexpensive ‘apps’ that can be downloaded. I also refer parents to any number of commercial software products that provide comprehensive instruction, in a child-friendly manner, for the computer.
Simply email me at jcarosso@dyslexiatreaters.com and ask for our Dyslexia Packet that outlines these strategies, helpful websites, website addresses for software, and a host of other treatment options.
Also, inquire about our online treatment. We are excited about our upcoming intensive summer treatment program beginning in June.
I hope that this was helpful for you and your child. If you found this article informational, please share it with a friend. Thanks!
It’s May and summer recess will be here before ya know it, so it's best to start planning and preparing now. There are lots to think about, and I would hate to have you awaken that fateful day in early June with the incessant “I’m bored”, or loud screaming that typically accompanies siblings being home together all day.
Oh, the joys of summer.
I know it may sound a bit OCD-ish, but a very effective way to plan for the summer, and to get every drop of fun you can, is to get a calendar and plan the entire summer week-by-week, if not day-by-day. You may have some day and week-long camps that you can easily plug in; the annual summer vacation to the beach or Disney, your kid’s sporting events, the trip to Aunt Rhoda’s… Once you have those regular events scheduled, you can start getting creative. Oh, by the way, if your child has special needs, contact the Park (Disney…) they formerly provided passes to avoid long wait times.
I’ll bet your family has a bucket list of fun and ‘different’ things you all would like to do, but haven’t. Often, we don’t do fun things because we don’t plan for them. So, plan the activities and get that small flower garden planted, bake some cookies, go camping in the backyard, go on that day-trip to Gettysburg, project a movie on your garage door and have a homemade drive-in, do some star-gazing, start an annual neighborhood kickball tournament and, of course, can’t forget about getting a net (not a Wiffle bat) and catching lightning bugs.
You may include some things in the summer agenda that aren’t necessarily fun but are definitely worthwhile. Summer is an excellent time to get your kids boned up on things such as math, writing skills, or reading. If your child has special education services, talk to the Principal now about whether your child qualifies for Extended School Year (ESY). We also offer intensive summer online programming through DyslexiaTreaters.com. Teach the kiddos how to do various chores around the house (how to wash the family car…) or do a family project such as cleaning out that garage. In fact, sometimes those ‘chores’, if done as a family, can be quite a bonding experience especially when the final outcome (a really clean and organized garage) is achieved by everyone’s hard work. If your child is on the spectrum, the summer can be a time you may be a bit more indulgent in your child’s obsessive interests (sharks, star wars…) but only after nonpreferred is done, and don’t overindulge. Also, in the same vein, there can be a tendency to isolate and avoid social encounters; be sure to incorporate supervised social encounters into the calendar, and you may find it helpful to plan trips to the zoo, local library, autism-friendly theatre, and bookstore. Also, don’t forget for all kiddos, daily running around and lots of physical activity.
Babysitters and childcare tend to get filled up pretty quickly, so don’t delay in connecting with that local teenager who does a great job with your kids, or that daycare provider who comes highly recommended by your friends. Reserve the spots and make deposits, based on that schedule mentioned earlier. Also, start now to reserve spots for summer camps; they fill up very quickly. If your child has special needs and will be attending a therapeutic camp, call your child’s case manager for an updated list of camps, and contact your child’s psychologist to obtain a current prescription. If you want to enroll your special needs child into a typical camp or activity, and believe he’ll need individualized attention, you may be able to obtain IBHS (formerly ‘wraparound services’) to provide such attention. Contact this psychologist to further discuss this option.
Summer is time for relaxation, being laidback, and being more flexible and free-flowing. However, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Maintaining some semblance of routine can be helpful, especially if it involves getting past the less favored tasks (chores, academics) to move on to more fun, sun-filled activities. If your child has special needs, then maintaining a consistent routine is even more important. In fact, be sure he knows about the schedule, what to expect, and answer any questions ahead of time. A picture schedule is also advised.
I hate to write about the summer ending when it hasn’t even begun, but keep in mind the importance of getting more and more into a school routine as the summer comes to a close. The last week of summer should be very close to the school routine in terms of bedtime and wake-up.
Okay, that about wraps it up for now. Have a wonderful summer!!!
In my latest book, Managing the 5 Most Challenging Childhood Behavioral Problems of Our Day, I devote a chapter to Applied Behavior Analysis, or “ABA”. This ‘ABA’ approach is seemingly mysterious, frequently cited, but mostly misunderstood. Put simply, it is a systematized and regimented series of approaches to analyze, understand, and modify behavior. The approaches are applied to daily life demands and circumstances.
Applied Behavior Analysis is typically geared toward the treatment of autism. However, ABA is used to treat any type of behavior and any condition we want to understand and modify. This can range from a child being off task during math class to a child exhibiting self-stimulatory behavior during free time.
You can read the interactive eBook on my Substack!
For more parenting resources, or to set an appointment, check out the Community Psychiatric Centers' website. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at DrCarosso@aol.com.
Dr. John Carosso's ebook: The Steps to Improving Your Child's Behavior
Dr. John Carosso's ebook - How We Treat Series: Depression and Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, and Emotional Outbursts.
Dr. Carosso’s eBook: The Most Common Discipline Methods Don’t Work: Here’s Why and How to Make them Work
Dr. Carosso’s eBook: The ADHD Diagnosis, Severity Level, and Treatment Options
Have you wondered how we go about diagnosing ADHD? How do we determine mild from severe cases, and how does the severity level impact treatment options? Well, this eBook explains all that, and then some. You’ll also learn about the standard of care for ADHD to help your child meet his or her fullest potential.
You can read the interactive eBook on my Substack!
For more resources about ADHD, or to set an appointment, check out the rest of HelpForYourChild.com. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at DrCarosso@aol.com.
Dr. John Carosso's ebook - How We Treat Series: Depression and Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, and Emotional Outbursts.
Dr. Carosso’s eBook: The Most Common Discipline Methods Don’t Work: Here’s Why and How to Make them Work
Dr. John Carosso's ebook: ABA in a Parent-Friendly Format.
Dr. John Carosso's ebook: The Steps to Improving Your Child's Behavior
Have you ever wondered why the discipline approaches you’ve been using, such as taking away the video games or putting your child in a timeout, don’t work so well? This eBook gives the answer and, even better, explains in a detailed fashion why and what to do about it.
EBook Summary:
Read my expanded content eBook on Substack!
There is a lot of useful information at HelpForYourChild.com. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at DrCarosso@aol.com.
Dr. Carosso’s eBook: The ADHD Diagnosis, Severity Level, and Treatment Options
Dr. John Carosso's ebook: ABA in a Parent-Friendly Format.
Dr. John Carosso's ebook: The Steps to Improving Your Child's Behavior
Dr. John Carosso's ebook - How We Treat Series: Depression and Anxiety, Autism, ADHD, and Emotional Outbursts.
Reading issues are frustrating for both children and parents. If your child is struggling and you have concerns about dyslexia, this post covers signs of dyslexia and effective treatment options.
I am often asked by parents to assess their child for dyslexia. This process usually leads to a discussion about the nature of dyslexia and how a parent can help.
Dyslexia (disorder of reading) and Dysgraphia (disorder of writing) are two conditions that are often labeled by school districts, more generally as a “Specific Learning Disability”. In fact, over 90% of students classified as having a ‘Specific Learning Disability’ (and given an IEP) are classified as such because they have dyslexia.
Dyslexia is almost always inherited; if a child has dyslexia, there is about a 50/50 chance at least one parent has the issue as well.
Dyslexia is, essentially, a problem decoding words. Think of reading as a process of sounding out letters that are arranged in a particular order; like deciphering a code. Children with dyslexia have a weakness in that ability. However, these kiddo’s are, at the same time, quite intelligent and capable, but struggle with that specific task of sounding out words. Interestingly, dyslexia, more broadly, is also a problem with the processing of language; kids have difficulty processing the sequence of sounds that comprise spoken words. Consequently, you get words like “psghetti” and “amninal.” These kiddos sometimes genuinely don’t ‘hear’ themselves saying the words incorrectly so it’s difficult for them to self-correct. Moreover, they also struggle with visually processing specific sounds. Consequently, they may read “gut” for “glut” and so on.
All of the effective strategies are based on a ‘multi-sensory’ approach that incorporates, in the learning process, visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic senses. In that respect, a child may be shown the word, asked to say the word, hear it spoken by the teacher, write the word on paper, and write the word or letter (using his finger) on a rough surface. Consequently, the child is receiving varied feedback (visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic) regarding how that word looks, sounds, feels, and is written. The Orton-Gillingham approach is commonly used and incorporates this multi-sensory approach.
Moreover, a productive practice-strategy is to read a selected book to your child, then ask your child to read to you. Use your index or pointer finger to track each word from left to right as you read. Pause for punctuation so your child will learn prosody, and to allow your child to catch their breath before beginning the next sentence. As reading skills improve, ask your child to read aloud to you, reminding them to use their index finger and pause for punctuation.
Check-out our online tutoring program at the Dyslexia Diagnostic and Treatment Center. We have Reading Specialists who are Certified in the treatment of dyslexia, and knowledgeable in Orton-Gillingham approaches. Our sessions are available online and are very reasonably priced at $30.00 a session. Our goal is to also offer you guidance and strategies to help your child throughout the week.
I trust you found this helpful - don't hesitate to ask any questions at jcarosso@dyslexiatreaters.com.
Quite simply, it’s a difficulty with the processing of auditory information. Usually, APD is diagnosed by an audiologist.
Here are some of the specific symptoms of APD:
There is considerable controversy in this respect. Some say yes, it is valid, while others say it’s not. Keep in mind that a condition is considered a “disorder” when it has a distinct set of features or symptoms that can be clearly differentiated from any other condition.
Note that APD is not a formal behavioral health diagnosis; it does not exist in the DSM-V. However, clearly, a lot of well-established clinicians, particularly audiologists, seem to think it’s a valid disorder, so who am I to say otherwise?
I tend to fall into the camp that it’s not so valid. In that respect, over the past 35 years of practice, I’ve had lots of parents indicating their child has been diagnosed with APD or the parent has concerns their child may have an APD. However, invariably, I have found a better explanation for the problem rather than anything having to do with a specific disorder of auditory processing.
Problems with:
Can you contemplate some other condition(s) that can cause those problems? In that respect, I tend to find children, for whom there is a concern of having an APD, instead tend to struggle, more generally, with attention problems (ADD or ADHD), academic problems (dyslexia), developmental issues (autism), or with language issues (problems with expressive and receptive language).
A child who struggles to pay attention is going to have difficulty following instructions. They fully understand the words, and process the information just fine, but get distracted too easily to follow-through. A child who was a late talker, has continued to need speech and language therapy, is not yet talking at an age-commensurate level, and has issues with enunciation is likely also going to have receptive language issues that, by definition, is interfering with the processing of auditory information. Lastly, dyslexia can often extend to a broader language-based disorder resulting in difficulty ascertaining phonemics, or the sounds associated with letters and words. Again, this is an aspect of a language-based issue and does not appear to be purely an element of poor auditory processing.
There is so much overlap between APD and these other conditions, and much of the treatment interventions also overlap, that to some extent it’s a distinction without a difference. However, I would contend that a deficiency in auditory processing is a symptom of another condition (ADD, autism, dyslexia, language issues…), not a distinct disorder all by itself.
We treat the underlying condition. If the child is struggling with attention-deficit, we keep the environment structured, quiet, organized, distraction-free, speak in clear and simple terms, ask to repeat instructions, utilize extra prompting, reduce background noise, and utilize a sticker chart for task completion. If the child has a language disorder, we do all the above along with speech/language therapy. If dyslexia, we implement all the above (albeit not necessarily S/L therapy) along with a multi-sensory reading instruction approach.
If you’re seeking more information on the matter, check out my new book, Managing the Five Most Challenging Child Behavioral Health Conditions of Our Day, on sale at Amazon. Additionally, there is a lot of useful information at HelpForYourChild.com. Please feel free to reach out with any questions at DrCarosso@aol.com.
We’re all familiar with the theory that children have their own learning styles, whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. So, one child may learn better by ‘seeing’ the material, another by hearing the information, and another through movement.
Well, yes and no. It’s clear that children have learning preferences. Some may, in fact, prefer to ‘see’ the material while others listen to lectures. However, our brains are too complex to be that simple. So, ultimately, no, the theory is not valid. There is abundant evidence in that respect including from the journal, Psychological Science in the Public Interest (20018).
The research clearly indicates that catering to individual learning styles doesn’t seem to make a difference in terms of actually learning the material. A person may think they are a ‘visual learner’, or a teacher may have been told a particular student is an ‘auditory learner’, but when taught in that particular mode, as opposed to another, research clearly has shown that it doesn’t make a difference in the child’s ability to actually learn the material. A ‘visual learner’, taught in a visual manner, won’t learn any better than if taught in an auditory manner. Go figure – the human brain just doesn’t work that way and is far too complex, multi-integrated, redundant, and God-inspiringly wonderous to function in such a simplistic and straightforward manner.
We have been told so many times, for so long, that every child has their own learning style, that we must discover that individual learning style, and teach to that learning style, that it may seem unfathomable to hear otherwise. However, if we’re genuinely going to ‘follow the science’ then that’s where the science has led us.
How a subject matter is taught (or learned) depends on the material being taught. In that respect, some material is more conducive to the visual (geography, math formulas, geometry…), while others are more suited to auditory (music, languages, history…). However, we all know that ultimately the best teaching-style is multi-sensory; it includes more than one modality. The best teachers have always known this fact and have incorporated this concept into their daily teaching. So, a student is lectured about the revolutionary war (auditory), shown pictures of battles from the war and diagrams of supply lines and strategy (visual), and maybe even role-play some decisive scenes (kinesthetic). We do the same at home.
Another example: when teaching children with dyslexia how to read, we instruct them to write the letter or word (visual and kinesthetic), express the corresponding sound (auditory), hear the sound from the teacher (auditory), move their body in the shape of the letter (kinesthetic), and trace the letters in sand (kinesthetic and tactile).
Yes, there is more to it than that. In addition to this multi-sensory approach, we also need to be disciplined in our approach. This means carrying-out daily and rigorous instruction, having a consistent routine, sticking to a game-plan, keeping the environment organized and distraction-free, giving breaks as needed, and promoting motivation through tons of reinforcement and making it fun. Will all of those elements always be successfully carried-out by any given teacher or parent? No, they won’t; but we do the best we can and try to keep the bar high.
Just a friendly reminder that we offer online supportive tutoring from our wonderful, Dyslexia-Certified Reading Specialists. We offer a free introductory session, then follow-up sessions, if you so choose, at only $30.00 a session and we’ll give you daily exercises to carry-out with your kiddo. ? See more at DyslexiaTreaters.com.
My goal is to help your child learn to his or her fullest potential and to help you in that process. I hope this post helped to clarify and streamline your approach. Of course, as always, if you have any questions, please email me at DrCarosso@aol.com and check us out at DyslexiaTreaters.com and HelpForYourChild.com.
