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We are looking into the intensive Lindamood-Bell program this summer for our son, who is 8 years old and very far behind in his reading/language skills. I would love to hear directly from other parents who have tried this program. Specifically, I am wondering if your child retained what they learned and if it helped move them closer to grade level in their reading skills, or if after the intensive training, your child ended up reverting to previous patterns and problems with reading. We believe we are dealing with severe dyslexia, although that has been difficult to diagnose at this point (and, believe me, we've been through the gamut of testing). Thanks in advance. Susan

My son (also 8 years old) began showing signs of a weak visual memory as early as kindergarten. He had trouble remembering the shapes of letters but very strong phenomic awareness. His first grade teacher noticed that he had a poor sight word vocabulary and thought it was a visual processing/visual memory issue. She suggested we get some help for him during the summer.

I checked into Reading Revolution but their closest office would have been an hour round trip so we decided to hire a private learning specialist who lives near his public elementary school to work with him intensively during the summer and twice a week after school. I found her through The Learning Clinic at UC Extension.

She uses a combination of Lindamood-Bell and Seeing Stars. He is working very hard at this and is a good student but is still behind his class in reading speed (words per minute) and still lacks confidence in decoding multiple syllable words

However, I am seeing wonderful improvements in his overall competence and confidence, particularly in decoding simpler words and he is willing to tackle more and more. He will now read a book from cover to cover which is a vast improvement over last year.

One last thought: We have found his teachers to be quite sensitive and empathetic to his needs and they have included our private educational therapist in parent teacher meetings, at our request. It's been a successful working partnership between the classroom teachers, the resources available at school, the parents, and our outside provider.

I am looking for a Linda mood Bell professional who can work with my child on the weekends. My son went Linda mood Bell center during the summer and we would like to continue with their trainig. Please help. concerned mother

Kristen Hawkinson 526-8701
Joan Fierer 465-0465

I have a 10 year old son. He hates to read and as a result, his vocabulary and comprehension is suffering. I am considering enrolling him in the Lindamood-Bell program and need advise on what others think of thier program. PLEASE ADVISE. Thanks in advance for your help. Worried mother

Re: 4th Grader with "phonemic weakness"
There are several good programs that address p.a. I am not familiar with Wilson, but Lindamood-Bell is definitely one of the best. It is expensive but very effective, and they have an office in Berkeley. If your daughter is several years below grade level in her reading ability, then you will want to invest a lot of time in an intensive remediation NOW, rather than let her fall further and further behind. I am familiar with Lindamood-Bell through my work as an educational consultant, and I sent my own daughter there to work on math. They were very warm, caring, and motivating. She made a strong connection with all her teachers and was able to work intensively for several hours per day (in the summer.) Good luck finding the right program for your daughter. Lauren

Does anyone have first-hand experience with the Lindamood-Bell Learning Center here in Berkeley. Did it help your child? How much? Would you recommend it? Thanks, Stacey