Berkeley Parents Network: Lindamood-Bell Learning Center

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Lindamood-Bell Learning Center

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Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > Tutors > Lindamood-Bell Learning Center

http://www.lindamoodbell.com/

Oct 2009

Hi BPN, We are seriously considering Lindamood Bell Seeing Stars Program for our dyslexic daugher. There are a few reviews of LB but I would really like to hear from anyone who has had positive or negative experiences at Lindamood Bell - especially if the problems your child had were in the lines of very bright - high overall IQ (verbal and performance) and serious dyslexia. The program is very expensive and represents a huge committment for our family but there seem to be a lot of reasons to believe there is a high chance of good results. Thanks for your responses. Need your Advice

I am a teacher in an Oakland public school, and we have had several students go through the Linda Mood Bell program. For them it is a half-day program, and it was of no cost to them, but they had to have been in the special ed. program for a while. For the students I know who went through it, it was the only thing that really made a dramatic difference. They came out of the program after a year as readers. Our resource teacher can't speak highly enough of the program. To be sure, these are the most severe cases of dyslexia; most of our students do not attend that program. But for several, it was the place of last resort, and it did its job. I hope this helps. Good luck. T.

May 2009

My 7 year old has just been identified as Dyslexic. She is finishing first grade and we have been referred to the Lindamood-Bell summer intensive program. Has anyone had great success with Lindamood-Bell or any other strategies for dyslexia? My daughter is highly motivated but is falling behind her classmates. Loving Mom

My nine year old son is quite dyslexic; he was extremely behind in third grade, when a teacher finally said he might be dyslexic. I started him with a wonderful Slingerland tutor. I can't say enough good things about it!!! I've heard about Lindamood Bell too. I've heard it's quite expensive and helps as well. I've heard from many parents that Slingerland is where they would put their money if they'd have to do it all over again. Good luck! Support is crucial for these children. ''Overcoming Dyslexia'' by Sally Shaywitz is 'the bible' on dyslexia, and explains a lot. Mom of a Dyslexic

We did 100 hours at Lindamood Bell in Walnut Creek for my son about 2 years ago. He was in 4th grade at the time and he had already spent the previous few years seeing quite a few different educ. therapists with limited results. Thankfully the last ed. therapist said he needed the intensity of the LMB program. It truly worked wonders! It was expensive, but worth every penny. I only wish he had done it before 4th grade. He now loves to read. Spelling skills are slower to improve and even now in 6th grade he could use another round of LMB for spelling, but we just can't swing it financially. Highly recommend Lindamood Bell for help with dyslexia! mom of a happy reader

Jan 2005

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

There were two questions posted regarding reading programs/dyslexia so I'll cover both in my post.

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 can't answer your question directly, but when my daughter was having reading problems I found a lot of help at www.schwablearning.org. There is tons of information on their bulletin board about Lindamood-Bell, and people's experiences there (mainly positive, though big concerns about how expensive it is). You also can post questions and get feedback. I am not affiliated with the web site. It was funded by Charles Schwab, who is dyslexic, but operates as a nonprofit. Finally, I know it is tough so good luck.

Nov 2003

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

Hello, I know of two people who have had training in the Lindamood Bell reading methods (one of whom worked at their clinic for a while). I am not sure if either works on weekends.

Kristen Hawkinson 526-8701
Joan Fierer 465-0465

Sabina

June 2003

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

Two summers ago my son was tutored for spelling at Lindamood-Bell in downtown Berkley. The tutoring was for 4 hours a day, five days a week, for 3 weeks. Alot of hard work! With great results. I found the initial testing very helpful in finding out how my son learns and what his weak points are. The people who worked with my son were professional, yet fun. My son complained to me about one tutor and I asked that she no longer work with him. This request was taken seriously and honored. After completing the three weeks, my son was retested with great results. Most importantly in the 2 years since Lindamood-Bell he's transformed into a confident, independent and high achieving student. He's also learned that through hard work you can overcome obstacles. Feel free to contact me if you have specific questions. Wilma

February 2003

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

October 2001

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

My son has had 60 hours of tutoring at Lindamood-Bell. He just finished up a week ago. I've been very pleased with the tutoring. The initial testing was extensive and informative. There was no hard sell. And my son is now a much more self confident learner. It was a lot of hard work, but has really paid off. If you want to contact me with specific questions, please do. Wilma

this page was last updated: Dec 21, 2009

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