Dictation and Dyslexia

[psreit]

I was reading on another thread about dictation, that one mom is not doing dictation with her child with dyslexia. I was wondering why. I am planning to come back to HOD (Bigger) in January with my 11 yo who has dyslexia. I want to look at the spelling lists before I decide if we will go with those or will begin dictation. I'm just curious about the dictation and if/how that needs to be modified for someone with dyslexia who has a very difficult time with spelling and/or grammar. My daughter's grammar skills and spelling skills are very elementary for her age, so I'm not sure how dictation will fit into the scheme of things. I guess I'm 'jumping the gun', because I figure she will end up doing some of the word lists to start with. Maybe it will be better to wait until Preparing to begin dictation anyway. But, I would be interested in knowing how children with dyslexia are doing with dictation, and if any modifications needed to be made with anyone. Thanks.

[psreit]

I guess I just start where she's at, and we'll cross the bridge to dictation when she is ready. I'm assuming dictation is done when a certain level of grammar is completed, since they need to know punctuation. I'll probably have her work on spelling lists for the remainder of this year, and then we'll see what happens. I guess it would be helpful to order my guide.

[Rice]

Dictation doesn't require a knowledge of grammar, just an ability to memorize and to read and write. Punctuation can be learned before sight before they know "a dot is called a period and it goes at the end of every sentence" in words. Dictation is one way (among many, including hearing and reading good literature, formal grammar studies, etc.) that they learn grammar, as well as spelling, punctuation, etc. Grammar studies should be to give words and reasons for the way they already know how to use the English language; a way to talk about language usage in order to write better and understand why we use the words we do in the order we do. Dictation and grammar work together on different aspects of using English and although they often overlap, one is not a requirement for the other (many other CM curricula start grammar and dictation around the same age (10+) so one is not learned before the other but in conjunction).

That said, I cannot help you with regards to dictation and dyslexia, nor Carrie's or Julie's suggestions in where to start your daughter.

[psreit]

Rice - Thanks for that explanation. I am going to order NOW so I can look over the spelling/dictation and decide where I will have my daughter start. Honestly, I think she would probably enjoy dictation more than just doing a word list. Although her spelling is poor, she loves to write her own things. A few days ago, she wrote her own poem. I was so excited when I read this, although there are many spelling errors. Here is her poem and a sample of her spelling. Maybe Carrie or Julie would have a recommendation for where I should start her. This is exactly how she wrote it.

Outdoors

Watch the birds flutter by
bilding a nest and babys poping
there heads out wide and
acking for food
O wate a nice cite.

These are not new words to her. She just does not remember the spelling for many words. She spells by sound, not by rules. I believe she just eventually memorizes certain ones that she uses more often. She becomes very frustrated trying to remember all the spelling rules. We do go over a rule now and then if she is reading or writing a word wrong. But we don't dwell on it. Even rules that we have spent a good bit of time on, she does not always remember. I think it is just memorization by seeing the word. So, would dictation work for her?

[jjn3beans]

I would like to know the answer to this question too, so maybe Julie or Carrie will chime in?

[saxton804]

I wanted to encourage you regarding using dictation with children who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. My daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia 2 years ago. We also started homeschooling with HOD at the same time. I had never heard of dictation before coming to HOD but thought it was worth a try since my daughter was not a strong speller after many years of traditional spelling programs. I cannot speak highly enough of dictation! My daughter, who just finished CtC, is now a wonderful speller! I did make the decision to have her do dictation daily (5 days a week) rather than what was scheduled in the guide and that has really helped. She often needed two days (and sometimes three) to learn to accurately write the dictation passage. But she finished Level 4 two weeks ago and has become a confident, accurate speller. It also improved other areas of her writing as well. Even her brother (one year older) commented on how much better she is doing in spelling. I am so happy for her and so grateful for this new approach to spelling. It has worked great for my sweet girl with dyslexia.

[farmfamily]

Here is a thread where Carrie and Julie address this issue:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7024&p=52490&hilit= ... xia#p52490

I sort of suspect mild dyslexia with one of my children, and dictation has made a very noticeable difference in her spelling over just a year and a half. We also do it every school day.

[Tami]

I don't know if you are referencing something I posted or not, because I did say that I wouldn't be doing dictation/copywork with my children who are dyslexic/dysgraphic.

At the time I wrote that, we were working with a specialist who gave these restrictions (and several others). After doing more research, we simply didn't have peace about the methodology that the specialist implemented. Come to find out, the methodology is rather controversial (the speech/language pathologist recommended it highly) though the program can be used without the restrictions.

We opted to find a new specialist and ditch the controversial program all together. The new specialist recommended a program that requires dictation/copywork of word lists and she encouraged us to use it for phrases as well. Perfect peace.

The moral of this is to do your research, choose methodology wisely, and follow the proven path. HOD is a proven method......so we follow that path! Thanks so much, Carrie!