Transitioning to audio books
I did do an awful lot for my son when he was younger but at some point I really began to feel he needed to take more ownership of his own education, and I began trying to use accommodation more, to put tech in his hands and give him avenues to complete everything by himself. So I really am not doing all that much–all the CC parents are expected to discuss the content at home, and I enjoy watching the videos with him, for example. Things like typing, or science, I am just finding something during the summer that I think can work, get it and put it in his hands and then I move on. My older boys are pretty independent during the school year as I am tied up with the youngers (we have 5 still at home). I think we transitioned pretty entirely to audio books in about 8th grade. The workload just became too heavy and there was so little return with reading a book for literature vs. listening. He still has to read many textbooks and things like that–and when tested this year he was reading at a 12th grade level, so his comprehension is good even with print–but he couldn’t really enjoy it and many times couldn’t even understand it as well without a lot of slow, hard work (which takes the fun out). For example, sometimes he is asked to read aloud during Sunday School and he can definitely do it but he can’t usually process what he is reading–he can pronounce the words but doesn’t grasp the meaning. So if the point of the assignment is literature then I want him to access it in the way that will allow him to truly interact with the literature. He can read print when he has to (audio isn’t available) or wants to (for remediation–the only goal is learning to be a better reader)–but if he is reading for pleasure or for a school assignment then he uses audio. I believe that the majority of his reading should enable him to access content that is appropriate for his age (if he is 15 I don’t want him reading “10 year old books”–I want him listening to books that are appropriate for high school). Last year he did American Lit and prepped for the CLEP test so it was a TON of books–that would have been very difficult without audio, but with audio he could actually enjoy some of the books. Our son was NOT happy about switching to CC as he was afraid and thought he would hate it. And while he finds the workload daunting he is at least happy I will have some control, and he feels hopeful about the proposed accommodations (we are only on week 2, so it is all still unfolding. I know I can make it work for him, but last year was rough and he is having to exercise trust that he can do it. Last year was incredibly stressful as the workload in our other co op truly took too long). At CC last week he really enjoyed the classroom experience, so much more than he ever thought he would. He thought he would hate it but he really enjoyed discussing things with the other kids and the tutor–whew. So happy about that! He works harder than anyone I know, because he wants to do well and doesn’t want to be embarassed but he certainly doesn’t seem to love the process. But I keep telling him that one day he will appreciate all of this and for now he just needs to trust that we are trying to prepare him for college and the future.
This year we are trying Touch Type Read and Spell for the first time, which is a typing program, RA Orlowski, but as they learn to type they are also working through an Orton Gillingham spelling course (OG is a good method for dyslexics)–so it is combining spelling and typing. I have three kids using it for spelling. Honestly I am just out of time this year to do spelling with them, as I was spending so much time every day just teaching spelling because I have so many students (3 doing spelling and 1 doing phonics). This is a way for me to kill two birds with one stone, hopefully–but I can’t vouch for it as a typing or spelling program yet, as we just started. They like that it is fast (about 10 or 15 min per day) and I like the fact that they will have some independence with their spelling, at least for this year. Please note that this program is very expensive if you buy it retail through their website (something like $400 per year!) so if you are going to do it, join the Homeschool Buyers Co op (it is free) as they have a deal right now to get it for $80 for the first child and $40 for each additional child, and you can cancel within the first 10 days and get your money back if you don’t like it. It is way more $ than many other spelling programs even at that reduced price–but it isn’t too bad if I consider it as a spelling AND typing program plus the fact that I really didn’t have time for spelling this year–the price seemed really high for child #1, but the discount for the next two was good. I read a lot of reviews and did a lot of research and this is a program that many people and schools are using in the UK specifically for dyslexics so I thought it was worth a try.
I do think typing is necessary if your child’s learning disability makes writing difficult. My kids type all their papers since their handwriting is poor, and typing is faster plus then they have spell check. My college age son is required to type everything. I feel like it is a must for my kids. My oldest learned to type correctly but my next 2 (ages 15 and 13 now) don’t type as fast as they should because they don’t use correct fingering, so I am hoping this typing/spelling program will help with their speed and accuracy.
