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Suggestions for a child who has already been through Lindamood Bell program

Melanie Waters

June 16, 2011 15:07

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I need your input for a new client...10 yrs. 6 mos. old, The following scores are from previous testing:
WISC-IV - Full scale 99; verbal Comp 104; Perceptual reasoning 96; Working Memory 88; Processing speed 106

PPVT-IV Std sc 95; DTLA-4 Word opposites scaled sc 8; DTLA-4 Verbal Absurdities 13-0 Mental Age; DTLA-4 Oral directions scaled sc 7;
Lindamood Aud Con Test-3 std sc 96

Child is going to 5th grade; her STAR Rdg level at end of year was 2.7

My testing: CTOPP       Phon Awareness ss 79; Phon Mem ss 79; RAN ss 91

                  DSTP          Acoustics: Passed Dichotic Digits; Failed Temporal patterning; Aud discrimination
                                     Acoustic-Linguistic; Passed Phonic Manipulation; Failed Phonemic Manipulation

                  TOWRE      Sight word reading efficiency ss 78
                              

       Phonemic Decoding Efficiency ss 73

                  Z-Screener  60% on Level 1 (same or less at each level except for Level 8: 70%)

                  Gallistel Ellis The only level that she mastered (80%) was the sight word level; all other syllable typed were failed.

My impression is that this child needs O-G tutoring and Lexercise. My concern is that she has already received intensive training
in the Seeing Starts/Visualizing and Verbalizing Lindamood Bell programs. She has also done CogMed (I realize that's not a rdg
program). I guess I feel inadequate compared to an intense program like LMBell. Do you think that basic OG + Lexercise is what's needed here?

Thanks for your time!!!

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7 comments

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  Sandie Barrie-Blackley June 16, 2011 15:27

  So, the child's  intelligence is in the average range but she is reading impaired (based on her STAR level, the Gallistel Ellis, The Z-Screener, the TOWRE) but there are statistically significant discrepancies in working memory (on the WISC-IV, DSTP and the CTOPP) and phonological awareness (CTOPP, DSTP). The fact that she was only able to read 60% of the most basic (three sound, short vowel)  syllables on the Z-Screener suggests that, while she may have had treatment, it either didn't address her phonological awareness and memory issues or she didn't get adequately intensive practice. (Was it daily...with lots of response opportunities?)   Lindamood-Bell's LiPS Program would have been a better match for her deficit patterns than < Seeing Starts/Visualizing and Verbalizing >.  I don't understand why V&V was used. She doesn't appear to have a listening comprehension problem and V&V treats comprehension deficits.  Seeing Stars is for orthographic processing deficits.  It does not appear she has had treatment for her core deficits:  phonological awareness and memory deficits. She appears to have a pretty classic dyslexic patterns and she seems like a great candidate for Lexercise.   I hope you'll keep us "posted!" 

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  Abigail Jaffe June 16, 2011 16:09

  We see this a lot.  In our area two school systems use some type of school based version of Lindamood-Bell but it only includes Seeing Stars and V&V, so the kids get those programs, even though they may really need LiPS.

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  Sandie Barrie-Blackley June 16, 2011 16:33

  Fascinating. Do you think this is due to schools' pressure to see children in groups (and the need for a one-size-fits-all approach) or due to difficulty connecting the child's deficit patterns with appropriate therapeutic tools? 

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  Barbara Noronha June 16, 2011 20:29

  It seems to me that the test results point to an auditory processing deficit that would best be helped by a program like Fast ForWord.  Once those auditory memory and sequencing skills have improved, the child would probably respond better to whatever reading programs you provide.

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  Abigail Jaffe June 17, 2011 10:42

  Sandie,  An SLP at one of these schools told me that LiPS is not part of the program.  They didn't train the teachers to do it, it is simply not an option.  I evaluated a 4th grade girl a couple of years ago and specifically recommended Orton-Gillingham or an intensive O-G based program.  That was in 4th grade.  When I saw her again this spring in 6th grade, she had gotten Seeing Stars and made some gains, but without addressing the core issues, she was falling further and further behind.  The family could not afford outside therapy, so I encouraged them to get an advocate and try to get her placed at a school for children with learning disabilities where she will get what she really needs.  I haven't heard back about whether they were able to get the placement.

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  Sandie Barrie-Blackley June 17, 2011 12:53

  Abigail~  Hummm.  Suppose this happened in medicine. What if you went to your doctor with a sore throat and the physician just gave you whatever  medication that happen to have in the supply cabinet, without testing for strep or making any assessment of the cause of your sore throat. 

  Your story is sadly familiar.  Families struggle, sometimes for years, to understand the child's problem and to find a qualified professional who can diagnose the problem and discuss science-backed treatment options. No wonder so many families fall victim to unproven therapies and gimmicks. (See, for example, the recent American Academy of Pediatrics, Joint Technical Report: Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision.)  

  Since the Lexercise Screener went online several months ago we have had  hundreds of calls from parents  (288 in May alone!). Their stories are much like the one you relate above. Either the child doesn't qualify for school services and/or the services are clearly inadequate and the child is falling further and further behind. Many of these parents are willing...even desperately willing...to pay for services, and often we are able to connect families with one of the thousands of qualified clinicians in our data base. Too often, the closest qualified provider is hours away. We are using some exciting tele-therpay options and, honestly, I think this is the future. 

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  Elena Mendoza June 17, 2011 16:42

  I use to work for Lindamood-Bell and it's my understanding that Lindamood-Bell prefers to train schools in the Seeing Stars program as it allows for teachers to work independently with less intensive training, such as LiPS.  The LiPS program is very intensive and requires more training and follow up consulting which costs more money on the school.

  Did the student attend a Lindamood-Bell clinic or did the public school administer Seeing Stars?