We had a meeting with our kindergartener's teacher and the principal of the school today. DS is 5.5 and having a tough time with writing (copying) and reading... we suspect dyslexia. Luckily the meeting went well and the principal recommended we get DS evaluated right away.

My question is, does anyone have any experience with Lindamood-Bell? This is what the principal recommended, and the testing is free (although I'm sure if it turns up a LD they will want us to buy tutoring sessions or whatever it is they do). What exactly will it tell us? Will their tests give us a good idea of DS's issues, whether it truly is dyslexia or maybe ADD or a combo? Will we be able to use the results to do our own research on where to get help, if we decide not to do Lindamood-Bell?

Thanks for any insight you can give...

I used to work there and it's an excellent program. I'm not sure how you're getting the testing for free as it's normally over $500. They use common standardized tests and should be able to tell you if the results are consistent with dyslexia. Here are some of the tests they usually use:

Peabody Picture Vocabulary
Word Opposites (DTLA)
Verbal Absurdities (DTLA)
Oral Directions (DTLA)
Woodcock Johnson Word Attack
SORT
WRAT Spelling and Computation
GORT 4 and another version of the GORT
Lindamood Auditory Conceptualization Test
Symbol Imagery Test

It's almost unheard of for a 5-year-old to get treatment at a L-B center, probably because of the expense. I think by now it's up to around $80 per hour and generally they do 4 hours a day, 5 days a week for a minimum of 4 weeks (in the summer). Kids who go there during the school year are generally those with more severe problems whose districts are paying for the treatment. It may vary by region but the centers I know of close at 5. I worked with maybe 2 six-year-olds in the several years I was there and they both had severe comprehension issues and were on the autism spectrum.

After testing you may want to look for a private tutor who's trained in Lindamood-Bell or another method that's successful in treating dyslexia.

I hope this is a private school....

No public school should be making such a recommendation. They should do an evaluation and provide the appropriate services.

LB has a decent reputation. Most of their programs work on an intense but short remediation, in which a kid goes all day everyday for a month, for instance. There is a lot of evidence that the gains are significant. When I looked a while ago, I could find no evidence that the initial gains are retained - not to say that they are not, but there is no evidence for it because it hasn't been studied. (I had been looking because DD's school wanted to stop services after a fast, intense remediation with a different method. I was looking for any evidence of gains retained after a rapid gain.)

The best analysis I'd read was on What Works Clearinghouse. Write your congressman to fund the government so the website can come back up.

Thanks for posting this.

W'sMama - we are considering one of the intense summer sessions for DS6. I understand that early intervention is great but I also want to get the best results for the cost. Would you recommend the summer between K and 1, 1 and 2, or 2 and 3?

I am sure a lot depends on the kid but I am just curious which age seemed to handle the intensity best.

Thanks, W'sMama. The testing fee was waived because they get lots of referrals from the school (it is a private school). I am not sure we will need such an intensive course for such a young one, and his problems don't seem to be too severe. I just would like to know what we're dealing with in terms of learning issues, and we'll probably go elsewhere for resources to help him.