Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Another thread on discrepancies in scores?

Well, there is some research that suggests some brain training activities can improve scores on measures of working memory, but so far the effect sizes are negligible, except for literally improving performance on the exact tasks on which one trains. (E.g., one can practice memorizing longer and longer number sequences, which translates into improved ability to...memorize longer number sequences, and pretty much nothing else.) The data certainly don't, in my mind, justify the expense of the best-supported (and that's not really saying much) working memory interventions. You probably won't get better results than, say, playing concentration-type games with your kid. I think you'll get better payoff from using her existing memory strengths as an alternate route, than from trying to pour a lot of time and energy into stretching her working memory a little bit. For example, she has the kind of profile that will probably really enjoy something like "Times Tales" (https://timestales.com/) for gaining fluency with multiplication facts, when it comes time to learn them.

OG is generally considered the gold standard for reading interventions, and she has a focal deficit in the exact area of reading that is most responsive to remediation. I think you'll see some encouraging progress in a reasonably short period of time. I used AAS with my then-nearly-seven-year-old, after a year of evidence-based phonics instruction using a highly-respected structured reading curriculum moved us forward only a very small amount. (Also, accompanied by way more frustration shared between homeschooling parent and child than could possibly be considered acceptable.) AAR was not available at the time, but AAS uses OG techniques from the spelling/encoding side, which has good collateral benefits for reading. I won't say my child immediately became a fluent reader, but DC certainly improved dramatically within the first month, with respect to positive attitudes about DC's ability to read and write, and willingness to engage in literacy activities. There was a new expectation of success attached to reading and writing that had not previously existed.