Retrain the Dyslexic Brain
What do you do when Mom is Dyslexic too?Retraining the Dyslexic Brain has absolutely been a life saver for us. It is well worth the time & investment. Dr. Troy has developed a program that is very different from others, in that it not only focuses on all the elements of developing the parts of the brain that are not yet sending and receiving phonological messages, but is also multisensory, incorporating touch using manipulatives, which is especially helpful for learning challenged children like those with ADD, along with Dyslexia.Dr. Troy doesn't only walk you through the program, she stays with you all the way, encouraging, explaining how the brain works, why the first steps are so important, and what the emphasis should be on.It wasn't until I was faced with helping to teach my 8 yr old & 10 yr old granddaughters who were far behind in reading that I realized that they and my adult daughter had Dyslexia.Thirty years ago, we only knew that our daughter was not learning well in school and needed one-on-one instruction. Not all children learn the same way, and she was missing most of what the teacher said in the classroom. When both of her daughters exhibited some learning difficulties, and had fallen behind in school, she knew they needed one-on-one instruction too.My younger granddaughter had the most trouble concentrating. She was easily distracted and very hyper. She was unable to read more than the first two words on the initial reading word test and was so intimidated by the story she didn’t even try! She couldn’t remember all of the alphabet or accurately count to 10. Both of them wrote some letters and numbers backwards and sometimes upside down! They both struggled to stay focused and couldn’t remember what they had been taught.Our problem was compounded by the emotional trauma the girls had experienced, trying so hard but feeling so defeated. The younger one was hyper and easily distracted. The older one whose first words were a full sentence and had already developed a large vocabulary, this brilliant child who had dreamed of becoming an engineer someday, had finally given up on all her dreams, believing she was too dumb to read. But the more we tried to teach her, the more distraught she became. Our pressure on her just made it worse.One of the first things that made the quickest, most immediate difference for us in the program was the brain exercises intended to stretch working memory. The colors “game” we chose totally replaced letters and numbers and all the stress. For the first time, our eldest found that she had a great memory! It just needed to be used without stress! Her progress from then on was phenomenal!!!The change in the girls has been extraordinary, not only with reading, but also with their compliance because of their newfound confidence. Both girls have progressed through 2 grades in one year! They absolutely LOVE reading. They can now read game instructions, menus, baking recipes and they read stacks of library books, for FUN! The older one who is now 12 just presented me with a stack of library books she read this month. Two of them are thick encyclopedias! I was stunned! All she wants for Christmas is BOOKS!!!! I NEVER would have expected that!!It took them longer than most others to go through what usually takes 16 or so weeks, but Dr. Troy was so gracious to give us extensions. When discouraged, the support given by Dr. Troy, the coaches and other moms on a weekly basis, was just what I needed and I owe them all a great debt of gratitude! Through them I have learned how important it is to celebrate even the smallest steps.There is no doubt in my mind that this program will work for anyone who finds reading challenging!Thank you so much Dr. Troy!