Off Topic: Question about Barton reading

[Miah]

Asking for a friend who has a child recently diagnosed with dyslexia. Anyone that has used or knows about Barton: Do you know of any financial aid type programs or groups that can help a family gain access to Barton?

Their son is 8 and has autism and several other issues. I know he's in speech, OT, and Vision Therapy, and is currently out of PT, but it was a big thing for him up to preschool. I remember him wearing DAFOs for a few years. He's not mine, so I don't have all the details, just some broad strokes.

(I know he's had the longest stretch of vision therapy that doctor has ever had to prescribe for any child. He had to go weekly for around 2 years, I think, and is still going monthly. By comparison, my oldest went for 3 monthly sessions, and my youngest for I want to say 18 to 24 weeks, and his eyes were pretty bad at the start.)

[DiannaKennedy]

Re: Off Topic: Question about Barton reading

Hi Miah!

Barton levels are expensive, but the resale value is very good. In other words, there's a big upfront cost per level, but you'll end up getting that back when you sell.

What I'd recommend:
First, Barton is completely doable at home. Meaning, I've never paid for outside Barton tutoring. Some families do. I felt like that was a cost I could easily eliminate.

If you have a Scottish Rite in your area, they do free/low cost dyslexia tutoring, but I don't know if it's Barton.

Reach out to local dyslexia groups in your area. We have one here in Louisville, where a family started a group, to be able to make Barton affordable. They essentially 'rent' the program to the family. Head over to http://katesway.org and reach out to Ted. He may be able to put you in touch with similar groups.

Reach out to local dyslexia schools. They may have a similar set up.

You can buy them used from eBay and BST groups, but a word of caution. I've been personally burned and bought a counterfeit copy. Had to file a PayPal dispute, etc. After that, I just purchase them straight from Barton.

[Miah]

Re: Off Topic: Question about Barton reading

Thank you for the reply. I doubt there will be anything available locally (or even in my state, it's Arkansas afterall). The one local parent group that covers all disabilities is on the case, so if there is, they'll find it.

How often do you have to buy levels? Are they a year's worth of work? She mentioned specifically the frequency of the cost being problematic, but that might be for the tutoring. What advice do you have for using the program at home without the tutors?

[sfhargett]

Re: Off Topic: Question about Barton reading

I also use Barton.

The first two levels are $250 each. The rest are $300 each. How fast the child goes through each level really depends on the child. From your brief description of the child, it seems like he would progress slower than some. I would think that levels 1-3 would be the absolute most he would get through in 1 year. I think 1-2 months for levels 1 and 2 and 4-5 months of level 3 is typical of average dyslexic students.

Some examples:
my oldest has apraxia of speech, adhd, and dyslexia. He had to do another program that Barton recommends before he could begin level one of Barton. It took him a year to complete that program and level 1 and 2 of Barton. It took him a year+ to go through level 3. He's now going slow and steady through level 4. I think he'll probably do levels 4 and part of 5 this year.

My daughter "only" has dyslexia and maybe mild adhd. She went through levels 1 and 2 in about 3 months and is now halfway through level 3. I think she'll finish levels 3 and 4 this year.

Susan Barton's guidelines for using Barton are that the child has to have a normal IQ, not be a ESL student, and not have a receptive language disorder. I think some people who have children with milder receptive language problems have been successful.

[DiannaKennedy]

Re: Off Topic: Question about Barton reading

Thank you for the reply. I doubt there will be anything available locally (or even in my state, it's Arkansas afterall). The one local parent group that covers all disabilities is on the case, so if there is, they'll find it.

How often do you have to buy levels? Are they a year's worth of work? She mentioned specifically the frequency of the cost being problematic, but that might be for the tutoring. What advice do you have for using the program at home without the tutors?

Susan chimed in with her experience, for which I am thankful! There's a handful of us here that have experience with Barton.

Like she mentioned, timing of the levels is individualized. Depending on the severity, some students will take more time than others. I haven't used Barton straight through. We took a break (more on that later) and are returning to it on the recommendation of our psychologist. I know there's a trade back benefit for Level 1 -- if you buy Level 1, and go through it very quickly (mastering the program), then you can sell it back for a credit on Level 2.


Barton is laid out step by step by step, so that anyone could teach it. If you read through the teachers' manual, watch the DVD (designed for the instructor, NOT the student), then you're ready to go. I'd recommend shorter, more frequent lessons, personally. When we were in Barton, I aimed for 15 min, 5 days/week.

BACK STORY:
We actually began using Barton BEFORE my son was diagnosed with dyslexia. We had a screening at a local dyslexia school, and while we didn't get an official diagnosis there, the words "Ortan Gillingham program" were mentioned. I'd read enough to know we were likely looking at dyslexia, so I jumped in Barton while I was waiting to have the boys officially evaluated.


I feel like it works very well. When I finally had my son officially evaluated, his scores showed significant remediation --- I credit that to using Barton.

Few links I found in a quick search:

http://www.ardyslexiasupportgroup.org/

http://applegroupdyslexia.com/services-parents/