Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.
When you hear the name Dyslexia Gold you might think that it is a program only designed to help students with dyslexia. However, the program is great for any student that is struggling with reading. I had the opportunity to review this product over the summer and I believe that it could be really beneficial to families with struggling readers.
The Dyslexia Gold program consists of six different components. A child’s age and abilities would determine which of those components would be available and most beneficial to them.
We looked over the program with my seven year old who is a very beginning reader. He had access to Engaging Eyes, Reading Unlocked, Spelling Tutor, and Times Table Tutor. They also have a dyslexia screening and Fluency Builder which is a reading program that is above the Reading Unlocked program.
Reading Unlocked
Reading Unlocked started with a pretest to determine where my son was with this reading and then moved him forward from there. There were several different activities included in the lessons. For example, he might need to listen to a word and then click on the picture that rhymed with that word. I appreciated that they also said the names of the pictures aloud so that there was no confusion on what they were depicting in the picture. This is a UK based program so there was a distinct British pronunciation.
The program kept track of progress and there is an easily accessible report to show how much growth the student has had in his reading. This is tracked with an age (year and month) score. Since it was summer and we had some camps and vacation we did not use it every day as we would during a regular school year, however, my son still showed 5 months of growth in reading while using the program.
Spelling Tutor
The spelling tutor program works on the 1,000 most commonly used words. For parts of the program the student typed the spelling of the words into the program for it to score. In other parts of the program, the student was instructed to write the words onto paper and then checked the words, marking which words were correct and which were not into the computer for scoring.
This program works on memorization through repetition of words. There are reports with-in the program that will show you which words your student is struggling with and their progress towards mastering them.
This program is generally recommended for ages seven and up and I felt like it was a bit difficult for my son with his reading delays. I do think that it could be very beneficial for other students whose reading was a bit more advanced.
Times Table Tutor
As a rising second grader my son has not yet covered multiplication. However, I went in and tried out the Times Table Tutor portion of the program and found it really quite well done. Students take a pre-test to determine what they know and then the program picks up from there.
There are movable digital lego style blocks that students move around as they learn how to group objects into sets as a visual representation of multiplication. It also shows them how the blocks, repeated addition, and multiplication all get you the same answer.
I think this is a great way to work on strengthening multiplication facts with a student that was just learning or was having a hard time with memorization.
Engaging Eyes
In my opinion Engaging Eyes is what makes Dyslexia Gold stand out from other computer programs for struggling readers. Instead of just working on the reading/phonics portion of the issue, it focuses on visual tracking.
Studies show that many students who have dyslexia or otherwise struggle with reading, have difficulty focusing both eyes on the same letter and tracking across the text. This portion of the program is comprised of visual exercises and games that help train the eyes to focus in the way needed for reading fluently.
A set of 3-D glasses is included with the program and they are used to while the student works through the Engaging Eyes program. My son thought that this was a lot of fun. I love that this program is getting down to the root of the problem for many students.
Conclusions
Overall, if you have a student that has signs of dyslexia or is otherwise struggling with reading you should check out Dyslexia Gold. We really liked that it worked towards helping with the visual problems that are the root cause of many reading struggles. The other components support that and also help students who are struggling for other reasons. I think that the Times Table Tutor could be used with students who are struggling but also with students who are just learning multiplication to make it more fun and easier to learn.
Be sure to click on the graphic below to see how other Crew Members used Dyslexia Gold.
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