30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
INVALUABLE for child with autism-TAUGHT child to READ!!!, April 11, 2008
This review is from: Your Baby Can Read (Volume 1-3, plus Starter Video and Review Video) (DVD)
I started this video when my son was three months old. My ONLY concern with this video is that it's a little flashy/quick cutting for a younger child. I did contact the company about this and I was told that this was to keep the attention of older viewers. We just skipped the intro to minimize the quick cuts, wipes, etc. Also, it is quite funny that the STARTER video has simple words such as "hi", "arm", "dog" then simply jumps up to "hippopotamus". Nonetheless, I am still giving this video five stars as it has proven invaluable to my son.
It does take a HUGE commitment. We watched the series 5-6 days a week then bumped it up to 2 times a day after 10 months. Per Dr. Titzer, adult participation is preferred and it does get VERY trying at times to watch these videos over and over and over. Also, Dr. Titzer recommends no other videos which can be quite a challenge.
At sixteen months (although my son was not verbal), he could identify body parts and sign for objects such as dog and airplane from our home-made flash cards utilizing the words taught on this video. It truly was amazing and maybe some day I will actually get around to attaching a video of him reading. It was quite entertaining and my son loved the attention. My brother found it particularly amusing to ask my son to "act French," when holding up the "arms up" card.
***MOST importantly, when my son was in Speech Therapy (he was diagnosed with Autism at 2 years 3 months), they were able to use his reading to get him to speak. For example, they would write "I want juice" instead of using PECS and my son would read the request aloud. Gradually, he was able to utilize language in a functional manner. Now he can make requests without prompting. By age two, my son started reading phonetically which is amazing. When my son started in an early intervention program, the teachers did not believe me when I told them my son could read. Two weeks later, the teachers excitedly told me that my son could ACTUALLY read. Apparently, many parents think their child can read, but in fact they memorize books so the teacher didn't believe me. The teachers and aides were so excited about discovering his reading ability they informally tested him and surmised he was reading at a second + grade reading level. The occupational therapist got a kick when my son read her business card and called her an, "occupahtional therapist." Although my son is behind in several areas, the ability to read has given him a real leg up in at least one area. I don't think that we would have made as much progress without the help of these videos. Out of the thousands of dollars we have spent in therapy this series was THE BEST investment I have ever made!!!!
Currently, we have started the series with our second son. He is now 9 months old. I'll keep you updated.
UPDATE. My youngest son, now three turning on 4 is reading as well-- and not just sight words, but phonetically trying to sound out larger words. We did not do the program as intensily as my first son, but he started reading some words at 2.5 years instead of 18 months like my older son. Still not bad. This video seried gave him a great boost. To follow up, I would suggest Rock and Learn Alphabet and then Phonics which interested my younger son more.
At five years old, my older son was tested at the University of Irvine for a Autism study and he tested at reading at a 17 year old level (although not all the comprehension was there). He has been accepted to Stanford's EPGY program and is doing very well.
CAVEAT: Maybe this program worked so well on my children because they have autism and splinter skills. I can't say. All I do know is that with both my son's I was told they were mentally retarderd and that they should be institionalized as they initially scored in less than the bottom 1% of their age group. I do think that by exposing children to educational material rather than junk TV is much better overall. This program does emphasize limited TV exposure so that the program can be effective. They way I figure it, if you're going to have the TV on, it might as well be something educational. This program works best if you can participate with your child; however, unless your supermom, occassionally it's nice to have something to occupy your child and this is at least somewhat guilt free and may allow enough time for you to jump in the shower. Once you move up to Rock and Learn phonics, you might even be able to move up to a bubble bath as your children may also enjoy looking at books all by themselves.
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45 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Your baby can read!, August 30, 2004
This review is from: Your Baby Can Read (Volume 1-3, plus Starter Video and Review Video) (DVD)
My mother-in-law bought this dvd set for my son for her to use at her house when she watches him while I am at work. She bought it when he was 8 months old and now he is 14 months old and enjoys watching the videos. He dances and interacts with these videos and gets us to interact too. He says row-row-row, at 14 months. He also says, dog,duck, cat, meow, and woof woof. When the songs come on, he gets up to row his boat, head shoulders knees and toes, he touches his head, shoulders, knees and toes. I have seen other children his age and they are not nearly as advanced as he is. Also, when he sees words that are on the video, like the word clap, he claps! I highly recommend these videos to all parents who want to get a jump start on their childs education.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great theory...terrible dvds, March 13, 2006
This review is from: Your Baby Can Read (Volume 1-3, plus Starter Video and Review Video) (DVD)
I got these dvds for my 2 yr. old son who just loves to learn. He didn't immediately take to the dvds, but after a couple of weeks of forcing him to watch them, he now asks to watch the "learning videos". He mostly gets to watch them while he's sitting still in his high chair...the only way he'd watch it from beginning to end (they're not nearly as captivating as Baby Einstein).
I really like Dr. Titzer's theory about teaching children to read. I wish that he had a book for parents to read. I think that might prove to be a little more helpful than these low budget dvds. However, it's the price of these dvds that I can't believe. They are so expensive. It's outrageous! The dvds themselves are super low quality. They scratch super easily and then they are virtually useless. (I wish I could back mine up somehow. I'm certainly not going to buy a second set!) Hence, a book might be better. Between the low budget dvd making (using friends and his own family) and the poor quality of the dvds, I'm sure our good friend Dr. Titzer is rolling in the dough!
Now that I'm done griping,like I said, the theory is great. In fact, I made flash cards just like Dr. Titzer and my son seems to learn just as well from them as he does the dvds. But, if you'd like to sit your child down in front of something educational, this would be it. In my opinion, a parent or adult needs to sit and watch with the child. I think that helps speed up the results of the "reading process". After watching the dvds a few times, and a lot of work with the flash cards, my son recognizes about 20-25 words. If we see a word he knows in a book, he can "read" it.
I'm not done with the set, (my son is still on volume 1) but all in all, I think they are an ok investment. I still think they are way over priced for what you get. All the footage could have been shot in one afternoon. If my local library carried the set, I think I would have watched the starter video for Dr. Titzer's theory, and then gone from there.
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