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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Remarkable Success Story--Thanks to This Book, May 12, 1999
By A Customer
In early March, before I found "Reading Reflex" by chance on an amazon.com search, my 6-1/2-year old daughter's reading skills were barely on grade level according to her school records. She often struggled through attempts to read fairly simple but unfamiliar words, frequently inserting sounds that were not there or switching the letter sequences. Because sounding out words took such effort, she often resorted to a guessing strategy that, not surprisingly, failed her frequently. She was starting to become discouraged, and at times I wondered if formal testing and tutoring was needed.In late April, seven weeks after we started the "Phono-Graphix" lessons in "Reading Reflex," a standardized test showed that my first-grader could now decode unfamiliar words at the level of a third grader. I knew from my own observations that she was doing very well, but this confirmation was stunning. Her leap in abilities came about because "Reading Reflex" gave me the background knowledge, evaluation materials, and activities to create a concentrated, highly successful "catch-up" program for her. My goal was to help her to get solidly on grade level, but this was successful beyond anything I could imagine. For six weeks, my daughter and I worked together at about twice the pace suggested in the book. We did about three to four 40-60-minute lessons a week (instead of two lessons). Each lesson included about 20-30 minutes of Phono-Graphix activities followed by 20-30 minutes in which she read poems or a story aloud, during which I corrected her as needed using the quick, instructive techniques from the book. It is not necessary or probably desirable to work with most children at this rate, but my daughter needed to catch up and was willing, motivated, and doing beautifully--plus I was able to make the time for extra lesson planning--so we proceeded. Now we do a lesson only occasionally but try to read together daily to keep her skills up. Although my daughter is a bright child with strong story analysis skills who loves books--and has had many thousands read to her--cracking the written code did not come easily to her (before Phono-Graphix). Last fall, when I became concerned about her struggles, I learned that this problem is common. According to information I got from a leading research agency, most children "pick up" reading regardless of how they are taught, but some 20%, regardless of how intelligent they are, need systematic, explicit instruction in decoding to fully develop as readers. I tried a number of other approaches before finding "Reading Reflex." I assumed that "explicit instruction" in decoding was phonics instruction, so I tried some software programs, electronic phonics toys, and a popular mail-order program, with varying results--none of them remarkable. When I finally found "Reading Reflex" in early March, it was clear, from its emphasis on "phonemic awareness" and the logical nature of our written code, that this was what I had been looking for all along. After spending five months and a few hundred dollars on less effective materials, I found that the recommendations from 20+ years of research were wrapped up in a single book aimed at parents. I could hardly believe it. The introductory chapters of "Reading Reflex" de-mystified the reading process for me. It took about a week for some of the concepts to sink in, as this approach, though entirely logical (even brilliant), is very different from the traditional phonics approach I had been taught many years ago and was using to help my daughter. I needed to re-wire my thinking quite a bit. Unlike phonics, with Phono-Graphix there are no memorization drills, no confusing "rules" (with their many exceptions), and no work on sounds unless within the context of a word. The skills development activities are brief, varied, and often use manipulatives (sliding letters on a dry-erase board or desk), so it was a heck of a lot more interesting for my daughter than, say, phonics flash cards. My daughter grasped the concepts readily and her skills developed rapidly. As she became adept at isolating and manipulating sounds in words--two areas of initial weakness that I could identify using the tests in the book--her reading improved in leaps, as did her confidence level. Soon, instead of just asking me to read to her, she began to ask, "Can I read YOU a book?" And when she did, she no longer needed to rely on guessing strategies. She was gaining the skills and knowledge to carefully tackle just about every word she encountered. As my daughter grew as a reader, I developed as her teacher. "Reading Reflex" taught me how to conduct the lessons and correct mistakes. I gained many additional, invaluable tips from the book's online bulletin board (www.readamerica.net), on which the authors and other representatives of their program converse with teachers, parents, and tutors. Online I was lucky to find a local certified Phono-Graphix trainer who offered a workshop for parents, which added to my teaching and lesson planning skills. I have only two small criticisms of the book. One is that it does not provide an at-a-glance road map of the lessons which I, as a visual thinker, needed to avoid confusion. I easily remedied this by making an outline of the sequence of activities in the most complicated and important section (chapter 5). The other is that the few stories and illustrations are not appealing, although my daughter and I came to look upon them with humor. This was not a problem. I simply sought appropriate, engaging stories and poems from the library that reinforced the lessons (the book's web site had many suggestions). I wish to extend my deep, heartfelt thanks to the developers of Phono-Graphix and authors of the "Reading Reflex," Carmen and Goeff McGuinness, and to the Phono-Graphix certified therapist who held the parent workshop, Kim Bacon. They empowered me to help my daughter in a fast and effective way, which has made all the difference
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by Siegfried Engelmann
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