Dr. Forgan’s insight on dyslexia

Dyslexia- LD Testing in Jupiter, Stuart, Port St. Lucie

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My associates and I offer school neuropsychological evaluations for all types of learning disabilities including dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, processing problems, as well as evaluations for social-emotional concerns (self-esteem, anxiety, depression, attention, etc.). We work with families from all over Florida so if you are traveling from out of town, testing is completed in 1 day. We are licensed by the state so our reports are accepted in all Florida public and private schools.

Dyslexia is a language based learning disability that is neurological in origin and often related to genetics.  According to the National Institute of Health, approximately 15-20% of school age children have dyslexia.  This means dyslexia is in all Florida schools and in a class of 25 children as many as 5 children could have mild, moderate, or severe dyslexia. Dyslexia/ learning disability (LD) is the largest category of disability served in the Palm Beach schools and throughout Florida. 

Children with dyslexia have difficulty with reading and spelling.  Unfortunately, most Palm Beach Schools teachers and reading specialist have not been trained to identify and teach kids with dyslexia.  They may not know the most effective methods that children with dyslexia need in order to be successful readers and spellers.  If you think your child is dyslexic, get him or her evaluated as soon as possible so you can begin the most effective remediation program.  In addition to being a school psychologist, I’m a certified dyslexia testing specialist.  According to dyslexia expert Susan Barton, programs that don’t work well for children with dyslexia include: Hooked on Phonics, the Phonics Game, Reading Recovery, Accelerated Reader, Reading Recovery, and most commercial learning chains. 

Scientific, independent, replicated reading research supports the reading programs based on Orton-Gillingham sequence and methodology.  Dr. Sam Orton and Anna Gillingham developed a unique method and sequence to significantly improve the reading and spelling skills of children and adults with dyslexia during the 1930’s.  Orton-Gillingham programs are “best practices” when teaching reading to students with dyslexia.  An Orton Gillingham based reading system is simultaneously multisensory, systematic, and cumulative with direct and explicit instruction in phonics.  This type of program shows how reading and spelling are related and provide intense practice for a child with dyslexia. 

The Dyslexia Teaching Gold Standard

If you want what’s best for your child, one-on-one tutoring using Orton-Gillingham methodology is the gold standard for dyslexic reading instruction.  The benefits of this type of tutoring are supported by research.  Consider the evaluation and tutoring the best investment you can make for the future success of your child.  Their self-esteem will rise along with their academics.  For a list of tutors using Orton-Gillingham methods, call (561) 625 4125.

My Personal Experience with Dyslexia

My child used this type of teaching and overcame dyslexia so I know first hand how well this method works.  Furthermore, my wife is an Orton Gillingham tutor and has helped kids learn to read for over 10 years!  We understand children and how to help them become proficient readers.

Some folks might have tried the Orton Gillingham method and have not received the results they hoped.  When this happens I often ask four things.
First, was it the right match between the tutor and child.
Second, was the tutor ‘certified’ by the training program that they were using or highly experienced?
Third, did you stick with it for up to 36 months?
Fourth, did you tutor at least twice a week for about an hour per session? Usually if there was a problem it was in one of those areas.

Testing Process

I am a certified dyslexia testing specialist located in Jupiter, Florida (West Palm Beach area for anyone reading this out of town) and my associates and I can test your child for dyslexia or any other suspected learning or emotional problem.  Testing is a 4 to 4.5 hour process that is usually completed in one day (taking breaks every hour).  There is also a pre-meeting with you to discuss your initial concerns and review background information.  After testing we have a post meeting because we produce a written report with specific recommendations that we explain in understandable terms.  The entire process is usually not covered by insurance but I’ll give you a receipt for out of network reimbursement.

Call us so we can help you determine if your child has dyslexia or another learning disability and how to help him or her overcome it.  We can also help you find a dyslexia tutor or dyslexia school in the West Palm Beach area. Call today (561) 625 4125

Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Special Needs Help: 3 Steps

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By Dr. Jim Forgan

Your child struggles. It worries you so much that you may even awake during the night thinking about his or her learning or social difficulties. You dread when Sunday night comes and Monday’s stress lurks nearby.  This is your baby and you are searching for advice and how to best help. Like you, I’m a parent and understand your concerns. Based on my parenting and professional experiences I recommend you consider these 3 steps to help you find the right help for your child.

Step 1. Identify the most important problem.

Have you ever thought, “My child is a wreck? If so, you are not alone. Our kids with learning, attention, and processing problems often have multiple needs that interfere at home and school. At times your child’s needs may overwhelm you. When this happens try to take a step back because you are so close to the struggles. You sit there with your child and endure the battles and tears. One parent told me their family did not leave the house for two weekends in a row because of the amount of homework her child had and how long it took him to get it done. This mom was frustrated and looking for answers about her child.
If you want to help your child then prioritize where your child needs the most help. If you have never had your child complete a thorough psychoeducational testing evaluation then this can be very helpful in identifying what is truly going on within your child.
Dyslexia, ADHD, and learning disability evaluations can be pricey but they provide an excellent way to obtain a glimpse of what’s happening inside your child. Think about yourself and if you were having chest pains you’d want your doctor to order an MRI or run tests to find out what is occurring inside you before prescribing treatment. It’s similar for your child because you don’t just want to start general tutoring and hope that it fixes the problem because you could be doing the wrong type of tutoring and end up wasting your valuable time and money. That’s why testing helps identify your child’s problem and then you know how to target the most effective treatment.

If you’ve never completed a plan for your child I recommend using the Dynamic Action Plan from my book. It guides you through identifying your child’s most pressing needs. Then the action plan helps you link your child’s needs to the types of supports.

Step 2. Prioritize the support.

If you’ve had your child tested then the psychologist should have provided you with a written report that explained the testing and offered recommendations. Some psychologists simply provide a laundry list of generic recommendations and then it’s up to you to sort through them and decide what to try first. A laundry list of general recommendations is not that helpful so what I try to do is look at your child through my eyes and consider the question, “What would I do if this were my child?” I want to help you select support that will get you the biggest result for your investment. In my Forgan Parent Support System I have a video about the BEST money I ever spent on my son and if you buy my system you’ll see that in Module 3-9. You can bet that money was not spent on a toy!

Step 3. Use the right support for the right intensity and duration.

Now that you’ve had your child tested and identified the right support you must find the right person to help you and your child. Additionally you have to stick with that person and/or program for the right amount of time. Let’s say your child needs tutoring using the Lindamood-Bell program. First off, your child must have a good relationship with the tutor or he or she will not work for that tutor. Next, you can’t do the tutoring once a week and expect great results. You must be intense about doing the tutoring AT LEAST twice a week and more is better. Finally, if you see good results in three months, don’t quit just because your child is getting better at their skill.
If you are serious about helping your child overcome their dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, or learning issue, they must stick with the support for 1-3 years. They can’t overcome their problem in one short summer. If the program is working, prepare to stick with the tutor for the long haul.

It works.

Here’s a summary of my advice. Complete the testing to figure out what makes your child tick, identify the best support, select the right person to work with your child over time. You child will be in a much better place a year from now if you can follow through with these three steps.

Call or fill out my contact form above if you want to discuss your child with me.

6 Reasons Why Waiting to Test Your Child for Dyslexia Will Cost You More In the End

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Moms and dads, trust your intuition.  If you have been thinking about getting your child tested for dyslexia, just do it.  The peace of mind you will have after the testing is worth every penny of the testing cost.

Here are 6 reasons why waiting to test your child for dyslexia will cost you more in the end.

1. The longer you wait, the more hours of tutoring that will be needed. This is going to cost you more money because tutoring is typically $65/hour and up.

2. Waiting to get the right type of reading instruction increases the chance that your child will never catch up. The gap between your child and his/her peers will widen.

3. There is a greater risk of loss of self-esteem as your child fails for a longer period.  We can make accommodations for academic weaknesses much easier than trying to fix a child’s self-esteem.

4. The longer he/she struggles to learn to read, the more likely he/she will never love reading.  I’ve worked with many families of boys and girls where the kids don’t love reading and will not read for pleasure.  These kids are missing out on one of life’s greatest joys.

5. The child’s vocabulary will end up smaller than peers because he/she is not reading as many books and words as their peers.  This becomes a disadvantage when your child is trying to write descriptive essays.  His/her vocabulary weakness becomes a huge issue when it’s time to take the SAT or ACT.

6.  If your child is not a proficient reader then by the fourth grade his/her grades will be much lower and your child won’t be working to his/her potential.

In addition to being a private practice school psychologist, I am also a dyslexia testing specialist and have completed specific training in how to test and teach children with dyslexia. Additionally, I have a child with dyslexia and have helped him overcome dyslexia.  If you need dyslexia help in the Palm Beach, Jupiter, Stuart, or anywhere in Florida, contact me.  The truth is that public schools usually do not test for dyslexia nor do most provide the type of dyslexia teaching that will help your child overcome dyslexia.  As I stated at the beginning, trust your intuition!  If you have been concerned that your child might have dyslexia, get it checked out.  The longer you put off testing, the more it will cost you in the end.  It probably does not cost as much as you think so call Dr. Forgan for details and payment options.

How Do I Improve My Child’s Reading Comprehension?

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High school reading is tough stuff.  I recently worked with a high school age student having reading comprehension difficulties.  She could read fluently and sound out words without difficulty but did not seem to understand what she read.  As she put it, “My mind wanders and then I start thinking about other things.”  We all do this to some extent but when it starts to interfere with test grades then it becomes a problem.  So what could she do?

As it turns out my testing showed she also had a weaker short term and working memory.  Thus, even though she could read and even concentrate at times, she had troubles remembering.  She explained, “My memory is not strong so I have to write things down.  That’s why I can do ok with vocabulary because I can write it down.”  At that point I knew a great reading comprehension strategy for her to learn was the RAP reading comprehension strategy.

The RAP strategy is one that is researched based and was shown to work.  Here is how RAP works.
R- read a page/ paragraph
A- ask yourself the main idea and important details
P- put them in your own words

I knew this strategy would work for this teenager because when she stopped to ask herself the main idea, she could write it down in her own words.  This straightforward three step strategy is all she needed because it broke the chapter into small parts.  No longer was is viewed as one super long chapter but as short sections that allowed for breaks. Now, she is able to take the information she wrote down and use it to study.  I recommended she use the written information to generate possible test questions.   If she had a list of key terms to remember they become obvious and she can use a memory strategy to remember and recall the terms.

Sure, this strategy takes time to apply because it slows you down and makes you think about your thinking.  But, it works! This teenager could also take part in the intensive Cogmed working memory training program.  This is a computer based working memory training program that she could complete at home under her parents supervision and that of a Cogmed coach.  This would help strengthen her underlying weakness that is contributing to her mind wandering and decreased reading comprehension.

She has a promising future ahead of her.  If your child has reading comprehension problems let me check it out and help you know how to help your child.

Florida Center for Reading Research

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If you are the parent or teacher of a child with reading problems then you should know about the Florida Center for Reading Research.  This center has reading information for parents and teachers.

I really find their reading program curriculum reviews helpful.  They have reviewed countless reading programs that are being used in Florida schools and provide a general overview, the reading program’s pros, cons, and any research that supports the program.   Parents can use this information to learn more about their child’s reading curriculum.  A few of my favorite reading programs for private tutors to use include the Wilson Reading System, Wilson Fundations, Barton Reading and Spelling System, Great Leaps, and Reading Mastery.

Contact me if your child has reading problems so I can help you help them!