Dyslexia Gold {Review}

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Dyslexia Gold is an online program to help both struggling readers and children with dyslexia. I was excited to review the program in hopes it would be a good fit for my son.

Jacob has a visual disorder in which one eye does not focus as clearly as the other. At times his weaker eye will stop working and force the stronger eye to become overused and fatigued.

Vision Training:

We received twelve months of access to Catch Up Intervention. It is designed for students ages 7-16. An early intervention program for ages 4-7 is also available, as well as a dyslexia screener to determine if your child has the key symptoms of dyslexia.

As we began the program, Jacob took a brief reading test that included my involvement. His subsequent time with the program was more independent. He began at the dashboard with access to Vision Training, Fluency Builder, Spelling Tutor, and Times Table Tutor.

For the best results, it is recommended students play 20 minutes per day of the Vision Training and Fluency Builder.

Engaging Eyes

To read fluently and track across a page, we need to focus both eyes on the same point. The vision training games exercise the eye muscle.

A target practice game uses 3D glasses to improve the way eyes work together. Jacob tried this game several times, but his condition prevents him from conjugating his gaze through the 3D glasses.

Other games focus on eye-tracking and movement. I found the games to be great exercise for my own eyes. Jacob has been primarily playing the Whack an Alien game and feels his eyes are getting a workout.

Fluency Builder

Dyslexia Gold uses a structured phonics system to teach and build reading skills. This program is for students who already know how to read. It goes beyond standard phonics to exercise all parts of the brain needed for fluency in reading.

Jacob grumbled as the lesson first began, complaining it felt remedial. He was impatient with several of the exercises and would have liked to speed it up or skip it altogether.

Honestly, I did not think there would be much benefit in him doing these games. He learned to read using a phonics system, and I believed eye fatigue was the only challenge. I was surprised to learn he did not always hear correct sounds with an auditory prompt when an exercise changed in tone or volume.

Spelling Tutor

The Spelling Tutor helps students learn the most common 1,000 words. As writing is the best way to learn to spell, some exercises dictate words and sentences for the child to write. The program is personalized to the child and utilizes their mistakes.

Times Table Tutor

Learning times tables can be frustrating. This program is a multi-sensory approach to learning times tables through 12×12. The exercises move at the child’s pace, repeating problems the student finds difficult.

Jacob has primarily been using the Engaging Eyes and Fluency Builder a few times per week. Despite summer break activities hindering him from daily use, reading test scores reflect improvement.

We have experienced some system glitches. A few times Jacob’s progress did not save. Most recently, the Fluency Builder game has not allowed him to drag items as instructed. Technology issues aside, I am very happy with Dyslexia Gold. I expect to see even more growth as Jacob continues to use this program more consistently during the school year.

There is a great deal of information on the Dyslexia Gold website. Not only is the program information available, but the science behind it. I found it very helpful in understanding more about how vision impacts learning.

Click on the image below to see how others from the review crew have been using Dyslexia Gold.