Removing Two Major Obstacles for Kids with Dyslexia

Our experience with Lexercise, an online platform that offers accessible one on one literacy therapy for children with dyslexia

This post is in partnership with Lexercise, but all thoughts and feelings are based on personal experience.

A few months ago, I did a five part series on dyslexia which took readers on Harlow’s journey from early signs through testing and diagnosis to switching schools and finally her experience as she began to thrive in her new learning environment where students are taught decoding (a skill that involves taking apart the sounds in words and blending sounds together) using a method called Orton Gillingham.

The responses to that series were great, with many parents wishing that their school districts had the same breadth of choices for dyslexic students that we have in NYC. Others talked about the high cost of testing and barrier to entry in some of these programs. It is, in fact, a very unfair system that rewards those armed with the most information and money to spend. But there was one response that was particularly interesting and that was from a follower who works for a company called Lexercise, an online platform that offers accessible testing and literacy therapy for children who suffer from dyslexia, dysgraphia, and other reading and writing problems.

Lexercise wanted to work with me to share their solution for dyslexic students with as many parents as possible. But before I agreed to anything, I wanted to see how it worked for Harlow. So in the weeks leading up to camp and the weeks after, I started Harlow on an 8 week Lexercise program to test it out. We are currently on Week 4.

One of the things that I talked about in my series was our struggle with recognizing Harlow’s early signs. This is because teachers are not allowed to diagnose, so although looking back, I can now see that they hinted at an issue, no one ever said dyslexia so we just thought she was a late reader. When the school finally suggested we get Harlow tested (without being able to definitely tell of us if something was wrong), we were shocked at the $7K fee and wondered if it was really necessary. The cost made us a wait a full year before taking action.

The first thing I noticed when checking out Lexercise is that they offer a free dyslexia screener (a ten minute online test followed by a live consultation with a therapist by request) that will tell you whether they think dyslexia is most likely the cause of your child’s learning struggles. I think if we had known about this, it probably would have helped us intervene much earlier.

Since we already know that Harlow has dyslexia, we skipped to the online reading and spelling inventory, which is what they use to onboard new students. The assessment is administered one on one by a certified specialist who takes your child through a series of reading and writing prompts. Much like a professional neuropsych, the assessment also takes into account the experience of the student, the parent and their current teacher. After a few days, we were given a surprisingly in depth analysis of Harlow’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as her grade level in all different areas, like decoding skills, speed, comprehension, accuracy and spelling. It actually gave us more information and analysis than we get from Harlow’s school and it was easier to interpret specifics than we got from her official neuropsych.

For instance, we knew that Harlow was currently about a grade level behind in reading from what her school has told us (which is leaps and bounds from where she started), but what Lexercise helped me understand was why. They said her accuracy and decoding skills are actually at grade level, but her speed is what puts her behind. So, in their mind, it’s the practice and repetition of specific sounds that trip her up that would get her to the next level. And then they specifically flagged sound combinations that trip her up, like words with “dg,” as areas where she needs more practice.

After the assessment, the next step is being paired with a therapist certified in Orton Gillingham (yes, the same program that Harlow’s school uses) and then setting up weekly one-on-one tutoring sessions online. Each one hour lesson helps break down a very specific area of concern, letter grouping or decoding strategy, and then pairs the lesson with customized online games that your child plays for 15 minutes a day. Again, it’s the repetition and reenforcement of strategies that will help bring a child with dyslexia to the next level.

Three things that have sold me on Lexercise since Harlow started her sessions:

1. The dyslexia screener is free and the Lexercise reading and spelling inventory is only $195, compared to a professional neuropsych which costs thousands of dollars. No, you can’t use the Lexercise assessment to get an IEP, but you can use it as a first step in determining whether a costlier assessment is necessary. You can also obviously use it to inform tutoring with Lexercise.

2. The program uses Orton Gillingham, the same program that Harlow’s school uses. For kids who have never been trained with Orton Gillingham before, Lexercise guarantees a grade level increase in the first 8 weeks.

3. The program is completely customized to meet your child’s needs with one on one online tutoring sessions (live or pre-recorded, depending on the package you choose), along with customized online games to reinforce every lesson learned. The games are to be played for 15 minutes, four days a week. Whether your child completes their online gaming requirement can be seen on the backend by the tutor. And if you are questioning the use of online games, please know this is also a method used at Harlow’s school. Signing up also gives you access to homeschooling materials, for those parents who would like to reinforce the lessons in addition to the online games.

Harlow has been doing the program for four weeks (we signed her up for the live tutoring package), and although she was reluctant at first, she now likes her tutor and does not complain about the games. I have been so impressed with a) how precise and in depth the assessment was b) their willingness to find a tutor that was a good fit for Harlow’s personality c) how quickly the tutor has discerned Harlow’s problem areas and d) how it tackles these issues from both a reading and writing perspective. I’m excited to see where the lessons go, especially now that she is back from camp and able to do them more consistently, and also to see how much the online games are able to improve her reading speed.

I think Lexercise is an amazing addition to what Harlow is already learning in school and I love how it will enable her to tackle individual struggles in a one on one setting using the same kinds of strategies she is already learning.

But I believe Lexercise is probably an even bigger asset to kids who have never had Orton Gillingham training before. I am so pleased that this person commented because now when someone asks me what they can do to help their child if a) they aren’t sure whether they should spend the money on a neuropsych, b) they don’t want to pull their child out of their current school to go to a more specialized school and/or c) they don’t have access to the kinds of specialized schools that we have in NYC, I know exactly what to tell them and where to send them.

If you would like to try Lexercise’s free dyslexia screener or the reading and writing inventory assessment ($195), click here.

Please feel free to ask any questions you have below. Sandie Barrie Blackley, the co-founder and Chief Knowledge Officer of Lexercise, who has 40+ years experience in literacy instruction will be answering any questions in the comments!