Lindamood-Bell Learning Center
Parent Q&A
Parent Reviews
Parents, please Sign in to post a review on this page.It was a long time ago, but my son went to three months of intensive tutoring at the Lindamood Bell center at 1625 Shattuck in Berkeley, and he had a wonderful experience there. He was seven or eight years old at the time. He went for two hours a day, five days a week. His elementary school let me pick him up after lunch every day and miss afternoon classes, so he wouldn't get completely exhausted -- two hours of one-on-one tutoring is grueling, but it was effective. Before he went, he couldn't read even the most simple easy readers, and after three months, he was more or less reading Harry Potter on his own.
After Lindamood Bell, we hired a specialist to come into the school and work with him in his classroom a couple of times a week. We kept her on through middle school (when she moved away, alas), and at that point I took over. I had to reassess so many assumptions I had! Through high school I often read instructions for assignments out loud to him. For written assignments he would dictate his thoughts and I would write down what he said, and then we would go through and organize/edit/rewrite/proofread together. It was a long haul, but by the time he started college he didn't even want me proofreading anymore.
At his college he still gets extra time on tests, and he listens to most of the readings for his classes, using either audio books or the Optical Character Recognition program built in to his laptop, and with these two accommodations he is able to manage the work. I would recommend starting to get your child used to listening to texts pretty soon, so that by the time they are in high school they're comfortable with it. You can download audio books from the public library, and most computers now have OCR programs built in. You can choose different voices and adjust the speed of narration.
A laptop is so useful for a dyslexic student -- their own laptop if you can swing it. Spell-check of course is indispensable, and the OCR programs. The Center for Accessible Technology in Berkeley has keyboarding classes especially geared towards kids with learning disabilities. Also you can download a program for a typeface called Dyslexie that makes reading text on a computer/i-pad/phone easier -- my son never took to it, but my dyslexic sister swears by it.
The two books you mention are the ones I would have recommended to you.
There used to be something called the Parents Education Network that ran very helpful sessions for parents. It has now been folded into Children's Health Services (www.chconline.org), a nonprofit based in Palo Alto, but I think they still do those parent sessions (maybe over zoom for now). Their website has tons of resources and they run support groups.
Happy to chat about any of this!
My dyslexic daughter has had great experiences with Lindamood Bell's tutoring services in Berkeley. When we were recently scheduling an upcoming tutoring session for her, the LMB folks told us that, in addition to their traditional after-school/summer tutoring programs that focus just on areas where the student struggles, they just recently started offering an in-person, full time school option that they call "Lindamood Bell Academy." In the Academy option, the students are enrolled at LMB as their full time school and all of their subjects (science, social studies, etc.) are taught to them in a way that is more tailored to their learning style. During COVID, I believe that they tried to have their Academy open to *in person* instruction (at least at certain locations), but it sounds like there may have been some distance learning depending on the Academy location and the respective County Health Department guidelines. So I can't say for sure whether their Academy is *in person* right at this moment, of if it's temporarily remote due to COVID. But it may be something you may want to look into. https://lindamoodbell.com/academy
My child is severely dyslexic and dysgraphic, among other things. We took him to the Lindamood Bell tutoring center in Berkeley when he was 7 and the results were way better than what I imagined would be possible. I think there's a center in Dublin or Pleasanton too. There are two big downsides: it's extremely expensive, and it's also extremely time-intensive. My son went for two hours a day, five days a week, for three months. You'd ideally do it over the summer, but we did it during the school year -- I took him out of school every day at lunch time so he didn't have a full school day and THEN two hours of intensive one-on-one tutoring -- that would be so exhausting it would be counterproductive -- hopefully your school will work with you on this. If you can make the timing work and it's in your budget, it's so effective -- my son couldn't read "Green Eggs and Ham" when he started, and after three months of tutoring he was reading the Harry Potter books. We didn't use it but I know they also offer a math program for dyscalculia. There are private tutors who use the Lindamood-Bell program as well as another research-based approach, Orton-Gillingham, and that would be a cheaper, less time-intensive way to go. If you search the BPN site for tutors using those terms you'll find them.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Oct 2014
Our son was entering the second grade and could not read at all and was defiant and difficult but had excellent math skills. He could not sit still for more than ten minutes at a time unless he was playing Minecraft. We had tried everything. Up to our ears in diagnosis and prescriptions for ADHD medicine and on our third school we went to LMB. We were desperate. Less than half way through our son started reading at his grade level and then the learning escalated exponentially in a creative way that was meaningful for him. I am still not quite sure how they did it but they did. And they are able to deal with kids who are defiant and ''different'' (read creative and rebellious?) with endless amounts of patience. They did not lose their temper once at our son: NOT ONCE. They are kind and patient and sweet and intelligent. I have nothing but complementary things to say about this learning center - It is worth every single penny and it is very costly. I owe them a debt of gratitude for saving my son's intellect. I highly suggest that if you have a child that has any special needs and is not progressing in school that you contact this organization immediately. Your child WILL succeed with their help. Mimi
Lindamood Bell - worth it for struggling 3rd grader?
March 2014
Our 3rd grader is struggling terribly with reading and spelling. He's been through the gamut of testing and they say he's not dyslexic but I am not so sure. There is clearly something going on... The LindaMood Bell program has been recommended by the learning specialist at school, I'm wondering if anyone on BPN has any experience with them? Is it worth it? Was it helpful? Would an educational therapist accomplish the same thing? anon
I agree with previous posters who recommended a full assessment before starting on an intervention. For us, it turned out that a significant part of the problem was related to binocular vision. They can assess this at the binocular vision clinic at UC. For a general cognitive assessment if you put in a request in writing to your school district, they are obliged to provide one within 60 days. Go to the DREDF.org website for more details on how to do this. Another alternative (which you might need if you child is both LD and gifted, and so ends up above grade level) is assessment through the UC Psych dept or the Ann Martin Center in Oakland. anon
My now 17 yr old couldn't read at age 7. Testing said he was very smart but had auditory processing issues. Both Linda-Mood and Ed therapist were recommended. After giving up his winter holiday for two weeks of intense LMB training he thanked us, his parents, for taking him to LMB. He did a seven week session the following summer with LMB and worked with a terrific Ed therapist for several years to master whatever learning issues manifested themselves. All very costly and meant our family gave up a lot. Today, he's a masterful writer, debater, all around good student and athlete. I recommend LMB completely. No regrets. Mary
I just wonder from your message what the 'gamut' of testing means. Does he have an IEP? Has he been 'tested' through the school district? My understanding is that public school districts will NEVER label a child dyslexic because they would be required to pay to remediate, which is extremely expensive. Follow your gut - dyslexia is not a mystery and it sounds like you are right and he may have it, in which case the proper help (quickly) is crucial. Before spending any money at LB I would make sure you have your child go through a complete educational assessment with a qualified individual (not necessarily thru the school district). In our situation we spent thousands at LB before our son was tested and would have rather spent that money on a qualified Ed Therapist (not a tutor but someone certified). In our case vision therapy via a Developmental Optometrist was also a vital help. Good luck! been there
Have you had a developmental optometrist examine your child? A standard pediatrician only checks one aspect of vision, acuity. But a developmental optometrist does a much more thorough exam of near and far acuity, accommodation, and even how the eyes team together during reading. It may show something going on that no one else caught. Berkeley Optometry school can do that evaluation (ask for the binocular vision clinic), or Dr. Grisham in San Rafael (who used to head the binocular vision clinic at Cal). Our son benefited from the exercises they prescribed. Bryan in Oakland
I didn't see your original post so maybe this response doesn't fit. Are auditory/language processing issues the underlying disability? We considered Lindamood Bell several years ago when our daughter was diagnosed with language processing issues but it wasn't an option for us due to cost. Our daughter had reading issues, but the actual cause was her processing. We ended up doing the Fast ForWord program - I can't remember the cost now, but it was much less. It's a completely different kind of program, and like I said, may not fit your child's needs. My daughter still definitely has issues, but I don't know where she'd be without having done FFW. . anon
Lindamood Bell for kindergartener who can't read?
March 2014
Hello, Can you please share your positive and negative experiences with Lindamood Bell? My son is in kindergarten and struggling with reading. His teacher doesn't seem to be able to communicate with him very well and he doesn't seem to be making much progress. We are considering having him go to Lindamood Bell for a month this summer to learn how to read. I like everything that I've seen there but the cost is exorbitant. If it will work, it's worth it. But I wonder if it will work and if it is necessary. We are scared that if he can't read that he will eventually start hating school and get far behind. But then I've heard a lot of stories of boys not reading until 1st or 2nd grade and being totally caught up within a few years. Thanks for your input
Having spent many thousands at LB I would recommend that you FIRST take your child for an educational assessment. What are the reasons he is not learning to read now? Many children don't read in Kindergarten and go on to be fine readers by 1st or 2nd grade, some have learning challenges and need more intervention - you need to find out which is the case with your child before you start spending a lot of money. Knowing what I do now we could have saved ourselves considerable time and resources having our son tested FIRST - and when I say tested I don't mean at LB, I mean by a qualified professional who can do a comprehensive educational assessment. Good luck! been there done that
My child was struggling with reading and I had her evaluated at the Ann Martin Center. She received intervention that made a measurable difference in just one semester. http://www.annmartin.org/educational-support/educational-support-1 Good luck.
My daughter did not learn to read fluidly until the second grade. Everything seemed to come together at that point. Her 2nd grade teacher who had over 40 years experience teaching said that it was not at all unusual. don't worry
I find your story surprising. That said, we put our child in LMB during 4th grade. She had been reading above grade level since kindergarten, but leveled the end of 2nd and hadn't improved by 4th grade. Still above grade level. School told me not to worry. I am all about early intervention. Took her to LMB, got tested, found a comprehension issue. Ashleigh, the director, told us we didn't need to put her in a program, but it would prevent issues later. We did a 4 hour a week, 7 week program, and her reading levels leapt. The end of the program was a little chaotic (there were some changes in the office) Now i have a 6th grader who is an avid reader and reading 'The Hunger Games' and 'The Book Thief'. We couldn't be happier. We also have another family experience with dyslexia. My nephew worked his behind off for Bs and Cs his whole life. Every summer they put him in a different program because it cost less than LMB. Finally, the end of 10th grade they put him into LMB. He came back to school and got a 4.0 his Junior and Senior years of high school, and is now at NYU.
I believe in LMB. I feel like there has to be a fuller story about why someone would want to put a kindergartner there. Is he mature enough to be interested in reading? Is there a school learning specialist involved? I hope you find the right solutions. Best of luck
Our son did not read until 2nd grade. He is now in 7th grade, and is a solid B student. He reads as well as any other 7th grader. In retrospect: 1. So what if he wasn't reading in kindergarten? Lots of kids aren't. 2. Turns out he had pretty severe inattentive ADD, which wasn't discovered until he was 9. The ADD made it impossible for him to get much out of K-2. You might just have a late reader, or there might be something else going on. I would wait on LMB.
I spent over $10K at Lindamood Bell, and it was money well spent, but I think that it's overkill for a child entering 1st grade -- especially one who didn't connect well with his K teacher. At this stage I'd strongly recommend the CSU Summer Reading Program for Entering 1st graders. It's a 2 hour course taught one day a week for 6 weeks, which you attend with your child. In addition to what your kid learns, you learn how to encourage your child, which is not necessarily intuitive. For example it's good to take a break from the hard work of reading and look at the pictures and talk about what's going on. Plus you learn what book constitutes a ''reader'' (ex. Frog and Toad series) versus a ''simply written book'' marketed for young readers (ex. stories with action heroes or Disney characters). Ideally you'll get a good 1st grade teacher and you'll have a much better sense of your child's reading aptitude by the end of 1st grade. Then, if you're still concerned, you can get a Lindamood Bell evaluation, their standardized tests will tease out what's challenging for your son, and their programs might be the way to proceed. Berkeley Parent
Linda Mood Bell for 4th grade Math?
Oct 2013
Hi - My 4th grade daughter is struggling in math. Would appreciate feedback about Linda Mood Bell for math assessment and support. Thank you
My daughter attended Lindamood-Bell, and it dramatically improved her reading fluency. It was very expensive, but money well spent. Their testing revealed that symbolic imagery was a weakness, which was also evident in my daughter's poor command of math facts. I was strongly considering Lindamood- Bell's math program, but then her teacher introduced me to the ''9 Lines Strategy'' in Making Math Real. It made as much sense, if not more, than the Lindamood-Bell's air writing technique. So I decided to add math sheets to our daily routine and save myself $1K/week at Lindamood Bell. Within 6 weeks my daughter mastered her multiplication math facts.
In the process of looking for a math tutor, I learned that Making Math Real is used by most of the education specialists in the Bay Area. When I heard that the big guns in Making Math Real, Evan Delegeane and Michael Curry, were teaching a summer math camp I decided to enroll my daughter. She loved it, and when school began I enrolled her in their After School Math Club on Wednesdays (3:30-5 on Grand Ave. in Piedmont). The cost of the course, which runs 17 weeks, is $100 more than 1 week of Lindamood-Bell instruction. Evan and Michael really impress me, they're former teachers with many years of classroom experience, they are Making Math Real course instructors, and from what I've seen they make math fun as well as real. To inquire about the club contact tlc.services [at] icloud.com Berkeley Parent
Lindamood Bell for son with visual processing disorder?
May 2012
My son has been diagnosed with a visual processing disorder, and I'm looking to Lindamood Bell. Most BPN reviews are quite old. I've heard it works and is very expensive. Any other input in terms of both short and long term impact on your child's abilities?
I thought I'd respond in case this is helpful to you. Oakland Unified School District has a reading clinic for elementary school kids that uses Lindamood Bell methods to help the kids. Kids who qualify to go there go everyday for a year. My child went in third grade. In case you're an Oakland public school parent, I wanted you to know about this option. Your child would have to qualify through the IEP process. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!
My daughter who has a processing problem went to LMB for the reading program and a small portion of the math program. It wasn't great for her. And it is so expensive that that was always an issue. They use a visualization process. My daughter has a more auditory processing problem and it didn't really ''stick''. Also, they had us do a planned program which we did, then said we hadn't really completed what they recommended, and needed more. So, the math part, which we really needed, didn't happen well. What I will say, is that they tried (sort of on and off) to find a partner and that made the program much more reasonable. We have found that a good tutor is MUCH cheaper and more beneficial.
First of all, good job helping your kid! It's tough work when learning to read isn't smooth- so you've made the first big leap into figuring it out, and let me tell you, Lindamood Bell is fabulous. My daughter was at the end of first grade when we enrolled. We saw improvements immediately in her mood. It was if a weight had been lifted off her chest. She also was better behaved in school (funny- she acted out every time reading and writing came up in class.) The program was intense, but I told her that she was strong enough for it, and I wasn't above bribery- a little piece of chocolate, Japanese erasers, her favorite movie at the end of the week, whatever it took to get through it, and only if I heard from her teachers that she focused the entire four hours each day. What was hardest for her was leaving her classmates at school, so I think if I had to do it over, I would enroll her in the morning program (although she's not really a morning person, so maybe not.) But once we made the commitment, there was no turning back, no breaks, just total support for her until finishing. She jumped from a pre-pre- school level of reading to 4th grade level in 6.5 weeks- she just needed to get her reading ability up to her interest level and fast, because otherwise she was bored with the books. She learned 850 sight words. AMAZING. From my understanding, one indication that the program will work well for your child is their score for vocabulary, and how large the difference is between reading ability and understanding. But talk to the director about that. I also know that they are not going to recommend their program to anyone they don't think will benefit. Sometimes it was hard; I remember a few days of crying. But to us, a few days of crying about why does she have to do this extra work while her classmates do not outweighed the crying I see from students in fourth grade who still have trouble reading. Don't Wait!
My child also has a visual processing learning difference. We didn't try Lindamood Bell, but we did do binocular vision training at UC eye center (very helpful with reading), and saw a couple of OTs -- Gail Gordon in Orinda and Liz Isono in Berkeley. We also tried to do ''natural'' activities like music lessons, and art classes to help stimulate those areas. One of the PTs had us do specific games on a WII. The good news is that now (8 years after the beginning of the journey) there has been a great improvement in performance on untimed tests, and a significant improvement in performance on timed tests. School is going well, though it takes more work than for most students. anon
Teach Lindamood-Bell myself to my child?
April 2012
My 7-year-old daughter has a learning disability and her teacher and occupational therapist have recommended some programs at Lindamood-Bell. She was assessed there and would need 160-200 hours of private instruction to learn to read. I am totally sold on the value of the program but it's expensive and intense. I'm wondering how I could set up a program at home that would be successful over the summer. I can't match 3-4 hours a day without both of us going crazy! I have thought about doing an hour twice a day, perhaps at the public library. I would love to hear from any parents who have taken the training (HQ in San Luis Obispo) and taught their own children. My daughter needs Seeing Stars and Visualizing & Verbalizing... special ed mom
You can do it!!!
My daughter struggled to learn to read and was diagnosed with dyslexia at the end of first grade. I went to Linda Mood Bell (and other places) and was turned off by the price. Tutoring or other regular reading programs are not designed for challenges like dyslexia and others. You need a specific program like LMB or others that address the challenge.
I tutored my daughter using the Barton system over the summer with dramatic results. We worked together one summer every day for 30-40 minutes and did all kinds of things to make it fun. Aside from teaching my daughter, it helped me to understand her specific challenges, so I could support her (for example your natural urge to say ''sound it out'' is the worst thing to say).
Of course, the challenge that makes it hard to learn to read comes up in other areas too, so it is really helpful to understand it.
The Barton system is designed to train you to tutor your child. You have to watch DVDs each weeks that show you how to do the lesson plan, but it works.
My 4th-grade daughter is thriving now and loves to read and write. Her teachers cannot believe that she struggled with reading. Holly
Hi there, I read your post and it sounds like your child has a reading disability. If so, you might want to consider the Susan Barton reading system. My son has been diagnosed with Dyslexia and struggled for the past 3 years with reading. In his current school, his teacher uses the program and it has worked wonders. While he is now 8.5 years old and still not reading at grade level, he now has the tools to decipher words and is more comfortable with reading. He even told me the other day he would like to work in a library and read ''big thick books.'' The Barton System has trained tutors you can hire (there are some in the East Bay) and has in-home DVD's to purchase so parents can learn the system to use at home. I know of two moms who taught/ helped their kids read with the in-home DVD's. Check them out on the internet. There is even a small video clip to give you a taste of how the system works. Good luck and I hope you find the right learning ''match'' for your child. Mom with ''late'' reader.
Hi, My daughter had serious challenges in learning to read. We went all out and sent her to Lindamood-Bell. It was the best thing we ever did for her. She is now avidly reading well above grade level and enjoying it. Their system works amazingly well for the right kids. It will not work well if you have a low IQ (Berkeley will not use the word IQ but does the same tests in the schools) and that is why you have trouble reading. I believe it taught my daughter how to process in order to read. She memorized what 1,000-2,000 words looked like at LM and from there could learn any new words herself. Most of us do not have to memorize the look of a word. Part of what works with LM is the intensity (4 hours a day for 2-4 months). Research shows that the level of intensity is critical with reading challenges. There was no way I could have done that on my own with my daughter. Good Luck
Considering Lindamood Bell for 13 year old
Nov 2010
Hi, We are considering Lindamood Bell for our son who is 13. It is a lot of time and money as far as commitment from our end. While we are probably willing to do this, I would like to hear from other people what their experiences have been, pluses and drawbacks etc...I know they have a policy that if your child is sick and can't make a session, you still have to pay. Have you found that there is some flexibility in that policy? Thanks much!
My son did LIPS at Lindamood Bell in Walnut Creek. It was expensive and it was well worth it. He was finally able to decode words and could read. Really read. Mother of a reader
LMB Seeing Stars program for 7yr old daughter delivered exactly as promised, but seemed miraculous. We did 4 hrs/day, 5 days/week, after school. As it was targetted to her level exactly, she was not tired by the work. They took her from unable to read to fluency in exactly the amount of time prescribed. Almost immediately on finishing, she became an avid reader. Their sick policy is their sick policy, end of story. If you know of schedule conflict (vacation, etc) let them know when you are setting your daily schedule. Would do it again in a heartbeat
I sent my son to about five weeks of LMB when he was in 1st grade and it was incredibly expensive and did very little for him. What has helped a great deal is seeing private tutors with good training, experience and joy of working with children.
We did Lindamood Bell this summer for our 7-year-old diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder who is at the 1st percentile in reading, writing and math among second graders (his current grade) while being at the 99.53 percentile in non-verbal intelligence/30th percentile in verbal intelligence. So with this start, I'm trying to say, know what is causing your child's learning issues because that makes a difference in what to do.
What worked: LIPS (which took about two to two-and-a-half weeks for him), a program that taught him to distinguish phonemes through the position of his lips, tongue, teeth, airstream, voice box vibrations, distinguishing and associate them with written letters. Now he can actually decode words. Very, very, very slowly, but is willing to try to read. Without building phoneme awareness in this way (something the school was adamantly opposed to doing) he would not be reading at all.
Seeing Stars, mixed success with my son's below average short term verbal memory. Over course of the summer (4/hrs a day, 5 day/week, mega bucks), he can decode words with four separate phonemes, sometimes five. They taught me a method for teaching spelling and sight words that works for words with 4 to 5 phonemes, occasionally short multi-syllable words and not at all for long mutli-syllable words like Antarctica, Atlantic, Australia (just had a geography test on continents and oceans--can you tell?). The progress due to memory issues was painstaking and slow, slow, slow. It does work for him and if we could afford more, probably would take care of multi-syllable words, too. But it's way too slow and doesn't tap into his speedy non-verbal abilities. (Of course, the school hasn't figured out how to do that either.)
Which gets to the main points. If your kid has an IEP, they're supposed to educate your child for free, doing all the stuff Lindamood Bell does. We hadn't educated ourselves enough in the 2004 IDEA to know that. Maybe you're smarter than us. If not, I recommend the Wrightslaw books starting with 'From Emotion to Advocacy' where you'll get info on the federal mandate to provide 'a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.' Schools are brutal in making sure you get to fight for everything they give regardless of the federal mandate.
Even though I now know much of what I paid for at Lindamood Bell this summer should have been done at school on my tax-paid money, I don't regret what we spent (and we really couldn't afford it) because my son now can truly begin to read, I have data on the fact he can be educated, and am finally learning how to get him what he needs and not to trust the school at all.
If your kid doesn't have an IEP and you want to give Lindamood Bell a try, do not sign the long term contract they request. Limit your commitment to a few weeks. I guarantee they will do their best to make sure your child learns enough to keep you coming back or you can just walk away. My take
2005 - 2009 Recommendations
Lindamood Bell Seeing Stars for dyslexic daughter?
Oct 2009
Hi BPN, We are seriously considering Lindamood Bell Seeing Stars Program for our dyslexic daugher. There are a few reviews of LB but I would really like to hear from anyone who has had positive or negative experiences at Lindamood Bell - especially if the problems your child had were in the lines of very bright - high overall IQ (verbal and performance) and serious dyslexia. The program is very expensive and represents a huge committment for our family but there seem to be a lot of reasons to believe there is a high chance of good results. Thanks for your responses. Need your Advice
I am a teacher in an Oakland public school, and we have had several students go through the Linda Mood Bell program. For them it is a half-day program, and it was of no cost to them, but they had to have been in the special ed. program for a while. For the students I know who went through it, it was the only thing that really made a dramatic difference. They came out of the program after a year as readers. Our resource teacher can't speak highly enough of the program. To be sure, these are the most severe cases of dyslexia; most of our students do not attend that program. But for several, it was the place of last resort, and it did its job. I hope this helps. Good luck. T.
Lindamood-Bell summer intensive program for dyslexia
May 2009
My 7 year old has just been identified as Dyslexic. She is finishing first grade and we have been referred to the Lindamood-Bell summer intensive program. Has anyone had great success with Lindamood-Bell or any other strategies for dyslexia? My daughter is highly motivated but is falling behind her classmates. Loving Mom
My nine year old son is quite dyslexic; he was extremely behind in third grade, when a teacher finally said he might be dyslexic. I started him with a wonderful Slingerland tutor. I can't say enough good things about it!!! I've heard about Lindamood Bell too. I've heard it's quite expensive and helps as well. I've heard from many parents that Slingerland is where they would put their money if they'd have to do it all over again. Good luck! Support is crucial for these children. ''Overcoming Dyslexia'' by Sally Shaywitz is 'the bible' on dyslexia, and explains a lot. Mom of a Dyslexic
We did 100 hours at Lindamood Bell in Walnut Creek for my son about 2 years ago. He was in 4th grade at the time and he had already spent the previous few years seeing quite a few different educ. therapists with limited results. Thankfully the last ed. therapist said he needed the intensity of the LMB program. It truly worked wonders! It was expensive, but worth every penny. I only wish he had done it before 4th grade. He now loves to read. Spelling skills are slower to improve and even now in 6th grade he could use another round of LMB for spelling, but we just can't swing it financially. Highly recommend Lindamood Bell for help with dyslexia! mom of a happy reader
Lindamood Bell V training -comments?
Oct 2008
Hi, I am looking into this program for my 10 yr old son. Can anyone comment on their Visualizing and Verbalizing program at the Berkeley center? What did you notice about your child after the program? Would you recommend it? Did you do the intensive training? Were improvements maintained over time? How did your child incorporate training with school time?
My 19 yr old son was diagnosed with dyslexia in 3rd grade. He was very articulate and listened to books on tape, but he could not decode words and consequently could not read. Because he was so young (eight), we hired a women who had taken the Lindamoodbell training and came highly recommended. It changed my son's life.He later took classes at the Berkeley center and graduated from BHS. He wrote about his Lindamood bell experience in one of his college essays and talked about learning to accomodate to his learning difference and how it framed his approach to life . He is currently a sophomore at Wesleyan in Connecticut and doing very well academically. Lindamoodbell proponent
Lindamood-Bell summer program for 8 year old
Jan 2005
We are looking into the intensive Lindamood-Bell program this summer for our son, who is 8 years old and very far behind in his reading/language skills. I would love to hear directly from other parents who have tried this program. Specifically, I am wondering if your child retained what they learned and if it helped move them closer to grade level in their reading skills, or if after the intensive training, your child ended up reverting to previous patterns and problems with reading. We believe we are dealing with severe dyslexia, although that has been difficult to diagnose at this point (and, believe me, we've been through the gamut of testing). Thanks in advance. Susan
There were two questions posted regarding reading programs/dyslexia so I'll cover both in my post.
My son (also 8 years old) began showing signs of a weak visual memory as early as kindergarten. He had trouble remembering the shapes of letters but very strong phenomic awareness. His first grade teacher noticed that he had a poor sight word vocabulary and thought it was a visual processing/visual memory issue. She suggested we get some help for him during the summer.
I checked into Reading Revolution but their closest office would have been an hour round trip so we decided to hire a private learning specialist who lives near his public elementary school to work with him intensively during the summer and twice a week after school. I found her through The Learning Clinic at UC Extension.
She uses a combination of Lindamood-Bell and Seeing Stars. He is working very hard at this and is a good student but is still behind his class in reading speed (words per minute) and still lacks confidence in decoding multiple syllable words
However, I am seeing wonderful improvements in his overall competence and confidence, particularly in decoding simpler words and he is willing to tackle more and more. He will now read a book from cover to cover which is a vast improvement over last year.
One last thought: We have found his teachers to be quite sensitive and empathetic to his needs and they have included our private educational therapist in parent teacher meetings, at our request. It's been a successful working partnership between the classroom teachers, the resources available at school, the parents, and our outside provider.
I can't answer your question directly, but when my daughter was having reading problems I found a lot of help at www.schwablearning.org. There is tons of information on their bulletin board about Lindamood-Bell, and people's experiences there (mainly positive, though big concerns about how expensive it is). You also can post questions and get feedback. I am not affiliated with the web site. It was funded by Charles Schwab, who is dyslexic, but operates as a nonprofit. Finally, I know it is tough so good luck.
2004 & Earlier
Nov 2003
I am looking for a Linda mood Bell professional who can work with my child on the weekends. My son went Linda mood Bell center during the summer and we would like to continue with their trainig. Please help. concerned mother
Hello, I know of two people who have had training in the Lindamood Bell reading methods (one of whom worked at their clinic for a while). I am not sure if either works on weekends. Kristen Hawkinson 526-8701 Joan Fierer 465-0465 Sabina
June 2003
I have a 10 year old son. He hates to read and as a result, his vocabulary and comprehension is suffering. I am considering enrolling him in the Lindamood-Bell program and need advise on what others think of thier program. PLEASE ADVISE. Thanks in advance for your help. Worried mother
Two summers ago my son was tutored for spelling at Lindamood-Bell in downtown Berkley. The tutoring was for 4 hours a day, five days a week, for 3 weeks. Alot of hard work! With great results. I found the initial testing very helpful in finding out how my son learns and what his weak points are. The people who worked with my son were professional, yet fun. My son complained to me about one tutor and I asked that she no longer work with him. This request was taken seriously and honored. After completing the three weeks, my son was retested with great results. Most importantly in the 2 years since Lindamood-Bell he's transformed into a confident, independent and high achieving student. He's also learned that through hard work you can overcome obstacles. Wilma
February 2003
Re: 4th Grader with phonemic weakness
There are several good programs that address p.a. I am not familiar with Wilson, but Lindamood-Bell is definitely one of the best. It is expensive but very effective, and they have an office in Berkeley. If your daughter is several years below grade level in her reading ability, then you will want to invest a lot of time in an intensive remediation NOW, rather than let her fall further and further behind. I am familiar with Lindamood-Bell through my work as an educational consultant, and I sent my own daughter there to work on math. They were very warm, caring, and motivating. She made a strong connection with all her teachers and was able to work intensively for several hours per day (in the summer.) Good luck finding the right program for your daughter. Lauren
October 2001
Does anyone have first-hand experience with the Lindamood-Bell Learning Center here in Berkeley. Did it help your child? How much? Would you recommend it? Thanks, Stacey
My son has had 60 hours of tutoring at Lindamood-Bell. He just finished up a week ago. I've been very pleased with the tutoring. The initial testing was extensive and informative. There was no hard sell. And my son is now a much more self confident learner. It was a lot of hard work, but has really paid off. Wilma
It completely depends on what the actual diagnosis is. FWIW in the community we generally use the term 'neurodiverse' as opposed to 'intellectual disability,' which is pretty outdated (and potentially derogatory). Our student is ND and has multiple discrete diagnoses, among them dyslexia and dyscalculia. In our case, Lindamood Bell was a waste of time and (much) money - but others here have found it helpful for their kids, again it all depends on the specifics of the diagnosis. If you had the school district run the testing on your child and this label was the result, I would highly recommend an outside evaluation with a competent educational psychologist to decipher exactly what areas are in need of remediation. It may be that an educational therapist can help within the regular school setting. There are several recent recommendations in the archives for schools that support neurodiverse students. Good luck!
Thank you for your feedback. Much appreciated. The diagnosis/term is based on independent testing. The school testing had it as ‘other health impairment’.