Dyslexia Gold Review

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew. 

Whether your child has been formally diagnosed with Dyslexia, or you've just noticed them struggling to learn and progress in reading and spelling, knowing you aren't alone can be a huge help in equipping them to overcome their challenges. This month, we used the Dyslexia Gold program to give us hints into why our child was struggling and give us an action plan forward. 

Read more about our experience and learn if this program is right for your family.

What is Dyslexia Gold?

An online program with a suite of tools for struggling learners, the main purpose is for helping kids with dyslexia, but it can be used for most anyone who needs help. You can choose between:

• Early Intervention (ages 4-7) includes Vision Training and Reading Unlocked
• Catch Up Intervention (ages 8 and up) includes Vision Training, Fluency Builder, as well as Spelling and Times Tables tutoring programs

A family membership gives all your kids access to the program you need.

Why Vision training? Most struggling readers have issues with focusing their eyes, which can lead to eye-tracking issues or fatigue. The eye training exercises help your student learn to strengthen their eyes and focus longer. The program is actually a lot of fun, with target shooting games and "whack an alien" that young kids will find engaging. (This activity requires 3D glasses to play.) 

You will receive an adult login to create your student profiles, set them up with scheduling, and check their progress. Each child will get their own login to do the activities.

Does your child have dyslexia?

The program offers you some screening tests you can have your child take to tell you if they may be likely to have dyslexia. Questions range from identifying the difference between "p" and "q", as well as hearing sounds to identify later and repeating back simple 2 or 3 digit numbers. 

Even when my son got the answers wrong, the program gave positive feedback, saying "great job!" or similar. The program never let on that my son was getting so many questions wrong, so he could confidently keep doing his best throughout the entire assessment without getting discouraged.

How accurate was the test? This isn't a replacement for a formal diagnosis, but it can help alert you to problems. When we first started reviewing this service, we found out right away that our son struggled in most of the key areas of the assessment. 

Not surprisingly, this was a bit of a shock to us. We used the data from the test, however, to search out professionals that can help my son further, including an eye specialist for his vision issues. Parents should feel free to use this tool to help them zone in on issues. 

Not only do the results help you see why your child may not be reading yet, it gives you a step-by-step plan. (This alone is probably worth the price of the membership; we now have a path forward with our son for strengthening his eye, building his memory skills, and helping with phenomic awareness.

What the lessons are like

While the reading age test and dyslexia screeners are very useful, the lessons make up the bulk of the program.

The best part of these lessons is that they are short. Since many kids with dyslexia struggle to follow directions and sit for long periods of time, the program is made to not drag on too long or bore kids. Simple, quick 10-minute sessions build upon previous knowledge and aren't too repetitive. A parent will have to sit next to their child as they work through the lessons; this is not a completely "hands off" solution. 

In the phonics exercises, for example, you'll need to indicate if your child knows certain letter sounds before they can progress to the next level. Don't leave your kid to use Dyslexia Gold on their own, as they would become frustrated and you might miss out on opportunities to help them. 

Tracking progress

Your child should work on their skills every day, including at least one lesson from the reading skills and one lesson from the eye training exercises. To see how your child is doing, log in as yourself (the adult) and see their progress:

Your child's reading age will also be displayed at various places in the dashboard, to help you see where they are at and how they are progressing. 

You can also set up your students to have different learning paths. Here you can see the recommendations for how long they will spend per learning tool, and you can choose from among the tools. 

Dyslexia Gold Review Summary

If you have a struggling learner, it can be hard to know where to start. Ruling out dyslexia may be a good first step, and Dyslexia Gold can help with basic screening to see if this may be an issue. If upon learning your child does have some signs of dyslexia (or you have already received a diagnosis), this program sets you on a path of consistency to get your child moving forward in a fun, and engaging way that's supported by studies. Instead of haphazardly guessing at how to help your child, the tools in Dyslexia Gold give you a concrete plan for tackling common reading and literacy issues and can even give your child a boost of confidence as they learn.

Empowering parents can empower kids. Dyslexia Gold may be one of the best tools we've come across as a homeschooling family who wants to support the unique needs of all of our learners. 

Learn more:

See what this program has to offer on their website, or check them out on Facebook! 

See what other parent reviewers have to say here.