Sis wrote:
>>>>He has learned a great trick for b-d confusion that helps him when none of the others worked.
<<< LISA! What IS it!!! LOL
It's really simple, actually, but it might sound a little complicated. First they learn a trick for b-p confusion, which some kids have, but Christian doesn't usually have a problem with. But the program still has them learn that first because it helps them form the habit and learn the b-d trick later on. It's called the balloons-pigs trick. For b-p, you have them hold up their left hand to make a fist and then they stick up their thumb, so it looks like a b. You show them how it looks like a b and show that their thumb is pointing up into the air and balloons go up into the air. So if they compare their thumb to the letter and it matches, they will know that it says "b". Then they flip their hand over so their thumb is pointing down and the shape is like a p. And you tell them that pigs go down into the mud, so if it matches that, it says "p".
For b-d, they just hold up their hand with their thumb sticking up so that it looks like a b. Then they decide if it's balloons or not. Basically, if it matches their hand, it says "b", if not, it makes the other sound "d". They are taught to check for these tricky letters before they even read the word because the goal is to eliminate guessing and mistakes. Eventually, I think they get to the point where they can visualize all this in their head and not have to physically use their hand, but the good thing is that they will always have their hand with them to physically check if they're not sure and I have noticed Christian do it many times on his own without me having to remind him. I should say that this is not completely fool proof because he does occasionally get it wrong even when he checks, but the only thing I can think of is that he's just going through the motions and not really paying attention.
It does work for him most of the time and has really help because like I said, without checking, he get's it wrong about 95% of the time. I really hope he gets to the point that he gets better with his b-d confusion because I don't know how that will affect his fluency in the long run if he has to continually check. That's something I will probably discuss with the owner of the program. She has really helped me a lot and I am part of a tutoring community that she monitors, where I can ask for any help/advice for anything, which is a lifesaver for me.