Affordable At-Home Dyslexia Therapy
* This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. *
It was the start of a new school year, and I was wondering, will this be the year? Will this be the year that things finally click for my struggling reader?
I was certain Josh had dyslexia, and though he consistently made progress, it was slow. I wasn’t the only one who was frustrated. At 12 years old, he realized that he couldn’t read as well as other kids his age – or as well as he wanted to be able to.
We were at a loss. Then, I discovered Lexercise.
(Those of you who’ve looked at Lexercise before and thought it was too expensive, don’t stop reading! I’ve got something new to tell you about.)
I’m not being dramatic when I say that Lexercise was an answer to prayer. You can read about our experiences here:
- Review: Lexercise Online Dyslexia Therapy
- Lexercise Online Dyslexia Treatment: A Progress Report
- Lexercise Online Dyslexia Treatment Gets Results!
Several years have passed since Josh completed the Lexercise program, but I still sing its praises. I still feel a profound sense of gratitude when I hear Josh read aloud with confidence, notice a bookmark in whatever book he’s reading, or hear him tell me about something he read.
The most common hindrance to trying Lexercise that I hear is that professional therapy is expensive. While I still fully believe that customized professional therapy is the best option (and often not as expensive as it may seem because therapy usually only takes a few months), Lexercise has introduced a new, cost-effective option for families who can’t afford professional dyslexia therapy.
(If you’re not sure if your child has dyslexia, try the free dyslexia screener from Lexercise. They also have a free learning disability questionnaire.)
Lexercise Basic Therapy
Lexercise Basic Therapy is a parent-led alternative to professional therapy. Children go through the same program as they would with a therapist, but they do so with a parent guiding the recorded lessons.
Each of the 26 self-paced lessons (which take about a week to complete) include:
- an 8-10 minute parent training video
- a 45 minute – 1-hour parent/child lesson
- access to the daily activities which include online games and offline practice activities
- an assessment to help you determine if your child is ready to move on
(No, I don’t have a child named Hermione. I was using Lexercise’s testing site since we’ve already been through the Professional Therapy program.)
Some other features of Basic Therapy include:
- a lesson record/grading rubric to help you objectively assess your child’s progress
- the option to message a professional therapist who can direct you, via email, to helpful material specific to your needs
- the option to purchase a consult or a lesson with a therapist if you hit a rough patch
- a 14-day money back guarantee, plus a $10 Amazon gift card for your trouble
Each lesson is set up in the same format with students working through seven stations each lesson:
- Sounds and letters
- Reading and spelling
- Word parts
- Vocabulary
- Listening and reading
- Speaking and writing
Who Is Basic Therapy For?
Lexercise Basic Therapy is for kids ages 6 and older. Children ages 11 and up may prefer professional therapy because they can get frustrated with basic therapy, feeling that it’s too basic. However, even older kids can benefit if they persevere through the first few lessons to get to the more challenging material.
There is a placement test to help you determine where your child should start, though all kids will, at the minimum, start at Level 4 to make sure that foundational concepts are in place.
Basic Therapy is an excellent alternative for parents who need a more cost-effective dyslexia therapy option and are committed to working one-on-one with their child each week. The parent does need to plan on working directly with the child during each 45 minute – 1-hour lesson because the lessons are designed to be parent-led. Even an older student should not go through the lessons on his own.
How Does At-Home Dyslexia Therapy Work?
Each week, you’ll log into your parent dashboard to see what you and your student need to do that week. You’ll watch the parent training video which takes 10 minutes or less. Then, you’ll work through the recorded lesson with your student, progressing as he or she is ready.
The parent should always be the one to advance the lesson. This ensures that kids don’t move through it too quickly before they truly have the concepts down.
Once the lesson is complete, there are daily activities for you to do with your student and games for him to play online. The activities include things like spelling and whiteboard activities. The online, video-style games reinforce the concepts taught in that week’s lesson. Even though Josh was a little older when he went through the therapy program, he still had fun playing the games.
There is a progress chart to help you keep track of what you and your student have done.
It is important to note that Basic Therapy is not currently supported on tablets. Students must have access to a laptop or desktop to complete the lessons.
Professional Therapy through Lexercise is still the best option if it’s within your budget. Professional Therapy allows students to work one-on-one with a trained dyslexia therapist. After each lesson, your child’s therapist will customize the daily online games to address your child’s specific needs.
However, if Professional Therapy is out of your budget, the new Lexercise Basic Therapy is a fantastic option.
Lexercise Basic Therapy costs $150 per month. Now through the end of August, the cost is only $97 per month with coupon code BACK2SCHOOL. If you’re an HSLDA member, you can take advantage of a generous 50% savings, cutting the cost of Basic Therapy down to $75 per month.
When you partner with Lexercise, this really can be the year things click for your struggling reader.
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.