Toe by Toe: Highly Structured Multi-Sensory Reading Manual for Teachers and Parents

Toe by Toe: Highly Structured Multi-Sensory Reading Manual for Teachers and Parents

15 to 20 minutes a day, 5 or more days a week is the commitment you need to make, but it is well worth it. My daughter was struggling at the age of nine (with a reading age of seven) and in the bottom reading group at school. Two years later she is in the top reading group (is ahead of her chronological reading age) and has gained confidence.
I would recommend that you have some sort of rewards/incentives agreed with your child and that you follow the (very clear) instructions precisely.

I have found this book a useful tool on this road but it is not the definative answer to anything. It may help with some reading skills but my daughter has been doing this in school and home for a long time and I cannot claim it is doing any good. I was warned by a dyslexia expert that it would be a useful tool but that it does not work for everyone but neither would it do any harm. Dyslexia is not about reading and writing but this book is a useful tool to help eleviate some symptons.

There hasn't been a review for a few years so I thought I'd emphasise that, despite the prevelance of new ways of helping dyslexics (cd roms, games etc) and, although these methods may have their benefits, nothing beats good old slog with Toe by Toe.

This book looks so offputting when you first open it - column after column of minutely differentiated words and acres of tick boxes BUT.... it works! Why?

Because dyslexic people NEED drip feeding day by day, little by little, rule by rule, until it gradually begins to make sense. Those of us lucky enough to just 'get' the rules of English don't realise what a fiendish language it can be. It's like if you find it hard to lose weight - the answer's easy but you have to keep doing it every day.

And despite my fears, both my kids actually enjoy using it. In fact the lack of bells and whistles helps concentrate their minds, and all those little ticks give them a daily sense of achievement.

We have used this with our seven year old daughter for a period of seven months. She has gone from bottom of the class to top third in that time. The results have been fantastic. She has changed from a shy 'hates reading' child to someone who cannot get enough to read. I cannot recommend this highly enough. It instructs you to follow the directions to the letter, which we did - spending perhaps 15-20 minutes a day with the book.

After a year of total despondency, this great small book has really launched my dyslexic son's reading. Not only can he now read, but he wants to read and is happy to tackle new words with confidence. Brilliant.