Hi Donna,

I also have an 8 year old. She is in second grade and I am homeschooling
her, have been since birth.
My dh is dyslexic too so when I suspected it with her, I became convinced
pretty fast that she was dyslexic. My husband also confirmed it because
she does things exactly the way he did in school and with everyday life
things. They are both very creative and gifted in many ways, so try to
look at your sons strengths rather than focus on his weaknesses.

We have been using the Barton reading Sytem for about 2 months now. I
tutor her myself because we could not afford the $65 doller per session,
2x per week for a minimum of 6-8 months of tutoring.
Susan BArton developed the program and in my opinion she is wonderful!
She is based in Northern Calif. and has been an "expert" on dyslexia for
a long time.
We are really happy with the progression our daughter has made in such a
short time. Her reading level was at or below 1st grade and she is
really improving fast. She is now at a solid first grade level. We are
very excited about it. My husband reviewed the program before we decided
to start it and he was very impressed with it. I consider him more of an
authority on what would work since he is the one with the dyslexia not
me. I did do lots of research too and there are MANY fly by night
products and companies that promise instant results which is not really
possible. Dyslexics CAN be helped but it does take time.

Susan's company is called Bright Solutions FOr Dyslexia, you can find
them easily on line. I think she might be willing to send you a
free(shipping only) video that goes over her program, the costs, how and
why it work, etc. She did that for me. She uses an Orton Gillingham
approach.
Jusy so you know her program is not cheap when you consider what actual
material you receive for your money. What you are paying for is her
experience and her training.(COmes on videos). Everything is explained
beautifully and simply and the program is easy to teach. I like the fact
that I have the program in my possession in case one or more of my other
children have the same situation and need to be tutored as well. I will
only have to spend the $ once and I may be able to find someone who wants
to "rent" it from me down the road and I could recoup some of my costs
there.

ANyway sorry for rambling..... I hope I helped a little. Please email
me with any other questions, I will try and help.

Blessings,

Melanie

Mom to 4