Frequently Asked Questions

1. My seven year old is still struggling with the basic vowel sounds. I don't think I should move on until she has learned them perfectly.

2. I think my child has a learning disability. Will Phono-Graphix help him?

3. I am homeshooling my four children and my step son. What materials do you suggest?

4. I have been doing Phono-Graphix for many months in my Montessori School with the 6-9 year old group. Should we be doing it with the 3-5 children too? Is there a special curriculum for this age with more hands on activities?

5. I'm working with a child with brain damage...

6. My six year old is forgetting previously learned sound pictures...

7. My ten year old is having trouble remembering the advanced code...

8. We are using using the Super Speller in all of our 1st & 2nd grade classes. Since it is for both 1st & 2nd, any suggestions on dividing it up.

9. How much time do you think should be spent on the individual letter sounds before beginning?...

10. If research is so clear why do the schools continue teaching reading incorrectly without any legal action taken on the part of the parent or even the tax payer?

11. I have a concern about teaching "Scratch Sheet Spelling".

12. Are there kindergartners who aren't ready to learn to read?...

13. I understand vowel digraphs, but how do you explain the rest of the word, like the e in 'mouse?...

14. I am trying to get Phono-Graphix into my school system which is currently using Project Read as a remedial method. Can you tell me how does Phono-Graphix compare to Project Read?

15. What is your stance on dyslexia?

16. We've been doing Reading Reflex for a month and my eight year old has gaps in his code knowledge.

17. I read 'Why Our Children Can't Read' by Diane McGuinness and 'Reading Reflex' by Carmen and Geoffrey McGuinness. I'm confused--who developed Phono-Graphix?

18. My students are tuning out my error corrections.

19. Should I use 'Allographs' to support Phono-Graphix?

20. My child's blending is not getting better. What should I do?

21. My child is reading now but very, very slowly. How can I improve his fluency?

22. I keep reading your recommendations to get the kids reading as soon as possible. But, there is no way my son could read a book right now. He's just not ready.

23. Our school is using Phono-Graphix. I know you recommend lots of reading. Is there a particular basal reader series you recommend that we use in with Phono--Graphix?

24. I've been using Reading Reflex with my five year old this summer. I am a first grade teacher. I'd love to use it at school, but I can't see how it would work.

25. My child's reading is better but his spelling is still not great.

26. How is Phono-Graphix different than Phonemic Awareness?

27. Do you advise oral or silent reading? I've read contradictory information in various books.

28. Do you offer a list of age appropriate reading material?

29. I see that you refer to 'the nature of the code' a lot. What do you mean by 'the nature of the code'?

30. My district has just adopted a systematic phonics program. I had been using Phono-Graphix with lots of success. What should I do?

31. Are there particular books that you suggest to parents and teachers?

32. My eight year old is reading pretty well now after two month of Reading Reflex, but still reverses b and d in reading and when spelling. Should I be worried? Is there anything I can do?

33. My child confuses 'i' and 'e' in reading and spelling.

34. I noticed the word 'packed' on your 'd' word list. But the sound at the end of 'packed' is 't'. Is this an error?

35. I noticed you've got the sounds 'o' and 'au' on the same list. Is that an error?

36. How were the Phono-Graphix tests developed? Are they normed?

37. I am working with your Word Work classroom kit. How fast can I expect my year one students to progress?

38. I am a middle school teacher. I love your Word Work manual but I think it's a little young for my students. Any suggestions for adapting it?

39. I recently heard about your book 'How to Raise Your Child's Verbal Intelligence'. I thought IQ was fixed after a certain age. I have a six year old and an eleven year old. Can I really make my children smarter?

40. My son has a very poor memory. He learns things at school and then a week later they're gone. Is there anything I can do to improve his memory or should he be encouraged to compensate somehow?

41. My wife and I are both educated professionals. Our twelve year old daughter gets a rich vocabulary at home and she attends a very good school. Yet she speaks in simple sentences. She never uses words that I'm sure she knows. What more can we do to improve her vocabulary?

42. My ten year old uses strange sentences sometimes. For instance, today I asked him to clean up his room. An hour later I asked him again, assuming he hadn't done it yet. He answered to say, "I still cleaned it." I guess he meant he 'already' cleaned it. At ten I think he should use the right word in a simple sentence like this? Should I be worried?

43. My nine year old is a good reader but I'm not sure he understands what he's reading. He reads Harry Potter books and when I ask him what's happening in his story he just says, "Nothing."

44. My husband reads a lot with my seven year old. He's worried that she doesn't seem to follow the story line. Last night he was reading a sentence that said, "And the little frog and the little dog became friends for life." When we were putting her to bed I asked her how she liked the story and she said, "Ruffy (our dog) hates frogs too." She seemed to miss that fact that they became friends at the end of the story. Is this common for her age?

45. I've been playing your connections game with my six year old. Some of her answers are pretty far fetched. For cat--dog she answered, "They both go to school."

46. I have a question about your game 'Using Opposites' in your book "How to Raise Your Child's Verbal Intelligence". For 'man' my son said 'boy'. My husband explained to him that the opposite of man is woman. I don't think he gets it though. Later he said the opposite of 'dry' is 'wash'.

47. My eight year old has trouble understanding some books. Can you recommend any simple books with short sentences?

48. I'm a fourth grade teacher. I'm using your book 'How to Raise Your Child's Verbal Intelligence'. How often and for how long should we do the lessons. Do you suggest full class or small group?

49. I've just finished reading your book 'How to Raise Your Child's Verbal Intelligence'. Should my child be writing down the assignments, or should we do them orally?

50. How long does it take to get through the Language Wise Lessons?