Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Needs Work
Review: I used this method on both our kids, at the time they were 2nd grade / 1st grade. I agree much with what reviewer from Houston has said so I won't repeat those observations here. In general I think the theory is solid, beats what is currently accepted as "phonics", however the lesson plans need alot of work. At least at the time, I was able to contact the authors through their message board but I felt they were quite defensive. I don't think they were ready to hear that their lesson plans weren't as foolproof as advertised because I was making mistakes. It turns out the amazing results advertised in the book are clincal results and not necessarily repeatable by laypersons. Also, they were not receptive to the possiblity that there are some kids who are just not going to get it (my son was like that, my daughter seemed to do OK with it). My son was getting very confused and mixed up by the number of sound pictures he had to remember. This was probably due to not spending enough time on each sound picture before going to the next. However, the book leads you to believe it has everything you need-- something I found wasn't true because it seems you need more material to practice each sound picture. Something you should be prepared for is that the author as well as the people the author has trained in this method are quite fanatical about it (due to the overwhelming success they have experienced) and they don't seem to be receptive to the idea that some kids aren't going to get it. There seems to be a belief that this is the silver bullet that's going to make every kid read. As an engineer, I am well familiar with the idea that nothing produces 100% successful results. Unfortunately, the authors' resistance to this idea that their "baby" isn't perfect means that it's going to take alot of time before we see improvements, if ever. Still, I have to recommend this method because I believe in the theory and also believe most people will achieve satisfactory results.
Rating: 
Summary: This is THE BEST method to teach ANYONE to read!!
Review: I've been using this at home with my child for several weeks and having remarkable success. I'm now working on bringing it in to my classroom. The method is inexpensive, effective, and simple to follow. Online support is available at READAMERICA. A definite 5 stars!!
Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Success Story--Thanks to This Book
Review: In early March, before I found "Reading Reflex" by chance on an amazon.com search, my 6-1/2-year old daughter's reading skills were barely on grade level according to her school records. She often struggled through attempts to read fairly simple but unfamiliar words, frequently inserting sounds that were not there or switching the letter sequences. Because sounding out words took such effort, she often resorted to a guessing strategy that, not surprisingly, failed her frequently. She was starting to become discouraged, and at times I wondered if formal testing and tutoring was needed.In late April, seven weeks after we started the "Phono-Graphix" lessons in "Reading Reflex," a standardized test showed that my first-grader could now decode unfamiliar words at the level of a third grader. I knew from my own observations that she was doing very well, but this confirmation was stunning. Her leap in abilities came about because "Reading Reflex" gave me the background knowledge, evaluation materials, and activities to create a concentrated, highly successful "catch-up" program for her. My goal was to help her to get solidly on grade level, but this was successful beyond anything I could imagine. For six weeks, my daughter and I worked together at about twice the pace suggested in the book. We did about three to four 40-60-minute lessons a week (instead of two lessons). Each lesson included about 20-30 minutes of Phono-Graphix activities followed by 20-30 minutes in which she read poems or a story aloud, during which I corrected her as needed using the quick, instructive techniques from the book. It is not necessary or probably desirable to work with most children at this rate, but my daughter needed to catch up and was willing, motivated, and doing beautifully--plus I was able to make the time for extra lesson planning--so we proceeded. Now we do a lesson only occasionally but try to read together daily to keep her skills up. Although my daughter is a bright child with strong story analysis skills who loves books--and has had many thousands read to her--cracking the written code did not come easily to her (before Phono-Graphix). Last fall, when I became concerned about her struggles, I learned that this problem is common. According to information I got from a leading research agency, most children "pick up" reading regardless of how they are taught, but some 20%, regardless of how intelligent they are, need systematic, explicit instruction in decoding to fully develop as readers. I tried a number of other approaches before finding "Reading Reflex." I assumed that "explicit instruction" in decoding was phonics instruction, so I tried some software programs, electronic phonics toys, and a popular mail-order program, with varying results--none of them remarkable. When I finally found "Reading Reflex" in early March, it was clear, from its emphasis on "phonemic awareness" and the logical nature of our written code, that this was what I had been looking for all along. After spending five months and a few hundred dollars on less effective materials, I found that the recommendations from 20+ years of research were wrapped up in a single book aimed at parents. I could hardly believe it. The introductory chapters of "Reading Reflex" de-mystified the reading process for me. It took about a week for some of the concepts to sink in, as this approach, though entirely logical (even brilliant), is very different from the traditional phonics approach I had been taught many years ago and was using to help my daughter. I needed to re-wire my thinking quite a bit. Unlike phonics, with Phono-Graphix there are no memorization drills, no confusing "rules" (with their many exceptions), and no work on sounds unless within the context of a word. The skills development activities are brief, varied, and often use manipulatives (sliding letters on a dry-erase board or desk), so it was a heck of a lot more interesting for my daughter than, say, phonics flash cards. My daughter grasped the concepts readily and her skills developed rapidly. As she became adept at isolating and manipulating sounds in words--two areas of initial weakness that I could identify using the tests in the book--her reading improved in leaps, as did her confidence level. Soon, instead of just asking me to read to her, she began to ask, "Can I read YOU a book?" And when she did, she no longer needed to rely on guessing strategies. She was gaining the skills and knowledge to carefully tackle just about every word she encountered. As my daughter grew as a reader, I developed as her teacher. "Reading Reflex" taught me how to conduct the lessons and correct mistakes. I gained many additional, invaluable tips from the book's online bulletin board (www.readamerica.net), on which the authors and other representatives of their program converse with teachers, parents, and tutors. Online I was lucky to find a local certified Phono-Graphix trainer who offered a workshop for parents, which added to my teaching and lesson planning skills. I have only two small criticisms of the book. One is that it does not provide an at-a-glance road map of the lessons which I, as a visual thinker, needed to avoid confusion. I easily remedied this by making an outline of the sequence of activities in the most complicated and important section (chapter 5). The other is that the few stories and illustrations are not appealing, although my daughter and I came to look upon them with humor. This was not a problem. I simply sought appropriate, engaging stories and poems from the library that reinforced the lessons (the book's web site had many suggestions). I wish to extend my deep, heartfelt thanks to the developers of Phono-Graphix and authors of the "Reading Reflex," Carmen and Goeff McGuinness, and to the Phono-Graphix certified therapist who held the parent workshop, Kim Bacon. They empowered me to help my daughter in a fast and effective way, which has made all the difference
Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Success Story--Thanks to This Book
Review: In early March, before I found "Reading Reflex" by chance on an amazon.com search, my 6-1/2-year old daughter's reading skills were barely on grade level according to her school records. She often struggled through attempts to read fairly simple but unfamiliar words, frequently inserting sounds that were not there or switching the letter sequences. Because sounding out words took such effort, she often resorted to a guessing strategy that, not surprisingly, failed her frequently. She was starting to become discouraged, and at times I wondered if formal testing and tutoring was needed. In late April, seven weeks after we started the "Phono-Graphix" lessons in "Reading Reflex," a standardized test showed that my first-grader could now decode unfamiliar words at the level of a third grader. I knew from my own observations that she was doing very well, but this confirmation was stunning. Her leap in abilities came about because "Reading Reflex" gave me the background knowledge, evaluation materials, and activities to create a concentrated, highly successful "catch-up" program for her. My goal was to help her to get solidly on grade level, but this was successful beyond anything I could imagine. For six weeks, my daughter and I worked together at about twice the pace suggested in the book. We did about three to four 40-60-minute lessons a week (instead of two lessons). Each lesson included about 20-30 minutes of Phono-Graphix activities followed by 20-30 minutes in which she read poems or a story aloud, during which I corrected her as needed using the quick, instructive techniques from the book. It is not necessary or probably desirable to work with most children at this rate, but my daughter needed to catch up and was willing, motivated, and doing beautifully--plus I was able to make the time for extra lesson planning--so we proceeded. Now we do a lesson only occasionally but try to read together daily to keep her skills up. Although my daughter is a bright child with strong story analysis skills who loves books--and has had many thousands read to her--cracking the written code did not come easily to her (before Phono-Graphix). Last fall, when I became concerned about her struggles, I learned that this problem is common. According to information I got from a leading research agency, most children "pick up" reading regardless of how they are taught, but some 20%, regardless of how intelligent they are, need systematic, explicit instruction in decoding to fully develop as readers. I tried a number of other approaches before finding "Reading Reflex." I assumed that "explicit instruction" in decoding was phonics instruction, so I tried some software programs, electronic phonics toys, and a popular mail-order program, with varying results--none of them remarkable. When I finally found "Reading Reflex" in early March, it was clear, from its emphasis on "phonemic awareness" and the logical nature of our written code, that this was what I had been looking for all along. After spending five months and a few hundred dollars on less effective materials, I found that the recommendations from 20+ years of research were wrapped up in a single book aimed at parents. I could hardly believe it. The introductory chapters of "Reading Reflex" de-mystified the reading process for me. It took about a week for some of the concepts to sink in, as this approach, though entirely logical (even brilliant), is very different from the traditional phonics approach I had been taught many years ago and was using to help my daughter. I needed to re-wire my thinking quite a bit. Unlike phonics, with Phono-Graphix there are no memorization drills, no confusing "rules" (with their many exceptions), and no work on sounds unless within the context of a word. The skills development activities are brief, varied, and often use manipulatives (sliding letters on a dry-erase board or desk), so it was a heck of a lot more interesting for my daughter than, say, phonics flash cards. My daughter grasped the concepts readily and her skills developed rapidly. As she became adept at isolating and manipulating sounds in words--two areas of initial weakness that I could identify using the tests in the book--her reading improved in leaps, as did her confidence level. Soon, instead of just asking me to read to her, she began to ask, "Can I read YOU a book?" And when she did, she no longer needed to rely on guessing strategies. She was gaining the skills and knowledge to carefully tackle just about every word she encountered. As my daughter grew as a reader, I developed as her teacher. "Reading Reflex" taught me how to conduct the lessons and correct mistakes. I gained many additional, invaluable tips from the book's online bulletin board (www.readamerica.net), on which the authors and other representatives of their program converse with teachers, parents, and tutors. Online I was lucky to find a local certified Phono-Graphix trainer who offered a workshop for parents, which added to my teaching and lesson planning skills. I have only two small criticisms of the book. One is that it does not provide an at-a-glance road map of the lessons which I, as a visual thinker, needed to avoid confusion. I easily remedied this by making an outline of the sequence of activities in the most complicated and important section (chapter 5). The other is that the few stories and illustrations are not appealing, although my daughter and I came to look upon them with humor. This was not a problem. I simply sought appropriate, engaging stories and poems from the library that reinforced the lessons (the book's web site had many suggestions). I wish to extend my deep, heartfelt thanks to the developers of Phono-Graphix and authors of the "Reading Reflex," Carmen and Goeff McGuinness, and to the Phono-Graphix certified therapist who held the parent workshop, Kim Bacon. They empowered me to help my daughter in a fast and effective way, which has made all the difference
Rating:
Summary: Love Reading Reflex
Review: My daughter (6) and I have used Reading Reflex for about a year, and we really enjoy the program. She is reading well now and enjoys reading. I will use this program to teach our other children to read.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT - A Must Read For Parents and Professionals
Review: Reading Reflex is truly a revolution in reading instruction. As an ed psych of sixteen years I have never worked with such a clear and concise and logical approach to instruction. The authors really have nailed it! Maybe the swing between phonics and whole language will finally end with this expose of both methods. As a supervisor of teachers using this method and a helper of parents using it I have some advice for readers. Read every word. Nothing is waisted. This book has a pearl of instructional wisdom in every sentence. Also visit their website at readamerica.net, and subscribe to their free magazine for even more help.
Rating:
Summary: What a great approach! It really works!
Review: This book has changed my approach and attitude towards teaching reading. I am a mother of four and I homeschool my two oldest children. When it came to teaching such an important subject I have to admit I was intimidated by the challenge. I tried several approaches, but they all fell short. I came across the book at the library, along with other teaching methods. I was desperate to find the perfect approach. I tested my daughter to find that she was behind in her skills and had very little desire to read. I began with some early lessons to get her used to the concepts. She loved the lessons! In fact, she asked every morning if we were going to do a reading lesson. This is a far cry from a child who would groan at the thought another reading lesson!!! The success? After only two weeks of instruction her reading improved nearly 15%! She is able to read stories, signs, titles,etc. with only minute struggle. I began teaching my second child, who is in kindergarten, the first set of lessons and in two weeks was able to read the simple sentences in the chapter. It really works! The instructions are easy to understand and follow through. There is very little preparation except the reading in the beginning to get the teacher/parent ready for lessons. I recommend this book to homeschoolers and parents who desire to give their children a great foundation for reading!
Rating:
Summary: A Method that Works!
Review: This book make a lot of sense to me. My 5 1/2 year old daughter knows the "names" of all the letters (a, bee, see) but has not been introduced to the concept that our written language is a code for sounds that we wish to represent. Within 10 to 15 sessions based on phono-graphix, she is now reading any consonant-vowel-consonant word and is ready to move on to more complex combinations. Forget about "double you" and "ef" and "gee"! No wonder our kids are so confused! I think this is a great program for parents who wish to work at home with their kids, and I feel that it makes an excellent supplement to the whole language program that is taught in my child's school.
Rating:
Summary: A Method that Works!
Review: This book make a lot of sense to me. My 5 1/2 year old daughter knows the "names" of all the letters (a, bee, see) but has not been introduced to the concept that our written language is a code for sounds that we wish to represent. Within 10 to 15 sessions based on phono-graphix, she is now reading any consonant-vowel-consonant word and is ready to move on to more complex combinations. Forget about "double you" and "ef" and "gee"! No wonder our kids are so confused! I think this is a great program for parents who wish to work at home with their kids, and I feel that it makes an excellent supplement to the whole language program that is taught in my child's school.
Rating:
Summary: It works!
Review: This is an excellent program for teaching kids to read. I have used this program with 20 children of varying intellectual abilities and have had great results with all of them. After reading many of the other reviews, I tend to agree most with the review by Tony Morris and I have found his criticisms valid. This program makes sense and it works!
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