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Sensory Learning

NASHVILLE | 2023

Balance Learning and Fun

Every year at Lindamood-Bell, we help individuals of all ages catch up or get ahead in reading and comprehension. Our instruction is proven effective for students with challenges that affect learning, including dyslexia, autism, and ADHD.

Difficulty with Comprehension

Many students who can decode well and understand words still have weak comprehension. What is the missing piece for these students?

They may have a learning weakness that prevents them from comprehending the language they read and hear. They might get parts or some details but have difficulty remembering a whole book or story. Directions from parents and teachers go in one ear and out the other without a connection.

What’s the Cause?

Problems with reading comprehension may be due to weak concept imagery—the ability to create an imaged whole from oral and written language. This weakness causes individuals to get only “parts” of information they read or hear and can often undermine the reading and thinking process.

The Visualizing and Verbalizing® program, authored by Lindamood-Bell co-founder Nanci Bell, develops concept imagery as a basis for comprehension and higher-order thinking. The development of concept imagery improves reading and listening comprehension, memory, oral vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.

Challenged By Reading

When a student struggles with reading or is diagnosed with dyslexia, extra help often focuses on phonics and spelling rules. They may sound out a word—but it is slow and labored.

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Or, they may substitute words when reading a paragraph and have difficulty reading fluently. These students may spell words phonetically but cannot remember the visual patterns of words (orthography).

What is the missing connection for these students?

An essential component of reading and spelling is symbol imagery, which underlies both phonological and orthographic processing. Symbol imagery—the ability to visualize the sounds and letters in words—is necessary for sounding out new words and quickly recognizing letters and common words. Students who read fluently, and can self-correct their errors, have strong symbol imagery.

The Seeing Stars® program, also authored by Lindamood-Bell co-founder Nanci Bell, develops symbol imagery as a basis for orthographic awareness, phonemic awareness, word attack, word recognition, spelling, and contextual reading fluency.

Evidence-Based

The Seeing Stars and Visualizing and Verbalizing programs are evidence-based. For information about recent peerreviewed research studies involving Lindamood-Bell, visit www. lindamoodbell.com/research.

Summer Instruction and Private School

For information about instruction for your child this summer, contact our Nashville location.

Families seeking a complete school solution can explore the Lindamood-Bell Academy, a K-12 private school. We are now enrolling for the 2023-24 school year. lindamoodbell.com