Frequently or chronically ill high schoolers

[marbel]

One of my children is frequently sick. Over the past few years he's had sinus surgery, several bouts of bronchitis, been tested for some mysterious GI symptoms and is frequently nauseated to the point where he can't focus on work or do much of anything. We haven't found the key to his problems yet. Right now we're focusing on diet as all medical tests have come back normal.

 

Anyway, last year was supposed to be his 9th grade year and we accomplished very little. It's not a problem for him to continue to be in 9th grade this year, but the sickness hasn't gone away so I don't know what we can accomplish this year either.

 

When he was younger it was easy - we'd focus on reading, and watching science and history documentaries and such. I always pulled together enough work samples for a portfolio and he does mostly fine on the required standardized test.

 

High school is different. I don't feel I can be so casual anymore. Math, in particular, is a big problem when one can't concentrate well. Also writing - he can learn a lot of history, science, and literature by watching, listening, and reading, but writing is not something he can do easily even when he's well, forget it when he feels so sick. So we can talk over books and movies and such, but I have nothing to document his learning.

 

Does anyone else have a child who is chronically and/or frequently sick to the point where schoolwork is difficult? What do you do to keep him or her moving along? How do you manage to have productive days when there's not much the child can do?

 

Just looking for ideas. I sometimes have a hard time thinking out of the box.

 

Thanks!

[FaithManor]

:grouphug::grouphug: I am so sorry your son has to go through this.

 

Let me first say that at this point in his life, I'd be inclined to put health first no matter what. He can delay entrance to college or vo-tech until his health recovers.

 

However, knowing that you want him learning as much as he can, I think that this is what I would do for math and science - I would buy the Great Courses/Teaching Company lectures for the subjects I wanted him to complete. You can add labs later when he is more stable.

 

Dr. Sellers' lectures in Algebra 1 and 2 are VERY good. The guidebook that comes with it would not have enough problems for mastery for the student that is not really good at math, but you can supplement with problems from another text as needed. You'd be surprised at how little supplementing you need to do. Maybe ten problems in addition to the 10 that are provided if your son is fairly adept. That's how good the lectures are! There are 36 for the year so if you based it on a standard school year, one per week...that would allow your son to move at a very slow pace. If you based it over a full year, that leaves 16 weeks to choose not to have math if he needs time to recover. I don't have personal experience with the geometry - it's my favorite math to teach so I use Harold Jacob's texts and throw myself into it whole heartedly. This year I decided when there were big sales at the Great Courses to invest in the algebra and pre-calc lectures just to have on hand and they turned out to be a big hit with my boys so I'll be doing less direct teaching - POUT :(. I LOVE teaching mathematics so I'm holding out on geometry. :D

 

Their science courses are the same way. The guidebooks will have a very reasonable, limited number of questions to answer, but the content is great. If his health improves in later high school years, you can then add on a variety of good, discovery based labs. Right now, accomplishing that from his couch or bed is not doable and you shouldn't feel the need to focus on that. His health comes first.

 

For writing, I would work on short, but meaningful lessons and let him dictate to you. The key is understanding the topics. He can type later. So, if you have good literary discussion, then he is probably capable of dictating a well constructed paragraph to you. You could work on the five paragraph, standard rubric graded essay for just a few minutes per day with the goal of a good, fully formed essay every two or three weeks. Discussions might be, "Today we will focus on thesis statements" and then as he tosses around options to you on a variety of themes, you can say things such as, "Well, that sentence was ambiguous or too broad, or too narrow, or...." until he's orally giving you good introductory statements. Then work on summary statements, then how to introduce the first supportive statement, etc. Work on comparison and contrast...let him "talk" and then correct as he goes..."Hmmm...your first paragraph began as a comparison of a and b, but ended with the contrast of b and c; this was very confusing. Can you give me only comparisons of a and b for this first paragraph?" So on and so forth in that manner. If he is used to oral learning and the socratic method, he'll adjust to putting it on paper himself when he's stronger. The Great Courses also has some lectures on the Writer's Craft, Sentence Structure, Oral Communications, etc.

 

In your circumstances, I would be very tempted to pursue a path such as :

 

Great Courses/Teaching Company - "Algebra 1" with Dr. Sellers, How the Earth Works (introductory geology), "How to Look at and Understand Great Art".

 

"Foundations of Western Civilizations (also on sale right now), and then read alouds or audio books that pertain to the topics as part of literature studies. If you wanted to, you could get a laptop computer with a microphone and allow him to dictate notes from the lectures into the computer. These could be transcribed later as proof of learning that was accomplished.

 

Grammar review done orally using something like Jensen's or even Rod and Staff...the class practice sections are good for oral review, "The Elegant Essay" broken down into bite sized pieces with him dictating to you or a capable sibling.

 

You might be able to get some of the topics you need through your library if you have a good one, or right now the Great Courses is having a big sale - buy two get one free or $10.00 off a single lecture series. I can post the codes if you don't have them. We frequently use the video downloads because you save $5.00 - 10.00 per course and do not have shipping to pay and waiting for them to come!

 

Best Wishes,

Faith

[marbel]

Thanks Faith! This is exactly the sort of ideas I was looking for.

 

I felt that he was too old to be dictating to me, but it actually does work well. We are also looking at some voice recognition software. He talks much better than he types. ;) The way you've set it out makes good sense.

 

We also have some of the Great Courses. He actually loves them and responds well to them. We're actually taking a step back from Algebra 1 and have just gotten Dr Sellers' new course "Mastering the Fundamental of Math" for a review. Then we'll go back to Alg 1.

 

We also have Foundations of Western Civ which we are using along with other history studies. And the Biology 1 which he enjoys. He's also using the CK12 Biology 1 and slowly doing some of the worksheets for that. I can have him dictate to me answers to the longer questions.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! It's been a tough few years, though since his sickness is not life-threatening or truly disabling we have it easier than many. We do want to focus on getting him well so I've scrapped a lot of plans for early morning exercise and such. Sleep is kind of important. ;)

 

Thanks for sparking some ideas! Out of the box thinking is not my specialty, particularly when I'm feeling like things are bleak. It's not so bad after all!

[caroljenn]

I have a daughter with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I know how you feel!! My daughter goes up and down, good one day, sleeps the next, and there is no rhyme or reason to it. We can't count on resting one day to be ready to go the next, like healthy people. It is non-restorative sleep. We are doing a whole bunch of stuff, but at her own pace. I am schooling every day, because most days she does 4-5 hours of work. Some days, when she's feeling well (and awake) she does 10, some days she sleeps all day. The thing that has me so stressed now is the PSAT. My daughter is very bright and wants to be an aeronautical engineer, but there are cognitive issues that come with CFS. Sometimes her brain is in too much of a fog to do much strenuous thinking and I am worrying about math.

I know I haven't given you any help for your situation, but I am hoping that knowing you have someone who understands having a sick kid will help a little bit!! Good luck and many blessings to you and your son!

[dbmamaz]

I'm curious - in PA dont you get watched pretty tightly? will they have anything to say about his progress, do you think?

 

I dont have any real advice - my daughter was sick a lot in high school, but not like that. She just got the flu for a week once or twice a year, mostly because she wasnt getting enough sleep. We worked with the school and community college and got her another 90 minutes of sleep each morning, which helped a lot!

[marbel]

I have a daughter with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I know how you feel!! ...

I know I haven't given you any help for your situation, but I am hoping that knowing you have someone who understands having a sick kid will help a little bit!! Good luck and many blessings to you and your son!

 

Thank you. Honestly, it is nice to hear from other people though of course we don't wish chronic illness on anyone!

 

This may sound odd but I think one thing that makes it hard (not that it's not hard just being sick) is - we don't have a name for my son's sickness. That probably sounds stupid but it adds stress when people ask "why weren't you at {church, Scouts}?" Or "what's wrong?" and we can't give a name of a disease. It makes it seem less real to other people. "Chronic nausea" sounds to people like "an upset stomach" and thus not very serious or debilitating. I really should come up with a scientific-sounding name...

 

I'm curious - in PA dont you get watched pretty tightly? will they have anything to say about his progress, do you think?

 

We've managed to get by with the PA requirements. He was actually legally an 8th grader last year, though age-wise he would have been in 9th. So, he was required to take a standardized test last year and he did fine. He actually does well on the tests except for math and grammar, because he reads and retains a lot. So other than those two areas, he scores well. And, he scores well enough in those areas not to raise eyebrows. (Or at least his composite scores are good enough!)

 

The portfolio is a little more problematic if one is not producing paper. But since only a few work samples from each subject area are required, I've always been able to pull together enough. There are always math worksheet pages, and even if it's not "on grade level" the requirement is to show progress. I think last year I was able to put in some Algebra 1 work before he hit the wall on that and we decided to go back and review some basics before moving on. The school district doesn't keep the portfolios so they don't see year-to-year progress, just within the year. So if he is doing something that looks more like pre-algebra this year, it won't cause a problem.

 

We always have a few Boy Scout merit badge worksheets, and I have my kids write short essays on various topics covering history and science throughout the year. Some samples of artwork, and we're done!

 

So, PA is not such a problem as far as getting the portfolios approved. I'm just more worried about getting enough high school work done!

 

Even since I posted this we've seen a little progress and are moving along a bit. Very slowly! But we never know what each day will look like.

 

Thanks for all the replies and encouragement! I appreciate it so much.

[HollyDay]

My oldest, now in high school, has had more than her share of health problems. There have been quite a few years we have had to school year round. Usually, it is just math that needs to run all 12 months, but some subjects have had to go into the summer. I would first off focus on the high school requirements, whatever they are for your state. I imagine you need about 4 english, 4 math, 4 science, 4 social studies and some amount of electives. Whatever PA is most concerned with, I'd make sure that gets done. I would also consider trying to balance your load. Some curriculums are lighter and easier to teach/learn from than others.

[caroljenn]

You know, my daughter has nausea as well. It is a hallmark of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Nausea, low grade fever, general feeling of malaise, brain fog, and of course the fatigue that causes hours and hours of sleep. Maybe this is what your son is dealing with? I know boys get it too. A rheumatologist would be the doctor to see, they would be able to tell you if it's CFS. They diagnose CFS after they've tested for everything else and it's all come back negative. Our doctor thinks its some type of unknown viral illness, and the really lousy thing is that there is nothing they can do about it. They treat the symptoms only, and otherwise you have to wait for it to clear up on its own.

 

The only good thing is that there are good days and bad, so there are many days that my daughter feels somewhat well. We try to seize those days and make sure she does fun stuff on those days, or gets lots of school done.

 

Hope your son feels better soon- if you have any questions about CFS, don't hesitate to ask.

[4wildberrys]

One of my children is frequently sick. Over the past few years he's had sinus surgery, several bouts of bronchitis, been tested for some mysterious GI symptoms and is frequently nauseated to the point where he can't focus on work or do much of anything. We haven't found the key to his problems yet. Right now we're focusing on diet as all medical tests have come back normal.

 

Anyway, last year was supposed to be his 9th grade year and we accomplished very little. It's not a problem for him to continue to be in 9th grade this year, but the sickness hasn't gone away so I don't know what we can accomplish this year either.

 

When he was younger it was easy - we'd focus on reading, and watching science and history documentaries and such. I always pulled together enough work samples for a portfolio and he does mostly fine on the required standardized test.

 

High school is different. I don't feel I can be so casual anymore. Math, in particular, is a big problem when one can't concentrate well. Also writing - he can learn a lot of history, science, and literature by watching, listening, and reading, but writing is not something he can do easily even when he's well, forget it when he feels so sick. So we can talk over books and movies and such, but I have nothing to document his learning.

 

Does anyone else have a child who is chronically and/or frequently sick to the point where schoolwork is difficult? What do you do to keep him or her moving along? How do you manage to have productive days when there's not much the child can do?

 

Just looking for ideas. I sometimes have a hard time thinking out of the box.

 

Thanks!

 

Have you had him tested for food intolerances, specifically gluten intolerance? I highly recommend using Enterolab for a definitive diagnosis. The traditional blood test route at a regular MD office has very high negative rates, so debilitating health problems can still continue. BOTH of my children have Celiac with accompanying SEVERE leaky gut that we have been treating. DD was SO sick from during her middle school and high school years that she graduated a year later than she should have. It affected her mentally and academically, as well as physically. I wish I had gone with 'easier' curriculum during those years, but then again she just got accepted to our local university and she is doing SO much better physically doing her special diet all on her own. I don't think the general public or most MDs truly grasp just HOW impacting diet can be on health. We had no idea we were still getting trace glutens in our 'gluten free' foods, and dd suffered the most with constant, chronic illness and inability to focus on schoolwork. Honestly, it's a miracle she finished at all :001_huh: DS is not as severe, but now that he is in high school he seems to have more school-disrupting illness problems---nausea, headaches, etc as we get our diet and supplement regimen fine-tuned. It's a constant learning process but it is happening.

 

 

My solution to the chronic illness-school disruption problem? Honestly---I did not stop looking for a solution! I knew there was a key to our problems and THANKFULLY my constant internet searches came up with answers---GAPS/SCD diet. And.....there were a LOT of couch/bed school days :glare: For writing, how about something like IEW DVD lessons and a lap desk? For math, what about MUS with DVD or the newer versions of TT with auto grading?

 

Good luck----I know exactly what you are going through and it's really rough :grouphug:

[tex-mex]

BTDT with ds' (and myself) rare liver disease. A simple cold or flu can hospitalize us. Son is also severely Dysgraphic and has mild working memory issues. Our schooling is more like a relaxed pace and some years, it takes a long time to finish a textbook like Algebra I, for example. Son also deals with OCD and anxiety, so we are taking baby steps to have our next goal either be Dual Credit or wait 'til graduation for him to begin community college. We school year round basically.

 

Just keep organized with paperwork. Keep an official transcript. Be open to out of the box ideas. And do not compare yourself to others! You are on your own path and your child will do great. :grouphug:

Edited September 10, 2012 by tex-mex

[marbel]

Thanks for the suggestions - and empathy!

 

I had not thought of CFS. He has been tested for gluten intolerance, via an endoscopy, and some other test I don't remember offhand.

 

I'll just write up what his problems are - who knows, maybe someone here has some experience.

 

He's always had bad allergies - not to food, but trees, grass, mold, dust, etc. In 2010 he had to have sinus surgery because of constant infections. He was on antibiotics a lot, and started suffering from chronic nausea and GERD then.

 

But things got really weird the summer of 2011. He went to Boy Scout camp (for the third year in a row, same location) and came back so sick. He was dx'd with bronchitis and cryptosporidium, a parasite. He was given z-pack for the bronchitis and an anti-parasite for the crypto. The coughing went away in a few days, but then he started dry heaving/retching constantly. I am not kidding when I saw constantly. He would have a dry heave every 5 minutes of his waking day. He didn't leave the house except to go to the doctor for nearly 3 months.

 

He had so many tests and all that came back was GERD and slow stomach emptying. He had a brain MRI to see if there was a lesion on the vomit center of the brain. That was all fine, though by that time I almost hoped they would find a problem. The gastroenterologist speculated that the retching was a "learned response" by his body because of the deep coughing from the bronchitis.

 

Around Thanksgiving the retching started fading away. By Christmas it was gone. He still had nausea, but it decreased gradually.

 

Since then he's never been completely nausea-free but he was able to do everything he wanted and needed to do.

 

Then, last month he went to Scout camp, and came back sick again. We jumped on it right away and got him to the family doctor and the allergist. The allergist said he has a severe wood smoke allergy. He got a FloVent inhaler (no way were we going for any antibiotics, because I wasn't convinced the z-pack didn't cause him a problem the year before) and the coughing stopped quickly. But the retching and nausea have come back again. It's not as frequent as last year, and he can control it somewhat, so he is going to church and to Scouts, but he is exhausted, feels terrible all the time, and aches from the muscle action of the retching. And he's afraid he's going to face all those test again. But he won't, because - why bother?

 

Whew, that was long! I'll be surprised if anyone has any experience with this - I've done many internet searches on various combinations of words and only come up with people complaining of the problem on health message boards, but no real information.

 

So anyway, it's not life-threatening (as far as we know) and not completely disabling, so I shouldn't complain. Still, as y'all who deal with it know, it's hard on the kid to be sick all the time.

 

Thanks again for reading and giving suggestions and empathy!

[caroljenn]

My daughter cannot take antibiotics anymore. She has severe nausea reactions to them, to the point where she can't lift her head up off the pillow. She's not technically "allergic" to any of them, but her body cannot tolerate them at all. I will only give them to her now if it's something really serious.

 

My daughter's CFS began when she got strep throat the Thanksgiving of her 7th grade year. The first round of antibiotics didn't work completely, so they gave her a second round (she didn't have the antibiotic/nausea issue then). She never fully recovered. She was just exhausted. She would get up in the morning to go to school, take a shower, and then be so tired she'd go back to sleep for two hours after the shower and not make it to school. I ended up pulling her out of school by Feb, and she didn't go back until the end of Jan the next year.

 

We had gone to Mammoth and Yosemite the summer before she got sick, so the doctor tested for parasites and infectious diseases and it all came back negative. She had an enlarged spleen, which ended up being the high side of normal. She had soooo many blood tests it was ridiculous. She went to an infectious diseases specialist at a local children's hospital. She was tested for Epstein-Barr, the mono virus, and everything was negative.

 

After a year of being in school, she got sick again, probably from kids being sent to school sick, and she just went into a tailspin. That's when the nausea/antibiotic thing started. Now she takes a nausea pill they give to cancer patients whenever she needs it, and she does still get nauseous sometimes for seemingly no reason. The doctor told us that her body was "used to being nauseous" so the pills are used to kick her out of it. Sounds like the same thing as your son! Maybe he can get some nausea meds? My daughter takes Zofran. Maybe that will help your son? I hope so!! =)

[flyingiguana]

Some kind of long term infection like strep or mono? I've heard of these symptoms with both these illnesses. And they can last a LONG time.

 

If he's got food intolerances or allergies, I wonder if there aren't good tests for them. He might have to try an elimination diet to see if he could determine the culprit.

 

One thing I noticed when I had severe morning sickness is that a bout of retching would actually *cause* me to need to vomit again. I'd never experienced that before. It seemed to be that the physical effort of vomiting caused my body to need to do it even more. I found that I needed to use some heavy duty relaxation techniques to stop the vicious cycle.

 

Also, just plain old inhaled allergies can cause a sick stomach in some people. And leaving home to go to camp might have made his allergies worse, to the point where he's now reacting to things that wouldn't normally bother him. You might need to ask the dr whether his allergies are really as controlled as they should be.

 

Has he tried Flonase or Nasonex? They're targeted to the nose, but I think they tend to reach down into the esophageal area. If he's retching because of something allergy related in the back of his throat, one of these drugs might help a lot. You might research vocal cord dysfunction -- my daughter was given Nasonex in an attempt to help with that. It does seem to be helping her breathing. She's being treated for asthma and they seem to have got that under control, but she was still having breathing issues. The dr is suspecting they may now be originating up farther in the throat and are allergy related.

 

But I can totally see someone with this problem having it cause them to vomit because of a gag reflex. (I seem to have the same problem and can't swallow at all when it gets bad -- seems to be totally allergy related.)

 

I've also heard bad things about z-packs. There are a lot of people who react badly to them, even if they are ok with other antibiotics.

[Guest Shelly2024]

I home schooled my fairly healthy daughter through the 8th grade and then she was ready and wanting to attend high school. She is currently a junior at a public magnet school which is for the arts. She missed 39 days of school last year due to several illnesses and we are really struggling this year. She has been to school all of 3 weeks since the beginning of the school year. Just today she has begun to open her mind to the possibility of home schooling again. We finally got a diagnosis from a rheumatologist last week of "pain amplification." After spending many hours on the internet reading many, many articles, I don't have great optimism for her returning to school any time soon. She basically has juvenile fibromyalgia. Doctors really don't like putting that label on young people. She fits the picture so well and has had multiple tests, including endoscopies for stomach pain, in the last 3 years.

 

Beginning to go down this road again with a bit of a reluctant 16 year old is very scary. She has to be on board 100% for this to work.

 

If you'd like more insight into fibromyalgia, read here: http://www.affter.org/juvenilefms/juvenile_fibromyalgia.htm

[Lori D.]

The fact that he is coming back sick with nausea each year from Boy Scout Camp -- has he been tested for giardia or other intestinal parasites? One of our DSs picked up giardia from a camping trip and had both nausea and diahrrea for over a month before we figured it out and got it tested (stool sample). Most of those nasty critters do not go away on their own, but require a really foul medicine to kill them off.

 

Also, you may want to rule out Crohn's disease. It can manifest anywhere in the digestive tract, mouth to anus, and is a very nasty and debilitating ailment.

 

 

Also, since you are in a state that requires some oversight, be sure you have a paper trail for the years of illness to prove chronic illness, so you don't have troubles later on. :)

 

SO sorry DS is struggling with his health and for so long! That is wearying! BEST of luck, Warmly, Lori D.

[Elizabeth in MN]

Uff-dah. This is going to be a hard post to write.

 

First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm Elizabeth and the Mom to a twelve year old girl. When I read here at TWTM I normally click "new posts" and scan to see if there are threads that I can help in or that can help me. For once I'll be talking about me.

 

As for the OP, may I also suggest iTunes U? They have tons of college level classes posted that can be listened to and in some cases watched. I'd also like to suggest an elimination diet for your son. My lactose intolerance first manifested as back pain and intestinal issues. It took me a good three years to give up dairy products, but the pain and colon stuff went away quickly. I till miss yogurt, but not the pain.

 

Caroljenn, well this should likely be a private message but I think CFS needs more air time. When I was thirteen I started sleeping. Lots of sleeping. My Mom was working at a church camp between years at seminary. I was diagnosed twice with Mono, and then a third time with Chronic Mono. Years past, and I struggled with school. Eventually when I was seventeen my Mom read an article in Newsweek about people with CFS. She got me to a doctor and I was diagnosed. For me it's never gone away and I am a rare case. Most people recover eventually. I did have a somewhat normal twenties. My GED is not as good as a high school diploma, but it gets me by.

 

There is only one pill that really helps me and that's my Cymbalta. It's taken away most of the mental fog and helps with pain management. I can not recommend it enough.

 

When I was in my teens my allergies to medications were too numerous to count. What we found was that tiny doses worked best, often what was recommended for babies. Time has passed and my tolerance for medications has come back.

 

Food intolerances are common for people with CFS. They come and go and vary in severity. It's something worth investigating with your dd. It's not a cure for CFS, but it can make management of the symptoms better.

 

Please, please, please know you are not alone. My Mom walked your path twenty-seven years ago with me. We've made it and there have been many good times. Your daughter is not just depressed, it's not somatization, and you're not any of you crazy. CFS is real.

 

One last piece of advice for all moms of teens with chronic health issues - press for formal diagnoses. Doctors don't like to do it because they think it puts a negative stigma on the teen. Sometimes it's so that a person can't be denied medical coverage for pre-existing conditions. But not having the formal diagnoses can make life hell later on. I've been working on getting SSI since 2004 and it's a hard, uphill battle. If my own Mom had not pressed for the formal diagnosis of CFS when I was seventeen things would be totally hopeless for me right now.

[Lizzie in Ma]

Yes.

It is one of the most difficult parts of our dd having Lyme disease.

She looks wonderful but she is sick, sick, sick. (Eloise moment, sorry)

 

Sometimes the focus just has to be on getting well.

I hope and pray things get better for your son. :grouphug::grouphug:

[marbel]

Thanks for the responses and empathy here!

 

He is going to the local children's hospital "complex care" department next week to see if there is anything the allergist, gastroenterologist, ENT specialist, and psychologist have not found or figured out. So we'll see.

 

We are thinking it's not diet-related as it happens right after summer camp (2 years in a row). The allergist thinks perhaps a wood-smoke allergy prompts bronchitis which in turn prompts the retching response, which his body can't shut off. The frequent retching contributes to the nausea.

 

We have tried eliminating various foods but that has not helped. The GE gave us some information on the FODMAP diet and a referral to a nutritionist to help with it, but even she is not convinced that will help. We will probably try that anyway after seeing the complex care doctors.

 

Last year he did have a parasite (cryptosporidium) and was given treatment for that. He almost wasn't tested for it as his symptoms are not typical for that. The medication didn't seem to have an effect on his symptoms, at least not within the expected time. He was tested this year and came back negative.

 

After a few months, the symptoms faded away, and he was fine until summer camp again this year.

 

Someone also suggested to me that perhaps there is some sort of hazing or abuse going on at camp, and we considered this. Our son denies it, and we (and his psychologist) belief him. It's Boy Scout camp; he has contact with the same people all year 'round, and goes to the same camp location several times a year - happily and eagerly. He is generally well-liked in his troop and is a successful Scout. (Just tossing that in in case someone is thinking along those lines.)

 

So, we'll see if something new comes up next week. In the meantime, we are moving along slowly. The biggest worry right now is his math. He's never been strong in math, but his inability to think clearly is making that even harder. He is also forgetting basic math facts so we are having to go backward a bit. Watching Great Courses lectures, reading, discussing books and lectures are all keeping him going in his other subject areas. He had tried to take a Coursera Basic Programming course but the fuzzy thinking is hindering him in that right now.

 

Thank you for the ideas, help, and sympathy! And, for sharing your stories. Though I don't wish chronic illness on anyone, it is nice to hear from others with similar experiences.

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

Search the boards with my screen name and you'll find threads about my own dd's health struggles. There were days when she could not get out of bed. She certainly could not do math. She certainly could not do chemistry. Many days she could not hold a book to read.

 

In Tn, we hs under an umbrella program. One day during the fall semester of dd's senior year I sat and cried in the office of our "head master". "How am I going to get enough work done with her to graduate her?" She would have been emotionally devastated to have had to extend high school a year.

 

In Tn, I have to turn in grades to our umbrella program. Our head master told me that we only needed enough written work to average a semester grade. I have forgotten the exact number she said... it is in one of my old threads..... but I think she said "3 or 4" or "5 or 6". Written work could be a short paper, end of chapter/unit review questions, vocabulary quizzes, a Quizlet test or two.

 

She recommended that we try to keep track of hours to justify a credit. Reading library books about subject matter covered in textbooks, watching documentaries, watching lectures online, listening to books on CDs, and oral discussions/narrations all counted toward those hours.

 

We switched from Chemistry to Astronomy for her sciece. We used the Wiley Guide that SWB recommended in the 1st edition WTM. We followed several of SWB's suggestions, read library books, looked at tons of "picture" books, read a biography (Copernicus?? Galileo??). She spent many "lab" hours at night on the trampoline finding stars and pondering the universe. In the end, she told me that she learned more science from that "easy" course than she had "memorized" in all the other years of more rigorous science.

 

She is now 20 and working two jobs. She graduated from our home school high school and spent three semesters in college. She did quit college because of her health. Several of her doctor's have commented that if she got As and Bs (a few Cs) as sick as she was, that she must be extremely smart and intelligent and have had a remarkable education under her belt. She does plan to return to college at some point.

 

We still do not have a firm diagnosis. Most likely, ADD and fibromylgia. She does have depression as a diagnosis, but her psychiatrist thinks that the physical has caused the mental.

 

I'll be happy to tell you more. Feel free to PM me and I'll tell you more about how I made assignments that allowed for her illness yet still met our state and school requirements.

 

((( hugs )))

 

Pam

[PollyOR]

:grouphug: Have they tested the water at the Boy Scout camp? I have a friend who is being treated for bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. She goes to a naturopath.

 

My daughter has been treated for depression for over four years. Personally I think there is something else going on with her body, but her doctor doesn't seem to think so. DD was doing so good this summer and I thought she was finally "out of the woods." I guess not (rough week). I thought maybe she could go on to enjoy being a teen. I want her to be able to have the energy to enjoy life.

 

I'll be honest and admit that I completely gave up on her schooling. She unschools. She loves watching Teaching Company courses. She has taught herself to knit clothing via YouTube. She reads books of her choosing from the library (ex: A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness). I hope someday she'll be able to attend college though I'm not sure she'll have the energy to attend full-time. I can't imagine her having enough energy to hold down a job. I worry about her ability to be an independent adult.

 

I'm sorry I don't have any ideas. We have spent years in various states of survival mode while filling our calendar with doctor appointments.