EvaElizabeth Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 My 5th grader was born with multiple significant birth defects and has many academic challenges due to a complicated combination of medical disabilities, frequent school absence, ADHD, sensory issues, and dysgraphia due to brain injury in the course of medical treatment. I have fought to keep him in a charter school with a challenging academic program because I feel strongly he needs to be challenged with modifications, not placed in lower level classes. The last couple of years have been a struggle because their special education program is terrible in spite of their strong academic program. I have been struggling all year with whether or not to pull him out of school, and it comes down to math. The school started out using Saxon through grade 3, and my son excelled in the program. In 4th grade they switched to My Math, which I cannot even describe my level of hatred for. This year they have switched to a combination of the 2 programs. All I know is my son went from testing above grade level to basically failing math over the last two years. He has been diagnosed with dysgraphia, and a huge majority of the problem is transcription errors from the textbook to the page. I have started copying the problems to his paper for him, but I can't do it for every one, and it's not helping him learn some of the concepts, such as how to line up the numbers and why. He passed off all of his math facts way back in 3rd grade and he's fast so he's not making calculation errors. He never labels anything - money, decimals, units of measure - but if you ask him to check for a label he can tell you accurately what label is missing. He struggles with double digit multiplication and division, not because he forgets the steps or doesn't know the facts, but because even with graph paper he can't line up the numbers legibly. He wants to do everything in his head, which is okay to a point, but he frequently forgets he carried a number in his head. After a discouraging geometry unit where I had to draw all of the shapes and hold the ruler for him for a week, I suggested to the special education director that it was probably time to implement some kind of assistive technology in math. There is no question in my mind that he is being significantly prevented from learning and advancing in math because of this barrier. She told me nothing is available except for large format printouts. I was astounded and furious, but I didn't say anything. I thought maybe I was being unfair and crazy. That night I searched online and found several sites with resources for math related adaptive technology, and an entire list of programs. Of course, I don't understand them, but don't tell me they don't exist! That was last week, and since then I have spent all of my time researching math curiculums and trying to figure out what to do. My biggest hesitation in pulling him from school is I'm not strong in math. I calculate accurately, and I can usually figure it out when he needs help, but I just don't remember very much from math classes at all, other than what I use every day, like practical fractions and percents. Yet, I definitely don't remember more than one method of calculating percentages, just that there are other ways that aren't as easy as my way. He often corrects me when I make mistakes, such as the other day when I made a mistake in decimal place value. All of the online or computer based math programs I've come across are like MyMath, basically language arts based math programs. I think Saxon has passed it's usefulness for him - all of the constant review and copying from the textboom translates to much more writing. I use Singapore in the summer and my kids do well with it except that every summer they have forgotten all of the metric lessons from the previous year because there isn't any reinforcement during the school year. This does concern me a little because it seems like if it was just forgetting the conversions they would know the process so they would ask, "How many mm in a cm?" And be able to finish the problem instead of leaving the answers completely blank. I'm also still debating whether to do a modified, part time schedule, which he qualifies for and would help him continue specialty OT and other services, or pull him out of school completely. Basically my head is swimming, and I'm still trying to sort everything out. Any advice? Writing is another mountain to address but I feel more confident in helping him with this because I have a better feel for what he needs (more frequent, short essays to help him practice developing and organizing his ideas instead of less frequent, long essays. The long, informative essays seems to be the emphasis in school right now with state testing around the corner). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 There is an online version of Singapore called Primary Math Digital Edition. It isn't cheap ($99/year) but if Singapore works and the main challenge for your son is the whole handwriting issue, I would give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Oh my goodness, this sounds incredibly frustrating. Of COURSE he deserves to be challenged with academics, rather than put in a lower level class because he struggles to write things down. I have not used it, but ModMath is a program designed by two parents of a dysgraphic child. Here is the link to the app (FREE!): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/modmath/id821892964?ls=1&mt=8 And here is the link to a story about the family: https://www.understood.org/en/community-events/blogs/making-a-difference/2016/04/19/husband-and-wife-team-create-free-math-app-for-kids-with-writing-issues If you use it, please report back! I'm so curious to see what an actual kid thinks of it. It looks VERY cool... I should just start using it myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 There is an online version of Singapore called Primary Math Digital Edition. It isn't cheap ($99/year) but if Singapore works and the main challenge for your son is the whole handwriting issue, I would give it a try. I just signed up for the free 15 day demo. It looks awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 (edited) nm Edited August 17, 2017 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 If his issue is copying/writing the math problems, you might try Math Window. https://mathwindow.com/product-category/math-challenged/ It is a low-tech option. I strongly considered getting this for my DS, but we managed with using dry erase boards to give him more space to write. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvaElizabeth Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 Yesterday we tried the ModMath app and it was fantastic! This struggle with math has been going on for so long now that it's easy to get lost in it and second-guess the problem. Everything was just so clear to him, he was able to focus on the problem in a completely different way and finishing his math homework wasn't taxing on either of us. I came across a few different similar programs and this is by far the simplest, which is important when we are talking about a fifth grader. He figured it out faster than I did! Because it is so simple there are a few things I haven't figured out and it might be that those functions aren't available since it isn't an app with a big tech company funding it. But, it was clearly created by a family who knew exactly what kids like my son need. I could see it being a useful tool for many other applications, and for kids who make math mistakes because of their own handwriting but don't necessarily have dysgraphia. I hope they continue to get the support and advertising they need so the app can continue to grow! I looked at the Math Window and it looks like a great idea, but I wasn't sure if it is intended to be used as a teaching tool or for homework. It did give me the idea to set up something similar with magnetic numbers to replace some of the white board work. I came across the Singapore online resource a little while ago and the description said it was intended to "supplement" the textbook math program so I didn't investigate it. I read the same thing somewhere else at the Singapore site yesterday but then when I looked at the website this morning I don't see the "supplemental" description anywhere so I can't figure out if it was my imagination or what! Has anyone used this independently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) nm Edited August 17, 2017 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Hurrah! So glad ModMath was a good fit. I think they are working on (or already have?) a ModMath Pro, which you need to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 (edited) nm Edited August 17, 2017 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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