We just got the results of this test for my son. I feel like this should be a red flag for the school system. He is listed as borderline with a percentile rank of 9. We did some other cognitive ability tests and the results were similar. He is borderline so doesn't qualify for assistance. This is not really a surprise for my huband and I. All year his teacher has been telling us not to worry so much, that he is doing fine and is a regular 10 year old 4th grader. He struggles with abstract math concepts. He has a really difficult time with writing. We did a ton of testing with private therapists and with the school system to get him some extra help in school. He did not qualify for special ed. I would love to homeschool him, but it does not work at home. He does better in school where the teacher is the one assigning homework. He has done really well this year at school. We were afraid that it would be more difficult trasnitioning than it has been. He is a little clueless about some social cues and we thought he would get picked on more than he has. It has happened some. I don't know how to go about getting a diagnosis for him that lets his teachers know how much help he needs. My husband and I decided to not help him with his homework as much so it shows a better representation of concepts he gets and doesn't get. I feel like the school is waiting for him to completely fail before they believe us. Any advice on how to go about getting the diagnosis we need would be great. What kind of doctor do we need to see first?

This year I decided to switch from Saxon to Singapore. In the teacher's guide they list a lot of games and activities to do to teach the concepts and I am wondering if there is a kit out there that goes with this program. Do you think this program takes more work for the parent in lesson preparation? -Andrea

I posted this in the general forum first. A few months ago at my son's well-child checkup I asked his doctor about some behavioral issues we have been having. My son can be very explosive and out of control. He is 9. The doctor gave me a list of psychiatrists and psychologists to try to get an appointment with. We got an appointment and the doctor said we should get a speech evaluation done first. The speech therapist said he has several disfluencies that need to be addresses. He stutters, he replaces "R" with "W", he pauses. There were other things she mentioned I just can't think of them now. We have always thought something was unique about our son. He definitely has challenges, but he is a sweet kid and loves to learn. Next the doctor gave DS a cognitive evaluation. He scored very low on everything. The test given to him was the WISC-IV test. His verbal comprehension was the best score and it was average. The other 3 areas were perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. He scored low or extremely low in these areas. His overall IQ score is 74. I do not know what to do now. I do not feel comfortable homeschooling him now. It makes so much sense why school was so difficult for him. We are looking at special education programs in our local public schools. I guess my question is what does his score means. Everything I look up about cognitive disability points to autism or autism spectrum disorders. Is this where I should be looking for information? What does this mean for his future. Will he be able to finish high school or go to college? Does anyone have experience with special education in the Denver area?

So I thought maybe I should talk more about the things I have noticed with my son over the last couple of years. He is reading. It took him a long time to figure it out, but now reads really well. I think he was 7 or 8 before it finally clicked. The subjects he has the most trouble with are writing and math. In math he does not understand abstract concepts. He can only do problems one way and if you give him a similar problem but asked differently than he learned he is clueless. In writing he can't get his thoughts organized and also has trouble with spelling. In his personal life there are many more issues. He is sensitive to sound. He can't handle it when people yell or babies cry. He is sensitive about clothes he wears. There are only certain socks he can wear. He doesn't like shirts that have buttons or tags. He has trouble making friends because he doesn't get their jokes or sense of humor. He usually has some sort of "tic". He does things with his hands or sometimes his head. He does one thing for a little while and then if fades away and he starts doing something else. I could go on and on. I want to know what the public school system has to offer. Maybe just knowing what kinds of therapies he needs will help us decide if we want to keep homeschooling. I think that he is the kind of kid that will get picked on and bullied at school. What I have read about special education in Colorado is that kids are not taught in different classrooms but are pulled out during the day for specific things like reading/math help or ot or pt. That seems better to me than it was when I was growing up.

I was floored when she told us the scores. I broke down in her office. I think it is because I always thought he was different but still okay mentally. He did horribly on the standardized test he had to take this past year and I thought that's just because he doesn't do well with those types of tests not because he doesn't know the information or can't process information. I am feeling a little better today. I still want to get this figured out and find the best place for him. If homeschooling is still the best option for him I am willing to do it. I think I will know more once we do some more evaluations. I would like to get a diagnosis just so I can read up on what he is dealing with.

A few months ago at my son's well-child checkup I asked his doctor about some behavioral issues we have been having. My son can be very explosive and out of control. He is 9. The doctor gave me a list of psychiatrists and psychologists to try to get an appointment with. We got an appointment and the doctor said we should get a speech evaluation done first. The speech therapist said he has several disfluencies that need to be addresses. He stutters, he replaces "R" with "W", he pauses. There were other things she mentioned I just can't think of them now. We have always thought something was unique about our son. He definitely has challenges, but he is a sweet kid and loves to learn. Next the doctor gave DS a cognitive evaluation. He scored very low on everything. The test given to him was the WISC-IV test. His verbal comprehension was the best score and it was average. The other 3 areas were perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. He scored low or extremely low in these areas. His overall IQ score is 74. I do not know what to do now. I do not feel comfortable homeschooling him now. It makes so much sense why school was so difficult for him. We are looking at special education programs in our local public schools. I guess my question is what does his score means. Everything I look up about cognitive disability points to autism or autism spectrum disorders. Is this where I should be looking for information? What does this mean for his future. Will he be able to finish high school or go to college? Does anyone have experience with special education in the Denver area?

It is a beautiful part of Arkansas. If you love being outdoors it is great place. Lots of camping, rock climbing and other fun stuff to do outside. Fayetteville is a great town/city. Enjoy

Has anyone used CC material when not enrolled in the program. I would love to use some of the memory work cds in the car and the flash cards, but I'm not sure it would be worth the cost if aren't meeting with the tutors. I would love your thoughts on this and if you have used any other material for memorizing other than CC. Thanks!

I did talk to my daughter about having a few positive statements about homeschooling ready for the next time it comes up. It is just frustrating that the daughter is just repeating what the parents have said. Now I know they have been talking about me behind my back which makes all of their nice remarks seem completely fake. We only have a couple more weeks of soccer season. Hopefully I can get my daughter interested in something else this summer...horseback riding at 2 in the afternoon sounds like fun. Thanks for the encouragement!

From her soccer teammates. There is one girl that has asked my daughter several times why she homeschools and that she would be better off in public school. It's not really asking it is more like "why do you homeschool?" "public school is so much better" " you really miss out on learning experiences at home." I am 100% sure that the girl is just repeating her parents comments. My daughter is kind of dreading soccer practice now. I am tempted to mention it to the girls mom but I don't want to make things worse. She isn't mean to my daughter just kind of pushy and makes her feel like an outcast because of the choices we have made. The girls are all about 10 or 11 years old. What would you do? Would you let your daughter deal with it on her own or say something to the parent?

I am interested in the How to Spell program but not sure which level to purchase. I have a third grader that struggles with spelling. Would you start with level one?

I am interested in this as well. My son, 8, is not really a struggling reader. I'm not sure what level he is reading at so I am not worried about reading. His spelling on the other hand is terrible. He spells phonetically. He also has some speech impediments, nothing I feel we need to fix, but he spells those words the way he says them. He is a typically active boy and I would love to hear about programs have worked. We are using Spelling Workout right now and it just isn't helping.

I am looking at using Core G from Sonlight next year for 6th grade.Here is a link to the page about this core http://www.sonlight.com/homeschool-curriculum.html?type=grade&grade=6&tab=core This core uses Susan's books 1 and 2. My thought is that this will be like following TWTM suggestions for history but without the headache of pulling the books together myself. Has anyone else had this thought and has it worked out like you thought it would? I also have a third grader who loves Susan's books and will probably listen in while we are reading and I thought it would be easy enough to get books from the library on his level to go along with what we are doing in 6th grade.

Thanks for all the input. I really do appreciate it. Sometimes it is enough to know that someone out there is going through a similar situation. You are probably right about sending 2 of my children to ps would add more problems, not to mention the possibility of sending the wrong message to my middle child. It is really frustrating. He gets compliments from everyone that interacts with him. We do a one day a week ps thing where the kids have enrichment classes. All of his teachers tell me he is the sweetest kid and they all love having him in his class. Random people that don't even have him in a class will stop me and tell me how much they love him. That is frustrating for me because it is so awful at home. He fights me on everything. I don't really argue with him I just get a negative response everytime I need him to do something. I like what someone said about not fighting with him and having him do school in the summer or just until it is done. I think I will have this discussion with him tomorrow. My husband does ask about the day and privilages are taken away if he has bad behavior...which is a lot and it starts to feel like he is always in time out or he has lost some privialge...bike, t.v, skatebord, etc. My husband and I have considered some kind of counseling to try and figure out how to deal with the behavior issues, but we aren't really sure where to start with that or sure if we need it. Sometime things are great and then we have a huge blow up and it feels like something bigger than normal behavior issues. Not sure if that makes a lot of sense. I am kind of rambling now. This year we have a ton of activities that we would need to either drop or switch times around if the kids were in school. That would be a nightmare in itself. I am also looking at curriculum for my daughter and getting really excited about it. I also hate the thought of sending her to a huge middle school where she will already be on the outside since she won't know many of the kids. Kids at this age can be really cruel in my experience. Thanks for listening.

My son is 8. He will be doing 3rd grade work next year. I guess the problem is, I feel like it isn't really fair to my daughter. I am so focused on getting my son through his work that it feels like she is on her own except for the time at the end of the day where we do math, writing, and grammar. It would be a huge adjustment for all of us to switch to the public school schedule. I know there isn't anyone out there that can tell me exactly what the right choice is. I just need to write this out get some feedback. Thanks! -Andrea