OK, Yoda, I tested her on these passages in the font sizes you suggested. Her speed was almost the same for both (29.68 seconds for the 12 pt font, 30.12 seconds for the 36 pt font). I noticed that she does a pretty good job sounding out the nonsense words correctly but, for the most part, it's not automatic. For quite a few words she had to sound them out first (e.g. m-ub, mub). So, now I'm guessing working on something relating to phonics and syllables? I'm really grateful for your help with this. Thank you.

She says she "sort of" has pictures in her mind. TT is working really well for her. She's on track to finish TT6 and TT7 by June. :)

Wow. Her reading speed is all over the place. Here's what I got today from my daughter who has declared her reading issues "unfixable." :( Reading Grade Level (used the Quick Screen) : 9.0 MWIA 3 - Combined Holistic Words: 62 wpm; 1 error (said "thumb" instead of "thump"); Combined Phonetic Words: 70 wpm, 3 errors (said "shrug" instead of "shrub," "gulp" instead of "gulps," and "suit" instead of "soot") Nonsense Word Test - 41 wpm, 1 error (said "gash" instead of "jash") Silent Reading - C1: 128 wpm; A1: 85 wpm What now?

Yes, she had VT with a really good developmental optometrist. She says she can't focus with audiobooks. Me reading aloud is better, because I can stop every few paragraphs and check in with her, keep her on task. It's just frustrating. I need to teach her active reading strategies, how to use a high lighter, that type of thing. Maybe that will help keep her dialed in. Maybe. Ugh. I don't want it to be about her vision, because dealing with it feels like slogging through mud uphill. She saw some significant improvements while doing VT and I still have this huge binder of exercises from her doctor. However, we weren't compliant in continuing the exercises, because... we just weren't. I can see how dusting off the binder and getting back to work might be helpful. :( I don't think it's NVLD. I need to dig out her eval, but IIRC her Perceptual Reasoning was 109 and her Verbal was in the 90s. Then the WM and PS scores tanked. Unless NVLD is lower verbal and higher perceptual. I can't remember and I'm too lazy to google it right now :tongue_smilie: Thank you :) I'll have her work on these tomorrow and get back to you.

Acellus, BJU Distance Learning, Abeka DVDs, CTC math

I could use some help brainstorming this issue. I've talked a lot about older DD. She has convergence insufficiency that is managed with glasses. A few years ago she was dx'd with SLD-Disorder of Written Exression, Moderate and SLD-Math, mild. She also has molasses slow processing speed (1%) and low working memory (4%). Those are her areas of struggle. (She's also an amazing artist, super funny, and has a tender heart. She's not just her struggles, but anyway...) She can read (decode) pretty much at grade level, but: (1) She says she can't remember what she reads. To hear her describe it, it's almost like her brain is a sieve and as soon as she reads information it slides right out again. This is how she experiences reading. But, in the past, she's done surprisingly well on reading comprehension tests. IIRC, she was in the 90s for that part of the WISC IV. Maybe because those were just short passages? But ask her to read a novel or a longer (1-2 page) lesson, and all bets are off. (2) She's reversing things randomly. Still reverses letters occasionally, but it's most annoying for her when doing things like math comparison problems. She absolutely knows that the arrow points to the smaller number, and she knows that, for example, 1/4 is less than 1/2, but sat there and argued with me how TT scored her answer wrong, even though she got it right. It was something like comparing, 1/4 ____ 1/2. She answered > because, as I later discovered, she saw 1/2 ____ 1/4. I can't figure this out. I don't think she's faking it, that's just not her style. She's more of an avoider than a malingerer. I'm really at a loss as to how to help her. I've thought about having her re-tested, but even if we decide to go that route there are long wait lists and we're looking at spring at the soonest. In the meantime, homefry is in the 9th grade. We can't afford to lose another year of no formal lit. I need to figure out (1) what the heck is going on, and (2) how best to help her to overcome or accommodate it. Thank you, wise mamas. I'm :bigear:

Alternative to Khan: Hippocampus They actually do include some Khan Academy videos, but also AoPS, NROC, and others with better production values.

We don't use a formal curriculum. She does written narrations for her history lessons, and does letter writing and creative writing in her spare time. It works for now.

In case money IS an issue: Flipped Math. Free and, as far as I can tell, pretty complete. Easy Peasy's High School Math links to Monterey Institute's Algebra 1

Yes, that's what the follow-up at the children's hospital is for. More x-rays and other tests (no idea what the "other tests" are). It's really apparent just by looking at her that *something* is going on. Her right shoulder is higher and closer in than her left and, especially when she bends over, her shoulder blade forms this really obvious hump. Both of these have gotten more noticeable since last spring. What I'd like to figure out is what - besides scoliosis - could cause this. On her original x-rays (not the scoliosis screen but a different one done for her right shoulder) the one thing that looked unusual was her right collarbone pointed up, rather than being relatively horizontal. So, all this time I've been thinking (assuming) that it was just something funky going on with her shoulder / collarbone. It may still be that. The waiting is the worst part. Once I have FACTS to deal with I become much calmer and focused. The not knowing is stressing me out.

My favorite math help videos are at Hippocampus.

CK-12 has homework help. You need to create a free account, but you or your child can post questions there.

Oh and he was really insistent that he wanted to see her soon. He would have preferred next week, but 2 weeks was the best they could do. That freaked me out a bit, but also comforted me, because, hey, at least someone is finally taking it seriously. In these parts waiting many months for medical appointments is totally normal.

The doctor said he saw "very mild" scoliosis on the x-rays I brought in from last Feb. He said that it's progressed so far that what he saw on the x-rays didn't match the person he examined today. He said it was severe. We'll see. More tests and stuff in a couple weeks. I'm just trying to wrap my brain around all this. Maybe it's NOT scoliosis. You can't really tell without an x-ray, right? And the radiologist who originally saw the x-rays saw no signs of scoliosis, could draw a straight line through [i can't remember the vertebrae he mentioned]. So it wasn't just a small degree of curve, it was NO degree of curve. But this quack (with decades of experience and a great reputation) is now saying he saw "very mild" curvature, so mild that he wouldn't have suggested she be referred to an ortho. What is he seeing that the radiologist didn't see? [Duh. A slight curve, apparently.] But, still. We don't know anything yet until we get the new x-rays. So we wait. If it's not scoliosis, what the heck could it be? What looks like severe scoliosis on the outside but is actually something else? (We need a "grasping at straws" smiley.)

Tell me everything you know about scoliosis. Doctor is an extremely experienced, well-regarded pediatric orthopedic surgeon. So, naturally I'm second-guessing him. It's just what I do. Can things really go from very mild to severe in 8 months? More testing is coming in two weeks.

Gilligan's Island! Oh, my kids TOTALLY have to watch that one! I can't believe I forgot it. I'd definitely give the current Studio C season a try. Everybody's sense of humor is a little different and what doesn't appeal to one person is totally funny to another person. My daughter only made it through about half of the 2nd episode of season 8. We'd just come home from the hospital where we'd discovered that my step-dad likely has prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. So, there's one skit that hit way too close to home. Maybe if we weren't in such a vulnerable space it would have seemed funnier. I don't know. I can't be objective about that one. So, don't let my disappointed review scare you off. It's still a clean show and definitely worth checking out.

14 yo: art class at the CC 2 days a week, 2 church youth groups (old church and new church), plus a standing date to play games with friends once a week. All that takes about 10 hours a week, and it's feeling a little full to her, but still okay. In the spring she hasn't decided about taking another CC class, but she'll be starting ballet again. And for the 13 yo: (deep breath... and GO): After-school club at the community center 4 days a week/3 hrs a day, soccer (2 practices, plus game on Saturday), church youth group, Awana (helps out with the Cubbies), and theater. That adds up to over 20 hours a week. She actually wouldn't mind adding in more, but I would mind. She thrives when she's busy-busy-busy. :driving: <--- actual footage of me during the week.

I'm not sure... I think we should give them a try, though. I intro'd her to Brady Bunch today. Oh dang, so campy. But she watched the whole episode so...

This is particularly for 12 yo DD, but it's always nice when the whole family can enjoy it :) She loves classic Studio C but the current season is pretty bad :( We've seen the first seven seasons over (and over and over). Funny stuff. This season... not so much. We need a replacement show or youtube channel or something! We have Hulu and Prime. Throw your best ideas at me. :)

Well, I actually said, a lot of fruits and vegetables. She doesn't gorge herself on fruit (or any food), but does eat heavily from the produce aisle, more or less what she's craving. I have no doubt that having full-fledged diabetes requires stricter protocols. For DD, a whole foods, produce-laden (fruits and veg) diet using modest portion sizes (where the points come in) has been very helpful.

It might be ADHD. Or it might be something else. It's certainly worth digging deeper. See if you can get a referral to a child psychiatrist and see if they can help you sort it out. :grouphug:

I'm not sure how overweight your daughter is, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Hopefully there's something helpful in here. My older daughter is obese and was pre-diabetic :( However, after changing what she eats her glucose levels are very, very good, but she continued to gain weight. The absolute worst advice I've had to deal with is "don't put your kid on a diet." OK, maybe if we're talking a few extra pounds, or if your child has chubbed up during a growth spurt, then yes a diet is overkill. But for kids who have serious weight struggles or are very overweight, changing their eating plan and even limiting portion sizes and requiring exercise is necessary. I am so angry at myself for listening to the "experts" instead of listening to my gut. My 14 yo 5'3" daughter is down to 169 lb. She's lost 25 lb. Do the math. Healthy eating alone is NOT enough. She gained a good 20 lb eating a very healthy diet... just too much of it. And her food amounts weren't crazy huge, but she has a naturally slow metabolism. After changing how much she ate, she began losing weight - 25 lb in 4 months. The only successful, healthy way for her to lose weight has been Weight Watchers Points Plus. WW+ is easy to adapt for the whole family, with the understanding that not everyone will be counting points, but everyone can eat healthy foods. It basically comes down to eating a LOT of fruits and vegetables (because they're 0 points), lean meats, and low to moderate grain/starch carbs. However, no food is off limits. You can google Points Plus and find a ton of information about how to do it for free. (The current WW program is called "Smart Points" I don't have any experience with SP, so we're sticking with WW+.) As for as exercise, she uses a stationary bike and youtube cycling workouts (like these). A few weeks ago she added in Jillian Michaels (I think the ab workout). She's lost 3" around her middle. She works out 5 days a week for about an hour total.

Why? In addition to the reasons mentioned above: to make sure that it is​ autism and not another issue that may present some similar symptoms.

This is going to have to be quick, because my computer keeps crashing but, in a nutshell: I think we view guns differently. I view guns as morally neutral tools. The tool (gun) is only as good or as bad as the person using it. Sometimes it feels like people subconsciously begin viewing the gun almost as a co-conspirator. Murder is already illegal. Shooting at people (except for self-defense) is also already illegal. Adding another gun law isn't going to provide enough of a barrier to stop someone who is determined to destroy life. So, those are my thoughts in a nutshell. Peace. p.s. I'm not anarchist, fatalistic, or nihilistic. I lean pretty libertarian, though.

Because, though it might affect the method of terror, evil people will always find a way to destroy lives. Ban or restrict guns and there will still be crimes (including mass murder) committed with knives, trucks, planes, bombs... or even illegally obtained guns (we've seen how effective making certain drugs illegal has been). My heart goes out to those affected by this awful tragedy. :(