Vision therapy has helped us a LOT this year with number and letter reversals. One thing we do with letter my work with numbers. We have printed pages in page protectors and have nonsense words. My daughter has to find and circle the lower case letters in alphabetical order among the words. We time it. You may try mixing numbers among groups and let him find them in order. We also did a lot of jumping on letters and numbers, used post-it notes around the house for letter and number hunts, writing on a baking sheet with a finger in sugar, and some of the other things mentioned by the PP. She also had consistent confusion with 6 and 9 so I made up a song. We would sing "6 has a circle on the bottom, 9 has a notch at the top." I still see her pause and softly sing it every onc=e in a while to remember the difference.

We did about a year ago and it was helpful. I found it calmed her and it became a part of our strategies. However as her nervous system has calmed, and she feels things differently we simply don't need it and it is now uncomfortable for her.

Thanks for the feedback ladies. This gives me some things to consider. I will also check the BBC program. Free is a great price :D

:lurk5:

Excellent! We just made a snowflake with Borax, but my daughter wanted to save a real snowflake. We live in the Atlanta area and snow is seldom. We may get more tomorrow and this would be fabulous! Thanks for sharing!:001_smile:

Is anyone familiar with this program? What is your experience? I am looking for something geared more to kindergarten/early elementary. http://thehomeschoolmom.com/reviews/garfields-typing-pal

:iagree:

Thanks for clarification on RIS. I looked at the abbreviation thread and did a search, but couldn't find it. So far, it seems that DD can see and move beads in her mind. But the further we go it may be an issue. Thanks again ladies, and sorry to trouble you with the clarification :001_smile:

Although we are not near pre-Algerba, I would like to see it too! I also agree that sound and stay-put features would have been nice as well. I'm sure I will appreciate them more when i ever get an iPad--lol! I just wanted to share the ap from my e-mail though...

Decluttering is our battle! She does not want to let go of things! Uggg!!!! We sing songs that help remind her of her "duties" in order. But visual charts help too. We have a "chore chart" that helps her remember what to do. I have seen so many interesting tools, like rubber bracelets with slide on pieces, visual charts, etc. But I must say that VT is a very helpful component with OT. Working on the underlying issues can be a huge help!

(((Mom2J112903))) I know this is so frustrating for you. You are doing a great job of taking J's needs into consideration and adapting. That is so important! I can relate somewhat because my DD struggled with some basic things while totally getting higher level things. For instance, she might confuse a K and an R but will decode rack. Our OT tells me it is a lateralization issue and it will be overcome in a few years. Then there is VT and it may be her convergence insufficiency. What is the cause exactly, I don't know. I just continue with the OT, VT, and working on reading at home and reminding her of the letter with song and practing drawing them in different ways (or jumping on them, etc.). Now VT, I believe, has helped tremendously to correct that with us. She has recently gone through upper and lower case again without any issues. However, it could get somewhat jumbled again. Perhaps there are other approaches at home you can take, like those mentioned by the ladies on this forum, that may help your sweet J to retain some of that stuff that keeps getting lost. Has he been tested by a developmental optometrist? Have you tried some of the interesting programs the ladies here describe? Maybe one of these things might help. But beyond figuring out what is happening and what will help J, I would say YOu need breaks and YOU need to take care of YOU. You are obviously devoted. Remeber, you can't be your best for J if you aren't taking care of you. Don't worry about keeping firm to a schedule to cover x, y, and z. Your little one is 7. You have time on your side and those breaks can be essential for everyone! I am sure more experienced mothers will have terrific ideas and advice. I just want you to know you are not alone and to remind you that you are important to be cared for as well :tongue_smilie:.

:iagree: I just have a couple questions from this excellent thread. What is RIS? If a child is able to do the basic visual math in RS B, do they have a visualizing problem or is it different when dealing with math rather than reading? (Sorry if my questions are dim.)

I am glad they gave you some answers. It will be a relief once you begin working on correcting it. But, yes, it is a lot to take in at once.

I just got an e-mail announcing the Al Abacus iPad App. I don't know if anyone else has shared, but I thought I would just in case. I also don;t know if it can be used on other platforms like Android. http://www.alabacus.com/pageView.cfm?pageID=363

yllek, that is excellent information! I have been curious about what some of the Seeing Stars materials and process. It is also nice to hear how it works at home. I know there are winter sessions LMB will be having near my area and I believe there is a school that sees students for these programs. The workbook you mentioned at the end sounds useful as well!

I think technically that A is kinder and B is first grade. Remember the first part of B is A. So if your kindergartener is doing B, they could be viewed as ahead and if tehy are doing A they are right on target. We started B last year and took a break due to serious life issues. We picked it back up this year but are moving at a very slow pace. She is still little and so we do what feels right for her. If she wants things a bit different, we supplement. If life gets busy, it goes to teh back burner. I wouldn't stress at all...

Interesting observations ladies. I can see how it may not be a good choice for certain families. I actually like that there is not heavy writing and researched programs until I found one that didn't require it. It is a good part of the program for Dysgraphic children. We are in B and I don't yet feel I have to pad the program. I do try and give her a well-rounded math education, so I do supplement at times for a different approach. However, I don't think I feel I need to supplement. It is more for fun and variety. Perhaps as she gets older, writing for mastery will become more important. Right now, she has been able to memorize through songs, kinesthetic work, and speaking with repetition. Learning styles and age probably have a great bearing on whether it is a good fit.

ITA that SOTW makes it clear what is a myth-based story. My 5 year old seems to be straight on what it is as well. We have enjoyed it greatly!

We do RS B and I have supplemented on occasion with Kumon workbooks and was going to use MEP. I was supplementing because my daughter seems to enjoy math and was seeking a bit more. I thought I would work more on mastery work, because RS is a soft spiral. We also do CC, so she gets skip counting work and memorization of math facts there. I took a break from any supplementing though after listening to advice given here that supplementing at this age with RS wasn't needed. If she asks for new work though, I will reconsider this. She seems happy for now, is responding well, and there are no gaps, so I will stay the course.

I definetly understand and agree that kids are so different and each situation is unique. Even the therapists and professionals are unique in their strengths and weaknesses. I was just sharing our situation, which is why the "for us" was mentioned in my post. I can't imagine seeing my DD in physical pain so soon into sudying. I can see why you felt compelled to seek VT help quickly. I agree that OT does take time to see a "shift." I have spoken to mothers at the clinic who saw changes very fast (within a few sessions). However most children take 6-12 months to see initial and noticable changes. My DD has SPD, so we use OT to work on those sensory issues, which include the vestibular system. We just do a brief session of vestibular work (like 10 min. at home) before VT. The actual day of therapies I have on the same day and VT is actually the first appointment and OT is 2 hours later on that day. The process learning about treatments, differences, etc. can be so frustrating! As I do figure things out and see progress, it is wonderful. Yet in the midst of weeding through everything, it can be so overwhelming! I am glad to learn so much here on this board.

I would say OT, from what I have learned and experienced, is the first part of the process. We started VT well intio OT and have continued it alongside. In fact, the OT suggested VT prior to OT and w/o activating the vestibular system prior to VT work was like putting the cart before the horse for us. Previous to doing VT homework or going VT we do vestibular exercises. That REALLY upped the scores and helped make progress. It also seemed to help the progress to "stick" for us. We had a progress check-up Tuesday and it is going really well. I would have to say working on the processing through OT is probably a great idea! I also will be listening in to learn more about the programs you mentioned. I am really interested in understanding them better. :lurk5:

It is the follow-up to 100EZ isn't it? It is what they suggest at the end of the book to build on it...

Excellent points merry. It really helps me to understand it a bit better. I had actually watched most of the long Barton video this weekend and that inspired my conversation with the OT. Academically, my daughter does well, even in most areas of her phonics work. We use a combination of 100 EZ lessons, Webster's Speller, and Explode the Code. The main approach being 100 EZ. I supplement with the ETC books on days I bring her with me to my little part-time job. The Webster's we started, but I have been so back and forth about whether that is the best approach for her. She enjoys it most of all. We are in the 60's on 100EZ and she has JUST really started to see and recognize the repeated words. This was initially the red flag that made me look into vision therapy. She wasn't recognizing the same word included over and over as she read. The other issue is that she would know and recoginze all the letters of the alpha bet since she was really young. But then randomly, it would seem, she would have issues with certain letters. She would confuse Rs and Ks, Ms and Ws, Ys and Vs, Es and Fs, p, d, and b. and sometimes at a distance Es and Bs. These would improve and new things crop up and then these may be issues again. I went over the alphabet for years and she would always have one or two of the above cycling through as an issue. In fact, she still has this issue, but it seems a bit improved with Vision Therapy. Although she spoke early and witha large vocabualy, she has a subtle speech impediment. It is the only one she has really ever had and it hasn't really changed. She has an issue with "th." Rather than saying there it is dare. Rather than saying mother it is mudder. Rather than saying math it is maff. However she will say Thanksgiving properly and when she reads a "th" together, she says it properly. She definitely has had dysgraphia and we have worked on that through OT and at home. We have seen much improvement in that area. Yet she still has issues with spacing and line placement. She does well with comprehension and memorywork. We are in CC and she memorizes like crazy. When I read SOTW or literature throughout the day, she fully discusses it with me after. I do let her move and play as I read or she draws illustrations for the story on the white board. My DD is still so young that I am torn as to whether I should have her tested, change up phonics, and add a new therapy. She will be graduating from Vision Therapy at the end January. I am not certain about OT right now. I just don't know if I should stay the course on therapies and curricula for the next few years and see what improves. But I don't want to miss a window for early intervention if there is more I should be doing...

Is it just for the month of January? Is it just online or do you get books and cds?

Interesting! I am digging a bit deeper to understand things better. I see there is research that indicates lateralization is not really the root of Dyslexia and success in that area does not create success overall. I have much to learn in thsi area for sure. Knowing tehre are several here dealing with the issue, I am curious about what experience has shown.