Do Not Disturb is an iPhone term. It's different from just toggling the switch to mute the phone. It can be instantly turned on by swiping up the screen from the bottom and touching the Moon icon. It needs to be configured to your preferences by going to Settings. It seems that there is an Android equivalent from what I read up thread. I've actually not used it. I have my phone configured so that it vibrates for calls and texts as well as rings when the switch for the ringer is on. When the ringer is off, the phone still vibrates which allows me to become aware of an alert without audible ringing or dinging. I configured my phone to only give me visual alerts for email and FB because I get so many of those that dinging or buzzing for every single one was too much. I like the push notifications, visually, so I can quickly become aware of what's coming in (especially on my main email account), but don't want to hear them.

Maybe you are a deep sleeper? A small ding often wakes me. I NEED my sleep and I get very grouchy if I wake up and find out that someone has texted chit chat in the middle of the night. As I said up thread, I typically keep my phone on vibrate at night and a short vibrate is less likely to wake me, though sometimes it does. I really honestly think that part of doing relationship with other people is being considerate of the other person's needs and preferences. Avoiding texting during usual sleep hours- especially if it's just chit-chat- is common courtesy. If you know that the other person has similar preferences as you and they don't mind receiving texts at night, then by all means feel free to text away. For most other people, it's more considerate to assume- until you learn otherwise- that they may need to have their phones set for audible text alerts at night for one reason or another and avoid texting at night unless it is truly an emergency.

Well, yes and no. In the days before texting, voice mail definitely served that function. Now we have more choices for methods to leave a message. And the preferences for how people want to use these methods keeps multiplying as well as the features available for configuring the use of the applications, etc. That's patently obvious just from reading this thread. Some have a more go with the flow mindset and are adaptable enough that they'll work with those who have strong opinions. Others have a very fixed mindset about what seems, to them, to be the only "right" way to use these features. I, personally, prefer receiving a voice mail for something that is either not highly urgent or for a message containing lots of detail. However, if the matter is fairly urgent, or a very short message, I prefer receiving a text. This is why: for me, because I do not have visual voicemail, receiving a voice mail requires me to unlock my phone, click a couple of screens to get to voicemail, click again to activate it, and then listen to the whole message. That requires me to completely take my attention off the person I'm with for a much longer period. It is very possible that you will not get a call back until I can get away to a private place to listen to the voicemail and decide how to respond. Could be an hour, could be three or four. If you send me a text, I will see the visual preview on my screen, even without unlocking my phone, and can discern within a second or two whether the matter appears to be urgent. Also, if necessary, I can respond to a text briefly with reasonable confidentiality unless the party I'm with is actually looking at my screen. I can't respond to a phone call with any confidentiality without excusing myself and leaving the room.

For many matters that are semi-urgent, I realize that the other person may need time to wrap up what they are doing before calling me back or may need to wait until they are on break, if they are at work. In my own life, if I receive a text for something important but not absolutely immediately urgent, I have the choice to become aware of the other person's need but not respond until I can wrap up what I am doing at that very moment. I can also respond quickly by text or if it really requires a phone call, I can quickly text and ask if I can call back at a certain time. If I choose to respond quickly to the text, the person I am with may be inconvenienced for 30 seconds, but the other person is not delayed from taking the action they need to take. However, I avoid responding to a text when I am with a client unless it is actually an emergency. So in short, it is a way to interrupt the person more gently, kind of like when you are in a group, in person, and you stand slightly to the side of two people having a conversation to indicate you wish to speak with one of them; or you give a quick interruption just to say, "May I speak with you when you are finished with so-and-so?"

There are so many different ways to configure phone settings now that I do not expect anyone to have theirs set exactly the same as mine. I don't *expect* people to use Do Not Disturb at night, especially as more and more people only have a cell phone and often need to be easily reachable in case of emergency. Like some others, I personally see etiquette for texts as similar to traditional etiquette for calls rather than like an email. I prefer to use texts for short phrase or sentence level communications, not a paragraph. I also see them as being for more urgent matters, although I do text reminders and shorter non-urgent messages, especially to folks I *know* don't read their email in a timely manner. In the latter case, I confine such texts to normal social/business hours. I personally tend to keep my phone on vibrate much of the time, day and night. I usually keep my phone near me unless it's charging during the day. At night, I keep my phone on the night table beside me. The single vibration from a text *usually* will not wake me, but sustained vibration from a call will. However, if there is an ongoing situation- I have a parent with major health issues- I keep the ringer turned on. Because a family member may also text me with urgent information in that situation, I keep my text alerts turned on so they will beep when the phone is not muted. I have my phone set so that all other notifications- email & FB- are visual notification only. No vibrating or beeping for those. Because I keep my text alerts on- either to beep or vibrate- I would be unhappy to receive a text in the middle of the night that someone sends just because they are awake and thinking of something.

Yikes! I hope it clears quickly and you are able to find a good alternative.

Thanks for sharing the specifics of your son's educational path and the very encouraging news of how well he's working independently! Most of these kids do get there, eventually, as long as we parents are being intentional about providing them with opportunities to learn. Different children reach that point at different ages. My son also used SOS for a few subjects during the time he was transitioning to more self-directed study. We liked it for exactly the reasons you stated, though I didn't always love the curriculum itself. Language Arts was a total bust for us due to dyslexia, but content-driven subjects like science, history, and health worked out reasonably well.

Current donation level: $17,812 Amount left to reach $20,000 goal: $2,188 Davina is on the last leg of her 466.5 mile run to raise money for breast cancer research! She is due to arrive at the finish line in just a few hours. I am so in awe of this determined woman who persevered through her own cancer treatment two years ago, training for this run, and now actually in the last few miles of this incredible 2 week journey. I already made one donation prior to her start, but I'm going to make another, just because I admire her dedication and perseverance. If some of you could help put her over the top, I would be so thrilled! Here is the direct page for donations: https://give.bcrfcure.org/fundraise?fcid=372341

Here is the Facebook page for Davina's run: https://www.facebook.com/runmi2ny. As of right now, donations to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (91 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to research and awareness programs!) from Davina's run are at $17,415 and she is hoping to top $20,000 by the time she completes her run around mid-afternoon TOMORROW. Can you consider helping her reach that goal? I, honestly, have never been so excited to support an individual in a fundraising effort, but Davina is one strong, determined woman. She's also an incredibly positive person and I am proud to support her run!

I don't often post on the Chat Board. Recently, I've mostly hung out on Learning Challenges and the College Board; my youngest child is now in college. But I want to share the webpage of a friend who has undertaken a tremendous challenge to raise $20,000 for breast cancer research by running 466.5 miles from a small town in Michigan to her hometown in New York state. Davina is a breast cancer survivor herself. Davina started her run on June 19th and is due to arrive at the finish line TOMORROW, July 3rd. She is just $3,000 shy of making her $20,000 goal and is now in a race to make her goal by the time she crosses the finish line. Here is the webpage for her run. Could you take a look at it and consider making a small donation? It would be so exciting to see Davina cross that $20,000 mark before crossing the finish line on her run! http://www.runmi2ny.com/

I am so glad you are pursuing an application for accommodations AND that you are sharing information about what is necessary with your fellow local homeschoolers! My son definitely saw a nice score boost from using his accommodations, though not as high as 9 points. It was enough to allow him to be a strong candidate for moderately selective schools. I would have no idea about the numbers of students who are getting accommodations from the testing organizations now compared to a few years ago. Having followed ACT & College Board webpages since the early 2000s, I can say that the information about testing for students with disabilities is more specific than it was way back when. I think there is a combination of effects on potential success in applying for accommodations: suits and complaints against the testing agencies about the seeming arbitrariness of their decisions, better understanding on the part of professionals and the testing organizations about what specific accommodations might be useful (ie more breaks vs. extended time), better education of professionals and the public about what is needed in an application, and networking amongst parents sharing the information as we are doing here.

IDA has developed an accreditation process which is basically their seal of approval for universities and organizations that offer teacher training in multi-sensory methods for teaching written language skills to students with dyslexia. They are also in the process of preparing a certifying exam for teachers and dyslexia specialists that will be available in 2016. The accreditation process and exam are aligned with IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading which you can read about starting here. NILD has worked with IDA to align its training with IDA's standards, means there has been an outside review with an ongoing process of development for NILD's courses.

I'm not from the same state so I don't know the ins and outs of the disability scholarship, but if it can be used to meet needs for students whether they are in private school or homeschool, then I see no downside to going through the IEP process to get the scholarship. You also have the legal documentation you need to establish the paper trail you'll need in the high school years. On the topic of the 3-5 year process and improvement due to intervention vs. the developmental process: one thing you can look for is to compare percentile ranks on tests from year to year. If the student makes a statistically significant improvement in percentile rank, that is an important clue that change is due to intervention. Most children will either stay at the same percentile- a ranking relative to peers- or even fall off a few percentile points over the years if they don't have effective intervention. A child who jumps from the 1st %ile to the 15th %ile in one year, and continues to move up is a child who is seeing improvement due to intervention. A child who is beginning to keep up in the regular classroom with fewer supports is also a child who may be building skills that are not just due to typical development. It is good to gather as much information about specific therapies as you can, but as others are saying, it is also important to gather your impressions of the people who will implement them and the educators who will interact with your children. Attitudes towards learning difficulties/differences matter, but that is not a matter necessarily of the name of the intervention or the name of the school. Whether public school, private Christian school, or private independent school, any of them can have helpful or most unhelpful attitudes towards children who struggle with learning. You need to meet the people behind the names to see whether they will be a match for your family. I know that the process of sorting out the options for intervention and educational setting can be challenging. I've been there as a parent, with far fewer options available than exist today. I hope you are able to make a decision and be at peace no matter what you decide to do.

I'm not going to be able to reply more deeply right now or for the next few days because I'm about to get rolling for big family events. Just these notes: NILD is done 1:1 in a pull out fashion. Yes, students do miss se instruction, but that's also the case when students have other therapies in a school setting- though I do know school based OT, PT, and Speech sometimes go into the classroom, too. I have no personal experience with the other methods you mentioned- just Some mild opinions based on limited information which I won't post. With any individual child, the final endpoint of function will vary. With the original target population, most students exit therapy in about 3 years, some a little longer, some a little shorter. NILD does not claim to "cure" these disabilities, but many, many students become able to function in the classroom with few or no accommodations.

OhElizabeth, NILD is not a panacea and NILD does not claim to be one-stop shopping for every kind of therapy a kid might need. It is true, in the academic and cognitive areas, that NILD is broader than, say, a method that addresses only reading skills or only working memory. But for a kid who needs traditional OT, PT, and/or Speech, this will be in addition to NILD educational therapy. NILD educational therapy was initially developed with the needs of the general "LD" population in mind- those that now get labels of ADHD and SLD- kids who are of at least average intelligence but have difficulty succeeding in school because of their neurological glitches. More and more, NILD therapists are also working with students on the autism spectrum, but I would guess typically those students who are able to function in a general ed classroom. Those therapists with more experience and who are fully trained are more likely to take on students who have greater challenges. NILD, through various tasks, does address working memory, processing speed, visual and auditory processing, oral language, written language, and math related functions. But it also addresses some of what gets labeled executive function as well as basic reasoning tasks (ie comparison/contrast). The type of interaction between the therapist and student is referred to as mediated learning. You can google Reuven Feuerstein, cognitive functions, and mediated learning to get a better idea. Feuerstein's book Beyond Smarter: Mediated Learning and the Brain's Capacity for Change introduces these concepts in greater detail. You can check out what NILD training covers by going to the Training section of the NILD website. If you look under the information for each of the three levels, the syllabus for the class is posted. As for assessment, this is the first I've heard of an NILD therapist recommending doing it online, though I have heard of online assessment and educational therapy/remediation. You most certainly can choose to use your own provider. Assessment for NILD is for program planning purposes, not for diagnosis- which the purpose of assessment for any educational therapy or remediation program. If you have had a recent assessment for diagnostic purposes that includes the standardized tests needed for the NILD program, no further standardized assessment should be needed.

In addition to the main NILD therapy, NILD has several other programs, one of which is Reading Rx, which is especially for students whose primary need is in the area of reading. NILD's approach is a multi-sensory, balanced literacy approach with strong Orton-Gillingham influence. I have not done Reading Rx training, but I believe there would be some major differences in the implementation in comparison to Barton or Wilson. I'm really sorry you didn't have the information about the fees for these interventions from the very beginning of your investigations. We all know that money is important and it certainly doesn't grow on trees! It probably slipped the principal's mind to mention it and since you weren't talking with the person in charge of the Discovery Program, there are probably details that person would be able to provide that might not be on the tip of the principal's tongue, especially during a wide ranging introductory conversation about the school. And, yes, it is not uncommon for students to receive other therapies outside of the NILD program. NILD especially addresses cognitive and academic function. There is some overlap with work that an OT or SLP might do, but students who need a more comprehensive OT, PT, or Speech therapy program will need to see those professionals.

NILD has been in existence since the early 1970s and has been incorporated as a 501c(3) since 1982. The founders of NILD had a strong belief that stimulating the cognitive processes through intensive, targeted intervention could have a profound effect on a student's academic function. The believed, long before most educators, that it was possible to help students with LDs improve their cognitive function. The theoretical foundations of NILD lie in the work of well known theorists and educators such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Feuerstein, Orton, Gillingham, and Hagen. They continue to follow neuroscience research to understand the basis for why the techniques they employ improve function. Altogether, there are over 20 techniques that form the repertoire of tools an NILD educational therapist uses in NILD therapy. They are chosen to impact perception, cognitive, emotion, and academics, so there are visual and auditory tasks, tasks that build working memory and academic skills, and an approach to therapy that recognizes emotional needs and helps the student become more competent in language and reasoning. Rhythmic writing is one of the 5 core techniques which every student encounters in therapy . Other techniques are chosen on the basis of a student's individual profile. The therapy plan is individually crafted for each student based on initial and ongoing evaluation and is NOT a scripted program. The initial evaluation includes a basic cognitive assessment (usually WISC), academic achievement testing (usually the WJ Ach), assessment of reading, and other informal assessment tools. If a student comes in with a full neuropsych evaluation, information from that evaluation will be incorporated in the therapist's planning. Ongoing evaluation includes adjustments to the lesson plans based on the student's responses during therapy sessions (usually 80 minutes twice/week) and year end academic assessment with the WJ Ach. One reason the program is not described in complete detail on the website is because it is considered to be a proprietary method that requires significant training in the method to implement with fidelity. Because it is not a scripted program, it is required that those entering the training have at minimum a bachelor's degree in education or a related field. To become fully certified requires three levels of training (master's level courses), hundreds of hours of experience, and references. Continuing certification is dependent upon fulfilling professional development requirements. Many, but not all, NILD therapists have advanced degrees. Some have PhDs in a related field. The organization is continuing to increase the professionalism within NILD by going through the accreditation process with IDA to get their training programs recognized as fulfilling IDA's practice standards for teachers of reading as well as developing master's degree programs in exceptional student education with an NILD focus, and encouraging NILD therapists to complete advanced degree programs. They also regularly sponsor conferences and webinars with key speakers in school neuropsychology, cognitive, emotional and academic development, etc. I'm sure there are cultural differences between organizations. Each school or clinic with a Discovery Program will be somewhat different in policies, who does the evaluations, etc. Sometimes private schools use the public school process for the initial evaluation- especially if they have a good relationship with the school district. Other times, they have a private psychologist who knows the NILD program to whom they regularly refer parents for getting the full initial evaluation done. Others refer out just the WISC while doing the WJ Ach in house with an educator who is trained to administer the test. Disclaimer: I have Level I NILD training (but am not yet very experienced) and am a current NILD member.

Good news that you've already gotten audiology and ENT work ups. How long is the waiting list for private therapy? If it's only a couple of months, that's not too bad, especially if you can be working through the It Takes Two book. Of they are talking about something like 6 months to get you in, you might want to rethink contacting EI. If there are other private clinics on your area, you can try that, too. You don't want to be hanging out there for months and months at a critical time in early development.

Another vote for contacting Early Intervention (Birth to Three) and for the It Takes Two to Talk book . EI therapy services are often not that intensive, but the therapists do help parents learn how to facilitate speech development. I also recommend the It Takes Two to Talk book. It was recommended to me by the therapist when we were on a waiting list for English language services overseas and it helped me learn how to interact with my child in a way that encouraged him to try using words to communicate.

I think it's great for you to be exploring options for your son to read/listen to the Bible in digital format to see what works best at this time. In general, people are using technology more and more for their Bible reading. My dh uses a Bible app on his phone. I have a Bible on my Nook app on my iPad. (I use both the Nook and Kindle apps for reading ebooks.) At our church, many people pull out their phones or tablets, but the Scripture is also displayed on the screen in front. That said, I agree with others who have said: a) be careful not to assume that print reading- of any book, Bible included- is not going to be an effective method of gaining information. Your ds is only 6yo! He has a lot of years to work on speed and fluency and he will ultimately be the one to decide what format he prefers to use. Technology will continue to change and by the time he is a teen, what is common now may not be then. Both of my adult children with dyslexia/language-based learning challenges now read print well. They are both slower readers than others of their academic/intellectual level, but they are fast enough that they can effectively learn through print. My son prefers to read on screen rather than on paper, but he reads rather than listens for most reading. Despite his obvious intelligence, at age 6 he was barely reading CVC words. His skills grew as time moved on. b) it may be too much of a distraction to other students and the volunteer teachers for your ds to have his tablet in class at the Gr. 1-2 level. I would shelve the idea for now and revisit it when he gets to Gr. 3 (or even Gr. 4), a time when more children who attend church are beginning to read the Bible for themselves. c) definitely, it is asking a lot for the worship team leader to make sure you get the song list ahead of time- especially two weeks ahead. In our church, the songs ARE planned that far ahead, but sometimes something changes. And unless there is a public document that can be easily forwarded to you on an automated basis, it just adds extra work for the leader to do that weekly. I think that it could be possible for the leader to help you create a list of the most commonly sung songs and hymns and find the music on iTunes or wherever and listen to it frequently at home. Again, because your son is so young, most of his peers are not going to be singing along regularly, and certainly not singing in tune all that well. Great to work on at home, yes, but be careful of your expectations.

I'm so glad to hear this good news! My son just finished his first year at a state university- smaller, engineering/science focused university- and we had a great experience with getting him set up for accommodations. He was reticent to meet with disability services at all, but the director was so welcoming and encouraging. He only accepted extended time for testing, but their procedure for setting it up is pretty streamlined, so it was easy to use and he did use it for some of this classes. Early registration can be a real boon for those freshman classes. Ds didn't actually request it because he has advanced standing due to his transfer credits, which puts him higher in the registration priority anyway. But if he had not had that priority bump, I would have highly encouraged him to request that accommodation.

Well, that could be one explanation for it. I suppose it's one of those YMMV depending on the evaluator you get. Some might want to know whether there are *diagnosed* family members, which is different from conjecture/observation during a single conversation.

That's a little surprising because ADHD is considered to be highly heritable and in recent lectures I've attended (the most recent being one given by a neuropsychologist) and courses I've taken, the family connection has always been front and center when etiology is discussed. There are other factors in the mix, but family history is definitely one of them.

I would be inclined to seek evaluations with a COVD optometrist, an OT, and a neuropsychologist. His Perceptual Reasoning is significantly lower than his Verbal Reasoning so I would want more information about his visual and spatial abilities. Lower Working Memory and Processing Speed are common in students with attention challenges. His Processing Speed is way lower than his Verbal Reasoning, and also significantly lower than his Perceptual Reasoning. There are many things that can result in attention issues. Sensory processing and motor skills/muscle tone can be evaluated by an OT. The neuropsychologist can evaluate attention and impulsivity, as well as issues that go along with it, including taking a deeper look at various aspects of memory function.

I saw your original post last night. I've been the parent of a child who is a consistently high scorer and also the parent of children whose scores are all over the map and don't necessarily reflect their perceived ability level. I personally avoided announcing scores. They are not the measure of a person, especially a person's character, which is far more important than scores on one particular academic assessment.