Our son is 14 years old, in 9th grade, homeschooled since 3rd grade. He has Aspergers, and has always struggled greatly with math. He wants to go to college, and will probably work in a science, computer or engineering field. We are doing algebra this year. Ugh. He started out in Teaching Textbooks, got about 1/3 of the way through, and was failing miserably. He cannot tolerate anyone looking over his shoulder at the computer, so me helping him was lost. TT is a weird program, and I couldn't figure out what they were teaching without doing the entire thing. It was a mess. Ditched it. Tried Math u See. More confusion. Tried Khan Academy, went through a convoluted pre-algebra thing that kept taking him to calculus stuff. So now we are doing Foerster's Algebra 1. We like it, but are only about 1/8 of the way through, and he is still struggling. I am NOT a math whiz. I had a tutor for algebra. My son says he just doesn't always understand the 'why' behind algebra. I am at a loss. I need an online program - not K12 or any other public school at home, that teaches, and also allows the student to ask questions and/or email the teacher. Does this exist? I know that I can't do another 2 or 3 years of high school math like this. Help!

Our son is 14 years old, in 9th grade, homeschooled since 3rd grade. He has Aspergers, and has always struggled greatly with math. He wants to go to college, and will probably work in a science, computer or engineering field. We are doing algebra this year. Ugh. He started out in Teaching Textbooks, got about 1/3 of the way through, and was failing miserably. He cannot tolerate anyone looking over his shoulder at the computer, so me helping him was lost. TT is a weird program, and I couldn't figure out what they were teaching without doing the entire thing. It was a mess. Ditched it. Tried Math u See. More confusion. Tried Khan Academy, went through a convoluted pre-algebra thing that kept taking him to calculus stuff. So now we are doing Foerster's Algebra 1. We like it, but are only about 1/8 of the way through, and he is still struggling. I am NOT a math whiz. I had a tutor for algebra. My son says he just doesn't always understand the 'why' behind algebra. I am at a loss. I need an online program - not K12 or any other public school at home, that teaches, and also allows the student to ask questions and/or email the teacher. Does this exist? I know that I can't do another 2 or 3 years of high school math like this. Help!

Thanks, that is helpful. They did the Beery VMI. Suzanne

DS9 scored very low on visual motor processing on the Beery test, high on the other two parts. Does this indicate a need for vision therapy? He does OT twice a week. Are there things I could do with him at home to help with this? Suzanne

Has anyone taken their child for an evaluation with a neurodevelopmentalist? I have been looking at Little Giant Steps, and we have one locally, Hope and a Future. I am wondering if this could help ds9 with some of his struggles. Suzanne

We are looking at purchasing or renting Integrated Listening Systems for ds8. He is using it twice a week in OT. We can rent it for $225 a month or rent to own it. Does anyone know if it can be purchased through the website, and if so, what is the cost for the Total Focus or the Focus 200? If we buy it through his OT, it is $1795 and $1495 respectively. Thanks! Suzanne

Your day sounds like it is has plenty of structure, and you are doing a great job. I have found a wonderful resource about SPD. Her name is Angie Voss. Google her name and find her website called Understanding SPD. She has tons of information, and talks about how ADHD and anxiety are symptoms of SPD. She also gives great advice on therapy at home and making your own equipment. Suzanne

My son is 9, diagnosed with SPD, ADHD and GAD. We are waiting for results from his neuropsych eval, who thinks he me have Asperger's. His SPD is pretty severe, and he takes Straterra, which barely takes the edge off the ADHD. On a good day we get in a page of math, some LA, he reads some history and practices his music. He takes science, creative writing, Spanish, an geography at our co-op, and sometimes had a little homework from there. Usually one hour a day of seatwork is what I get from him right now. His OT works with him on handwriting twice a week and does Therapeutic Listening. We have a weighted vest that he can use during seatwork to help him focus. I also have s 13 yo son who thankfully is pretty much a self learner at this point. He has some SPD symptoms, but is a sensory avoider, and likes complete quiet to study, so he goes to his room. Suzanne

I second the bi-polar thoughts. Look into the symptoms in children just to make sure. I am thinking one of mine may be bi-polar.

Doodler, if you don't mind me asking, what math program did you go to when you quit Life of Fred? Ds liked it, but I think it is time to move on.

The psychologist did IQ testing, should have been the whole 9 yards, it was done over 2 days, 3 hours each day. She had to guess at his IQ because he kept having meltdowns during the testing. This was last summer, at age 8. She called them anxiety attacks. It sounds similar to what he does when he is overwhelmed with what he is asked to do with his schoolwork. He has worked up to this level in math, using MEP math. We have tried every math program there is, this is the one he has tolerated the best. He worked through Life of Fred Elementary Series up to the last quarter of Edgewood, when he hit a wall and didn't want to finish. He very much wants to do his work on his own, but feels better if I am close if he has to write anything. He hates to work on the computer, so that is out. Reading to learn is great for him, I have no problems with him if I hand him a book and tell him to read a chapter, and he wants to write his own stuff, without me checking or editing. He does have one to one correspondence, he understands addition and subtraction, but he can't memorize the facts. I'm okay with that. I get the executive functioning issues, but is this all EF??? It seems so much worse, like there is really something very wrong. We are careful with what he eats, but he doesn't eat much. His diet is very self restricted. If it weren't for PB&J, he would starve, and sometimes he won't even eat that. But I don't let him eat junk, it is what the family is eating, PB&J, or nothing. We don't use processed foods, but taking gluten out would be a nightmare. His curriculum is not normal, it is very adapted, he writes one sentence a day using a word from Vocabulary Cartoons, one page from math, a few lines in a cursive writing workbook, read a chapter out of M.B. Synge history book, and a page or two out of Get it Right for grammar. He takes science at co-op, and they do their thing there, no homework, just fun. I am putting keyboarding on the back burner. We do bible together as a family. I dropped Intermediate Language Lessons after yesterday's fiasco. I will read The Explosive Child. I understand about needing an out, and I try to give him one. This came out of nowhere. He doesn't talk a lot, so I don't know how to figure out what he is going through. It is all so frustrating. His pediatrician does not understand any of this, and is no help at all. We have tried several other ADHD meds, and they had weird side effects. Straterra has been fine, in fact, it is sort of hard to tell that he is on it, except for the fact that we lowered the dosage once, and realized that was a bad idea. He has been on it for 9 months or so. I think I will schedule the neuropsych appointment as soon as we can afford it. Why does it all have to be so expensive???

Our ds, age 9, has been diagnosed with SPD, ADHD, dysgraphia and anxiety. He is currently taking Straterra and we are doing as much OT at home for SPD as we can. He has frequent sensory breaks and uses a lot of tools to help with the SPD. He is struggling so much with his schoolwork, we are both frustrated and almost in tears daily. I try to keep mine from him, but yesterday, it all came to a head. He has been refusing to do his work some days, and I will give him a chance to get himself together and come back to complete his work. Yesterday, he refused, sat staring and not answering me. My husband set a timer for 10 minutes for him to get it together and work. At 9 minutes, he began to tear up his papers, which is when I got angry and told him he wasn't going to do that. He began kicking and hitting me, yelling. This is totally new. He has done this to some extent with his brother, but never an adult. My husband held him and he calmed down, went to his room. He told my husband that he felt like he couldn't do the work, it was too hard, so he just wasn't going to try. He is doing 2nd grade math, he was on lesson 5 of Intermediate Language Lessons, doing modified work, lots of oral lessons. He can't memorize anything. He reads for history, does science with our co-op, does half a page of handwriting-cursive, is practicing keyboarding. After the incident yesterday, I got his grammar and writing books out from last year, and we proceeded with those, dropping the ILL book, and he did better. Still, the math is difficult for him, he does one page a day, and it seems like nothing is clicking. My question is, does this all jive??? I am wondering if ADHD can cause such delays with learning. He is paying attention fairly well, and I let him fidget with things and jump on the mini trampoline when the lessons allow. He will begin testing for CAPD next week because he takes so long to answer oral questions, has difficulty following oral directions, and can't keep up if the conversation is going to quickly. He has had testing with a psychologist. I can't find the result to save my life. I am thinking of having a neuropsych eval to try to figure this out. Any ideas? Help!

Can you tell me if you need the teacher manual with Stack the Deck? I think I may start this with ds9.

This is a really old post, but we just started Brainware Safari with my 9yo ds. I don't know if he can go on! He can't complete even a few exercises on level 1 games. His only dx so far are SPD, anxiety, ADHD and dysgraphia, but I suspect he may be on the spectrum. He can't even play the game for 10 minutes without a meltdown.

We have gone round and round with math for ds9, and landed, again, on mep math. It is free online, you have to print it yourself. It is a really great curriculum. http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/primary/default.htm

That link goes to a list of a bunch of pdf files and such. Does anyone know where to actually purchase this is the USA, new or used? I have not been able to find it, either. In Christ, Suzanne Ruckman

We use Strattera for our 9yo ds, and it has been great. Others we tried had side effects of tics, stomach aches, etc. This takes the edge off of the hyperactivity and helps his concentration.

We are in Baton Rouge, too! I will check those resources out. Thank you!

My DS9 was diagnosed with ADHD, dysgraphia and SPD a year ago after having an educational evaluation with a psychologist and then seeing a pediatric neurologist. The ped. neuro. stated after speaking with me that he sounded like he was on the spectrum, but after speaking with him for all of 2 minutes, she did not think so. I would like to continue to seek answers, because he has diagnosed himself with Aspergers after reading the book "All Cats Have Aspergers Syndrome." I want to have a paper trail in case he needs accommodations later in life. What is the next step? Would a neuropsychologist be a good place to go? There is one developmental pediatrician in town, but I don't know anything about him, and of course, he is not covered by our insurance.

I have been thinking of starting the Classical Conversations Challenge program with my 12yo ds next year, and am having second thoughts. My 8yo ds just began Ambleside Online, and I love it for him. 12yo ds is doing a hodge podge of things, gearing up for CC next year. Can anyone compare HEO with CC Challenge? I know how Challenge works, I'm just wondering if the education he will get is as good as HEO. Thanks! Suzanne

Hi! I think this may be my first post, though I've been lurking for quite a while! I'm Suzanne, mom to 2 boys, ages 7 and 11. We've been homeschooling since my oldest finished 2nd grade in a Christian Classical school. I am having a problem with my 7 yo ds's handwriting. A little background: He taught himself to read at age 4, without phonics instruction or any help from me. As my focus at that time was getting my older son's curriculum squared away, and I had no clue what I was doing, I let him read on his own, read to both of them daily, and didn't worry about it. He is very much a self-learner; he would prefer to do it on his own, without anyone showing him how to do it. If any instruction is needed from me, it has to be short and sweet. A year or so later, when I had a chance to breathe, I began to look at handwriting and spelling for him (younger ds.) It was then that I realized I needed to teach him phonics for spelling. We went through 100 Easy Lessons in about a week - very easy for him, but I wasn't convinced that it was enough. I tried to do Writing Road, it was too overwhelming for me. Finally, I found TATRAS, and we've almost completed that, and both of us kept our sanity. We are currently using McGuffey's 2nd reader for him to read aloud to me, then I orally quiz him on the spelling words at the end of the reading. If he misses a word, which may be 2 or 3 out of 15, I tell him the correct spelling, he repeats it, he looks at it on the page, etc. I quiz him on those words again the next day. We just began using Handwriting Without Tears from the very 1st workbook, at his request, (he heard about HWT and said "why don't we use that since I always have tears when I have to write?) because he doesn't like to write if it's not his idea, his handwriting is at the level of a 4 year old's, he still mixes upper and lower case letters - even in his name, he reverses some letters and numbers. I don't think these issues are due to any sort of processing disorder, just immaturity and lack of practice, but I'm no expert! He is making his Christmas list now, which he writes without fuss because he wants to, but it looks the same as the one he wrote 2 years ago. HWT at this level is painstakingly slow, one uppercase letter a day, and I see no light at the end of the tunnel. I'm doing as much as I can orally with him. I had back surgery recently, and I'm in bed for three more weeks. I signed him up for Time4Learning to get him through this period of my recovery, though I'm not crazy about it; we still do reading, spelling, handwriting and math together on my bed. Not ideal, but it is what it is. Anyway, I am searching for an answer to how to help him with spelling and handwriting without going back through the basics of phonics. It seems that everything I look at that includes basic handwriting instruction is for K-1st grade, and he doesn't need that. He is actually a pretty good speller and a great reader, he just needs practice with spelling. Am I worrying over nothing? Am I already doing the right thing? I would appreciate any advice anyone can give! Thanks, Suzanne