Gratia271
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Posts posted by Gratia271
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On 2/27/2020 at 6:19 PM, 8FillTheHeart said:
Dd just found she was selected for the CLS Russian program this summer! She is about to bust with joy. She is also one of few that actually gets to go to Russia proper.
I've been away for so long, but I am so thrilled for your daughter!!!
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On 2/17/2020 at 5:37 PM, RubyPenn said:
My oldest is in 9th grade and is probably college-bound. My mom, who does support our homeschooling, keeps mentioning to me that my kids need to be able to compete with their public schooled-peers, which makes me second guess what I'm doing. She sees how hard my nieces are pushed at ps and worries my kids will be behind somehow. For instance, my 8th grade niece has to do chemistry computations I don't remember doing until high school. I personally think they are pushed way too hard too young and they have hours of homework to do almost every evening. But, I guess I would still just like my mind to be set at ease. Any thoughts?
I have homeschooled my three biological children through high school. My twins graduate this May. All three have been afforded opportunities and privileges that brick and mortar students would never have had access to. My oldest daughter is a junior at The Ohio State University as an Eminence Fellow and Stamps Scholar. My other son and daughter have both been offered scholarships at universities covering full COA.
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It's finally official — DS will be an Ohio State Buckeye next year. In a way this was a "done deal" since he verbally committed to the coach in July, but I'm paranoid after what happened with NCAA, so I refused to say it out loud until the acceptance was in hand!
He is one of the top 3 recruits in the country in his sport, and his stats are excellent, so he had offers from several higher ranked schools, but Ohio State offered him the best combination of athletics (they are arguably #1 in his sport, and certainly top 3), linguistics (top 10 department), languages (he's interested in Turkish and Uzbek), and money (full tuition for 4 yrs, split about 50/50 between athletic and academic scholarships).
The schools that were higher ranked overall either did not have a very competitive fencing team (Duke, Brown), or did not have a strong linguistics program (no linguistics major at all at Notre Dame, and it's part of Cog Sci at Brown), and were really not affordable for us anyway. One school (Penn State) offered more money, but it would all be athletic money (meaning we'd be on the hook for the full amount if DS were injured or quit the team), plus they don't have a true linguistics major and the team is lower ranked than OSU.
Ohio State has been DS's first choice since summer of 2016, when he did a two-week linguistics intensive there. The athletic facilities are amazing, the fencing program is considered an "Olympic prep program" (two members of the current team competed in Rio), and the linguistics department is higher ranked than many Ivies. Unlike many schools with small departments, OSU has tons of linguistics courses (and foreign languages) to choose from, and lots of opportunities for undergrad research. So he is super excited about going there, and I'm super happy about the free tuition!
:hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:
I am sooooo happy for you both!!! I have been away from the boards for a long time now but had to come check in to offer congrats! That is so impressive and amazing! I'll have to tell Grace! She loves Ohio State and their programs of study! Awesome school!
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And apparently it is overwhelming to others...I've been told some B&M schooled students are used to day-by-day assignments and find the entire semester of assignments on one handout overwhelming. :huh:
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I will contend that the vast majority of students have NOT already mastered the English and math skills needed for the SAT/PSAT. If that were the case, then most could do a little test prep and get a perfect score on the test. Clearly that doesn't happen.
The students I have worked with outside my home sadly have little mastery of English. Depending on the student, I think a 3-month prep with balanced practice is probably the shortest length of time to see improvements in score.
Like Reg said, a little prep is great if your student only needs practice to gain familiarity with the test format. Otherwise, sustained practice and a clear understanding of why missed questions were wrong is essential for solid scores.
ETA: I have recommended to family members and friends that they begin thorough outside work in grammar and reading comp during middle school years to smooth the path leading up to high school years and high stakes testing. Many schools simply lack the resources to provide this instruction and/or support.
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We are going to request a sleep study at the peds hospital so they can see what we are dealing with and maybe address that issue.
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I'm looking into the protocol in this book for my own four year old; it is mostly geared towards supporting/improving gut health to help kids function better.
I think it may be worth trying for your dd.
https://www.amazon.com/Prescription-Autism-Natural-Approach-Happier/dp/0814436633
I will look at that. It is so hard to know what E is really like because she doesn't eat or sleep well. I would like to believe that if we sorted that, she would be in a better place and not so oppositional and distractible. That's why we tried meds for sleep, but they didn't work.
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Ban you get a BCBA (behaviorist) to get you an in home worker? I've got college students, $20 an hour. It would give her some variety and ease your strain.
This state support group is supposed to be able to arrange that for me once I get a call back. The adoption social worker said they can try to coordinate a lot of things and push some things through.
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WE spent a very long time in children's hospital ER getting her rehydrated along with xrays and enema due to colon being full from not eating or drinking. Long story short, ER dr. told her she needed to cooperate for us and sent us home.
I did talk to a local adoptive mom and got a list of places to call about therapy for her, so I am going to call them and try to find someone with availability sooner than later. I also spoke to our adoption agency and they referred me to an advocacy group who can try to push through some referrals. They said it's at least worth a try.
All the doctors we have seen have said she really needs a psych eval but none seem to have any power to push it through unless and until she seriously hurts herself or tries to hurt someone else. I guess that is the standard around here. :confused1:
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I'm heading out now, so hopefully we can get her some help. Will update when I know anything at all.
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I just spoke to our adoption social worker who told me to ignore the doctor if necessary and just take her. I am texting DH and think I am just going to take her regardless. I shouldn't have to wait for E to get any worse.
ETA: adoption social worker told me that psych evals are always a long wait list (don't know why) and to just get her medical attention in meantime. It's so surreal that helps takes 6-7 months to get. The social worker is trying to also locate anywhere we can possibly take her at age 4 since so many residential programs and in-house care are for 6 and up. We do have a children's hospital I will likely head to, but they don't have a psy ward.
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No, ped said that therapy is the only thing that is going to address her problems so unless and until she is completely dehydrated it really doesn't require medical attention.
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What are Stamps Foundation awards? Where can I learn about them? Thanks!
I'm sorry . I just saw this. The way it works is that each school that offers it chooses who to put forward to interview. I know first hand that Ohio State chooses from their Eminence scholars. The process is entirely within the purview of each university and, I imagine, is subjective based on essays demonstrating certain characteristics, chief among which is leadership. Essays and the type of person each school is looking for is key. Academic qualificiations are an assumed threshold. It's an amazing opportunity with national recognition and worth pursuing.
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Please don't quote. I'll remove later
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OK. I am going to head out as soon as DH returns. Thank you.
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Any of you with experience, if you could please advise me, I think we just need to take E to the ER or somewhere to get help. Nothing is consoling her, she drinks barely anything and has only had several tablespoons of yogurt per day for the past 4 days. Should I just take her? And if so, where should I take her?
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FYI, many universities require admission to honors college in order to be considered for competitive merit scholarships as well as Stamps Foundation scholar awards.
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Thanks so much for your input! :)
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The idea about lowering cortisol levels is great! I didn't think of that, but I am convinced the stress hormones are absolutely in play with her.
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I also had a course description document that included everything taken.
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You said she has sensory problems, right? Honestly, I would get her a massage. Yes, a licensed massage therapist will work on a child. If she will accept it, I would get her a massage. It will be peaceful, and you may learn useful information. Now I'm saying that, and it could be all wrong advice if she experienced some form of assault previously. I'm just saying I get massage and my dd had massage a few times as a child. Kids really like it, and it's calming for them. It would be short, like 1/2 hour.
Also, I use a product Calm Child with my kids. I don't know if it will interact with the Tenex. I know nothing about prescriptions. Obviously be very careful.
You can also do Epsom salt baths. Walmart sells a product that has lavendar in the epsom salts. My ds also likes the lavendar bubble bath from the same company. It has essential oils I think, not only perfumes. I don't know, we like it. A warm bath with lavender and the epsom salts can be calming. It can also stimulate the bowels.
Will she take popsicles?
Will she rest and watch movies with you?
Those are things I do when my ds is having a hard time. Sometimes being *together* is something.
I will try the Epsom salts. She takes warm baths but I hadn't thought of that. DH thought maybe a magnesium supplement would help. I looked at Calm Child, and it looks really good. I know of a chiro around here who works with kiddos, so I may see if she is trained in massage therapy. She will rest with us; she just doesn't really sleep.
Given her hypervigilance, DH and I are really beginning to wonder whether she was abused. It is not apparent in any classic way, but her hyperfixation on not sleeping really makes us wonder anymore what happened at night.
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Gratia271,
I don't have much time to go through all the posts but I did read yours and just wanted to say a few things. Did you notice when this extreme behavior of not eating and drinking started? I believe she has been taking Tenex for a while, right? How about the Melatonin? I would look up the side effects from both. At this stage, her age, and everything else factored in, she would be unable to verbalize if she is experiencing any of the side effects.
Here's a quote from the Mayo Clinic with a few of the side effects from Melatonin:
We had some of the side effects listed here and I stopped it 5 weeks into it. I actually stopped it at 4 weeks and resumed about a week or so later to make sure I wasn't just seeing things. Sure enough, it was the melatonin. I have never used it since. Same with some of the supplements we were using (fish oil and probiotic) by a specific company. It is the way it is for my 8 yr old, which is another reason why I am so reluctant about using ADHD meds with him.
I don't think the side effect angle was mentioned, which is why I thought I would bring it up.
:grouphug:
I think the Tenex has diminished her appetite but have not noticed other bad effects. I will check out the melatonin. So far it seems to make no difference, so I am not really sure I want to continue it. I hate the medication thing, but little E needs to calm down and sleep somehow.
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Thanks for the link. I will read it and look into therapy tape. Ped just increased the Tenex and said to call Monday, so I guess we'll see.
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Do you think a weighted blanket might help calm her system down to sleep?
Class of 2020 College Acceptances
in The College Board
Posted
In wake of everything and with the vicissitudes of life right now, my son decided on IU Bloomington as one of the inaugural Luddy scholars. My daughter chose to accept a full scholarship at our local university IUPUI so she can commute and continue to live at home.