My son has enjoyed the A Beka readers, but his favorites include the Bob Books and the Modern Curriculum Press series. The stories are simple but interesting.

As a former highschool teacher who has used both A Beka and BJU, I would definitely recommend BJU for the upper grades (7-12). BJU encourages more analysis and critical thinking than A Beka does, particularly in English and History. I am using A Beka with my children for the lower grades (K-3), but plan to switch to other curricula later for the critical thinking skills.

Our son also has visual-spatial issues, and we are looking for a visual therapist at the moment. We have found a resource to help us in the meantime. We have started him on some exercises found in "Disconnected Kids" and we can already see a difference. This book has great information, a self-assessment that you can do at home, and specific exercises to target the weak areas. And it is free!! It is written by Robert Melillo, I think. I have read so many books on this subject and have found this one to be the most informative and helpful for us. Hope this can help you, Betsey

ADHD children are often quite gifted; schoolwork is just not the best avenue for them to show it. The knowledge is there, but they find schoolwork to be tedious, and the distractions of the classroom are a bit much for them. My ADHD son is extremely intelligent, but struggles with "schoolwork." He knows his phonics sounds, but struggles to read. Writing is a struggle for him as well. We discovered that the problem was not dyslexia, but rather a problem with his visual tracking and focus. If the testing for dyslexia is negative (and perhaps even if it is not), your friend may want to consider vision therapy. We have started my son on some basic exercises, and are already seeing a huge difference in his reading and writing, as well as his ADHD (we do not medicate). Hope that helps.