You said it. Discovery-style learning is baaaaaaad news for the majority of kids with learning/developmental issues.

How about a book by Gary Paulsen, like Hatchet? Winterdance, his memoir of competing in the Iditarod, is also excellent. Wild Trek or Snow Dog by Jim Kjelgaard might also work.

The strategies recommended are quite good. I've chatted with parents whose kids fall into the category described--low cognitive ability but with IQs above 70 and consistent academic performance with IQ so they don't qualify as learning disabled. It is a huge grey area and a real problem. The kids obviously need help, but they qualify for nothing. I think it's a great article! Thanks for sharing!

Babylegs leg warmers! http://www.babylegs.com/legwarmers/girls/ So nice because you don't have to take them off to change a diaper. My kids lived in onesies and babylegs for as long as it was practical.

I second everything everyone else said, and want to add that for attention issues, curricula that breaks things down into small, concrete steps can be very helpful as well as curricula that repeat and review often. This helps with short attention spans and makes it easier for them to succeed. For my oldest with Autism w/ ADHD, Rod & Staff English, R&S Math, Calvert Spelling, and Memoria Lit. have been very successful. For my younger son, ADHS, inattentive type, Writing With Ease is working well. Fun supplements to break up the written work are also very helpful, like Bill Nye, Magic Schoolbus videos, BrainPop, etc.

Yes, I second the cross-post idea! I wish this curriculum had been around when my oldest was young enough to benefit.

Oh and be careful to introduce her to the other rabbit gradually. Rabbits are very territorial and choosy about who they get along with. They can do serious damage to each other if the relationship doesn't take.

Was any kind of SDI recommended to help her with her focus and cooperation issues? It sounds like they are affecting her ability to receive an education. The psychologist who did the district evaluation should have provided interpretations of the results, and recommendations based on those interpretations, that made sense. Those recommendations should have then been incorporated into the IEP. If he/she did not, may I suggest finding a psychologist to interpret & make recommendations based on the current evaluation before you pursue an IEE? It would be cheaper than paying for a full IEE yourself , and you'll need to explain to the district what you believe is inaccurate in her current evaluation before they'll pay for the IEE themselves.

Great, I found the group through sbgrace's link and joined. Thanks!

If the results were skewed due to lack of cooperation, it should be noted in the report by the psychologist, with the addendum that inconsistency is typical of autistic kids. You shouldn't have to fight for an IEE; you're entitled to one by law if you disagree with the results of the district's eval. I hate to say this, but every single person I've ever known who has been an effective advocate for their autistic child has been "that parent". As long as you remain courteous, and refrain from showing anger no matter how much it is warranted, it won't antagonize the district. Just be friendly, polite, and persistent. And know your special ed. law. If it ever comes to challenging anything and you feel like you need help, feel free to pm me. I have an incredible advocate, a former special ed. teacher, who does phone consultations, knows the law, and can pinpoint problems in the IEP, FBA, BIP, etc. Hiring her was some of the best money I've ever spent on behalf of my son.

Me too! I couldn't find it either.

When red flags go up just from speaking to the tester, just like yours did. Read the final report very, very carefully. If anything is suspect, and/or if she cannot clearly and fully answer any questions you might ask, then get the second opinion without hesitation, especially if this is a report that will be used to used by other professionals for information about how to diagnose/treat/educate/recommend treatment for your child. Life is too short to have to deal with flawed information if an evaluation has been done or written poorly, kwim? There are lots of other psychologists out there. I am now reading the other comments and I agree about the difference between "non-compliant" and "oppositional". Oppositional has much stronger connotations in an evaluation--pay more attention to that if it comes up.

Happy Birthday!!!!

GF Bisquick mix for pancakes, biscuits, etc. My kids eat the pancakes made from this without hesitation, and I've got two picky eaters. The Cake Doctor Gluten Free cookbook for easy baking recipes. Also, Bruce Fife's , The Coconut Miracle Cookbook. His muffins are delicious. If you want to experiment with completely grain-free, Tammy Credicott's Make-Ahead Paleo is a great cookbook to try. Also for going grain-free: Julian Bakery makes excellent sandwich wraps and a tasty pizza crust mix. ***Edited to add this: Good luck!!! I hope this is the answer to your daughter's health problems! A GF diet isn't too hard to maintain, once you are accustomed to it and have tasty replacements for some of your favorite recipes.

Yes, thanks.

You could try Rod & Staff and accelerate him through what he finds easy. It's not scripted the way Saxon is, but has plenty of practice and is a traditional approach. I would also suggest supplementing with something like Beast Academy.

I thought the article was funny, since I've had that happen to me at Subway. The lit. guides have worked out for me since I like to make sure my kids understand what they read. The vocabulary and comprehension questions do that. I don't have any problem taking the discussion deeper with my kids on my own. I agree that the format can get tedious if you aren't careful. I like the MP materials we've tried quite a bit. The rigor is definitely there. The main problem I've found is that it all can get tedious if you aren't careful as there is so much repetition and it is all out of workbooks. This doesn't bother me so much as I much prefer to have add things in rather than have to choose what to cull. And I have kids who demand to know what they absolutely have to do and what is optional, so their format helps.

Interestingly, The Moffats. I would not have predicted that my boys would like it as well as they did. We are currently reading The MIddle Moffat. ETA to add more info. We recently finished Farmer Boy. It was about 50 pages too long for us. Another big favorite was The Hobbit. John Bellairs books have all been big hits as read-alouds. Very well written and spooky!

I got a satchel from Saddleback Leather this Christmas from dh! It cost $300 but has a lifetime warranty, which is good, because I plan to use it right up to the end. The company motto is "They'll fight over it when you're dead." That's my kind of bag!

Co-ops are typically one day per week. In my area, none of them are drop-and-go, so it really isn't free time for Mom (or Dad.) Take into consideration the time it takes to get out the door in the morning, driving time, time waiting for the kids to finish their classes, which may or may not be scheduled simultaneously, then after we get home, working 2x as hard to get them to focus on schoolwork because they are so hyper, then on top of that having extra work to do the other four days to make up for the missing day or half day's work. Also in our situation, none of the classes were "academic" enough to substitute for anything we did at home, nor did the boys get much sustained interaction with other kids. All of these factors made our co-op experience very frustrating for me. :huh:

I haven't read the subsequent posts but this prof. gave him great feedback!!!! The issues he listed are ones a lot of kids with HFA struggle with. Your son can absolutely fix these problems if he wants to, and be a better student for it going forward. It does sound like he could benefit from some additional academic support, maybe someone he could check in with and review his work with every couple of weeks. I would also suggest very explicit instruction in study skills for college level classes. A state university maaaaay be easier but he will lose this level of constructive feedback. He needs this kind of feedback, now, when the consequences of failing are only poor grades.

A Pocketful of Rye Endless Night The Mysterious Mr. Quin Halloween Party

What Lecka and OneStepAtATime said.

The co-op we tried didn't work for us. I must admit it's something of a relief to realize that many other people have had similar issues. Classes not particularly academic, certainly not enough for me to consider any class an adequate substitute for teaching at home. Classes not particularly great for making friends with other kids. Classes taught by people who weren't adept at managing groups of children. Entrenched cliques made it difficult to get to know people. Over time, none of the classes (even the "fun" ones) held my kids' interest. Co-op took waaay too much time and energy to continue to go without pronounced academic or social benefits. I am looking forward to plunging back into hsing in the future. This thread is prodding me into taking a good hard look at our social needs and how best to meet them. Thanks for starting it!

Yes. As others have said, the biggest problem is being tied to the school schedule. We also lose some flexibility for field trips and vacations. Another problem was that both got jealous of the other's perceived benefits. The one being hsed wanted the school opportunities and the one in school wanted more time at home. Both boys are in school currently but we may be hsing part or full time next year.