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Enjoyinglife365

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Posts posted by Enjoyinglife365

  1. Oh my gosh! I am so glad to hear others sons also do not wash their sheets. My son has been home for the summer since early May and he just washed his sheets a couple weeks ago. I noticed that he hadn't changed them when he was home for spring break, so I left a clean set on his headboard before he came back home. It took 2 months but he finally got the hint or maybe it was the smell that drove him to it.   ?

    • Haha 1
  2. Another question. But first I want to say that all the feedback has helped me tremendously look at this from many different angles. Thank you. Now, to my question. I finally got through to my son as to why he is resistant to the audio recording for his text and class. He said he needs audiovisual recording in order for it to help. His evaluation (from the psychologist) didn't put that in the report for accommodations. But it does point out that he used visual cues (imaginary drawing with his fingers) to remember the auditory instructions (testing) from the examiner. Video recording is not a typical accommodation that the school provides, but they asked him for an explanation as to while he feels he needs this. This is my best explanation "...needs the visual cues to help him absorb and remember.  If he doesn’t understand something, he will typically look for a video on the internet and watch it over and over. He also needs the visual cues when reviewing the class video to identify those sections (that he needs help with) as well as comprehension."  Anything more to add?

     

    The school has academic peer mentors. Boy, was it hard to get that information out of them! Next hard thing is to get my son into the tutor center to speak with the scheduler and find a match.    Scoutermom must have met my son. Yes, that is him exactly. And he has perfectionism OCD.

     

     

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  3. Lots of great ideas.  OK, so how do I find a mentor? Is there a non profit that finds mentors for struggling students? We could try to get him a (graduate) student mentor roommate, but how do we find one?   Ideas to help him out of his depression?  I see that should probably be addressed before he can be open to get help otherwise.  How do I help him not feel so overwhelmed about all that has transpired?

  4. The idea to take some time off of school is appealing to me; time will not magically make the problems go away, but there is a small chance that it might allow him time to mature and be able to accept his limitations. The engineering company would be happy to have him.  The college allows only one semester off.  If he leaves for longer, there are repercussions.  Perhaps one semester combined with a summer break will be long enough. Of course, he needs to agree. Motivating him to agree is the biggest hurdle.

     

    Yes, he has a therapist, but with my son in denial, we stopped the sessions.  The therapist said sometimes people need to fail before they accept help.  His college disability advisor hasn't been able to get through to him either. Since he won't go to a doctor, I can't get him meds.

     

    He is already paying for much of school. It has taught him to budget and be frugal.  His therapist wants us to cut him off entirely. I have personally met people for which this approach worked to get them to accept therapy. But I doubt that forcing will work with my son's personality type.  *** I am looking to  motivate (or at least facilitate it) and educate him out of denial. ****  He is extremely intelligent which is ironically his downfall. I couldn't figure out what 2E means, and I just realized that is twice exceptional. Yes, this is what I was told my son is.

     

    I am wondering if anyone has an idea as to why he is not reading his textbooks anymore? This is something new. He has always been a auditory learner, but he has also read just about every book in our library (OK exaggeration but not far off). He says that he can't learn that way and it is a waste. (Refuses the audio textbook service at school too).

  5. My son is on academic probation and is in real danger of suspension.  At the end of his sophomore semester, puzzled by his struggles, we discovered that he has a learning disability (processing, coding, initiating and OCD, anxiety, migraines) and scrambled to get him accommodations at the end of last spring semester. That saved that semester.

     

    This fall he insisted on doing it on his own and refused most accommodations.  He missed the date to drop a failing class and refuses to apply for a drop waver because he feels his reasons are not extenuating enough. Obviously, his reasons are extenuating enough and his disability advisor will even write him a letter. The real reason he refuses to apply for the waver is because of his anxiety to get the signatures needed and writing the one paragraph explanation (even with our help and his disability advisors help). 

     

    His disability advisor tried to explain to him that the accommodations are tools like his glasses and shoes. That didn't even help. He is in denial.  He refuses to get his textbooks on audio. They are still in the shrink wrap unopened. He refuses to go to a therapist for his anxiety and ocd which he denies he has. He refuses to go to a doctor for his migraines which for the first several weeks of the semester were on average almost daily lasting 3 to 4 hours.  His disability advisor will email his teachers when he has a migraine if he'd just contact her right away when it happens, but he doesn't. He refuses to use a note taker.  He refuses to get a tutor coach. That is someone to help him stay on track with his classes and things like dropping a class before the deadline. He says it won't help.  And it is all free.  The kid has his head in the sand. He doesn't get it and is downright stubborn.

     

    College clearly isn't right for his brain but he wants to be an engineer and has a job waiting for him when he graduates. The company loves his work and now wants to continue to groom him over his summer breaks in each of their engineering departments. All we need is to get him that degree and he will be fine.

     

    I need some outside the box thoughts on what I can do to motivate him. I feel letting him try it on his own was a huge mistake.   

     

    Thanks for your ideas.

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  6. Yes, that is the only diagnosis.

     

    I do not see anything that says WISC. There is a WAIS discrepancy comparison. He has significant difference in everything except verbal comprehension and working memory.  The explanation for the discrepancies is because of his slow processing IQ.  

    I read about non-verbal learning disorders. The only commonality I see is that he is a strong auditory learner. He would rather find a video on the subject matter than refer to his text. (But he loves reading and writing fiction.)  He has no difficulty with physical tasks or physically writing. He is in no way awkward socially, quite the opposite. 

     

    I think the other problems are a domino effect. There is obviously anxiety and frustration as a result of the slow processing, which results in him giving up or not trying in the first place.  And I believe that is why he has trouble initiating communication and tasks. Deciding where to start can be overwhelming for him and scary. He is a bit of a perfectionist, which doesn’t help either. 

    I suppose it is possible that there is more… The learning disability took me by surprise, but it explains a lot.

    • Like 1
  7. OK. Thank you for the input - a lot for me to research.

     

    Questions (and answers):

     

    Yes, we got accommodations.

     

    Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a good place for us to start retraining the brain in regards to initiating tasks, etc. and not giving up.  Mindfulness doesn’t appeal to him.  :sad:  He is looking into joining a gym. Hopefully, I can get him to the elliptical machine. Those are the kind of things I am looking for to retrain the brain.

     

    And regarding retraining the brain, is anyone familiar with Dianne Craft?  I wonder if one of her books/ kits may help.

     

    Finding a good local educational therapist is a challenge and costly. Until a better option comes along, looks like I need to step into that role myself.  Any books / websites to help me with that?

     

    Heather: The sklar method - is that a mind mapping method? Do you have a link? 

     

    Elizabeth: That is his diagnosis – slow processing speed… It takes him longer to do assignments, but the end result is high quality work. The problem is the process in his brain to get his thoughts in an organized manner to place them on paper/computer or to workout a math/ science problem.  Language skills are excellent.  Getting him to initiate the conversation (as well as tasks, etc.) is what is hard. (Spelling is also a challenge, but doesn't affect his grades - spell check.)

    • Like 1
  8. My college son (junior) has a processing learning disability. We just discovered this problem because he is so smart he compensated. Now with harder classes he is failing. I need a crash course in what to do to over the summer to prepare him to succeed in the fall. He is an auditory learner. His IQ is extremely high in all areas except processing IQ, which is extremely low. It was explained to me that he has trouble getting things from his brain onto paper. He has trouble initiating (communication in general), coding, scheduling, planning...   We are getting tutors for him, but they are just academic. I understand that there are brain exercises he can do, but don't know where to find them.  Please help. Thanks.

  9. What is missing or needs correction on my checklist for child going to college out of state?

     

    Tell Car ins he is taking car with him.

    Find out if health ins covers out of state

    Consider Renters ins. I.e. Liability

    Get a Locking trunk or locking filing cabinet for valuables

    Start looking for room to rent now.

    Open bank account near college for cash access

    Add checking account

    Get credit card with his name

  10. OK live summer academic classes probably don't exist, but I am hopeful. I need live classes to get my teen moving.  At your own pace courses aren't working for us at this time. I need peer pressure to get the work done. I am looking for physics and precalculus that starts now or ASAP.  The physics could be a fun summer class, but it needs to be true high school rigor for my STEM child.   Any ideas?

     

    On another note, in my search, I noticed that Mr. G will be teaching German again this fall through currclick.com!

     

  11. We used and have been very happy with Live Online Math (virtual), Derek Owens (video), and teaching textbooks (interactive CD). All have video lectures to rewatch (live online math records the live class sessions) According to child that used all three for different math courses, Derek is most rigorous (took the honors courses), then live online math, then teaching textbooks.  Really, they are all my favorites and all hands off for me. Difference is child's learning style. One preferred Derek for educational reasons, but preferred the social interaction with live online math. Other loves teaching textbooks and simply cannot relate to Owens videos.  I believe all three have samples that you can tryout to see which will work best for your child.

    • Like 1
  12. She will be taking the current SAT. Nothing at the library. I am looking for a quality interactive SAT course with test taking tips and proctored practice test. Any input on Princeton, Kaplan, and Barron's programs? Khan is not what we are looking for. I am looking for something that covers the material and especially strategies and tips of the classroom courses but self-paced. There is no shortage of free practice tests, practice problems, and vacabulary apps. I am looking for a little more; I am looking for something to significantly bring up the score. My first did the classroom to bring up his score, but I would prefer online if possible for this child.

    Regarding a tutor... I would be open to that too, if one existed.

  13. Can you recommend an online or DVD SAT prep course and why do you like or dislike?

    I looked at the online self-paced courses for Princeton review $300, Kaplan $200, and Barrons $100, but they sound pretty much the same. I need a course for this kid; working through the workbooks doesn't work for her (She is a teaching textbooks fan). I think that something interactive that moves her along in order will work for her. Are the practice tests online or do I proctor them?

    edited to add: Need SAT test taking tips in the course!!

  14. The class sounds interesting so I googled it.

     

    Is this it? https://www.coursera.org/course/learning

     

     

    :grouphug:

    I want to thank everyone. You all have given wonderful advise, and I am trying all of it, including acceptance. :)

    Yes, that is the link to the learning how to learn course. (Sorry for the delay; when I first read your post, I read it as a statement not a question. ) I went through the course on my own and am dropping hints here and there for my son. Don't know if it is working, but if he also hears the same from other sources it might. He has discovered informal groups hanging out at the tutor center which is helping, and he admitted that he has taken my advise to seek out the smarter students. He still has the all night cram once a week, but he has a routine / rhythmn to it. I also ask him his plans for the coming days, which is getting him to think about his study schedule without my asking directly. I am still hoping that he will learn to shift his work to earlier in the week and eventually phase out or at least reduce the all nighter.

  15. Any ideas how to help guide college freshman who doesn't want help? My son's classes are very demanding and time consuming. The other night he was up until 5:00am getting his class work done. I found a class on coursera.org about learning how to learn more efficiently and because I suggested it, he adamantly refused. This attitude is new to me. He wants to figure it out on his own. Any ideas how I can guide him without being noticed? (He is living at home.)

     

    A little more background. He is a kinesthetic learner. Smart, so he has had little practice struggling through classes. Big time procrastinator because he is smart and was able to get away with it for so long. Biggest challenge for him right now is calculus -- test problems much more difficult than homework problems. Not enough time to get all the calculus and physics homework problems done in these back to back classes. His leisure time is too long considering his class demands. Refuses to remove the distractions, ie music on, and sits in busy part of house.

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