It's true that it takes time for research to follow after development of an intervention technique. There is a new preliminary study regarding IM and reading from Baylor University: http://cdq.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/09/24/1525740112456422 In any case, research on treatment techniques in my field are fraught with difficulties on many levels. I definitely pay close attention to it, and have done single case studies myself when I am curious about an intervention I think is "iffy" (reflex integration exercises, craniosacral techniques). I pay close attention to the effectiveness of intervention techniques particularly because insurance coverage for our services seems very hit or miss. I feel compelled to do all I can to foster the most rapid gains possible for our clients and families. Thank you thank you to all who shared their opinions/experiences!

Thank you! I already use a regular little metronome frequently, and provide home exercises with metronome beats (metronomeonline.com is free). There are so many ways to incorporate rhythm, and I blend these with the other modalities I use. Sometimes people really can't even hear the beat, or can't tell if they are on it or not. Eventually they all get it (so far in my experience, at least). The difference with IM is that the program provides feedback which will let them know whether they are on the beat or not. Perhaps they'd find the beat faster, or be completely frustrated... At times I've allowed clients to think we are playing and just "discover" the beat. I often don't add the metronome until they can already perform a rhythmic movement successfully. Hmmm..... And my new place of employment has a wonderful SI gym. Enticing children to complete boring rote exercises when that gym is calling to them is pretty challenging already. Thanks for helping me think through this.

I haven't been around in a long time, as we are no longer homeschooling. I homeschooled our children for 10 years, four of which I added part-time paid employment. The WTM was the first hsing book I read when we were starting out in 2000. Years later, I discovered this group, and it became a go-to place to find support and information. Our children are now excelling in high school, and I am working as a pediatric OT. Our clinic is in the midst of determining whether to make a significant investment in the equipment to provide Interactive Metronome (it's a huge investment for us, as we are a small private practice). If it seems appropriate, I would really appreciate your perspective on this intervention technique. You are a particularly savvy and articulate consumer group, and I value your thoughts and experiences. If it seems inappropriate for me to ask, or even show up here since I'm no longer hsing, I need to know that, too! Homeschooling groups and boards were my "home" for so long, I am still at a bit of a loss without them...definitely still in transition, here. Thank you, NCW

Just curious, are they including a significant amount of vestibular/movement work, and gross motor exercises? Any concurrent auditory concerns?

If he's fine everywhere else, using all he's learned and the skills he's gained to hold it together in public and around strangers, she's done a great job so far. One thing to consider is that he may be doing his best, and then falling apart when he gets home because that is a safe place with safe people. A meltdown can look like very rude behavior directed at the people he needs and counts on the most. At six and a half, he could begin to learn self-regulation strategies like those in the Engine Program or the Incredible 5-Point Scale. I read wonderful advice for parents recently: stay calm, consistent, and concise. Don't get pulled in to their arguments with you.

Some kids just wear hearing protection purchased at home improvement stores - look like headphones, but just block noise. These are inexpensive.

Thank you for sharing this story!

I know that SIDS is really a concern less than a year of age, but I personally would be somewhat hesitant to give a low-tone very young child whose O2 drops at night a squishy mattress topper and a weighted blanket.

Yay! Way to go!

I realized after I posted that he's quite a bit south of where you were mentioning. He has offices in Annapolis and Bethesda. Dr. Applebaum is married to an OT, and they collaborate to provide services when needed. He lectures nationally (I attended one of his courses, taught with an OT), and at that time he mentioned that he hired optometrists to do the vision therapy in his office. Vision Therapists are often teachers with extra training - there is no degree program for VTs, just specialty classes and supervision by an OD. Dr. Applebaum has co-authored Eye Power: http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Power-Updated-Report-Therapy/dp/1439221790/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1320698156&sr=8-11 I wish I had taken my son to him when we lived in the area, but I didn't know then what I know now....didn't even know he existed then. If I lived in PA I'd be tempted to give him a call and see if he recommends anyone particular in my area.

I encourage you to consider Dr. Stanley Applebaum http://www.optometrists.org/Bethesda/

I have treated friends, and the children of friends. I have given free insights, and referrals to others. All of that can be done with someone who is very conscious of confidentiality, and who doesn't take it personally if someone doesn't agree with your recommendations/timeline. I think a bigger issue is that you want to be on the same page as your husband. Is there any particular reason to choose this professional over another that you could both agree on? I can't see any reason to introduce conflict/tension into a situation when there isn't any need to.

:party: So glad to hear it!

There is the home vision program: http://www.visiontherapyathome.com/ and Kenneth Lane's book "Developing Ocular Motor and Visual Perceptual Skills" http://www.amazon.com/Developing-Ocular-Visual-Perceptual-Skills/dp/1556425953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315076551&sr=8-1 Neither of these is meant to address eye teaming/binocularity issues, but they may be a good place to begin work that you can't otherwise access or afford, and be a jump ahead when you get to VT eventually.

This is a strange problem, and I don't understand their rationale. Are you in the US? Do any of these clinics have anyone else they refer older children to? You would think they might have a list of providers to meet the needs of those they don't serve. I am really saddened that you're running into this issue. Many training providers for specific modalities list those who've taken their courses on their websites, so if you know of a specific technique you're interested in you can check the provider website. In addition to Interactive Metronome, here are a few more options to try: SI certified therapists: http://portal.wpspublish.com/portal/page?_pageid=53,83247&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL http://www.spdfoundation.net/directory/index.html http://www.vitallinks.net/locator/index.php http://www.hwtcertification.com/index.cfm Best of luck!

My ds is nowhere near as sensitive as he used to be, but I still pay attention when I'm buying clothes. We also have used Lands End, and I used to go to Gap just for soft socks, but the past couple of years I have found very soft t-shirts (long and short sleeve) at Walmart of all places, sometimes just $4 a shirt. While he wears jeans, he prefers cargo pants to them, and his favorite pants are gym pants, either sweats or workout pants and basketball shorts. Found some soft ones at Kohl's.

I do not know enough about the Palmer method to say much. I believe Zaner-Bloser developed shortly after Palmer, and it is what I learned to write with. Back then, we spent a LOT of time writing at the chalkboard - our teacher made lines with a chalk holder for us to write on. Having the whole class see your work did a lot for me to try to do well! I'm sure it was terrible for some kids. It is generally felt that handwriting best starts with large arm movements in the air, wall, window, etc - in other words, on a vertical surface. Then you move smaller and smaller, and paper is the very last place to write. HWT, First Strokes, Mary Benbow's Loops and Other Groups, all teach this, and probably others do as well. As far as your daughter's fatigue goes, I probably can't be much help. I agree that the first step is to rule out anything metabolic. Choosing activities that work to improve tone (vestibular, proprioceptive, core strength) with rest breaks when she needs them is what comes to mind immediately. The more fun and motivating the activity, the more likely she'd push herself to stick with it longer. I have also had success with specific exercises for reflex integration.

Thanks! I bore dh daily with this kind of info...

Yeah, I've mentioned it before, but not often...I've only returned to work part-time in the past 3 or 4 years. In that time I've been doing as much continuing ed as I can cram in (at least triple what my licensure requires). I think this will be my 10th year homeschooling - I worked when the kids were infants/toddlers, but my dd's kindergarten experience convinced us to try homeschooling, and we just kept on...ds has never been to school. However, we sent dd to public high school last year, and plan to do the same with ds after he finishes 8th grade with me. We never knew when we began this journey that the kids would inherit (a bit from both sides) a tendency to dyslexia/dysgraphia. I generally just prefer to be a "mom" here, but get so excited about what I'm learning from kids and families and other professionals and books I read and and and....so I get carried away at times.

A quick google search: http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter11.html "A few of the vestibular afferents go directly to the cerebellum through the inferior cerebellar peduncle. The cerebellum coordinates the movements that maintain balance. There are many connections between the cerebellum and the vestibular nuclei." I hope that helps. I guess you could just turn to a book like "The Out-of-Sync Child has Fun" for activity ideas. The activities I choose are based on my evaluation and clinical judgement of that particular individual. While I use vestibular/movement input often, I'm very careful to ramp up the challenge slowly. Vestibular can be very powerful input, and done carelessly can throw someone out of "balance", as it were, for days.

My last comment! I forgot to mention this morning that it is not uncommon that kids with postural/core weakness benefit from movement/vestibular activities. Vestibular input affects postural muscle tone. Please ask your optometrist about the 20 degree slant - I'm very curious to hear what they say.

Very fast as I head out the door- The first thing I do when I see a child resting on the heel of their hand is check seated posture. Sometimes a different kind of chair, or an appropriately sized chair, or a wedge cushion will help. The slanted surface can help some, I think mostly because it feels slightly more awkward to sit that way, but it doesn't solve it. We address core strength, and I generally recommend they spend some time each day tracing, drawing, and/or writing on a vertical surface to increase that shoulder/arm strength. Crayola makes window markers now that kids of all ages love, and they are fun on mirrors, too. If you have visual issues, I'm surprised your optometrist or vt hasn't recommend a slanted writing/reading surface. Every optometrist I've met has discussed it, to help angle the page for optimal visual focus on the page.

Wow, that is familiar - when ds was 8 I think he memorized Galileo and the Stargazers listening to it in bed at night. The beauty of cd players is they shut themselves off. Since he was given an ipod no such luck - I have to take it away at 9 pm or he'll listen to a good book half the night.

Wishing I knew how to put answers in after each question, I'll just do them in order: A slanted writing surface helps us all. Old desks were often built with a slant. One thing we often recommend is just taking a sturdy empty 3" binder and rotating it. It's not as durable, and is slightly smaller than ideal, but is a great option for many. Slant boards made for the purpose are ludicrously overpriced - often $40. I found some laptop trays at IKEA that work just fine for many: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60150176. The surface is unfortunately textured, but a notebook or piece of cardboard solves that. Some don't like the lip on the bottom, some like it a lot - luckily my dh can cut it off with his bandsaw if I need him too :D Barchowsky: Neither of these are consumable workbooks. Fluent Handwriting has a nice section covering just how to do the rhythmic exercises/warm-ups she recommends. It then goes over all the letter formations. Printable work-sheets are on a CD-ROM. Improve Your Handwriting is organized differently, into daily exercises to improve one's legibility - it is written to the person doing the exercises. It has the rhythmic warm-ups built into the daily exercises as worksheets to xerox. Otherwise, all the writing is done on paper of your choice. She discusses improving manuscript by moving to italic, or improving conventional cursive if you prefer that. Keyboarding: I admit right now I know more about handwriting than keyboarding. Keyboarding programs/software have not worked for my own children (maybe too distracting?) but my daughter learned very well and my son has made a good beginning with AVKO's workbook. There is a multi-sensory keyboarding program that is on my wishlist, however, from First Strokes: You have to scroll down to page 14 of this catalog: http://www.thehandwritingclinic.com/CM/Brochures/Files/Final%20First%20strokes%20catalog%202011%20COLOR%20version.pdf It is, however, just a thin manual and an even thinner student workbook - I'd buy it today if it were half the price. The instructor includes ideas like forming the letters on the student's back, memorizing strategies for the keyboard, visually occluding the keyboard, etc. If my son remains stuck where he's at, I will likely look into it more this year. FWIW, though, her Tip Grip protocol is one of the best I've encountered.

So I just went and took another look at the Retrain the Brain book and materials, since we're discussing it. I bought the level for 3rd grade and up, and it does come with a 130 page spiral-bound book. Someone may find this information more useful than I did. Here are the chapter headings: 1. America, We Have a Major Problem (discusses dominance, handwriting, reading methods, learning disabilities) 2. Why Are The Kids' Brains so Different Today? (education, handwriting) 3. Why the Massive Increase in the Need for Special Education? (TV, computers, video games, stress) 4. Brain Anatomy 101 for Novices 5. Stimulating the Brain's Time-sensitive "Windows of Opportunity" (multi-sensory stimulation) 6. Capitalizing on the Brain's Neuroplasticity (inhibitory control, movement) 7. An American Phenomenon - ADHD (personality or pathology?, TV, Brain imaging differences, regulating emotional energy flow) 8. The New Education Paradigm - Brain Compatible Learning. (learning styles, movement, cross laterality, music, internal rhythm, positive affirmations) 9. Peering Beneath the Surface: Handwriting and Remediation 10. The Learning Style Characteristics of the Right and Left Brain 11. Results of Using Multi-sensory Handwriting in Various Grades 12. A Historical Perspective on the Origin and Evolution of Handwriting Therapy Callirobics doesn't give you any of this information - just exercises and music. Retrain the Brain also comes with a template (stencil) of the exercises for those kids who are having trouble with them - just start with the stencil. I forgot that last night when I was writing. The teacher manual includes warm-up exercises that appear to be from Brain Gym: double-doodles, cross-crawl, lazy eights, alphabet 8's, some tactile exercises.