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Posts posted by emonline

    Visual and Auditory therapy....expensive? Does it work?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I would like to address the auditory processing issues and speech issues, as I do have experience with both of those issues. First, I would like to inquire whether they are planning on utilizing Fast ForWord for auditory processing? That seems what the website is proposing, but we have done those programs, and they are typically 4-5 days per week for at least 45 minutes per session. I think the intensity of the program is one of the things that is critical to making it work. The FF program originally was 1 1/2 hours per day for 5 days per week. I believe clinical studies then found that similar good results could be accomplished in 45 minutes spread out over additional weeks. (Some have suggested that a much cheaper program -- Earobics -- if used with the same intensity can achieve similar results -- but I do not believe there are actual clinical results to back this up.) We did FF at home, with an initial SLP (speech therapist) consult and computer set-up. It was about the only way we could have possibly fit anything that intense in our schedule. I know a lot of SLPs will allow you to do it at your home, and that reduces their fee, but you will still have the costs associated with the FF program. Regarding speech, there are a lot of reasons a child will have poor articulation. While I am not willing to say FF will absolutely not help articulation, I would suspect that additional, different therapy will most likely be necessary. PROMPT is a good option for many of those with apraxia, or other severe articulation issues (though the therapist does frequently touch your child's mouth with this therapy -- if your child would hate that -- then a different form of speech therapy might be for you).

    V/V "experts"

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I know some have bought V/V and just taken off with it, but I just couldn't do it. Even when I spent (a lot) of time beforehand trying to figure out how a particular session would go, the session never seemed to go the way I thought, and we would stumble through a day/week and I would just feel like I was missing something or doing something wrong. (This in contrast to LiPS which I felt was very intuitive and I was able to pick right up on.) IdeaChain gave me a start. It got me going, and frankly by the time we finished the book, my daughter had gotten so much better at the process, moving to paragraphs didn't seem that hard at all. I had an idea what a lesson should look like. So, it worked well for me, and my daughter is doing grade level now. I still wonder why I couldn't pick up on the V/V because I was very excited to start it and just couldn't seem to do it on my own. I actually had the V/V program and got rid of it without ever using it -- I probably should have done what you were suggesting and used it after the IdeaChain instead of starting off on my own!

    V/V "experts"

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    You are correct -- the process starts with words and moves to sentences. I did exactly what you suggested. I used the program as written out. Then we started with simple readers with pretty simply paragraphs and broke them down sentence by sentence (just as they suggest in the book). Then I added more comprehensive questions (main idea of the paragraph; had her picture what was going on in the paragraph, not just one sentence). This worked for us. I don't know why I had issues with the V/V manual -- I just couldn't understand what I was supposed to be doing enough to get any momentum going with that program. (As I said, I thought the LiPS program was wonderful -- not only worked with reading but helped with speech articulation. I had no issues implementing it and expected the same with V/V, but just found it difficult to figure out exactly what to do and if I was doing it right).

    V/V "experts"

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I want to preface this by saying this is, in part, a self-serving post as I am trying to sell the program I am talking about. With that said, I used a program called IdeaChain by MindPrime (you can google it to find more info about it). It is a Visualizing and Verbalizing clone that is intended for parents, with step-by-step instructions. I am sure that if you have the money and time, the best way to go is to have your child work with a trained LMB teacher or be trained yourself. I admire those that were able to figure out the V/V program themselves and implement it as I wasn't able to do it. (I bought the V/V program, and studied it (a lot), and just couldn't get any momentum going with the program. I was able to self-teach the LMB LiPS program, and had great success with that. I had some good success with the IdeaChain program. The best part was it was exceptionally simple to use, and I felt it had the same approach as the LMB program (and I think the LMB programs are all very good).

    Xpost: Dianne Craft's Right Brain programs?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    First, and I find this the frustrating part, all children are different and often respond differently to different programs. One program can help one child and not be so helpful to another. I do believe the BIT program Dianne has can be helpful for some children. I think of it as kind of a starter program. Some children need some kind of starter program to be able to go on and succeed at other programs. (For instance, I know sometimes The Listening Program is recommended before Fast ForWord (for auditory processing issues) but some children start with Fast ForWord and do fine without The Listening Program.) I could see doing her BIT program for a reading issue, and then following with something like the LiPS program (one of my personal favorites). But again, some children could skip BIT and go straight to LiPS and do fine. Just my two cents. . .

    How do you know *it* is working?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    We had some fairly big moments with both OT and VT. In OT, dd finally learned to ride a bike at age nine; learned to walk on stilts; learned to jump on a pogo stick; learned to knit. These were huge, concrete things she had not been able to do before, or had even been afraid to try. And I learned how to work with her while teaching her to do physical things, which is very different than how I work with her on intellectual tasks.

     

    In vision therapy, after two weeks she was able to throw and catch a ball and actually to dodge a ball coming at her instead of freezing and screaming. That was also pretty spectacular. It was also clear that in VT she developed peripheral vision and could see in 3-D for the first time.

     

    Other skills which are slower to develop have not been linked to one particular moment, but I am morally certain that her improvements in handwriting and social skills are directly connected to VT and to therapeutic horseback riding.

     

    Sounds like AHA moments to me!!

    How do you know *it* is working?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    My children have struggled with certain issues over the years, and we have tried a lot of different therapies/programs. Overall, I would say my children have made tremendous strides. However, as I was trying to give my opinion on one particular program, I realized there has never been an AHA moment with any of them -- that is, I never said -- Wow -- this therapy/program/supplement is making a dramatic difference. I often read about such dramatic improvements, but have never experience one. Just wondering -- have others experienced an AHA moment -- a time when you knew a particular *something* was causing a quick, significant difference? I can tell you whether my child enjoyed/hated a program, or whether they did well at it or found it difficult -- but even though I've tried to watch closely (and even worked many of the programs with them) -- I have a really difficult time saying exactly how, or if, it helped my child. (Something did, obviously, or they wouldn't have experienced the growth they have experienced over the years. I just don't know what it was!)

    seat alarm?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I don't know where you get them, but yes, there is such an alarm. It is marketed for the sick and/or elderly, who would be in danger if they got up on their own. It is a pad that they sit on. If they stand up, the pad registers the lack of pressure and sets off a pretty loud alarm (it is used in nursing facilities and hospitals where the assistant may not be in the same room).

    College Suggestions Please

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thanks for all the information so far. It is helpful. We are having a little battle here. DS wants a large, public university. I'd like something smaller and private (probably -- maybe just smaller). I am trying to compromise with something greater than 2,000 -- maybe a college with some name recognition -- Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Ohio -- somewhere around there, but perhaps other states as well. Again, thanks for all the ideas!!!!

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