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Finnella

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Everything posted by Finnella

  1. My DS is an Aspie too. He's been diagnosed for a few years, but we've only been homeschooling for about a year and a half. We'll be starting 8th grade in a couple of weeks.
  2. One of the big thing I've noticed in many GF cookbooks is a big focus on sugars. As in, you're deprived of gluten, but look at all the sugar you can eat. So far, sugar is the most problematic food for my DS. The less sugar, the better he functions. I haven't heard other people comment on this, but it's been a big discovery for us. We're only now trying a GF diet for him. (I'm already GF.) And btw, I did have an initial surge in energy when I first went GF which then went away. Of course, I have fibromyalgia and lots of other stuff wrong with me, so who knows what that was about. But eating gluten really upsets my stomach, so I'm still GF.
  3. My son's anxiety really spiked last fall. It's so hard. You can make it till tomorrow. :grouphug:
  4. I'm just starting on IEW, but the philosophy seems to be that intensive grammar study is best done by studying a foreign language. There are some documents aimed directly at SN kids on the yahoo group site, but I don't remember if they discuss the grammar angle. From following the discussions on the yahoo group, it's clear that many of the kids using IEW are also using a separate grammar curriculum. And Fix It is very popular for kids who need practice in actually applying grammar, which is the most useful grammar instruction. We did R&S 5 last year because my DS had never had any grammar instruction. (He was in ps until part way through 6th grade.) I had been planning to continue with R&S 6 this year, but I think I'm going to start him on Latin instead along with IEW. He's got a good grasp of basic grammar now. What he needs is practice actually using it, which he'll supposedly get during the editing process with IEW. So I think it may depend on how much or little grammar your child knows. If your son doesn't know much and needs explicit instruction, you may need a grammar program. Since I probably didn't resolve this, asking the yahoo group is a great idea.
  5. I need to qualify my vote for Discovery of Deduction. We used its prequel, the Art of Argument last year. It worked very well, and my DS recently used lots of what he learned to discuss a magazine article. (And this was without my prompting.) He'll be in 8th grade next year, and I already have Discovery of Deduction to continue his logic studies. Based on what you say about your son, I doubt he'd get much out of Art of Argument, and I haven't read anything to indicate that you have to do that before moving to Discovery.
  6. I'm seriously looking into IEW for my 13 yo. I haven't tried it yet, so I can't offer anything definite. They do have a yahoo group, IEWfamilies. In addition to being able to ask questions, they have lots of files posted, including some information on using the program with SN kids. Because the program is pretty expensive, I've already joined the group to study the curriculum more. There is a catalog on the site that has a proposed progression chart, based on the year you start the program. It would recommend SWI-B or one of the theme books.
  7. We didn't figure this problem out until our son was already 12. We should have had a clue earlier because I found out I was addicted to sugar a few years earlier. (I never believed it was possible until I went through withdrawal.) Anyway, we do not keep it in the house. It's too much of a problem for my younger son and for me. And going off sugar has helped my DS so much: fewer migraines, better mood, virtually no wild swings of blood sugar. We have friends who also have a child on the spectrum. Their son is so addicted that they have to lock up the pantry in order to have plain sugar for their coffee. (I shudder to think of it, but I'd do that as a kid.) Our son tried that for a while, but after he was on a very low sugar, generally low carb diet for a couple of months, he stopped. Now that I've been through all this, I do think you have to stop cold turkey and get rid of everything in the house. After a detox, maybe you have some minimally processed sweets occasionally. It depends on how sensitive to sugar everyone is. We help moderate the sweets by not bringing home any large quantities.
  8. My son is a lot like this. He has trouble following multi-step instructions and is horribly disorganized. He has poor impulse control, but I think that's often true of anyone with any ADHD. Our pediatrician believes he was also hyperactive when he was an infant/toddler though she didn't send us to get an official diagnosis until he'd grown out of that piece, if that's possible. He was a non-stop wild man when he was little. He never slept and was so hard to manage we stopped taking him out in public between the ages of 18 months and 3 1/2 years, except to venues like parks where an insanely high energy level was ok. (He even tried to swing from our dining room chandelier.) Those symptoms were entirely gone several years before the referral for official diagnosis, which happened in third grade.
  9. I think you got some really good advice, so I'm not giving any. Having been a Sunday school teacher when there was an undiagnosed SN child in the group, I know it can be hard from that perspective. There was a lot of hostility towards that child because so many parents assumed he was a spoiled brat. As I got to know his mother, I learned that the parents were well aware their son had problems but a lack of money and no medical insurance meant they rarely made progress towards helping him. I wish I'd known any way to help them beyond being more patient with their son. Now I have a son with SNs, and I can't take him to our youth group. My older son dropped out after witnessing bullying, racism, and other horrid behavior. I can't possibly send my younger son into that situation. So I do think it's great you're trying to learn and doing what you can to incorporate this girl into the youth group. I can't get the attention of anyone at the church, and the group isn't even suitable for children without special needs.
  10. We did a can of Coke each morning for a while. So that's 12 ounces. It didn't help my son enough, so he's on medication now. My husband has the same diagnosis. He and several of his co-workers self-medicate with caffeine. I don't think they're paying attention to how much, except to drink lots.
  11. My DS has been on Straterra for a few years, and it's been very helpful. We haven't had problems with side effects. My kid's biggest problem is with inattention, and he's prone to anxiety. That's the kind of kid that Straterra targets because it doesn't aggravate anxiety the way the stimulant meds. can. It definitely didn't sedate him. Now if your child's problem is more slanted to hyperactivity, I have no idea if it would be suitable.
  12. You need the whole level one kit to teach it. The TM goes into detail on the method. There is also a set of flash cards and other manipulatives that come in the set.
  13. Some of the ADHD meds are considered controlled substances, hence the restrictions on how the prescription can be communicated. Good luck with the new medication. Our first medication attempt was a total disaster, but the second one helped my DS a great deal.
  14. Thanks for clearing that up. While I could probably do it without the answers, I've found it's so much easier for me to have an answer key/TM. :001_smile: So that's what I'll choose if/when I do the Daily Grams. It's looking as if your recommendation of doing them over the summer is going to be more doable than adding them to the school year. This is so frustrating because he's learned so much in this area. I know some of the problems result from his LDs, but there is also laziness at work. Trying to figure out just how much of this is due to laziness has been difficult. :banghead: I've had better luck in other subjects, e. g. math.
  15. I'll admit that I'm trying IEW out of desperation. I did a thread on it a few months ago. Doing the writing section of R&S was torture, writing prompts weren't helpful, WWE isn't working for us.
  16. I'm very glad to know that there's an alternative to the software; I've heard some very negative reviews of the software because it's so complex. I'll add it to the list of editing possibilities. Now I have to figure out when we're doing editing. :confused:
  17. I know he'd have a fit because he was in ps for so long and expects the break. But I wouldn't mind; I think part of his problem is laziness to proof himself. It's a rather mild consequence for that. I've found two versions of Daily Grams, and the site shows the identical sample pages for both. Can anyone explain that? There's Daily Grams Grade 6 and Daily Grams Grade 6 Workbook.
  18. My DS will be in 8th grade next year. We're finishing R&S 5 and plan to do R&S 6 next year. (We're a bit tired of R&S, but it's working and we own it.) He's done very well with the big exception of punctuation. We're also going to be starting IEW, most likely with TWSID-B. I still have to remind him about capitalizing the first word of a sentence and putting punctuation at the end of sentences. He knows many of these rules, but he doesn't want to be bothered with applying them. He could definitely use editing practice. The punctuation chapter of R&S 5 is the only chapter where he totally flubbed the test. (I didn't tally up a grade because it would have only upset him; I test in just a few subjects to see how he's doing.) I don't want to overwhelm him and spike his anxiety, but we can't continue with this level of punctuation. My son is an Aspie, with ADHD, and LDs in math, reading, and writing. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
  19. My son's anxiety got so much worse this school year that we started therapy again. We're seeing my therapist instead of his psychologist because the psych. is a rock star with Aspergers and stinks with anxiety. I've started keeping a list of issues to bring up at the beginning of the hour since my son will suddenly feel great once he's in the office. We're making progress; I can even leave the room some now for them to talk. Plus we've avoided adding another medication to the mix so far. My DS has finally embraced the wonders of physical exercise to help with excess energy and mood regulation. He's also doing a workbook on Teen Anxiety. I assign him an exercise or two a week to make sure he's working on it, but at his request I don't review the material. We use a binder clip so I can go straight to the parts of the book he hasn't reached yet. Our scheduling this spring forced us to put him on the light rail a couple of days a week to reach his theater class. (Participation in theater is a big deal for him because he's so passionate about it.) Even after his older brother took him on a few test runs, I was really worried about this. I didn't think he was ready, but he proved me wrong. We had no problems, and he loves the extra independence. This was a big boost for his self esteem, at least as big as the one he got a year ago when he finally decided to learn to ride a bike.
  20. I would think it would be since someone isn't required to be Gifted in order to have an AS diagnosis. My son has the AS, the Gifted, and LDs. (I never knew that was possible.) I'm worried about the new criteria; I'm afraid my son might be stripped of his diagnosis. I guess we're "fortunate" in the sense that we still have an ADD and 3 LD diagnoses to fall back on if he needs accommodations. It still concerns me.
  21. We finished B this year and started on C. All of the spellings are American English. We ordered our books from their American website. The company I used to work for was British owned, so I would have noticed if the spelling had been British rather than American. (Our MS Office software always came installed with a default to British English spelling. Ah the good old days.)
  22. I know when I asked about this last spring, Tina Gilbert, who's a rep for LREG, strongly recommended that I not start LREG until after we finished R&S6. She was of the opinion that LREG wouldn't work well without a strong foundation in English grammar. I believe she's posted quite often on LREG, possibly mostly on the Logic sub-forum. It might be helpful to do a search there. We're finishing R&S5 this year and then moving on to 6. I'm itching to start LREG, but I'm putting it off another year.
  23. Linguisystems has a set of books for Executive Function that include exercises for improving working memory. They're listed by grade level, but my understanding (thanks to OhElizabeth) that you should start with Book One.
  24. I agree. If you believe your child still needs therapy, then you need another therapist. Unless you feel it would have a negative impact on your son, I'd recommend stopping visits with her immediately until you find someone better suited. There are bad therapists just as there are bad medical doctors. They need to be dumped.
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