My son uses the MWB videos, and they've been great for him. We have the textbook and solutions guide purchased cheap on ebay; no TM. I very much appreciate not having to solve every problem on my own to check his work at night. :)

We loved this book. It really enabled us to appreciate DS's strengths. I didn't feel the main message was that dyslexics are all superstars, but rather that they each have unique strengths that should be cultivated and appreciated. I also didn't see an implication about intelligence. I have a very good friend who is dyslexic and I'd say is of "average intelligence" as seen in traditional academic areas, but has wonderful strengths in art and creative problem solving. I think its realistic to expect parents to look for unique talents in their dyslexic children and encourage them. I hadn't realized that some parents are taking the book to mean that remediation is no longer that important! :crying: That's so sad for the child. I agree there is no way around plain hard work in remediation. This book gives some well needed hope and encouragement in the process though.

Thank you thank you!!

We loved the multiplication stories found on multiplication.com. They really worked for my dyslexic DS. I also kept a multiplication chart up on the wall for him to look at when he needed to. I asked him recently (he is finishing up algebra) if he still used the stories to recall his multiplication facts, and he said, "not really, but once in a while I do." I know that he never looks at the chart anymore as it's no longer near where he does his work. The main thing is that I did not wait for him to have facts memorized before moving on in math, and it hasn't been an issue for him. I remember asking this same question years ago on a homeschooling forum, and the advice I received from BTDT moms was to move on. I'm really glad we did. Math is an area where DS is exceling in and can feel good about himself in (as opposed to spelling...). For addition/subtraction facts, we played a lot of games. I highly recommend Peggy Kaye books - Games for Math and Games for Learning. She has great ideas for helping children visualize math concepts in fun ways. If your son is having trouble translating the facts he has memorized to actual quantities, her games will help. One of my favorite games was for learning quantities that add to ten (so helpful to know). You have ten paperclips and take turns tossing them into a container placed several feet away. Then you record how many went in, and how many didn't. Repeat a zillion times. It's a fun competition, and the kid eventually realizes that if he knows how many went in, he doesn't have to count how many didn't. Brilliant :)

I hope so! That would be nice. And unexpected. Makes me think of when DD was in kindergarten here and her paper was marked wrong because she did not match up the name "Thomas" with the soft /th/ sound like in the word thin. It was homework, so I had written a note by it that she was pronouncing it /t/ like they do in America. The teacher's response was, "That is wrong." :glare:

Nope, just the one recently posted, TinyEye. Thanks for the link! And I had not at all considered privacy issues with Skype. I guess I don't understand enough about how Skype or Google Chat works to understand how they are not HIPAA compliant. Anyway, that's good this company has considered that and is using another method for videoconferencing. Will definitely check them out! Thanks Marie!

Thanks a ton!!!

Well, I don't think he is tongue-tied. But I don't know that there is nothing else going on. I will check out local options for him to be evaluated. It's sad that I just have so little confidence in local resources. When we were pretty sure my other DS was dyslexic, we had him "evaluated" by professionals through his local school. They were clueless about dyslexia. DH and I kept looking at each other throughout their debriefing of DS's testing. We could not believe their lack of understanding about dyslexia. Another "professional" who is part of the India Dyslexia Association told me that he was not dyslexic (based solely on our phone conversation) and that I should just have him stare into a candle flame to help him improve his concentration. On the next trip back to the US we had a full evaluation done by the University of Michigan which confirmed dyslexia. So anyway, I don't have much confidence in local options. However, this is a small issue in the grand scheme (he doesn't seem to have any other speech issues that we've noticed and is excelling in every area), so I don't mind giving it a shot. If anyone knows of a Skype option, though, I'd still like to hear it. Thanks for all the feedback so far!!

That's interesting that you had speech therapy for so many years, but were never diagnosed with dyspraxia until your mid-20's. I would think that a speech therapist would be able to diagnose dyspraxia. How is this diagnosed? Should I look for a specific type of training background?

I never thought of this. Now I feel like waking him up to look at his tongue!

This link says to contact AP services and they will give you the names/numbers of local AP coordinators who are willing to test outside students. I called them, got the list of schools, and the first one I phoned was willing to test my son. No one else at the school was taking the same AP exam (the course wasn't offered there), but they were willing to order the exam for DS. We paid them the test fee on the day of the exam.

LOL!!! I can relate! I'm sure if we find local help, his /r/ sounds would eventually sound more British than American. My son cannot say the /r/ sound in any position, though. And I do think that most people in the US just think he has "an accent" from living abroad. But I feel lame-o that I've never sought professional counsel. It would help if he was able to hear the difference in his speech - I'm hoping that someone else will know how to guide him in that.

Yes, I am looking into local resources, and I'm sure it will be MUCH less expensive if we go that route since we live in India right now. The therapy is for 14yo DS, and is really just helping with the "r" sound. He's not able to hear the difference when he does it correctly (which he can do, but since he can't hear it, he doesn't do it.)

I think that it is a Moreton Bay Fig tree; the picture was taken several years ago just outside the lovely Melbourne Zoo. :) We live in India right now. I will be looking at local options, but was wondering if Skype with a US therapist might be another option. It's for my 14yo DS who has trouble with his "r" sound. We've tried using exercises that I've gotten online, but he is just not able to hear the difference when he says it correctly. We've tried off and on for years. It's never seemed that super critical (and often it just sounds like he has a British accent which fits in here :) ) but I think its high time we actually consult a professional.

Has anyone done this? Does anyone know a speech therapist they can recommend who does this? Thanks!

Just wanted to update with our happy resolution! I received another phone call last night from College Board, and this time I was told that I just needed to send in an email (he gave me his address) requesting a score retention. I did that immediately, and he called back in about 15 minutes to tell me that we are all set, and his scores will not be purged. He said that the reason they do this is because the "vast majority of students who take exams this early want them deleted." I'm not sure why the first few people I spoke with were on the opposite end of accommodation, but I'm so glad that's done. Thanks for all the feedback!! I really thought that first person I spoke with was crazy!

Yes, this is exactly what I would have appreciated! Didn't get it.

I would never have seen that page! I did see a small paragraph on a different page though, related to SAT registration through a talent search -- only after searching in the wake of the phone call with college board.

Thanks, I'm doing that!!

Easy, if you know about it in time. The letter needs to be sent in by June of the student's 8th grade year. They should make this clear when registering for the exam.

So for anyone who may be helped by this info -- I spoke with college board yesterday, and they said that his SAT and SAT subject test would be purged soon. Another person will get back with me in 5-7 days to speak about this and confirm; I will try and see if they are willing to retain his SAT subject score, but I am not too hopeful. I also spoke with the AP department, and they also said they would purge unless I sent in a letter - though they said I had several more weeks. However, when I said that DS was 14 when he took the exam, she said his AP scores would be retained - it would only be purged if he were 13 or younger. So for AP testing, if a child is 13 or younger, a letter needs to be sent in to request that the scores not be purged. For SAT/SAT subject tests the scores are purged for all 8th grade or below students, regardless of age. DS was actually not upset; he said the physics SAT subject test was fun, much more so than the lengthy SAT or AP exams. Now we're wondering if he should just take it again the next time it's offered since the material is somewhat fresh and it will be a few years before he revisits physics. Goofy system. :glare:

That makes sense, and you are right about homeschoolers just not fitting into that scheme. It isn't rare for a homeschooled middle schooler to be able to handle AP level material.

Thanks for the link! I will have to find out on Monday what to do. His scores are still up, and I'm wondering if it's because of his age. He had just turned 14 when he took the exam and could have been considered 9th grade.

Multiquote isn't working for me right now for some reason... I can see the purging being useful in that you can take the SAT for practice in middle school without it counting, but not for subject tests. And it would still be better to just have the student request a score purge if they didn't want it on their record anymore and the default be to keep it. It isn't like they are short of storage space anymore.

Wow, I have never heard of this before.