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SonshineMama

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Everything posted by SonshineMama

  1. IMO, there are two different issues that go into narration and copywork: handwriting and composition. Both are BIG issues and totally separate. Handwriting first- - Is she struggling with letter formation (slow and difficult or very messy)? If so, we have found doing Dianne Crafts "Writing 8" to be a HUGE gift in terms of helping a child with rapid, neat writing. My ds is a cancer survivor and either has neurological damage on the right side of his body from medication or a mini "incident" (stroke like thing). As we struggle to help him recover (therapies), we have done a lot at home under the guidance of our OT. He is almost 10 and just now FINALLY able to copy a sentence! Praise God. There were times we wondered if we'd have to give up on handwriting because he could barely hold a pencil still (shaking and lack of control). BUT a great OT and a lot of work has improved him rapidly. Our son has several OT issues, PT issues, speech issues, dyslexia, working memory, and several other things too. . . it takes a lot of time to work through them. And they affect one another. If her letter formation that is a problem, that can easily cause her to be unable to keep her spot in a sentence because it is SO hard for her to form letters that she is spending REALLY long writing each word and loses her spot. The goal of writing 8 is to have them forming large letters on an 8. This helps with visual motor skills, visual perception skills as well as crosses the midline. It also cements it into their brain because they are working on each side of the midline. This helps their writing become more rapid and something they don't have to think about. For some children, 6 months is all they need of writing 8. In 6 months, our son began to be able to write legibly. It's still a struggle though. We took a few months off of writing 8 and now we are back to it for another 6 months. The goal is to get him to the point of writing being rapid, neat and a "thoughtless" process. I have heard and that this can also help from the stand point of composition. Because things become so natural and easy, the child is able to put their thoughts to paper. Our daughter (6th grade this year) started doing writing 8 with her brother. After he was diagnosed with a fairly severe case of dysgraphia, I realized she had it to but in different ways. She was able to write but her writing was very SLOPPY, she missed words and letters when doing copywork and all of her words blended together. Sometimes she'd write a sentence without spacing between words. After 6 months of writing 8, I am shocked to say that her handwriting is very very good. I would say in the middle of the bell curve - it's not "art" and gorgeous but it's legible, clear, and she is finally able to breeze through learning cursive. We've had several false starts on attempting to get her to learn cursive. This summer, she began to have the desire to start a creative writing program. I wasn't sure she was ready because she had *just* finished writing 8 and I wanted her to not be overwhelmed. We started IEW this fall, and she's been doing AMAZING. Just a note about how we do copy work and narration for my ds. I am my ds' scribe for narration - I use the computer mostly because his oral narration skills are actually very decent. Every once in awhile I have him narrate to me while I print so that he can see it's a slower process when written. For copy work, I write it first and write it on the same type of paper that he would (HWT paper). This way it's easier for him to copy. When it's typing, he gets confused on letter formation and other things come to play (words get squished together. He is almost able to do 2 sentences and I am VERY happy as he could barely write a word in January of this year!
  2. Yay!! Thanks for posting Elisabeth my CYT friend. I am helping Lori get CYT going in Milwaukee - my kids all love it. My daughter has been in 2 shows. It's an amazing program! :)
  3. There is a bunch of info on this in the "Disconnected child" book. They talk about brain imbalances and how music restores the imbalances. They give types of music that is best for which imbalance your child has. AND it's well known that music makes brain waves stronger and more active! Everyone always says "your son should be learning an instrument" . . . sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't . . . he's learned flute, accordian and piano at the tender age of 9. We are on a break at the moment ;)
  4. Our son has neurological damage to the right side of his body and happens to be right handed. I've encouraged him to try to write with his left hand but he doesn't want to and feels uncomfortable . . . so take what I say with a grain of salt. We use HWT (2nd grade) for our 9yo and one worksheet a day is more than enough writing. He's also doing recipe for reading (he's dyslexic as well) and I only require he write one line. With callirobics and brain integration therapy/brain gym, his hand isn't shaking anymore - his o's used to look like the blade of a circular saw. But writing is still VERY difficult. He sees the OT Monday and I plan on discussing this with her further. He's made HUGE strides. 6 months ago, he couldn't even write a word without crying. So. . . that is the level of dysgraphia we are dealing with. We do not require copy work for him. Now, my dd is 11. She may have dysgraphia. We haven't had her diagnosed but she was REALLY struggling with spacing/messiness. I am having her work HARD at HWT and did writing 8 (brain integration therapy) and it's coming way more naturally. She just commented "wow this is getting easier" and I looked carefully and realized how tidy her letter were. If we could get them spaced well, we'd be in business. I am going to ask the OT about the spacing monday ;) I can imagine requiring copy work for her. She's 11 and at this point, we still do not require copy work. She can get through the HWT page easily but even a paragraph is brutal for her. 2 sentences takes her about 15 to 20 miunutes. We are working on typing. While I see the value in handwriting, if they were missing a leg, we'd have no problem with a prosthetic. If they were blind, we'd use braille. I look at it the same way ;) It's a disability. . . one we are working to overcome but using a crutch isn't a bad thing :tongue_smilie: Just my opinion and I do know everyone has to do what they feel best for their own child :grouphug:
  5. https://www.brainetics.com/ Anyone know anything about it?
  6. This book was recommended in another thread instead of vision therapy. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1556425953/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER I have no personal experience with it but it sounds like a possible option!
  7. Since getting my ds and dd1 some "healing", I have truly realized how high their younger sister is :glare: I used to think she was our "easy" one but I realized her two older siblings just drowned her out until they began to get emotionally balanced! It's kind of a wierd realization. Not sure if she needs some help too or if I just need time to adjust to the fact that she is quite. . . . difficult in her own way :001_huh:
  8. It is SO hard to get evals. . . everytime we do, my heart tears and there is a grieving/coping process. Especially when the numbers are VERY low :grouphug: One thing that I have learned is that no one can truly be put in a box. I recently compared my S/N guy to a beautiful/fragile exotic flower. He needs A LOT more care and effort but he really enriches our lives beyond measure.
  9. We have always schooled straight through summer but this year it just feels different! I think because it has been a very difficult year! Last summer was super intense so I am backing off a bunch compared to then!
  10. **OT "sensory diet" (he sits on an exercise ball with weights on while chewing and playing with a sensory toy). *plays with younger sister. *watches schoolhouse rock *legos *jumps on trampoline *uses iPod for therapy related activities (memory or vision activities). *plays My daughter is SUPER understanding about interruptions and they happen often. Even when he's on the trampoline. I actually find that by keeping him and his younger sister closer to us the interruptions are faster. When I really try to get them to be independent, the interruptions are for bigger reasons and then they last longer. I have actually realized recently that everyone else may be able to get all their school done before noon but that is just not us and may never be.
  11. :bigear: :lurk5: I learned about Brainware Safari here on this forum so I am hopeful some that have done it will chime in!
  12. This is how I am feeling right now. We don't do a full load in the summer but it's feeling like we are never getting a break - not true though - we have SUCH a busy July - my dd1 (eldest) is gone 3 of the weeks due to serving in church and musical theater camp. Just feeling alone and wanted some company because most people I know are winding down or done for the year! :grouphug: My ds who is the one w/ learning difficulties also had off school from mid oct to mid january because of a severe concussion (severe enough the concussion doc had us stop doing school). So this summer he isn't changing his schedule at all. He'll have some additional time off but needs to keep moving on the same schedule through the summer. Typing that I think that may be what has made this summer different than other summers. It hasn't bothered me in the past ;)
  13. Just curious who else is schooling year round because of S/N. Our son's working memory is so impaired that one of the first recommendations we were given is year round schooling. PLUS, he is behind enough that a break would set him back significantly. Just curious who else is going year round because of S/N.
  14. We use readinghelpers (http://www.readinghelpers.com) which look almost exactly like EZC reader strips but cheaper :tongue_smilie: I have found blue to be best for my ds - when he's using the helper, he usually doesn't mix up tiny words like he does w/o it!
  15. :lurk5: I think I just "got" why people were asking about my ds doing both LiPS and O-G. If I understand the comments here, LiPS is a precursor to an O-G method?? Our SLP did NOT mention that - I am feeling confused now :tongue_smilie:
  16. We use some of these - great summary . . . awesome to know that VT uses flash focus type games. AFA the rhythm discussion - tap dancing and brain gym seem to be REALLY improving my ds lack of rhythm. I assistant teach in his tap class and it's been fascinating to see how sometimes he's ahead/behind and other times he's RIGHT with the class even the same song - - meaning when they practice the same thing over and over, he sometimes is on time and sometimes off. . . same song, same dance, sometimes he hears it sometimes he doesn't. We are starting to add "clap to the rhythm" to our brain gym routine just to see if it helps at all.
  17. :lurk5: Lurking because I don't have many strategies right now as almost ds' entire "curriculum" is therapy. Someone asked me this week what curriculum I was using. I had nothing to say because with the exception of reading, we do only "therapy" at this point. That is enough for both of us. The only two things we are doing that could be considered "accommodations" are using chisenbop and schoolhouse rock for memorization of digits and multiplication facts :) I am not sure really yet though how much that has to do with visual dyslexia or my ds' memory issues but they are "multisensory" :) I am happy to report that chisenbop has helped ds memorize our zip code and my dh's cell number. My phone number took almost 6 months for him to memorize dh's cell number only took a few days YAY! SHR helped him learn to count by 5's :woohoo:
  18. Okay, I somehow missed this. . . the 2 therapies at once. . . I love that idea. We are actually at a point of rolling well with picture me reading - he is almost done which is why we were just "moving on" to O-G reading. The visition therapy would have been new. . . but definitely feels like too much work to me right now when they said about 30 minutes average of homework per day.
  19. I misrepresented what I said because I was trying to not write a novel. Between the chiropractor and the inserts, my sons feet are fine BUT Physical therapy did NOTHING for him so I get nervous about new therapy ;) AFA stroke patients, my son actually is neurologically damaged after being on chemotherapy. Not sure if it was a teeny little stroke or medicinal damage. The neurologist said it's "indetectable" on an MRI but he has all the symptoms! That makes it a bit more complicated. EVERY therapy we do is "experimental" because the after affects of chemo on little people are so unknown.
  20. We were "referred" buy our chiropractor (not officially but from her watching his tracking issues). The optomotrist doesn't think he'd benefit. I don't know any of those questions answers - I need to call back and ask them to meet w/me or if they have "patient education" that I can ask a lot of questions. When I called, the person let me ask a ton of questions on the phone but it was a receptionist I think. The thing I am hopeful for my son through VT has nothing to do with his dyslexia so I ddin't connect the two . . . his right eye will stop tracking and go the wrong direction when he's reading or doing the brain gym exercises that our OT assigned. We are seeing GREAT huge amounts of improvement from just the brain gym in his tracking but when he's tired his right eye will still "stop" tracking, shake, go the wrong direction and I tell him to stop, relax, close his eyes and get his eye back on the page (or whatever he's supposed to be focusing on). He does tire VERY VERY rapidly. AFA what is working with my son/what we are doing. LiPS is a "maybe". We were told by SLP to start an O-G program because they still aren't sure they can swing it in the fall (it's a university program). He's been in SLP for over 2 years and they are almost unsure what to do next IRT to his right side mouth drooping :( They have a few more things up their sleeve right now though but that's all muscular for his MOUTH and nothing learning related. If by the time fall rolls around, SLP can get LiPS, unless I misunderstood, it would be supplemental to his O-G reading and nothing related to his eye. O-G program - I am starting R4R and just was looking at it as the next step in the "reading" program and not anything having to do with his "eye issues". OT - I will ask her about all of this. She never mentioned being able to help with his tracking issues. I will find out how it relates to what we are doing but around here I know lots of people that see OT/PT/SLP like we do. I guess I am not sure how LiPS and O-G have anything to do with his eyes . . I realize that they help with the audiological and visual spatial/perceptive issues he has but can't imagine that it would help with the visual coordination/visual motor problem he has with his eyes getting shaky and turning around. Maybe I am not seeing something clearly though? :bigear: And this is of course why I posted so I can process this all and look at it through a "logical" perspective. I DEFINITELY will wait until we see OT this month before proceeding ;)
  21. The visition therapist we were referred to charges between $395 and $450 for an exam. I was startled when they said that - for some reason I was thinking about $150. WHile I realize that VT is worth the money, I am concerned and would love someone to help me process this ;) My ds has neurological damage that affects the entire right side of his body. I would like to hear from the therapist that they have had some success in this before shelling out $400. We have had to just "accommodate" other areas on the right side of his body (foot, arm, and neck) rather than "treat" so I am concerned about spending thousands of dollars only to hear that it's another area requiring a "crutch". So far, we have unsuccessfully done physical therapy -- we have given up and gotten him good prosthetics for his reinforced shoes and his feet are manually adjusted by our chiropractor every other week to keep him from dragging his right foot. Occupational and speech are still trying. We are adding flute to his speech therapy in hopes of strengthening his muscles on his right side. All his articulation issues are remediated except the droop on the right side -- it gives him a significant lateralization that he can only fix sometimes. Because of these things, I feel very nervous about paying a lot of money out of pocket without success. His other therapies are covered entirely by insurance and we are doing some other things not just addressing right side weakness. Thoughts?
  22. I am reading "when your child has dyslexia". It describes 4 types of dyslexia but I just got to this section this a.m. so I didn't know about it yesterday when I posted :tongue_smilie: *dysphoetic dyslexia (phonological dyslexia) *dyseiditic dyslexic (visual dyslexia) *naming speed dyslexia (semantic dyslexia) *double deficit (phonological and naming speed dyslexia) The visual dyslexia is defined as "difficulty learning to recognize whole words visually, and have trouble deciphering words that do not follow phonetic rules." (this is just a chunk of the definition). It could also be why ds is doing phenomenally at picture me reading http://www.picturemereading.com (using pictographs to memorize all the dolch site words. I believe the concept is that it's very difficult to memorize/overcome small words like to, when, what, where, of. BUT I am certainly no expert. . . . it's so much info to process that I know I mix some of this up sometimes :001_huh: The neuropsych made no connection between his visual processing issues and his dyslexia. . . well, there is a connection but both exasperate the other and neither causes the other, KWIM? I agree labels are mute and it is all about helping them. I do think labels *can be* valid even though in general, I can't stand "labeling" my children. Here is how I explained my opinions to my ds - you are a boy. We call you Luke. Sometimes putting a "label" on what you are struggling with is valid because it helps us figure out how to help you. If I called you boy all the time, that would be difficult when we are in a crowd. . . that is why I call you Luke :) I will admit that not labeling my son may have worked against us :( I waited WAY to long to get help for him and his issues are significant in some areas. SO I am attempting to make a more balanced approach. One thing that I think is important to note is that IRT to learning to read, a label may not be as important as multisensory approach. IRT processing issues, it can be important to get a better feel for everything because then you can help treat it.
  23. Just want to give a hug ((hug)) I am sure this is so hard. :grouphug:
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