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Barbara H

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Everything posted by Barbara H

  1. It is a pretty common thing for homeschoolers to misunderstand that question. If any juniors make a mistake and it comes back that they are not eligible because they checked the wrong box, they should immediately call the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (not the College Board). NMSC is nice and they can help you get that fixed so your child will be able to go forth in the competition.
  2. This is a really good blog about the history of homeschooling. It is academically focused so it is always a light read, but there is a lot of good information there. The author also has a book on the history of homeschooling. http://gaither.wordpress.com/
  3. West Point accepts 13% of applicants so is super competitive. The most successful candidates are likely to take more than than the minimum requirements. Most typically students at highly selective colleges are coming in with four years of science, some of it AP or college level. As probably 95% of high school students do take biology if the recruitment materials were assuming that almost as a given. If the student really disliked biology my approach would not be to skip it entirely, but rather to choose a less rigorous course that wouldn't be as difficult.
  4. Generally I believe it is a mistake for parents to communicate with college professors or administrators. Students are dual enrolled with the idea that they can take on the responsibilities of college students and that includes taking responsibility for dealing with grades and conflicts. It can really take away from your child being taken seriously if mom steps in. Of course, behind the scenes you can certainly coach her and help her figure it out, but I would expect her to be the one to make the contact with the instructor and take it up the chain if she needs to. If the instructor is not "showing up" in class or answering emails or is totally disregarding the syllabus she will have a stronger case. A lot of the people in online classes have full time jobs and kids so I don't think she'll get too far with the idea that as a high school student who volunteers she doesn't have time to check every day. One reason why some instructors require the course to be checked daily is that sometimes people take online classes because they think they will be easier because they don't have to go to class and as a result there can be a low completion rate. So, instructors may see daily check in as the trade off for not needing to go to class and as something necessary to keep students involved in the course. If she does fail or get a D there is one more thing you may want to investigate. Some colleges allow students to retake a course again for a new grade. Sometimes both grades will appear on the transcript but only the later one is included in the GPA. Sometimes the first grade drops off the transcript totally. Typically the student has to pay the full price for the retake and if they are taking the course at a reduced price under dual enrollment it might not be eligible. So, it may not be a super appealing option, but something to be aware of in case the worst happens.
  5. Does the instructor have office hours where she is available by phone or Skype? Does the syllabus give a breakdown of the points and values of the tests, assignments, etc.? If so, one place to start would be to look at how many points are available for the rest of the semester and figure out what the best case scenario is and work from there. If that information isn't on the syllabus or the online classroom, your daughter needs to ask for a breakdown and if she doesn't get answers then go to the department chair. While it is understandable to be upset or feel it is unfair, if it is past the date to withdraw from the course, the only option is probably to shift into the mode of doing whatever it takes to get as many of the points available for the rest of the semester.
  6. Step one would be for your daughter to email and set up a time to meet with the instructor, preferably in person if possible. If the instructor does not respond or is totally unreasonable the next step would be for your daughter to go to the department chair. I would only suggest the later if the instructor has actually violated policies by for example not responding to emails, not posting tests on schedule, etc. If it is past the date to withdraw from the class this may be a "make it work" moment where she's going to have to figure out whatever she can do to get as many points as there are available for the rest of the semester.
  7. Playmobil is fantastic quality. The best toys we've ever owned. For us is more having a lot of people with little accessories than having big buildings. It really depends on the child how long they will play with toys. I've know kids who gave them up at 11 and others who played through 14. So, it would be a really kid specific thing.
  8. GPA counts quite a lot at many schools particularly at state universities who are reviewing a lot of applications much faster and as a result may focus more on a quantitative markers. That said, GPAs are typically not as strong a factor for homeschooled students as they may be dismissed as just "mom grades." I don't think that the difference between the two GPAs you mentioned would be a make it or break it factor. I would encourage you to start looking at the deadlines now because you may not have the flexibility to wait until second semester.
  9. Great news that you are getting connected with good therapies. We have found probiotics, including Culturelle, to be helpful. It is an easy, low risk thing to try. A probiotic is basically the same live cultures in yogurt but in much, much greater quantity and more usable by the body. Often the balance of bacteria in the gut has been thrown off with use of antibiotics.
  10. I agree with the suggestion to work on double duty activities. If you are doing any activities involving flash cards that works well sitting on the ball - leaning off to one side to reach the card. We did a lot of math on the minitrampoline - jumping out the answer to the problem. Skip counting can work with rolling a ball. You can also incorporate sensory activities into to the transition from one activity to another such as commando crawling across the room or taking a minute to use one of the irritating blowing devices or to push on the wall. One thing we found was that more than the duration of the activities it was the frequency that made some of them effective. For us five sessions of five minutes of sensory activities worked a lot better than one half an hour session.
  11. From the link: "These results could also be due to chance, the authors say, since there were only 20 women in the study who took SSRIs and had a child with ASD." This kind of stuff drives me nuts. In a culture with oodles of women on antidepressants how about we find more than 20 with kids with ASD before we get everyone upset with headlines like this.
  12. Since it was just an in the moment reaction based on something he overheard, I wouldn't think it reflects anything he thinks about you. Instead, I'd just see it as evidence that in his generation locking a kid in a closet was much more often the sort of thing that happened.
  13. Been there done that! Being in limbo waiting for evaluation is a lousy place to be. Even worse if you already put the energy into an evaluation that wasn't helpful. My main suggestion would be to step away. It it is two months until December. I would encourage you to set some limits on yourself about continuing to study and research. You clearly know enough to make use of the information you get from the evaluation when you get it. I wouldn't buy any program or make any big decisions about school until you get back results from the evaluation. Right now, I'd think about shifting your energy a bit to focus more on the fun and happy aspects of life in your homeschool. Today might be a good day to pick apples or bake a fall treat. Or maybe a day for Pjs, popcorn, games and movies. Anything to refocus on being together and getting away from worry for a bit.
  14. I would definitely talk to the doctor without your DS in the room. One idea for what to tell DS might be that you want to find out more about the ways he learns best so you can better homeschool him. I'd keep in mind that often this kind of thing is more of an adult worry. We see evaluations as a big deal when kids may just see it as working on some puzzles.
  15. It is a common complaint. Some colleges do have the range of dorm choices including sometimes called things like quiet, healthy living, or substance free. What that will do is increase the odds she might meet like minded people, however typically these limits are not enforced because students are considered adults who need to make their own choices. My practical suggestions would be: 1. Your daughter should talk to someone in residential life to see if there is any option to switch to a different roommate or dorm. This really isn't something you can do for her because it will just been seen as a parent wanting the school to provide supervision. If she wants it she will need to seek it out. 2. She should work on trying to find the other serious students who need sleep so she can plan a future living situation that works better. 3. Right now she should make a schedule to be out of the dorm, at the library when she wants to study. 4. A white noise machine and/or earplugs might be a huge help in filtering out doors closing and noise down the hall. 5. If her roommate is being disruptive - partying in the room or anything like that - she should work on self advocating to try to work out that situation. If they are at an impasse it is time to approach the RA or residential life staff for help. It may well be there is another student like your daughter who might also like to switch for a roommate who goes to sleep earlier.
  16. I felt exactly the same way going into it. Growth spurts often involved a lot of weakness and balance problems. But, surprisingly, puberty was overall a real positive with more energy, more muscle, and faster improvements in strength. Hooray testosterone!
  17. If you haven't already done so I would suggest reading some about Stanley Greenspan's method of Floortime. I think it might be a good fit in helping to gently connect to him and expand your interactions. There is quite a lot of information about it available online.
  18. Parents always go back with kids at the orthodontist we saw - there is a chair by every dental chair. I believe they want parents there so they will act as enforcers of stuff like cleaning and wearing retainers.
  19. Has anyone inquired about how this part will work for homeschoolers: What if the student’s high school does not provide a class rank? This Public Tuition Rate will only be given to students who can demonstrate that they are in the top 10% of their high school class. If the high school does not provide rank on the transcript, the guidance counselor can indicate that the student is in the top 10% of the class on the counselor report or provide a letter indicating that the student is in the top 10% of the class.
  20. Great news. I like the idea of bringing along a sibling. We've also found PT very helpful with hypotonia. It may be good if you can continue to revisit the PT now and then to keep revising your home treatment program. I realize it is a long way off for you, but I wanted to mention found the period of time just before and starting puberty to be a particularly helpful to get PT. When they are putting on more muscle the progress can be really rapid.
  21. This may not be on target but here are a few ideas... Some students with ASD struggle with SAT type questions that are not personal but rather call for fact and argument. These students say it is very difficult for them to write on an assigned topic where they don't have strong feelings about. To take a position on something you don't really know or care about, feels fake or like lying. From a neurotypical perspective being asked to formulate an argument to support a position may not feel personal, but for some people with ASD it does feel very personal. This may not have come up yet, but I wanted to raise the possibility that this could be challenging for him. One of the core challenges for people with ASD relates to theory of the mind. It can be hard to think from the perspective of another person. It can be hard to understand how another person may view your work. It can also be hard to hear information that is indirectly communicated. Some of the standard constructive criticism approaches I've used with students I've found can be too indirect for some people with ASD. So, the sandwich - compliment, criticism, compliment may not sink in well for a person with processing difficulties. If he's struggling with capitalization and other core skills, I'm wondering if you need to back up and work on some of these skills first. That might involve working on single sentences or paragraphs first. I would also be very direct in communicating WHY this is important. It might seem obvious to all of us why capitalization is required, but he may need to understand that if he doesn't use it with teachers and adults they may get the mistaken idea he's not taking his work seriously or he's not trying.
  22. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/20/070820fa_fact_page This article may be of interest. The author Tim Page is a music journalist and he too doesn't wear needed glasses in order to cut back on sensory stimulation. He suffered for years with intense anxiety but was not accurately diagnosed with Asperger's until his son was. Reading his book, I wondered how totally different his life might have been if he'd received proper diagnosis and therapy when he was younger. I would be concerned about a person not wearing glasses when they need them. It is a risk for pedestrians. Also, it could contribute to social difficulties as not being able to see people makes it more difficult to learn to read them. Finally, it will lessen what a student gets from lectures.
  23. CAPD testing was also my thought. Especially for a gifted kid I'd want to find an audiologist with a lot of experience in auditory processing.
  24. From reading your other post it sounds like the interface doesn't work well and the professor isn't accessible. That's a perfectly terrible combination. Our son too had a flop of an online course. It was a stand alone course (not part of a language sequence) and he was able to switch over to audit status. The course was just not well designed and the professor wasn't doing a good job teaching it. Online education only works if the instructor wants to be teaching that kind of class and they understand the need to be timely with grading and support. I'm very glad he switched from taking the course for credit because the situation didn't get better as the semester went on and he would have been very stressed if taking it for a grade. He took only in person courses from that point on and has never had another negative experience like that. One more thought, if your daughter has asked for help and her emails or requests were ignored, I would really encourage her to make the department chair aware of that situation.
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