Slipper
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Posts posted by Slipper
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Do you have health insurance? Do you have a regular doctor you see?
If you have both, call your doctor and ask for a referral.
If you have insurance but no doctor, call your insurance company (number on the back of the card) or look them up online and ask for a list of mental health professionals.
Or, you can look in the phone book and call and ask if they take your insurance.
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Not like a day planner with time slots, that's too complicated.
I use a planner that has a month spread over two pages. The day squares are big enough to write several things in them. My busiest day this month has 6 things written in the square. When it's closed, it's the size of a regular folder.
I need to see the whole month all the time.
There is a little strip down the side for notes. I write down things I need to do at some point in the month. For example, I had a note to make an appointment for my son with the number for the specialty appointments. I was able to make the appointment when I had some free time.
I also have a paperclip on the current month. That allows me to flip to it quickly. It also allows me to stick in random notes about things that I can toss later (for example, my current note is to update a card for a recurring charge).
This is exactly what I do as well. I need to see the whole month at a time. What I also do is lightly pencil in the top margin of a day if I'm making tentative plans and I need to 'hold' the day. I may not remember why I'm holding it, but I remember it's held for something special and not to schedule on it. I also use a marker to shade the borders of days that have so many activities that i can't fit more into. If I don't shade it in, it takes a few moments to realize that I can't (and by that time, I've usually already agreed to do something).
The other thing I do is take the appointment cards that I'm given for the kids and myself and I tape them on the top of the calendar (over the picture) for those months. This helps me with phone numbers and also a visual of how many doctor's appointments any particular month will have. I always write down my pharmacy fax number (and the phone/fax numbers to the schools) in the back along with directions to various places that I know I will go to, just not often.
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Okay, my three littles go to two different schools. At the one school, the office never has the lights on which I simply don't understand; but the staff is sweet, helpful, etc. I have gotten ONE phone call from the nurse. The other school is like walking into (or being called from) another world. They are snotty, have attitudes, can be ugly and petty. I get calls 2 and 3 times per week from the nurse about one thing after another. They were ugly even enrolling foster kids because I can't possibly have all the information. And the nurse didn't know (???) that a child past the age of 60months can't get a certain vaccinations nor is it required by law.
Okay, two recent incidents that just solidifies my resolve to NEVER send another child to this school no matter what.
1) In September, my daughter had picked up my other son without having to use ID and I expressed my concern of letting someone they didn't know pick up my kids since my children's birthparents had just gotten paperwork saying where they went to school. Well, they've never asked her for ID since (not a big deal since they know she's my daughter); but they also didn't ask my hubby for it two weeks ago which upset me (but I didn't say anything). Since my littlest does SO poorly at school, I pick him up at 11:30 (it is a full day program). So I pick him up EVERY SINGLE DAY; but Wednesday, she asks me for ID. Seriously? She points out our discussion in September. Really? GRRR
2) Yesterday, my son gets to school, goes to breakfast at 8am (eating yogurt, muffin, milk), and I get a call at 8:10 that he is in the nurses office sick. OH? Does he have a fever? No. Has he thrown up? No. How is his color? Does he SEEM sick? I told him that he had said he wanted to stay with me that morning. And they KNOW my kids have behavior issues (including feigning sickness to get their way...one even throws up on a whim!). Anyway, finally, not knowing what she wants me to say (I even asked her!), I say I'll pick him up. I had two appointments for his brother in Dallas and didn't have time to argue with the school. So I go pick him up. The staff is rude from the get go. Why do they have to be ridiculously ugly? This time, I decided not to just take it (though maybe I shouldn't have been SO obnoxious):
ME: So is A**** having any signs of illness?
NURSE:He said he didn't feel good, that his tummy didn't feel well.
ME: His color is good. Does he have a fever?
NURSE:No
ME: Has he thrown up?
NURSE: Not yet.
ME: Well, *I* haven't thrown up and none of the rest of my family has either because WE are not sick.
NURSE: No answer.
ME: Okay, well, AJ, I guess you get to come home with mommy...well, we aren't going home...you get to run all over creation with mommy. A school-sanctioned day off! (as we're walking out of the office) How do you feel?
AJ: Fine.
Now, the normal office staff and nurse were giving me nasty looks (deserved this time, I admit); but the new lady was stifling a laugh. I smiled to her and said have a good day. Maybe she is onto them already? Maybe I could just deal with her the rest of the school year?
Seriously, I'm just done. It has been MONTHS. And these people are NUTS. How long did they think I would just take it when I have to deal with them every day?
I'm a bit concerned about the nurse's stuff though just because she is the first line of defense should something REALLY happen to students in the school. I've had her call me more than once because my son exhibited a disturbing issue when they allowed him to nap though I've asked him not be allowed to do. But she calls me EVERY time anyway. "Ummm, I will speak to the teacher again, but this is JUST like the last time. There is NOTHING wrong with him. He just isn't supposed to sleep during the day." This finally stopped after the principal was brought in. ANd she calls to ask permission to do something AFTER she's done it. Ummm, no, that isn't acceptable! IF you are to ask permission, then ask FIRST.
Anyway, just a little while longer....I will pull C the moment I get permission to or the second he is adopted, whichever is first. I do plan to leave AJ there til the end of the year. But the more I deal with them, the less I want to.
Sometimes I want to go to my daughter's school just so I can deal with some sanity and to remind me that there IS sanity in the school system. LOL
I make friends with the office staff the second my kid(s) hit a new school. lol That being said, it's not fun when they aren't friendly.
The first school (with the lights off) might have a valid reason for no lights. I know at our school, the buzzing fluorescents gave the secretary a headache. They eventually covered them with light coverings but until then, she kept the lights off.
If you have a child presenting with odd symptoms, it might be worth it to get a 504 or even just a doctor's note detailing what is needed. When my oldest was much younger (and still in pull ups at public school) she had chronic diarrhea. The school went nuts and said they couldn't keep a child with diarrhea, it was in the school handbook. However, since it was a medical condition (and she had already missed forty days of school), a doctor's note settled them down (and I sent in extra boxes of gloves and wipes, since I do sympathize). It might be that once your child gets to the nurse, she has to call, in which case the issue is with the teacher.
Good luck and I hope things turn around for you soon!
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I plan to purchase it for my youngest along with moving her to Singapore Math. She loves the samples! Because of her age, I am not sure if she will get everything about Beast Academy yet which is why I'm using Singapore. I 'think' and hope that BA will work out for us. :)
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YES, or homeschooling.
Actually, we are pulling her out to homeschool next year. I want her to finish out the school year if at all possible.
DH said if they do either to go ahead and pull her. I'm hoping that they are bluffing or won't get around to it until next year.
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We live in a poor, rural area. The schools struggle to educate kids (and not just in academics).
There have been problems in my daughter's elementary school (she is in 4th grade - it's K-4). Earlier this year, they announced that students were not allowed to go to the bathroom except during designated times as some students in the 4th grade hall were smearing feces on the walls and writing vulgar messages. Students were checked for pencils before going to the bathroom. My daughter is a good student and basically was exempt from most of this due to having a doctor's note allowing unlimited bathroom usage.
She came home today and said that apparently someone had carved vulgar language in the bathroom stalls (presumably with a knife). The guidance counselor told them that the words were absolutely vicious and the student responsible would be suspended and possibly expelled if they caught them.
To combat the new bathroom problems, the school has stated that if they find any more writing, they will install cameras in the bathroom or remove the doors to the stalls. They are also patrolling the hallways (principal, ass't prin, guidance counselor, etc) and randomly selecting students and asking them to raise their hands (presumably so anything they may be hiding under their shirt is exposed or will fall). Again, for good or for bad, dd10 is seen as a 'good girl' so nobody has asked to look at her backpack or for her to raise her hands, etc. I did tell her to clean her backpack out and be very careful about what she has in there and to keep minimal items in there.
I am fully supportive of efforts to keep the school safe and to prevent defamation of school property. However, I have problems with cameras in the bathrooms or removing stall doors and preventing privacy.
Is this common elsewhere?
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PrarieWind - we've tried different hospitals, though we've mostly used Children's. Typically, by the time we get an appointment and make it in, it's over and close to over, for the year. Last year, I called in January for an MRI but they couldn't see us until April. It's insane. :glare:
Theretohere - it's possible it's psychogenic. I looked around and read some more and some of the symptoms sound similar. I'll keep looking into it. Thank you.
JFS - our SLP and SpEd Teacher both have tried the eye 'response' trick. She doesn't blink. I'll ask about depakote if she isn't better in a week. I'm guessing that she is starting about ten weeks or so of problems, but if I take her to the doctor TOO early, they typically try to prescribe ME medication. :tongue_smilie:
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Sasharowan - we are going to try to videotape this year. We don't have a video camera, but our phones will take short videos (yay for cell phones!). Our teacher, para, therapists, etc are supposed to start using cell phones or digital cameras to record.
Ottakee - the rest of the year she is fine. She is typically happy and sings (she can't talk, but she has some articulation in singing) the rest of the year. She's very routine-oriented and we have adjusted things so that her routines are not disruptive. We have no problems until late winter/early spring.
Lost Surprise - yes, her pupils dilate. That was noted by a nurse who witnessed an 'episode' (as they call it at school). After she noticed it, she showed the teacher/paras what to look for with her eyes. Her seizures never last long, but the disorientation afterwards is disturbing. She has hallucinations and unusual strength (she threw a table last year, thankfully she was aiming for something she saw and not towards anyone else in the room). We have seen a neurologist. Actually, we have seen three. One was very far away and we went there only because she could work in an EEG early. She saw nothing and suggested we track for a few months. The other said that there were no seizures and that this was what autistic kids did. The last said he was reluctant to diagnose medicine without definite proof of seizures.
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Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I appreciate everyone's input.
Jean, I'll pick up calcium supplements today (I already have epsom salts) and start giving them to her. The blood in her urine was attributed to seratonin syndrome and the beginning of kidney failure. We had just started her on prozac along with risperdol and she didn't do well on the combination.
Heather, I'm not sure what the trigger could be. During the past four years, we have moved and changed school systems. Everything around her has changed, but the behaviors are the same. Seeing doctors is problematic. I have a very sympathetic pediatrician and gastroenterologist (last year we explored the possibility that it might be gastro related, which it wasn't). The neuros in our state seem to be 'seizure only' and are reluctant to work with kids with autism without clear proof of seizures (EEG). We had a psychiatrist, but the seratonin experience caused us to need to see her several times within a short time frame (four days) and psychiatrists aren't covered for autism under our insurance ($200 a visit). I'm trying to find a psychiatrist now.
Ali, during her problem times, she goes off her good sleeping habits and onto bad ones. She typically puts herself to bed every night by 8:00. During the spring, after her problems begin, she has trouble falling asleep (even with medication) until 1 or 2 (and sleep doesn't last long). We looked into migraines (and abdominal migraines) but the meds didn't seem to help (other than the ones that put her to sleep).
Mergath, I'll try a food diary and see if anything comes of it. It's interesting that you mention you as photosensitive. Her first symptoms are typicaly her eyes and we usually end up at our eye doctor because M acts like her glasses no longer work. She gets very frustrated and breaks them (insurance doesn't cover those either - she wears bifocals). Our eye doctor told us that seizures can affect vision first and she felt my daughter was having seizures.
Murmer, we did a regular EEG for 30 minutes, a sleep deprived EEG (that lasted about an hour), a 6 hour EEG and a 24 hour EEG with video. No seizures. These were done at two different hospitals (the 24 hour EEG was at Children's).
Speedmom, I don't think it showed anything abnormal or they would have mentioned it, maybe? They all knew we were looking for answers to abnormal behaviors and they all felt they would find evidence of seizures. But there's nothing.
I wanted to add that she also smacks her lips during her 'zoned out' periods. Because she has a bunch of people around her at times, several of them are familiar with seizures. Our last SLP had a son with epilepsy and she called to tell me about M's seizures (absence) during speech sessions. She said she tried to elicit a startle reflex by flicking her fingers in front of her eyes but M never blinked. Our current teacher (who has seizures) tried as well and said that she also felt M was having petit mal type seizures but they were very brief.
They have all written statements and kept behavior journals that I take to doctor appointments, but our doctors seem to be going by what is on the EEG (which is nothing). It's frustrating.
Thanks again...
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My oldest daughter, M, is profoundly autistic. She is non-verbal but does very well, all things considered. For the past 3 years (this being the fourth year), M has had what appear to be seizures during the months of Feb-May (general area, it lasts about ten weeks during that time).
There are various symptoms, but it typically starts off with head jerking, facial grimacing, eyes rolling in the back of her head and mood/behavior changes. It progresses to the point of falling to the ground, muscle weakness (unable to stand up), visual hallucinations (she appears frightened and tries to fight something invisible and sometimes she seems to try to pick up invisible 'bugs' or something), loss of bladder and lethargic behavior (sometimes sleeping for about 24 hours) afterward. During these spells, her eyes dilate and become fixed, she starts breathing faster and her heart rate increases (nurses at the school are pretty quick to get to her after she falls).
We have had several EEG's and a MRI (all clear - they released her with a diagnosis of 'transient altered awareness episodes') and CT scans/ultrasounds for various parts of her body. We try medication to calm her down (she has fits of screaming and she appears to be in pain) but it doesn't work (except the ones that put her to sleep and sometimes those fail).
I've tried to explain to my doctor that these are 'seasonal seizures' but he says that such a thing doesn't exist (plus we have no proof she is having seizures). He admits that her medical history backs up that something is happening. But we don't know what. At some point, it just goes away.
She does have low Vit D and we have supplemented heavily on it. Because of this, she has a tentative diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder (not that we know what to do with it, we just give more Vit D). She takes risperdol. We did try adding in prozac last year and she developed seratonin syndrome. By the point we realized it (from her behavior) she had blood in her urine. Psychiatrists are typically worried about changing her medicine and they want to see her LOTS when making any changes. insurance won't cover our psychiatrist because autism is not covered for mental health. Each visit is $200 out of pocket. Currently, we do not have a psychiatrist (we haven't finished paying off last year's bills).
This week-end, she started having shrieking and screaming fits along with head jerking/eye rolling behaviors and grimacing. I still had some meds from last year that helped her sleep and gave them to her which helped. Today at school, she apparently had some problems (I gave them a heads up). They noticed the head jerking/eye rolling and had the nurse watch her a bit. Her para told me today that M had written "Today I am Sad" (we are working on emotions with her) which is unusual (she's usually Happy).
I am absolutely desperate. Does anyone have any idea of what this could be or anything that could help? Other than meds, we try the usual warm baths, rocking, favorite foods, calm music, etc.
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My daughter is mature (emotionally, not physically) and I'd like to have some type of s3x book for her. I'm not sure that I can make it through a discussion with her as it would be uncomfortable, although I could answer questions. Any suggestions? She's already read The Care and Keeping of You book and is familiar with what happens during puberty. (I plan to use the same book for my youngest next year.)
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He gets is but sometimes doesn't.
He understands not to call before 1:00 in the afternoon because I'm busy. (All of my friends know not to call as well). However, if I need something from 'the city' (about an hour away), he doesn't understand why i don't want to throw our daughter in the car and go get it. For me, one messed up day throws off my whole week. I don't want to waste a day of no schooling just to run an errand that he could easily do (he works in the city).
The first few weeks were hard and took a while to get used to. He has started helping out with a bit of cleaning.
He also said :) that he knows it was the right thing and that he can tell the difference in our daughter. It's absolutely huge (health issues that have resolved). And she's getting more confident in learning things. It's amazing what has happened.
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Strangely enough, reflux can also cause a chronic cough. Does he have any reflux type problems? (And it may be that he has them and doesn't realize it). It might be worth trying some OTC meds for a few days to see if it makes a difference.
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I have used 13 individual blocks and that may be the problem. It's interesting that you mentioned that about place value because I was testing her today (placement type tests looking towards next year) and made a note to work on her place value. I don't think that has 'stuck' yet either. I'll cancel this week's math work and focus on place value and see if that helps. Thanks :)
Marie, thank you. :) That makes me feel better.
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Thanks. :) Currently I have used manipulatives for addition, including the ones sold by MUS. There seems to be a disconnect once we get to the teens. But, if 3 blocks and 3 blocks is six blocks, then why doesn't she understand that 13 blocks and six blocks is nineteen?
Then, I thought that perhaps times tests and drills would just help her cement the information. But, that doesn't seem to help either.
She hates repetition.
She enjoys it most when I find worksheets off the internet. She asks to skip math and go straight to her 'challenge math sheets'. I've already decided to go to Singapore next year and I'm also doing Beast Academy with her. She is going nuts over 'comic book math' which I'm hoping will motivate her to work towards the problems in that book.
Thanks for suggesting that she should go ahead and try multiplication. My husband has also been saying that (he's the kind of genius who is scary smart but can't tie his shoes and talk at the same time lol). I just don't want to confuse her.
Thanks again for taking the time to answer.
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Honestly, some days I think things are going great and other days I just want to pull my hair out.
DD7 enjoys math. She's been asking me to teach her multiplication. I told her we couldn't go there until she is better at addition/subtraction.
Tonight, I said something about 16. She immediately told me that 16x2 equals 32 (along with a request to learn multiplication). I asked her how she knew that 16x2=32 and she told me that she heard me say once that 15 + 15 equalled 30. So, 16 was one more than 15 and there were two 1's which made 2. So, two 15's that equalled 30 and add 2 would make 32.
If she can do that, why can't she tell me 14 +3? Or 15 -2?
What am I missing? I feel like I have not taught her something key that would make all of this make sense. As it is, she shuts down when she sees the problem and immediately tells me that she can't add that high.
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You might wait a year and do AoPS Pre-Algebra later. My DD does AoPS Pre-Algebra, last year she did Saxon Algebra 1/2 and the year before that Saxon 76. So technically, she has already mastered all the material that is covered in a normal pre-algebra course. AoPS goes SOOOO much more in depth and the style is SOOO different from any other curriculum I have seen that it is still COMPLETELY challenging enough. There really is a lot to AoPS, and even just changing the style of math learning can be a challenge, especially if your daughter is also going to be adjusting to homeschooling in general.
A better guide than the pretest would be to go to Alcumus - it is part of the online component of the AoPS online course, but anyone can use it for free - http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Alcumus/Introduction.php Set the focus topic to Pre-Algebra and let your daughter try to work some of those. Those problems on Alcumus are MUCH more indicative of the program than that pre-test.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll do that. :)
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Yes, I understood what you meant. :) I didn't explain myself very well I guess. What I meant to say was that if a student needs to have completed 5th grade math before starting it, she should currently be doing math at a 5th grade level (which I don't feel like she is doing).
She loves math and is 'mathy' and enjoys tricky problems. But I don't think she's doing 5th grade math. I think she 'could' but she hasn't had any reason to do so.
Thanks for the threads, I'll go check them out.
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If you really want an honest opinion, I would not put a 5th grader that has only completed 4th grade math into AoPS pre-alg. I personally think their pre-tests are deceptively easy compared to the content of their books.
I think that AoPS is better for mature/disciplined/self-motivated kids that are approaching the material completely on target content-wise vs. using younger and pushing them "up" to the content. The content w/in the texts stretch students that are completely on par w/the material to begin with.
Thank you. Yes, I do want honest opinions. While my daughter is very self-motivated (when she has something in mind that she wants), I wouldn't consider her on a 5th grade level at this time. (Part of the reason we are pulling her out is because she relaxes her standards and nobody is pushing her to meet her potential.)
I'm tempted to go ahead and order it, to look over the whole thing and then use it as motivation for her to go through 5th grade math. She is very bright, but math is one of those subjects that need a firm foundation.
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Go while the stakes are low. :) Perhaps it will take the 'mystery' out of public school.
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Thanks for pointing me to the pre-test. I have trouble googling obviously as I hadn't seen them before. :)
My daughter hadn't seen some of the material, but she only missed two. She hasn't worked with negative numbers at all and didn't realize that two negatives equal a positive.
I'd love some more opinions if anyone has any.
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I would really love to switch over to this curriculum next year for both of our girls. My problem is that I think they are a grade 'young'. My youngest won't be a problem as she is working in 2nd grade math and is very motivated to move to 'comic book math' for next year. I think she will be okay.
My 4th grader likes math but is currently in PS. She does as much as she needs to do to maintain an A in the class. After that, she's more interested in finding out where her classmates bought their boots and hair feathers, etc. She will be in PS until the end of this year and then we are pulling her out. Our school system is not very good. Currently they are doing short division. She does know how to do long division but doesn't practice it since they aren't doing it yet. (At the last long division test, the teacher worked through the problems AS they took the test. My daughter had the only A. The teacher shelved long division for now).
What are the pre-requisites for Grade 6 AoPS? If the gap is not too huge, and she saw the goal, she would (and could) do it. She's very determined when she puts her mind to things.
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What subjects do you supplement? Also, is there enough literature? How would work with a 4.5 year old tag along who is super bright but has some fine motor delays? Oh, your blog looks AWESOME!.
Just wanted to mention that there is a lot of writing, scissor/glue stuff with this program. That may be a deal clincher or breaker for your child with fine motor delays. :)
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I have mixed feelings about MBTP. We bought 6-8 for my 7 yr old. I like the concept and if you like FIAR, you would probably like the repetition. My daughter became bored with it. In her mind, once you've learned about goods and services, you've learned about goods and services. Following four projects over several days to learn about goods and services was overkill.
We do about half the projects and sometimes I skip whole lessons because they are repetitive. We won't buy the next package. I also do not like the errors that I found. Some mis-spelled words are not a big deal, but I've found a couple of math problems that have the wrong answer (4+3=9). I read over things but I don't like having to read over in order to make sure the publisher didn't make mistakes. It's too expensive a program to have to do that.
Still, I love all the books that came with it. I like having lots of books to assign her to read as her strength is in reading.
DH being stubborn
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
He may or he may not. :) In our household, my husband has been begging me for years to homeschool. I just didn't want to give up my free time. Most days are great, some days I really long for silence. :)
If your husband's main conern is for socialization, honestly, I'd work on that more than the math (due to the fact that she is young). I'd enroll her in plenty of activities and schedule lots of play dates. Then remind him that in school they get in trouble for 'socializing' and she's quite social outside of school.
All the best :)