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southernm

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Posts posted by southernm

    Christmas on a budget?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    We have a new store called Five Below. It's a chain of stores, mostly kid stuff and everything is five dollars or under. They always have a nice selection of books, school workbooks, etc. I have found a Magic School Bus solar system kit, phonics and math puzzles, and tons of arts/crafts kits. They have model cars, science kits, sports stuff. They even have Barbie and littlest pet shop. Best find so far is a green energy kit using a soda can. Target had them for $9.99.

    Long Shot: Christmas lights help, electrical?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I am putting up our Christmas lights today. It's 70 in Michigan which is almost unheard of, so I thought I'd take advantage! DH is out of town and I need electrical help! I have one strand of led lights that work, connecting to a strand that doesn't work which is connected to a strand that does work. How is it possible to have a whole strand of lights out, but still sending current to the next strand? I've looked all over the internet and can't figure this one out!

    VT update. Please help!

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Sounds like it's good that you got his eyes checked! I'm not really good with all the terms, but yes that's one of the things they check. Did they hook him up to a visagraph? (computer with infrared goggles to track eye movement) It's not like you're talking cancer or something that is degenerative or going to make his eyeballs fall out. It's just a problem, something that obviously affects school work, and something VT can help with. I think our OT also checked for it, because it's actually something that can be affected by both the OT and VT side of things. You can ask your VT doc if he screened your ds for whether he should have an OT eval as well. You may have seen him to it in fact.

     

    But really, beyond that, just run of the mill, nothing to stress about. I assume he's saying it's enough of an issue that you should treat it and not just let it go. He's not saying something dreadful or disastrous is about to happen with his eye health. He'll be fine. It's the kind of thing VT is great for. :)

     

    I know I know. I just wasn't expecting it at all and it's just one more thing on his list. The doc was listed as a "fellow" on the covd site so I'm thinking he will be good. He's dyslexic too! He did all kinds of tests, it was quite a lengthy assessment. I have no problem understanding learning disabilities but it is hard for me to grasp that a vision problem could cause so many issues! He talked a lot about it causing problems with how ds organizes info and why he would rather play on the computer than play with toys. I'm looking forward to what the full eval says!

    VT update. Please help!

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted · Edited by southernm

    So here I go taking ds to the eye doctor (found on covd) just to rule out any vision problems to go along with his dysgraphia and dyslexia. Turns out he has something called saccadic dysfunction. I don't understand what the doc said and my head was spinning. I have to bring ds back in a few weeks for a full eval and then a week later we get the results. The doc seemed pretty confident that vt was in order and gave me the impression this was not a mild disorder. Can anyone offer clarity?

    How's the holiday shopping going?

    in Accelerated Learner Board

    Posted

    I don't know. And my kids don't really play with kid toys. It would be so much easier (and cheaper) to just go to Walmart and pick out toys and be done. I have never been more stumped.

     

    Yup. Us too. Ds7 is getting mindstorms. His HS group is offering a mindstorm class just for his age to help transition into robofest next year. Mindstorms are his big gift. DD5 is the most difficult one. She has a self contained vegetable garden and a butterfly kit on her list. Her big gift is an american girl doll and a cash register. It's better than Walmart junk I guess. Thank goodness for amazon!

    Dysgraphia?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted · Edited by southernm

    It's a very complicated learning disability, and as you can see by that link it reaches far further than just handwriting. The biggest thing I do is not force writing. I scribe if needed, we use the white board, or he verbally answers instead of him writing answers down. I have just started with HWOT cursive and it is so much better for him. The fluid movement of the strokes seem to come more naturally. With manuscript, he often pauses after every stroke to think what comes next. We avoid arts and crafts like the plague. Since he has a diagnosis from a child psych he will be able to get accomedations on the sat/act etc. Basically, I let him take the lead and have become very flexible in my expectations for written output.

     

    Also, this was a major factor in hs him. He had a terrible time with is first grade teacher. Filling in worksheet after worksheet was impossible for him which led to behavior problems. I asked the ot at the school to observe him and she said, "he needed more practice". I'm still beyond angry at that. I would expect very little help from his school, unfortunately. Even after I told his teacher he had been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia there was very little they were willing to do, if anything at all.

    Memorizing Math Facts

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    If he can memorize all his doubles and uses them to work out subtraction problems, AND he's dyslexic/dysgraphic, he's clearly a right-brained type thinker and is going to be strong in pattern-analysis and concepts. This means his facts are going to stick in his brain later. Let him work with his strength with patterns to do a small amount of mental math with subtraction daily, in real-world contexts rather than in isolated practice problems. Play some games that work in practice with basic facts (Peggy Kay's Games For Math has great ones). Give him some kind of assistance for workbook math, whether it's a "math facts" chart or a calculator.

     

    The more you read about this type of kid (the Gaddis and Freed books, the Eides book and/or blog entries, Linda Silverman's website and book), the more relaxed you will be about the fact that he's not following the standard order of things mathematically (addition first, then subtraction, then multiplication, etc., facts memorized before you move on).

    Thank you so much for the help! I'm off to check out those books!

    Memorizing Math Facts

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    It rather raises the question about whether he can concieve of numbers as a quantity?

    Where quantity is concieved of with spatial working memory.

    Then we learn the names and symbols called numbers, to represent different quantities.

    For example, if you look at groups of 2 or 3 or 4 objects?

    You will probably immediately recognize the quantity, and can then associate it with number.

    But you recognized the size of group, before you thought of the number.

    Where the size of the group was recognized with spatial w/m.

    But when spatial w/m doesn't form these groups?

    Then numbers are thought of in the same way as letters?

    So that we can memorize 2+4=6, in the same way as we could memorize B+D=F.

    But B+D=F has no meaning?

    Then if we do a subtraction; G-D=C.

    Or maybe you could a simple subtraction?

    H-C= ?

     

    Where you'll appreciate how different working out H-C- ? Is from 8-3= ?

    Though crucially you mentioned that he has Dysgraphia, which is often related to a Spatial working memory difficulty.

    So that the question is whether his Dysgraphia and struggle with math, have a common cause?

     

    Interesting. He has a strange ability to tell me how many objects he sees when given an estimation problem. He's usually dead on without counting at all. I think his dysgraphia his far more a problem than dyslexia.

    Memorizing Math Facts

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Thanks for all the great advice!

    My dd learned multiplication way before basic addition and subtraction facts. 2e kids can have a very uneven acquisition of basic computation facts, while conceptually they're often ready to move way ahead. Dd couldn't identify coins or reliably add numbers under 10 together at a time when she was trying to figure out a formula for primes and learning basic algebra. Some 2e kids don't solidify their basic math facts until much later, in the context of more advanced work they find more interesting.

     

    You might find the math section of Cindy Gaddis's book, The Right Side of Normal, encouraging. Or she has excerpts from her book on her blog. She talks about the way dyslexic/VSL kids acquire math skills in a different order than most curricula expect or insist on. It's not "delayed" or deficient; it's simply different. http://www.therightsideofnormal.com

     

    Can I please encourage you to do whatever it takes to preserve a love of math? Seven is far too young to be stressed out over school and what he can or can't do with subtraction. A laminated chart he can use, or even a kid's calculator, can take the pressure off him to memorize facts and allow him to work ahead in areas of strength.

     

    There are so many wonderful ways to add to math at home: picture books, Peggy Kaye's book Games For Math, ThinkFun games, basic card games, dice games, tangrams, codes... Take a look at the Marilyn Burns site http://www.mathsolutions.com for other ways to go "sideways" in math, to explore interesting mathematical ideas and concepts without getting bogged down in computation. Kitchen Table Math also gets really good reviews.

     

    (Note: Dd, now 16, is currently working on pre-calculus, entirely on her own, and doing very well indeed.)

     

    I'm doing my best! He stresses over anything he perceives as not being done correctly so it's not that unusual for him to freak out about it. It's just a more intense "freak out" when it comes to his nemesis, subtraction :lol:

    Memorizing Math Facts

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I'm looking for some insight for my ds7. He is 2e (dyslexia/dysgraphia). He's really struggling in math. He absolutely cannot memorize subtraction facts. Somehow, he managed to memorize all his "doubles" and seems to use those to answer addition problems. I don't mind him calculating each problem, but he even has trouble with that. Memorizing them would be so much easier if he could get to that point.

     

    When he has to do subtraction he just melts with frustration. He is doing Singapore 2a and understands the steps and process to regroup, but the simple act of subtracting nearly brings him to tears. My dad and former ps teacher came to visit so I let him do a review lesson with ds. Dad doesn't understand him at. all. and just didn't believe me when I said he couldn't memorize facts. He was determined to get him to memorize 7-4=3. So all day he ask him that fact and guess what? He never could answer it without subtracting in his head. The only way he can solve it is to use doubles in reverse (8-4=4 so 7-4=3).

     

    Is this a working memory problem and is there anything I can do to help? Subtraction is stressing him out so much that he is nearly unable to function for the rest of school. I've backed off for now and am letting him do review with math mammoth but I'm eventually going to have to get back to subtraction. Also, we've been memorizing multiplication facts and he's got facts to 3 already memorized!

    Please walk me through VT

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    Beware that vision therapy is very expensive but has not been proven to treat dyslexia. From what I have I read, the professional consensus is that VT is effective only for strabismus and convergence insufficiency. Fortunately, there are evidence-based interventions for dyslexia that I will try first for my child.

     

    I'm not looking for a cure, I just want to make sure there are no vision issues that are further making his dyslexia worse (if that makes sense)!

    Please walk me through VT

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    DS 7 is 2e, dyslexic and dysgraphic. He's had basic eye exams and has better than 20/20 vision. I've been reading though, that he could still have vision issues that cause dyslexic like problems. Should I get him evaluated by a covd doc just in case? I found several on the covd website. What do I ask for when I call for an appointment? How much should it cost, and what types of tests would they do?

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