On the clothing, try Sears, Old Navy, and Land's End. They all carry "plus" or 1/2 sizes for girls. I even found some 1/2 size jeans at Walmart for my 11dd. She wasn't fitting in the reg. sizes either. She is just very short for her age but going through puberty so she is getting bigger and curvier and the reg. girl sizes don't allow for curves. This is such a hard age for girls and girls can be down right cruel to each other.

has she had or been exposed to strep lately? PANDAS is a strep related OCD and can cause obessing about clothing fit, being super sensitive to it, etc. That is what happened to my nephew. A round of antibiotics and he did much better. Just something to check out, esp. if this is new for her.

The miralax would be great--it does take a few days to work and you have to play with the dose. At first we used the full dose, now we use 1/2 dose. I wonder though if you have checked his diet for food intolerances since this has been a problem since he was about 4 months old--the age when you generally start feeding them some solids.

I would check the diet---esp. for dairy as that is constipating to many kids and then start the Miralax. It really IS a miracle laxative. The only thing I have found NOT to mix it with though is milk as it seems to make it "curdle"--not in a sour way but rather texture. I actually use koolaid or even a bit of pop which makes mine much more likely to want to drink their "bubble medicine" as it is known here---it will cause a carbonated beverage to fizz more, hence the name. If you read up on chronic constipation or even encopresis you will learn this may take months to overcome. The miralax though is very safe to use long term if needed.

http://www.prometheantrust.org/soundfoundationsbooks.htm Here is the link to these books. I am ver happy to hear that your dd is making great progress with the program. I LOVE the Apples and Pears spelling and have used a few of the Dancing Bears books as well. I also suggest the I See Sam set of reading books for struggling kids. I took my kids through the first 4 sets of these and then started the Apples and Pears spelling and it has gone very well. http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/3RsPlusRead.html

Once you get over this crisis, I would add in the Miralax daily to help retrain his bowels. One of my girls has been on it for 7 years or so now (she is on Rx meds that cause problems). You can figure out the dose with some trial and error. We found that 1/2 dose every day is just right for her. I would also examine his diet, etc. to see if that might be a problem.

Thanks for all of the replies. I think dh will do well in this job. He is a BIG guy and not likely to be intimidated---he has had many offers to work as a bouncer at local bars. Motivated students would be great. Many of the automotive programs have a large number of students who are there because they don't want to be in "real" school, not because they want to learn automotive repair. We don't know the exact level of security yet or other details but it seems to be a well run facility.

At least with a TEACHING position in the jail he would work 8-4 M-F with holidays, etc. off.

My dh most likely has a job at a local correctional facility. He is being hired (pending a few more hoops to jump through) as an automotive instructor for inmates that are nearing their release dates. We are just wondering what day to day life will be like there. This is a huge answer to prayer as dh will do well with the inmates and he has been searching for a job for 18 months now.

CONGRATS on your little one. We don't have ds here but I have 2 kids that are in the same social/academic range as many kids with ds. I can't remember the name of the book right now but there is a book (I think CBD has it) that has a daily or weekly activity for kids 0-5. That might give you some fun games to play with her. Just modify the schedule as needed to meet her needs.

I think that if you work hard with the I See Sam books, you will see a BIG difference in his reading/language skills in 6 months. My 11dd is 2 years behind. She just has always been about that far behind. I figure that if she graduates with a solid 10th grade education, she will be far ahead of many other students.

NOTHING. There is no teacher's guide. If you have the books and a 3x5 card (that you cut a notch out of) that is all you need. http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/3RsPlusRead.html Make sure to check out the getting started stuff, join the yahoo group for lots of GREAT free information, printouts, helps from others, etc. Check out the UK site as well for even more information (link is on the right on the link above). The books look so simple but they WORK. 10-15 minutes a day is all you need. Honestly, I have my 13dd with an IQ of 38 and LDs (yes, you can have LDs and be cognitively impaired as well) reading the ARI 3 books right now. She was a child that was never supposed to be able to learn to read. She is now reading many other library books, the Bible, her ACE paces, etc.

I would pop over to the learning challenges board for lots of great information. For natural stuff http://www.omegabrite.com is all my dh takes and it works very well. My girls though take that along with meds. They take 3-4 capsules per day. According to our pdoc (psychiatrist) the heart stuff was more kids that HAD heart trouble but no one knew but on the meds they found it. She did an EKG before starting meds just to rule that out. Different meds have different side effects and what works great for one kid, might not work for another kid. It does take some trial and error to find the right med. I would HIGHLY suggest that you find a specialist to work with while you are just starting out. They have a lot more experience in this area than a reg. pediatrician.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Large-Wooden-Horse-Barn-with-Corral-126_W0QQitemZ400000909952QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item400000909952&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 Here is the one my girls have. VERY nice quality. http://cgi.ebay.com/New-X-Large-Wooden-Stable-Barn-Corral-wood-Breyer-Horse_W0QQitemZ110313706915QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item110313706915&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 Edited to say this is the one they have. They have the x-large one. We have the extra fencing as well.

They are Christian in background. There is a Bible verse and character trait in each pace (you could skip these if you wanted). I will say though that many of the sentences used for English grammar, the math story problems, even the discussion in Social Studies and Science is based on Biblical themes, stories, etc. I have heard that there is a secular publisher out there that used these but removed the Christian stuff but I don't know who that is. ACE goes from PreK through 12th grade.

If you are open to used books I can post on the yahoo group and see if anyone has any for sale. [

If you can afford them, I would see about getting the next levels of the I See Sam books. Levels 4 and 5 really crank up the reading. After those, my 13dd is able to read much of the Bible on her own, many other books, etc. I honestly don't know much about Barton but we have very good luck with the I See Sam books and Apples and Pears for Spelling---easy to use, doesn't take much time, and quite inexpensive (as far as special needs programs go).

Does your DD have some prenatal exposure to alcohol? That can cause a lot of learning issues--even with no facial features of FAS. I have found that ACE Paces http://www.schooloftomorrow.com to be very effective for my girls who are struggling. They are also adopted with lots of medical/learning issues. It is very simple to use, straight forward, etc.

I have a kiddo that is similar--seizures (but hers are mirgaseizures and drop seizures, not grand mal), ADHD, LDs, lower IQ, etc. She will be 12 in 3 weeks. She is on Lamictal and that helps the seizures and migraines--as well as mood and cognition. She does take Dexedrine for her ADHD--we waited a few years to start but it has made a HUGE difference for her in learning--she gained 2 years of skills in 6 months after we started meds. She should be in 6th grade and is doing 4th grade ACE but doing well so I am happy. I would be apt to try the meds---after talking with the neuro about which one would be best to try first (and realize that it can take some trial and error to find the right med). We though also do the fish oils (with neuros blessing). My girls each take 3 of the http://www.omegabrite.com capsules per day. They certainly help but aren't enough for the ADHD for them. Have you ever checked out the I See Sam reading program? It is very effective for struggling kids, easy to use and less than $250 for K-3rd grade levels (if he is below that). Apples and Pears is a great spelling program for struggling kids as well.

I think you need to be a little more aggressive in their treatment. They need more than what your ped. can give them. I would ask to see a pediatric pulmonologist for each of them to develop a treatment plan--both preventative and rescue (illness) plan. I would search out WHAT the trigger might be. For a friend of mine, all 4 of her kids had food allergies and once they figured those out they went from several treatments per day per child to only a couple of neb treatments a year between the kids. Environmental allergies can also play a role in asthma. Acidophillus (we use Supremadohillus from http://www.houstonni.com) on a daily basis has really helped with illness here. They also take omegabrite.com 3 capsules per day but I don't know if that directly helps the asthma stuff or not.

These things take some time but I am finding that http://www.savingsangel.com is helping our budget. Grocery game and others are out there as well. They help you find the LOWEST possible price on items and then combine them with coupons (from the paper and on-line) to get items very cheap. This week they had toilet paper for free, salsa for 34 cents a jar, name brand cereal for $1/box and then a free gallon of milk, etc. Many grocery (and even produce) items are 75% or more off. Now I would generally buy on sale or the store brand but this is still saving me money---plus I am getting better quality stuff. I find that it is cheaper to buy stuff at rock bottom prices and then build your menus around what is in the pantry--rather than buying stuff for specific menus.

My first thought is...........can dad help out here? Boys and fighting sounds like something dad needs to help work on.

I would talk to the social workers and see EXACTLY what is involved. They might need to place the baby with a sibling, etc. Also, on the father, they need to make SURE SURE SURE to terminate rights on the father----even if mom didn't list one. The courts then need to terminate on the potential father (or how ever they word it). That can come back to haunt you if in 1-2 years the father finds out he has a child he never knew about. An adopted child can be added to your insurance. Not sure about an adoption subsidy--that would depend on the case when you petition for adoption. Also, once you adopt, YOU have final say about the level of openness in the adoption. I would though think long and hard about the level of openness you want (or don't want). I would say that if mom has 7 prior terminations, a history of drug abuse, homelessness, etc. then there is VERY likely some mental health issues at play here.

Meds have made a HUGE difference here. It did take some trial and error to find the right meds/dose, etc. but they really help. With all that you said though, I would suggest a developmental pediatrician for further work up. There might be more here than just ADHD and by figuring out the pieces you can help put the puzzle together.

Check out the I See Sam readers http://www.roadstoeverywhere.com/3RsPlusRead.html (BRI 1). They also mention the use of a cursor or notched 3x5 card which helps the child blend from left to right.