jkl
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Posts posted by jkl
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On 2/28/2023 at 4:14 PM, kbutton said:
Working on mental health is important!
I am looking at this again with fresh eyes since others chimed in more recently, and I have some thoughts that didn't occur to me before.
NVLD is not a diagnosis anymore. It doesn't mean that knowing the profile fits won't yield helpful ideas, but it's not a diagnosis. It's sometimes given in a way that excuses the evaluator from giving an ASD diagnosis--as in, they can say it's NVLD instead because it's a better fit or whatever, but if NVLD is off the table...what is their explanation? With NVLD, verbal stuff is a relative strength. That doesn't mean that there couldn't also be an underlying language issue--I don't know anyone with an NVLD profile that hasn't gone on to have a language diagnosis or overall difficulty with language (though it might be possible), and sometimes they get an ASD diagnosis later. I have two kids with sky-high language scores on IQ testing that both have narrow but deep language difficulties that didn't turn up until 13+ and required nuanced language testing from someone who works with autistic teens to ferret it out (one of my kids has ASD, and the other has hints of it, but he's missing some of the key features).
Language issues are easily missed. Also, some kinds of language issues can push someone over from maybe ASD to being definitive for it, depending on what is holding the evaluator back from giving the ASD diagnosis.
I wonder if she needs something hands on that doesn't require non-verbal thinking/conceptualization...maybe something that's supportive of working memory but in a different way.
This could be a language issue. Measurement could potentially tax her non-verbal skills and is requires a lot of fraction-adjacent thinking.
Does doing fractions on a number line (counting by 1/4, 1/2, etc.) help at all? It's visual, but it's more like "regular" counting and skip counting than some ways of handling fractions.
Anyway, I hope Rod and Staff is going well!
You are right. Her official diagnosis is not NVLD. It is officially OCD, Disorder of Mathematics, Delay of Motor Function, and "other" (visual-spatial and fluid-reasoning deficits). But in the final report and in our follow-up meeting, the evaluator used terms like non-verbal difficulties many times. Thanks for your suggestions!
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Thanks. She is on meds. 2 evals say no to Autism, though I still wonder... We are back to doing Rod and Staff slowly and together for now. It is going ok. We will re-evaluate in a month. 🙂 The mental health stuff is our biggest obstacle and our biggest focus right now.
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Thanks so much everyone! We decided to go back to Rod and Staff--slowly and doing problems together on the white board. It is going ok. Not great, but not terrible. We'll try this for a while and see what happens.
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On 2/3/2023 at 5:54 PM, Malam said:
Jousting Armadillos? It's very much unlike many other prealgebra curricula and might not trigger math compulsions the way a more traditional curriculum might. The downside is a lack of practice, but you could use Hands-On Equations for that.
I've never heard of that one, but I'll check it out. Thanks!
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23 hours ago, Green Bean said:
R&S- focuses on arithmetic only. Straightforward
She actually was doing ok with R&S last year. We got half-way through the 4th level. I switched her to MUS because I thought hands-on materials might help her to more easily grasp the concepts, but maybe simple and straightforward would be better for her at the moment. Hmmm. Thanks for the suggestion!
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2 hours ago, wendyroo said:
I would be very tempted to focus on fractions. That would be MUS Epsilon, but if you question if MUS is for her, there are other good resources. Hands on Equations offers a Developing Fractions Sense product. Or there is Keys to Fractions...and if that worked well for her, there is also Keys to Measurement, Keys to Decimals, Keys to Percents, etc.
Along with that, I would want to work on word problems. One product I really like are Singapore Process Skills books. They explicitly teach problem solving tools. You could just choose the level that seems appropriate for her.
Another, very different, resource is Numberless Math Problems which might capitalize on her language strengths - there are no numbers, just math ideas to express verbally. The two downsides of the book in my opinion are 1) The problems are not arranged logically - the really hard ones and really easy ones are randomly mixed, so I had to put them in an order that made sense for my kids, and 2) There are no answers...which is good because it encourages discussion and collaboration rather than relying on the One Right Answer, but it does make the book more teacher intensive.
Thank you so much for the recommendations! I like the idea of a focus on fractions and word problems. I know Ronit Bird has a fraction resource that might work for her as well.
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28 minutes ago, wendyroo said:
Does she truly understand the concepts of place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division? How is she at word problems? What about algebraic thinking? How is she with rudimentary fractions and decimals? Can she add money? Can she read a ruler?
Those are some of the questions I would be considering when choosing a curriculum.
Thanks so much for the input! I think she mostly understands the concepts of place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Word problems are extremely difficult for her. She has very little understanding of fractions and none of decimals beyond money. She is pretty good at working with money but struggles with measurement. I am feeling overwhelmed because there is so much she struggles with in math. Good to know about the calculators though!
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My 14 year old has a variety of mental health and learning struggles. She has a collection of disabilities under the non-verbal learning disorder label. She has dyscalculia. She has severe OCD. Many of her compulsions revolve around numbers. She is in intensive therapy for her OCD and making progress slowly but steadily and we are thrilled. This is going to be a long road for her. I have already decided that she will do another year of middle school next year, since we have been able to do very little school with her so far this year. She is a talented writer and strong in all areas of language arts. I am trying to figure out what to do with her for math. She knows her facts for all 4 basic operations. She has been at this level for over a year. I think she is ready for us to begin formal math instruction again with her, but I am unsure where to start. I have MUS Gamma and Delta, and it looks like she would place half-way through in both levels. I don't love MUS for her, and I can't put my finger on why, but so far this seems to be the best option. Does anyone have any other suggestions? i feel like she needs a combination of hands on (though she gets bogged down by the MUS rods) , lots and lots of supervised practice, and maybe informal games. Thanks for any input anyone may have!!! I will cross post this on the learning challenges board as well.
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My 14 year old has a variety of mental health and learning struggles. She has a collection of disabilities under the non-verbal learning disorder label. She has dyscalculia. She has severe OCD. Many of her compulsions revolve around numbers. She is in intensive therapy for her OCD and making progress slowly but steadily and we are thrilled. This is going to be a long road for her. I have already decided that she will do another year of middle school next year, since we have been able to do very little school with her so far this year. She is a talented writer and strong in all areas of language arts. I am trying to figure out what to do with her for math. She knows her facts for all 4 basic operations. She has been at this level for over a year. I think she is ready for us to begin formal math instruction again with her, but I am unsure where to start. I have MUS Gamma and Delta, and it looks like she would place half-way through in both levels. I don't love MUS for her, and I can't put my finger on why, but so far this seems to be the best option. Does anyone have any other suggestions? i feel like she needs a combination of hands on (though she gets bogged down by the MUS rods) , lots and lots of supervised practice, and maybe informal games. Thanks for any input anyone may have!!! I will cross post this on the learning challenges board as well.
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On 5/2/2021 at 8:17 PM, prairiewindmomma said:
Politics is a really wide, wide field.
Generally speaking, he should have a full year of US History and a half year of US Government on a standard high school transcript.
If you are wanting to add electives, you might consider things like:
*international relations
*international political economy
*content areas for traditional lobbyists/politicians: monetary & fiscal policy, social justice issues, infrastructure & agencies, etc.
*constitutional law
I would not put him into Famous Men of Greece, or the like. I'd start having him read from where politicians and lawyers read: The Economist, SCOTUSblog, foreign policy.com, and so on. If you wanted to give it a title, I'd call it "policy research" and also have him scope out the major US think tanks. Policy research is the gateway to policy analysis. (Policy analysis adds social science research and economics analysis.)
My son loves this idea of "policy research". Any other suggestion for quality sources along the same lines as The Economist, foreignpolicy.com, and the Supreme Court blog? I'd like to make a big list and then narrow it down. Still thinking how we might like to organize his studies.
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So many great ideas here! Thank you all so much! This past year, his civics class was just a broad overview of the US government (3 branches, etc.). I'm going to sit down with ds and use these ideas and see if we can make a plan. Thanks again! 🙂
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My son loves everything political. He watches C-SPAN every moment that he can. He is truly interested in the entire process, and enjoys reading articles about issues from different points of view. This year, he did a civics class using Notgrass. Next year, he is requesting as much history (I have that covered) and politics/government as I can give him. I'm trying to come up with a class that is different than civics. I have several resources that I think he would enjoy (a Founding Fathers Great Courses class, a workbook that he wants to work through about applying the Bill of Rights to Supreme Ct cases, a few other things). I'm thinking of having him keep a "political notebook" where he can keep track of current events, bills debated, etc. What he does NOT want is for me to make this too "schoolish"--so he would not like tons of big papers, etc.., which I am fine with since that is covered in his writing program. Anyone have any ideas to help me flesh this out or ideas for what I can call this course? Thanks!
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Thanks for the responses everyone! I am still reading them and thinking about what to do (if anything). It's nice to know it's not that odd of a problem to have a high school kid who is a poor speller!
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Ds15 has done years of spelling workbooks. Last year, we used Spelling Wisdom to see if another method might help. He always gets great scores on his spelling tests, and he reads for hours at night before bed, but it just doesn't transfer! I'm trying to figure out if I should be trying to do something about this, and if so, what? Is there a spelling bootcamp-type program for high school? I see IEW has a spelling program for this level, so maybe we should try this?? The other day, ds spelled certain like "curtin". His 9 year old sister told him how to spell it correctly. I feel like I don't want him to go out into the world in a few years unless he can spell at least a little better. 🙂 Advice?
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So, we decided to switch dd back and do Math Mammoth 4. Dh will do it with her 2 times per week and I will do it twice. On the fifth day, she will do a MM review sheet. Thanks everyone for the help!
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On 9/5/2020 at 7:46 AM, OKBud said:
I might be being really dense, but what do you need to teach with MM that take more than a few minutes? When we've used it, I had to at most reword directions in the worktext.
It's so wonderful that your daughter has a mathematics program she loves! Worth it's weight in gold.
Ha! For some reason teaching MM and helping her with problems she doesn't understand or gets incorrect completely drains my (limited) energy like no other math program ever has! I enjoy teaching R&S and CLE! I think it's because it is hard for me to wrap my brain around Math Mammoth.
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So, today I put the first few pages from MM4 in front of dd9 and she was back to her old self, enjoying math, chatting about the problems as she solved them mentally, etc. This is a real problem for me because i don't want to teach MM 🙂 I am trying to think out of the box a little (and I haven't given up on the Horizon idea) because she was like a different kid with her old friend MM today! I am going to talk to (math loving but busy) dh and see if maybe he can take over at least a day or 2. I feel like I could pull off teaching MM a few times a week, but not often enough to get through the curriculum. (We have various therapy appointments, health crashes involving my health and that of other family members, and that is why Saxon with the DIVE was supposed to help me so much!) Still puzzling it out... Thanks for all the suggestions and support everyone!
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Thanks everyone! I will also take a look at Beast Academy and Mathematical Reasoning. I love R&S for 1 of mine, but I think it would not be a good fit for this kid. I appreciate all of the suggestions!
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17 hours ago, BusyMom5 said:
Would letting her write in the book or on a white board help? You don't Mendham you think the problems are with it. Can you talk to her? Is it a lack of you teaching? The presentation? The book? The writing?
When I ask her, she says she "hates it all." 🙂
17 hours ago, 8FillTheHeart said:I would look at Horizons.
I will look at Horizons 4 right now. Thanks!
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18 hours ago, Paradox5 said:
If she is crying about Saxon, I would not switch to CLE! It ramps up a ton at 400.
I like Lori’s suggestion of using the MM vids.. It is a familiar format for her with the help you need for teaching.
Yeah, I pulled my CLE 4 out and I think we will have the same problem..
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21 hours ago, Lori D. said:
Yikes. That's tough -- sounds like DD clicks well with a more Asian-style of presentation, and you as the teacher prefer a more traditional style of presentation. Math Mammoth and Saxon are SO very different in presentation and style of problem-solving.
Have you considered the free Math Mammoth videos to help *you* teach MM4? Together you and DD can watch the 5-10 minute video, so you see the process quickly, and can step in and help if she needs it, and DD can mostly go on her own after that. If it's a workable solution, that 5-10 minutes of watching the video got to be a LOT shorter time of involvement for you, MUCH less stress for both of you, and a much more *positive* math experience for DD. 😉 Plus, you'll be keeping up with the *how* to teach MM pretty easily and painlessly, in case DD has a question along the way.
It also sounds like DD may feel better about doing Math with you nearby, so maybe schedule Math at a time when you can be in the same room in the day at a time when you are doing something like folding laundry or making lunch or when you're schooling someone else in the same room and can look up and encourage her or answer a quick question.If MM4 even with the videos is an absolute no-go, then maybe Horizon grade 4 (or CLE, since you're already doing another level with another child) -- traditional for you, but not so much that it is overwhelming on the page for DD. I would not recommend Teaching Textbooks as it is fairly similar in perspective to Saxon.
Thanks! I saw that MM had a few on youtube, but I didn't know there were so many! This might solve the problem, though I wish there was a video for every lesson.:) Thanks so much!
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I used CLE with my now-14 year old, but I'm wondering if I might run into the same problem since it seems similar to Saxon.. I guess it is a workbook, though, so she might like that better. Teaching Textbooks I'm not sure about. Thanks for the input!
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DD9 has always been pretty strong in math. She did Math Mammoth grades 1-3. I decided to switch for 4th because I needed something easier for me to teach (I have 3 other kids, 1 with special needs, and I have a chronic illness, so easy is a must for me this year). I bought the DIVE DVDs and put her in 5/4, which looked perfect for her, if a little easy, at least at first. She absolutely hates it. She has cried almost every day. I feel like I have tried everything. I have her only doing evens or odds. I am sitting with her for the entire lesson and independent work part of it. I have copied the problems down for her. I tried yummy snacks during math. Nothing has helped. This has been going on for 5 weeks. I think we are going to need to switch, but I really find MM 4 too difficult for me to wrap my brain around and teach every day. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I think she needs a workbook or work text. I really want her to enjoy math again. Help!!
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Thanks! I'll check out the Keys to series as well.
Please help me think through math for dd14 (cross-posted)
in The Learning Challenges Board
Posted
Thank you so much for this! I am looking into all of it.
Thank you. I will read up some more and then maybe come back with questions 🙂