My kids have DSi's. My husband told me that the 3DS's are bad for kids' eyes. You might want to look into that.

Does he know how to type? My daughter with dysgraphia cannot organize her thoughts and put pen to paper, but it all flows very well when she types.

Just an FYI, we don't need to supplement with Omega 6 or 9. We get plenty of these in our regular diets (too much, in fact) and if we get WAY too much then it throws off the balance and can cause all sorts of trouble.. I just did a quick search and this was the first link I clicked on.. http://www.omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.com/omega-3-6-9.html

Nordic Naturals Children's DHA strawberry flavored gel balls. My kids swallow them whole though so they don't taste a thing! ETA: Make sure whichever brand you choose, you make sure they do 3rd party testing for mercury contamination AND make sure it doesn't come from a fish farm.. Your fish oil should come from a wild fish source.

Your pediatrician is in Texas?? Our DAN is definitely a level 2 (since 2008). I would take a level 1 pedi any day.. Better than our pedi who has no clue about this stuff. Do you know anyone near OKC?

I think it would probably help me if I ate gluten because I break out in a burning, itchy, skin-splitting rash on my right hand within 30 minutes of gluten ingestion (even just cross contamination).. So I think I also have an IgE allergic response along with my Celiac. Not sure though as I have never been tested.

:iagree: I actually have nightmares that I'm sitting there chowing down on gluten and then I suddenly realize it in my dream and it's too late to do anything about it.. :ack2:

:iagree: And I noticed you are in OK.. Who is your pediatrician? My daughter's DAN doctor is in Jenks. We live closer to OKC though so would like to find a good pedi who is also a DAN. Feel free to PM me.

Poke around at http://www.militaryhomeschoolers.com/ .

You can be on the spectrum AND have these issues with digestion.. It's not an either/or situation.. In fact, most people on the spectrum do have some sort of digestion issue, food intolerance, food sensitivity, or food allergy. Most good doctors now realize that Autism is a "whole body disorder" and not just a mental issue by itself. Even Temple Grandin had colitis. And I am willing to bet that since your dd has a history of seizures and is having issues with working memory, etc.. That she probably falls into this category of food intolerances.. Gluten is the BIG one that causes the most problems, especially seizures. Your pedi cannot do much for you as far as hunting down specific food sensitivities. If you want to do some testing, I would recommend testing through Great Plains Labs http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com We did the IgG food allergy testing through them and it was very accurate. Check to see if they file with your insurance. You can also test through Alletess http://www.foodallergy.com . Again, you want the IgG food allergy test. You need a doctor's signature for these tests. The problem is, many doctors just aren't aware of how IgG allergies affect the brain so they don't sign based on their ignorance alone. Our pedi signed it for two of my girls. Here's a hint.. Don't ASK your doctor to sign it.. Just TELL your doctor you would like to run this test to rule out IgG allergies based on some symptoms, "so please sign here". Be matter of fact and don't take no for an answer.. Be prepared to educate your doctor. He might say he can run those tests for you, but he will run the wrong tests.. he will do a Celiac screen and an IgE blood test OR he will send you to an allergy clinic where they will proceed to prick your child full of potential allergens (the RAST) and other torturous methods that will tell you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. If your doctor can't help you (won't sign) then you might be better off finding a doctor such as a Naturopath who actually understands all of this and can help your daughter. Seizures, working memory issues, bipolar, etc. are STRONGLY linked to gluten sensitivity so I would do everything you can to rule this out. Another option for gluten testing is with Enterolab.. You will want to do the stool sample test if you go through them. OR you can just do a food elimination trial, but that is a stressful thing to go through and can be confusing. Usually there is more than one food that is affecting these kids.. And when you have a "leaky gut" (also called Gut & Psychology Syndrome) situation going on, there is ALWAYS more than one food causing problems. For one of my daughters, we had to remove gluten, casein (milk protein), and soy. Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this.

:iagree: The BEST treatment for OCD is CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) and ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention). If you can find a therapist who is familiar with these techniques and will work with children.. then that is your best bet.. Talk therapy alone isn't worth it for OCD.

This acronym is not for school in general and you may have already heard of it.. It's for reading time... DEAR time - Drop Everything And Read

This thread is very reminicent of about 10 years ago for me when my oldest was around 4. I remember being "that mom" who thought ADHD was a joke and the kids were just spoiled and watched too much tv and drank too much soda. I thought depression was a result of bad parenting. I thought aggression and rage issues were also a result of bad parenting. I thought medicating kids was horrible and we should just let kids be kids and stop trying to slap a label on every child who wasn't a robot. Fast forward 10 years and my kids are diagnosed with alphabet soup.. We have Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, auditory processing disorder, Asperger's, NVLD, convergence insufficiency, retained primitive reflexes, dysgraphia, poor working memory, slow processing speed, sensory processing disorder, etc. etc. We had to resort to meds a couple of times for severe OCD (but we are currently med free). I never thought we would be "that family" with all of the "issues". But as it turns out, all 3 of my girls have issues severe enough to warrant diagnosis. My son is the only neurotypical child in the house. My mother (now 56) was diagnosed as learning disabled and hyperactive as a child in the early 60's. She had sensory issues, auditory processing issues, severe anxiety, and possible dyslexia (or visual processing issues). Unfortunately for my mother, they did not have supports in place for kids like her in the 60's/70's. She never made it past 6th grade. She COULDN'T LEARN. She had ZERO guidance in life, ended up in an abusive marriage with no education, etc... Couldn't support herself or us kids after the divorce.. That's definitely NOT how I want my children's story to end. We have accessed many therapies that would not otherwise be available to us if we did not have the "labels". Keep in mind that when a child has a certain disorder.. say Asperger's.. There is usually a lot going on in that same region of the brain that causes a lot of other issues.. working memory deficits, slow processing, auditory processing, etc.. It's not that we are looking to pile a bunch of diagnoses on our kids.. It's just that the psychs usually find these things during the testing process for Asperger's or Autism or ADHD or whatever the child is there for. So they map this all out on the report to give therapists a clearer understanding of what areas the child needs help with. Rarely does a child have just one thing going on. And FWIW, I was one of those kids who went undiagnosed (as I now realize). A milder case than what my mother dealt with.. but regardless..I always just thought I was dumb, stupid, socially retarded, whatever.. Mostly just stupid. Oh how I wish someone had given me a "label" and told me I wasn't stupid. What a difference that would have made in my self-esteem. I was actually very smart.. Just had slow processing speed and auditory processing issues. But because I was slow to communicate, I thought I was just plain stupid. And because I had concluded that I was dumb, I didn't try in high school and NEVER thought I could make it through college.. So didn't care to go (I actually did, but later quit). If someone would have just tested me for auditory processing disorder and then gave me some therapy for it.. My self-esteem would have been preserved and I would have aimed higher. This is why I am not afraid to discuss my children's diagnoses with them. I don't EVER want them to feel like they are dumb, stupid, slow, etc. My daughters actually have very high IQ's.. My 10yr old has an IQ in the 140's, but she can't respond to people when they speak to her. She can't follow directions in a classroom setting.. She can't understand the directions in her grammar book EVER. She can't even make a freaking friend. But I'll be ****ed if she grows up thinking she is stupid because that is one thing she is NOT. So I openly discuss her Asperger's diagnosis with her and her auditory processing disorder. I will make sure she always has whatever supports in place she needs so that she can do whatever she **** well pleases in life. Also, there IS an epidemic of ADHD and Autism in this country and it's caused by our crappy food supply, overuse of antibiotics, GMO's, increases in food allergies and autoimmune disorders.. preservatives, dyes, etc.. It's not that these things are being over-diagnosed. It's that our environment has become toxic so more kids are being affected. Why is it that only the developed countries are affected by these disorders? Do some research on this topic and you might learn something. Here's a video to get you started.. And another.. And another.. And psychs do not slap labels on kids carelessly.. Teachers in public schools tend to do that.. but psychs are VERY CAREFUL to not overdiagnose or misdiagnose.

I have 2 daughters with OCD and a 3rd with OCD tendencies.. One of them was severe at one time, but all are doing well today. The thing about OCD is that it can go from tolerable to a nightmare situation almost overnight. And when that happens, you need help YESTERDAY. The problem then becomes the waiting lists to get in to see the psychs. Sometimes it takes months to get in. So it might be a good idea to at least get your foot in the door, get a diagnosis, etc.. so that maybe if things do go from bad to worse (as they did here) you at least know where to go and can get in quickly. I remember begging our pediatrician to find us a psychiatrist NOW who does not have a waiting list. My daughter's OCD was so severe, she could not function. OCD is a MONSTER. That said, therapy did not even touch OCD for us. We ultimately got relief with meds first (Zoloft), then with diet and supplements.. We discovered a gluten intolerance within our family, removed it, and the OCD disappeared. We were able to wean my daughter from the meds successfully and the only time she regressed back into severe OCD was about a year after we went gluten free.. She was given some donuts by a careless adult (who knew she was allergic, but didn't care). She had symptoms for about 6 weeks after that and it was even more severe than ever before.. A complete nightmare situation that I never thought I would live through... But as long as she stays gluten free, she has no OCD symptoms. Another cause for OCD is PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptoccocus). If the OCD seemed to start overnight and if it doesn't respond to SSRI's, there is a good chance the OCD is PANDAS related. PANDAS is a legit diagnosis recognized by the NIMH. There are blood tests that can help with diagnosing this. I've learned that many cases of OCD are autoimmune related so it's important to rule out any autoimmune issues that could be the root cause (Celiac, Non-celiac gluten intolerance, PANDAS, etc.)

FLL Easy Grammar Systems Growing With Grammar RightStart Math Teaching Textbooks Math SOTW Turning them loose in the library What is he good at and what does he struggle with? Things that were PURE TORTURE were Singapore, Saxon, Analytical Grammar, and making them read books they didn't want to read..:D That just doesn't work for Aspies.

This thread is music to my ears.. I've been trying to get rid of flouride in my house, but haven't figured out exactly how since some of my kids don't like some of the alternative toothpastes. NO toothpaste sounds good to me!!:D

Make sure you have ALL account numbers and passwords to every utility company, on-line banking, etc. etc. etc... Especially those that draft automatically from your husband's debit card. One month after my dh deployed, his debit/Mastercard number was stolen overseas and sold back to someone in the U.S. We had about $500 charged to a Target somewhere in Ohio. USAA canceled his card and sent me a new one (which I had to send to his sub overseas) BUT I had to call every single bill that was attached to his card (cell phones, storage place, DirecTV, Netflix, and God knows what else).. I didn't have all the passwords that he had set up.. It was a nightmare!!!!!!!!!!! I think maybe the officers are targeted overseas more because they know they make more money than enlisted. He used his card somewhere when they pulled into port and someone got his number.. He never lost possession of his card.. They just got his number somehow. And he's usually extremely careful about this sort of thing so we are still baffled about how it happened!:confused:

:iagree: Anyone with mental health issues should investigate the possibility of a gluten sensitivity. Celiac testing will NOT show this type of sensitivity. IgG testing would be the best bet.

My 8yr old daughter still has trouble too.. I taught her to hold her hands up and look at the way her index fingers and thumbs go in the directions an imaginary b and d would and to think of the word "bed" as she does this. She always gets it correct now, but she ALWAYS has to reference her hands. I must mention that my daughter does have some learning disabilities, Asperger's, ADHD, possible dyslexia, convergence insufficiency, etc. Here is a visual of the bed idea (without the hands).. http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/b-or-d-new-posters-for-bd-reversal/

Could be a number of things.. working memory (aka short term memory) deficits, auditory processing disorder, visual processing issues, visual-spatial issues... Sometimes a child will have more than one of these going on..

Has anyone been to WDW in February? That's when we are planning to go. My husband will have the opportunity to take lots of leave at that time. I'm worried about the weather, but dh says it will be around 70 degrees. I don't mind needing sweaters and long pants, but I DO NOT want to deal with coats and nippy winds!!

My oldest has been homschooled since day 1. After years of begging me to let her try public school, we finally decided to try last year. She had to take a math test, English test, science test, and history test to find out which grade to put her in (but they don't put you ahead if you test high). She tested right into grade level even with some learning challenges.. She has working memory issues, visual-spatial issues, and motor dysgraphia (which translates into ADHD minus the H, poor math performance, and fine motor issues). She is super talented with words, reading, spelling, etc.. and has been reading books non-stop since the age of 3.. So she had an edge there. So she went straight into 7th grade where she was supposed to be.. She stayed in public school for 3 months before she decided it wasn't for her..:tongue_smilie:

Thank you so much Julie! Awesome information!:)

Teach him a cool acronym for the order of operations.. I know the popular one is Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. But if you could come up with one he loves (or have him come up with one) he would be more likely to abide by it.

I try to schedule things like "Read pp. 44-100 by Friday" or a writing assignment due by a certain day and things like that so that dd has to be constantly aware of "floating" assignments and try to stay on top of them. I hold her accountable for poor time management and not getting the assignment done. Later this year, she has a more complex research assignment that will take weeks to map out and complete. She will be responsible for completing it without my nagging or reminding. She also is in co-op classes right now where she has to complete so many assignments before the next co-op class. She is learning about deadlines and schedule managment that way too.