DS only had problems with a couple of kids. It didn't ruin him or anything. He still says nice things about the boy in math. When I look back, that kid was obsessed with son's word processor and accidentally knocked it off his desk. My issue, besides thinking the boy was a world class turd, was concern for DS refusing to use his accommodations. In my mind, I couldn't reconcile some idiot kid or teacher or other parent influencing my child in a negative way towards his accommodations. DS was beginning to deny himself the legitimate use of a device. These people have no clue what we are dealing with and it is none of their business. Thankfully, DS moved on. Me, not so much.

I have never repeated that story before. The teacher was a PE guy and did not know. The student...well, I don't know what to say. He was not very popular. Cheap shots are called cheap shots for a reason.

My boy tells me when he needs to be with his friends. DH doesn't need to tell me because my son is very clear. Treasure this moment of contentment because your boys will eventually start wanting to hang out with their friends but can't drive. At that time, you can hand over the car keys to your husband and suggest he take them where they need to go because socialization is very important. And then there will be cell phones and a cash transfer. Regular schooling is always an option for later and I am thankful that OhE mentioned that. During the logic stage, DS sat in the classroom and his biggest issue was feeling different and using his accommodations. Peer pressure is huge at that age, and he did not want to be the only student using a calculator in math. One or two students gave him grief about it. DS only felt comfortable using a math facts chart because one was already handing on his math classroom wall.... Get this. A substitute teacher administered the 6th grade math final. There was a failure in the system and the substitute would not allow DS to use his math facts sheet or calculator. The teacher singled my boy out in front of the entire class and was terse, telling him to put the items away. Afterwards, one of the vocal students that did not like DS being accommodated actually rose his hand and requested the substitute teacher remove the math facts sheet from the wall, which the teacher did. How is that for socialization?

I have the Adolescent book, and it feels too early to say whether I like the book or not. We have done self-talk exercises. I have tried to apply the concept with his daily work. I feel like I need to purchase or make posters to hang about the house so that DS and I can be readily reminded of specific self-talk strategies and be consistent. I am a problem solver and would argue that problem solving is my gift. Breaking down a process that comes naturally to me is hard. It is hard to explain.

Thank-you Ladies!!! I'll look for an ed therapist and life coach. Son's child psych was useless. Apparently she specializes in meds and nothing else. She seemed surprised when I suggested that DS needed to develop more EF supports to direct his new found attention. :closedeyes:

Yes, I do have one of the Linquisystems books. DS and I sat down together and performed a self talk exercise together. DS needs someone outside of me to review this info. We work together a lot and the stinker was too busy being amusing to take me seriously.

What professional sits down and works through EF strategies with teenagers and young adults? I spoke with the child psych yesterday and she was clueless. I need a direction to look or keyword. I need someone that works with people using materials like the products sold at Linquisystems. Thank-you, ~h

Are the concepts in the literature difficult or are the Southern colloquialisms too much? When DS was 5th and 6th grade, he completed hands-on book reports. At a younger age, he wrote beginning, middle, and ends for each chapter, and he drew story maps about the story's setting and people. The story maps were very simple. For difficult stories, we watch documentaries or read info online about the author to help establish a context. If the story is historical, we try to look at the customs and times in which the story was written. We watch adaptations on Netflix or Prime and will read the Cliff Notes. DS will listen to the story using audio books with Immersion reading on Kindle. On example would be The Odyssey by Homer. In 7th grade, Ds listened to the Mary Pope Osborne version. We moved over to the Ian McKellen/ Fagles translation this year and it was amazing.

My 16yo is extremely social. In the fall, he took a very pretty and sweet girl to a dance. He eats lunch with friends after class on Thursday, and I just had 7 teenagers in my house watching a movie, snacking out, and burning down our Christmas tree. Son's closest friend lives a 20 minutes drive away. It takes about 40 minutes to get to his friend that he's known since pre-k. Social events are not an issue for us.

Your son's writing is beautiful. DS uses the spell checker with his word processor for everything except Spanish. Some dyslexics and ESL people use word prediction software like Ginger that works within their word processor. I do not know whether a spell checker is allowed alongside typing accommodations for university entrance exams. You may want to explore that now if you think you might go the accommodated route. We wound up using IEW because I hired an O-G and IEW certified teacher that works with dyslexic kiddos. As long as appropriate scaffolds are in place, I expect most writing programs would work with tweaks. Dr. Haynes gave a writing webinar last year that discussed scaffolding for young kiddos that struggle with written output. Some kids with motor issues seriously struggle to type. Watch your son and explore alternative touch typing methods is he continues to struggle. Good luck and please let us know how everything works out.

So basically, you started teaching your oldest child to read when he was a late 3 yo and are troubled that the reading program you chose was ineffecttive. Did it ever occur to you that he was not developmentally ready to read? I cannot imagine how that is ANY reading program's fault. I am no super fan of LOE, but I have used it. I certainly would not recommend it for every student. As teachers, we are in control. We can slow the curriculum down, teach the material incrementally, adjust to our students, or buy new stuff. It is not like there is a team of curriculum commandos sitting outside your house waiting to kick your windows out and shoot you should you decide to pop in a Leap Frog video. This thread is so weird.

She sounds like she is low tone and needs to be doing exercises for prim reflexes, posture, static/dynamic balance, and overall strength with small weights and yoga ball. A really good pediatric PT addressed my son and DD's issues. Wheelbarrow walking is great for arm and hand strength.

Dysgraphia is a funny thing and it is often misunderstood. It affects both sequencing of thought and legibility. No one told me that when DS was little and we had to figure that out for ourselves. I was told to hand the boy a keyboard and he would be fine. Early on, I was very reluctant to give up handwriting practice and surrender to the keyboard, but the keyboard has afforded DS independence and the ability to grow. I have met at least 4 boys my son's age that are unable to complete regular high school writing work because they can't write or type. They are hobbled in science, history, literature, and logic. It is a hot mess. DS learned typing in the 5th grade. We took about 4.5 months to learn typing when he was 11yo. DS practiced 5 days per week at 20 minutes per day. He started typing for every subject except math in the 6th grade. He uses an Echo SmartPen and laptop in all of his classes. In your situation, you will need to experiment. Maybe have him use a speech to text sw for essays. For essay organization, maybe look at mindmapping sw. DS uses Inspiration on the Ipad for outlines and papers. I have found that students are resistant to learning how to type as they get older. For that reason, maybe have your DS practice typing now and get his proficiency up to 30 wpm at 95-98%. For essay, you need to scaffold until he internalizes the process. Work in shorter time periods and spread out the work over a couple of days. DS used IEW and I feel like the KWOs benefited him. He also used Elegant Essay which was helpful, but we have moved on from IEW because I feel like his writing needs more depth and maturity and IEW wasn't teaching that. We currently use EIW because it feels like it misses gaps left by IEW. I taught DS cursive using HWT and later Getty-Dubay Italics. He never suffered any confusion with either font and he practiced cursive while copying his spelling words. As soon as we stopped practicing, he stopped cursive and reverted back to print. He was slow as molasses while performing copywork and then I couldn't read it afterwards anyways. I just found the entire handwriting exercise pointless. My son's spelling has improved with age. Maybe practice spelling using some visualizing strategies. I don't how to advise college entrance exam accommodations. Remain flexible and keep your eyes open for internships. I am presently deep into applying for ACT/SAT accommodations myself. Good luck!

Maybe explore Zones of Regulation to help with emotional control and get an OT/pediatric PT evaluation to address any prim reflexes and other developmental motor issues that affect behavior and learning.

Words of advice? Maybe consider stepping over to the Learning Challenges Board.

http://autismchaostocalm.com/how-i-taught-my-nonverbal-child-with-autism-to-read/

Well, while you are awaiting VT to begin, start using quality audio books with him, colorful coffee table type books in subjects that he enjoys, and science documentaries and shows. My son was tested by a licensed clinical psychologist and given a full neuropsychological evaluation. Maybe start calling around now to find one in your area, but you will need to wait until after VT therapy for any testing. If your DS is dyslexic, the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons is a bad choice. You want a curriculum that is multisensory, explicit, and phonics based. Maybe administer Barton's pretest and see what happens.

CIA Physical Science covered it along with the 5th state of matter known as the BEC or Bose-Einstein Condensates. I learned about plasma on NOVA first.

Heck, I'll do some math problems if you agree to post a video of your math dances. That sounds hilarious.

For the sequencing and organizational aspect of writing, watch Dr. Charles Haynes webinar on working with students. The webinar is geared towards dyslexics; however, do not be deterred by that aspect because his scaffolding approach would benefit all students that struggle.

Just sit down with him and knock it out. If a problem exists, you are not going to know unless you sit down with him and observe where any break downs are occurring. We love Singapore. DD is a 2nd grader and takes maybe 15 minutes to do her work. In k and 1st grade, I scribed for her, she used a highlighter to mark problems, and some days she used a whiteboard. Whenever she comes across pages that are too crowded, I rewrite the problems in a spiral bound notebook so that she can work them. I sometimes allow her to use Splash Math on the Ipad when she needs to practice math facts.

I think the whining is a sign that the O-G is working. O-G work is literally creating new neural pathways in the brain, and that process is not always pleasant. Maybe set aside some graham crackers and tea to reward him when he pushes through and does well.

Son's Wilson tutor and I were sitting in a 5 person pre-5th grade year meeting when someone mentioned DS's spelling. The staff Wilson tutor and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. The adults around us just looked at us very confused until she explained that DS struggled with spelling.

We will be seeing the Dr. soon, so I will ask her. Caffeine has no effect on him. I want DS to be re-evaluated with a NEPSY II on meds to see if his baseline shifts at all. Oh, and I found this pro-med website yesterday. I am not looking to debate and am just throwing the link out there.

If I were paying the high $$$s for an O-G program specifically designed for dyslexics, I would do precisely what the program says. My eldest is diagnosed dysgraphia and dyslexic. He learned cursive in 2nd and 3rd grades and practiced handwriting during spelling practice and review. I used LOE with my DD and selected print. She read quickly, easily, and could not keep up with the writing component of the program plus she had motor issues that took OT and PT time to sort out. DD is 2nd grade and learning NAC because I like that font better. If cursive is important to you, you could do as MerryAtHope suggests. Monitor your child closely and if cursive is too much, stop and revert to print. I love, love, love LOE's white board, and we never touched the sandpaper letters past the letter a. DD did fine with just knowing the stroke names and could verbalize them. ETA..DD is not dyslexic though.