This just isn't going to work. I get that whole multi-sensory thing and we've been doing it just as written, but no... It seems like a fancy way to practice flashcards. Rote memory does NOT work here. And even if we get to the part where the card has three check marks and it's"mastered" ... It's not. A week later it's gone again. I feel like I'm just waiting my time. I'm really ripping my hair on this one. Surely there is some better way to do this. Anyone? This is my child who worked for months just to remember the seasons of the year and still can't tell them to you in order. Can't name the months of the year in order. Took forever to remember the number of sides on different shapes.

Thank you!!!

She has the portable walls and it does help some. I've put a thesaurus app on the iPad so she can speak words into it and get synonyms etc (since spelling is sometimes a glitch). These are great ideas. Keep them coming. :)

I will check these resources out. Going to look for that webinar tonight in fact. Word retrieval is really hard. It was one of the things that came up in the psychologists evaluation that made me want to punch the doctor. She concluded that my daughter's inability to come up with a list of names quickly/at all was because she was homeschooled and didn't know anyone. ??? We don't live in a bubble. Edited to add: Yay, going to get more use out of my Dyslexic Advantage membership!

These are some great ideas. She has decided she CAN'T write and so I think part of it is just overcoming that idea. She is amazing at so many things that having this be hard makes it seem impossible. She's definitely of the mindset that things that don't come easy, don't need to come at all. I wish that were true. Yes moving from outline to composition is the breakdown point. I think some of the trouble might be that she tries to get her ideas down and then go back afterwards and see what dress ups still need adding. I think that makes it harder because it becomes part of the editing process instead. She then has to change something and it was hard enough getting into print in the first place. I'm going to really give number 3 a shot. We could use some levity in the whole writing process. :)

Yes, I remember him saying that and I repeat it to myself frequently. It was such a relief when I first heard him say that. She definitely needs more scaffolding. I see that now. She was doing really well when we were working together more. I backed off too quickly.

Medication. I tried supplements and therapy. Sadly, the only thing that has worked here has been Zoloft. I avoided even considering it for a very long time, but in the end... Her quality of life was more important than my resistance to medication. For sure, try supplements and therapy. Lots of people have success, but don't discount the need for medication if those things fail.

I've been here talking about my youngest and dyslexia recently, but I need to shift gears for a moment. My oldest (11) really struggles with writing. We've tried several things and for the last 1.5 years we have been using IEW. She is currently about halfway through SICC-A. She doesn't love it, but it's really been the best thing for her as it breaks down the process into manageable steps. That said, she writes the shortest compositions imaginable. We are currently working on writing from stories and she came to me today asking for help because she couldn't get all of the dress ups and sentence openers in. It's not that she doesn't know how to use them. She can't get them in because she is writing so very little that there is just no place to put them! I tried helping, but there just isn't enough there to work with. When I tried pointing that out to her, she got really weepy. It's not that she isn't trying, it's just really really hard for her. Also, it's not that she is struggling just with the fictional assignments, report writing of any length is hard too. Anyone have any ideas on how I can help her expand her compositions? As further information: She types reasonably well. She also has access to Evernote and can dictate her writing if she chooses. The physical act of writing is no longer a struggle and she frequently chooses to hand write her rough draft. She doesn't struggle with outlines. She simply (ha ha, not simply at all) has a mental block when it comes time to compose. She says she can't get the words to come out like they are in her head.

She makes it with three straight lines and never reverses s. t's not that she's confused about which is which...Just can't get z going the right direction.

Can you elaborate on how OT issues might play into this? Thanks. Teresa

She doesn't seem to have trouble with the number 7 for whatever reason. That's a good idea, thanks.

Working through Barton and the hand motion for b and d reversals and it's really helping but she has a lot of trouble with reversing the letter z. Any tips?

Wow, what a tough position to be in. You definitely want him to eat and if the only time he has an appetite is the middle of the night, you should find a way to accommodate that. My daughter is on ADHD medication and her doctor is very concerned about her weight. She's always been on the very low end of the growth chart (since birth). At times she's been close to falling off entirely and the medication doesn't help. I feel like I'm nagging her to eat all the time! Her doctor prescribed something called Periactin to stimulate her appetite and she's supposed to take it three times a day, but great, more meds? I feel like a pharmacist. I asked her just now if she wakes up hungry in the middle of the night and she says sometimes. I'd hate to have to lock up junk food, but I'd definitely do that or not buy it at all (and I understand why you don't want to do that). I think a prepared box is a great place to start. And I agree that a visit to the doctor to rule out other problems might be in order. Best of luck.

Yes, 4B. And agreeing with someone upthread, the chapter on Multiples and Factors was REALLY well done. When we started AoPS pre-algebra, we were totally prepared (and maybe over prepared if that's a thing). Book 5B

The logic chapter was a hit here.

Thank you. I'm running both of my girls through it. One is dyslexic and the other is dysgraphic. The dysgraphic one needs help with spelling so I think it will be good for her. Both are ADHD, one wiggly and one inattentive. I appreciate the idea of using the whiteboard. I have one on the wall as well. My wiggly one will appreciate getting up. I'll check out the games too. We are moving right along in level two so far, but I know we will get to a point where we need more practice. The youngest especially appreciates practice with games. (Currently using the Rightstart games for math fact practice.) Thanks, Teresa PS: I've considered getting certified (though it's pretty early in my journey to decide). There is no one in my area who does it was far as I can tell. It's a forty minute drive to the next town to find someone.

Don't get Dominion! It's become an expensive obsession at our house! We've collected all of the expansions. Then we needed a fancy box to put them all together in and then we needed it on iPad for times when no one else had time to play so that we could play solo. It's best with red wine and good friends! Beware!!! Just teasing you. Totally worth every penny. My favorite expansion is Adventures.

http://www.learningally.org/Parents/Community/Events/itemId/448 You have to register, but it doesn't cost anything. 😊

I've been burned by the cable or cell phone company too many times I guess because I was totally not expecting them to be so incredibly helpful. :) A few weeks ago, I was checking out some videos on the Barton website and was watching one about identifying dyslexia in a writing sample. Susan said you could send her a writing sample and so I did. She got back to me the VERY NEXT day. I was super impressed. So, about two weeks ago, after A's evaluation were complete, I came back here and asked everyone to talk me into Barton because I couldn't afford the reading tutor and you did, so I ordered levels 1 and 2 and watched the videos over Thanksgiving on their website. So on Tuesday, my box of Barton arrived and this afternoon we finished Level 1. (Two hours over the course of two days.) The dang thing was $300 dollars and it was done. I was breathless. So I called them and explained the situation and they are sending me level 3 for only the price difference between the two levels and UPS is coming here to pick up the Level 1 box. And the woman I spoke to on the phone was soooo nice. Anyway, I was super impressed and I just wanted to share. Teresa

We each have a ball we sit on here. Helps get those ADHD wiggles out.

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to reply. You, too, make a lot of good points. This will be for my youngest child, but I'm thinking of running my oldest through it as well (reads fine, but written expression disorder makes spelling a real challenge for her). Ok, lots of good stuff to think about here. I'm thinking I'm sold. I'm also really tired. This whole evaluation process was really draining for me, and I wasn't the one being evaluated! I'm going to sleep on it and probably move on it in the morning. Then I can spend the holiday watching the videos and be ready to go when it comes.

Yes, I did the tutor screening and gave my daughter the pretest. We are good to go.

Ok, I've put it in the shopping cart. :) Baby steps. I really don't want to drive to the tutor's office. Like really really don't. I shuttle people to dance and dance and dance and piano and piano... all week long and the thought of going to just one more place is just yuck. Yes, if I decided to go that route, I would be faithful to it. I'm just that way, once we make a commitment, that's it. But just thinking of it as ANOTHER place to be...and another good point, if we did decide to go that route, going more than once a week would be out of the question. $80 an hour, once a week, seems very reasonable for a tutor, but double that each week and total it up over the course of a month and I'm wondering where that money will come from. My DD is pretty easy to work with. I'm pretty blessed in that way. She likes school and doesn't mind hard work. She takes it all in stride. (Her older sister is a much different story). We won't have any problem committing to doing it at home and actually getting it done because we just make a list and do what's on the list and she knows that the list is the rule and no amount of whining or complaining or messing around will move your work off of the list and so you just do it. And since she's such a people pleaser (to her own detriment sometimes) she really does most of it cheerfully. It's almost bizarre really. (Maybe she's trying to make up for the struggles I have with her sister?) ALSO! Something I hadn't thought of, snatching time. What an excellent point. Similarly, we like the freedom to hit the road during the summers and I can take Barton with me when we decide to visit Grandma for two weeks and not feel like we are losing ground.

Some of you may remember my previous post inquiring about reading problems for my daughter and wondering (hoping) that her troubles were vision related. Well long story short, she had a full evaluation over the course of Wednesday and Thursday and the psychologist then sat with us for quite awhile after her testing to discuss the results. I'll get a full written report later, but all of that aside.... Yes, she's dyslexic. This morning he sent me the names of a couple of tutors in the area, and when I say area, I mean about 45 minutes from where I am (because I'm in the middle of nowhere). I had already watched some of the Barton videos and just assumed we would go that direction. But out of curiosity, I called the closest tutor on the list and she was soooo lovely. I know it's probably silly to covet a tutor, but I do, I really really do. Part of it is that she's obviously trained (she's a Wilson tutor and has been through several courses, including one at the very highly regarded dyslexia school in the area) and she's one of the two that the psychologist recommended (he said he really liked her). She's been doing this a long time and has helped so many kids become successful. And...teaching Barton doesn't sound like much fun (I know that's a lame excuse, but there it is). In any case, she's not really in our price range (and I don't think she's overpriced) and I don't love the idea of giving up time out of our school day to make the drive back and forth and also because I don't have the money... Have I mentioned that I don't have the money? So am I going to hate teaching Barton? Does it work well?