CHEM 3000 was perfect for my budding chemist. It's pricey, but we found it on sale a few years back. Totally worth it. Real chemistry.

Not sure if she's quite ready for the Warrior series by Erin Hunter, but that provides 20-plus more cat books. I'd second Pinky Pie. Other favorites from my cat-obsessed Aspie son's bookshelf: Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse (George Selden) The Cricket in Times Square (George Selden) Time Cat (Lloyd Alexander) My son managed to transfer his cat obsession to books about mice. This opened him up to the "Poppy" series by Avi and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM. Happy cat reading!

Enough, He's turning 10 next week, so that would've made him a mid/late 9. The ability to think abstractly is necessary to really "get" the molecular level, and that ability develops at different times in different kids. My 9-year-old is generally working beyond his age, but he isn't the most adept with his hands. If he could manage the physical aspect of the labs, I'd guess most 9 year olds could. The math is minimal, but understanding density is key. If the math's not there yet, the ability to understand that a shoe box of feathers is lighter than a shoe box of cement (and that a pound of feathers would take up much more space than a pound of rocks). More stuff/mass in the same amount of space means something is more dense. The math could be left behind or done by calculator. Hope that helps. Sarah

Janice, Yes, I think a science-challenged parent would be fine with this program. There's plenty of information for the instructor, including a few pages of additional information to fill in some details and cover a bit of extra information. It's very user-friendly.

My son, 10 next week, finally received a diagnosis from psych last year. He'd been seeing the psych for anxiety (a covered benefit under our insurance), and AS had been kicked around by OT, PT, Devel. peds, years back, but no one advised full testing. After talking to my son for about 8 sessions, alone and with me present, the light went on for him. Asperger's. We moved onto a psychologist with more experience in the field, who, after one meeting had no doubt about the diagnosis and has been enormously helpful. Insurance partially covers seeing her and did help with his OT and PT years ago. I don't know if they'll pick up part of the social skills group he's in, but I doubt it. Back to you. I think the question comes down to why you need the testing. If you're not looking for school services, finding a practitioner who "knows" the spectrum may serve you just as well. I'm not suggesting to just get him rubber stamped as having Asperger's but I am suggesting you start this process with the end in mind. Does he have sensory issues? Put your money towards OT. Does he struggle with social situation? There's plenty you can do on your own, or the right socials skills group may help you both navigate this issue. This is coming from a mom with labeled kids (DS14 with ADD, anxiety, and dysgraphia; DS9 with AS, ADD, and anxiety). They've both had cognitive testing (WISC for both with acheivement testing by psych to look for discrepancies between their intelligence and their performance, which can signify learning disabilities -- this was about $700 per kid and only somewhat covered by insurance -- quite minimal, as I recall). Just some food for thought before you spend the big bucks. There's no cure for AS. Knowing helps parenting immensely, it's true, but sometimes the whole package of testing just isn't needed.

My DS9 and I have been using the American Chemical Society's Middle School Science lessons, and we're both delighted. The lessons are easy to use with labs that don't break the bank. They're inquiry based, meaning the lesson starts with question-asking and observation, moving to experimentation and terminology. I know that's not the classical norm, but I think for the logic stage it works quite well. Extensions into living books could be done, although I've not systematically looked into that. What I have done is create a materials list (and review) of the program. Now if only I can find something similar for Earth Science for this fall!

We're giant MCT fans around here (we're four levels in). Yes, punctuation is taught in the context of grammar. That's where it belongs, IMO. Yes, it is a different approach to language arts, and while some folks love it, others may find it too different to use. Here's my review (which is kicking around on the forums elsewhere). I've linked to the first of the three parts., and the other two follow immediately after the first. Hope that helps someone out!

Listening therapy is touted as useful for kids with sensory issues, Central processing disorder, autism, and more. Objective evidence is nil on any count. It is expensive, unproven, and said to fix many issues --- three red flags. Listen to your gut.

I'm glad to hear some hopeful accounts of social skills classes for those with AS! In a few minutes, I'm taking my aspie, DS9, to his third session of a group that meets with a speech pathologist. He's not averse to going, but says the other kids are "loud and obnoxious." :lol: His brother and I work hard not to laugh when he tells this, since the terms fit him quite well, too. Anywhoo, hoping it transfers to "real life".

Glad to be helpful. I felt in inordinate amount of guilt about not liking that curriculum. Not my usual style to lament letting go of what's not working around here, but somehow I hung to the promise of how wonderful others had found it.

I used this with my 13yo DS this last year, and we were, well, underwhelmed. Here's my review on the program. We wanted to like it. The hype was enormous. Hope that helps someone make a decision.

Sympathy coming your way from another mom of a young (9) Aspie with anxiety and ADD. After increasing anxiety and worsening tantrums lasting up to 3 hours several days a week, I threw in the towel and saw psychiatry. A very low dose of Zoloft (10 mg liquid) made a significant difference. Higher doses bothered his stomach, but the low dose (now 12.5 -- half a tablet, since he swallows pills) doesn't. It's not perfect or a cure-all. His ADD is worsening with age and bothering him significantly, and that's likely the topic of our next visit to psychiatry. Having anxiety is hard on your attention, so treating that first may be in order for your child as well. It's not easy to make the decision to medicate your child, that's for sure. As for alternatives, I'm in the highly skeptical camp when it comes to diets and multiple supplements. Aside from avoiding dyes and keeping the sugar level down, we don't do much other than common-sense healthy, whole foods.

I'd agree that AoPS encourage independent thinking (and despite not using the books, we've had several of them in the house. Precalc and Advanced Algebra are on the shelves right now). They certainly could be taught by a teacher or parent (and are taught online through AoPS). I like teaching math as well, but as the boys grow, I encourage more independent learning. After all, that's how most adult learners do it.

AoPS wasn't a hit here, so I'd love to here what others on the "I don't care for it" camp have to say. My best guess as to why my then 11 year old didn't like it was due to his lack of willingness to struggle with a challenge. He'd whizzed through Algebra I (Jacob's -- love, love, love it) and really didn't want to spend 30 minutes struggling through a problem. He's developing more patience now (he's 14) but still blanches when he looks at the AoPS I have on the shelf (unused). While I know several really mathy youngsters who love the AoPS books, they don't resonate here.

Welcome to the spectrum. I posted a brief response to this proposed name change awhile back : What's in a Name?, and that may be a starting spot. Since that post, my son's been formally diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, as your son has. Personally, I have no problem with the movement to put PDD-NOS, Autism, and Asperger's all under the same heading (Rett's is not there and is to be considered a medical diagnosis; that's my understanding.) Here are a few thoughts: Many children move along the spectrum with age and therapy. Some with a more moderate form of autism move toward what is now called Asperger's. This new classification system reflects this change. The line between AS and autism was fuzzy before, depending largely on language aquisition age and IQ. Some kids with "classic" (Kanner) autism are labled such because of their late talking only. Once they acquire speech, they appear quite different. Do you reclassify them to AS or just note that they're still on the spectrum? This new classification solves that problem. PDD-NOS is a common diagnosis that says, honestly, nothing. My son sat there for years. As soon as the autism/asperger's diagnosis was official, it was easier to communicate with professionals who could help him. In school, being catagorized as having an ASD brings services that are well-defined and familiar. Besides, many kids with PDD-NOS are there because they ALMOST but not quite meet the autism or asperger's criteria. Expanding the diagnosis to include these kids (who share many of the same symptoms) makes sense and allows less time to be spent on pinpointing which box the kid goes in and more time on assisting the kid. I've heard that some in the Asperger's community object to the change as they've built an identity around the name and feel it is well understood, at least among themselves. Perhaps. (note that is the same concern as specialmama) I don't think that should affect diagnostic criteria. The core deficits/differences for kids all along the spectrum are the same. Here's the proposed criteria: DSM-5 They fit my Aspie son. They fit the nonverbal, more severely affected kids that are served by the OT/PT/speech/psychology place where my son sees his therapist. Here's a final link to some thoughts on the change from my favorite autism site: The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. Welcome to Asperger's!

I'm glad to see this thread! I've been homeschooling my Aspie son (now nine) since first grade. At that point, he'd yet to be diagnosed, but the writing was on the wall. He's way on the bright side yet really, um, challenging when he feels work is too hard. It's a balancing act. Here's what we did this year: Math: Singapore 5B and 6A, T. Pappas books Science: RS4K Chem I and Middle School Chemistry from the American Chemical Society Lang. Arts: Michael Clay Thompson (Caesar's English I and II, Grammar Town, Grammar Voyage, and some of Paragraph Town). Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. Steck Vauhn Spelling 4 History: History 2B (Online G3) with Joy Hakim's History of US, books 8, 9, 10. History of Science (some of the first book -- we lost our way and switched gears at some point) History is his domain, and he reads on his own often on the ancients. Music: Piano Lessons PE: Karate. That was our ticket out of PT some 4 years ago, and he's about a year from a black belt. I've reviewed several of those above curricula on my blog Quarks and Quirks. My (newer) Asperger's blog is Asperger's at Home.

My boys, 9 and 13, are enjoying Philosophy for Kids, by David White. Here's my review and how we incorporate it into our homeschooling.

It's a fantastic book of 40 philosophical questions designed to teach philosphical thinking while exposing kids to real philosophers from throughout history. I just reviewed it on my blog, Quarks and Quirks. It's been a thrill to use with my sons, 9 and 13, and would work up through adulthood.

I'm glad you've found it helpful! I'm glad to answer specific questions about that course, feel free to pass them on via the comment section of the blog so others can benefit from the answers. Sarah M. quarksandquirks.wordpress.com

I'm likely to use Hewitt's Lightening Lit 7 and/or 8 with my younger next year. My older has already done 7 and read almost all the books for 8, and I can't seem making him go through those again. I've not heard much about the upper levels (high school courses) for Hewitt. My13 year old is NOT literature-oriented, so I'm just aiming for him to not be miserable with literature next year. How's that for a low bar?

thanks for the heads up on the link. It's fixed. Glad you enjoyed my blog!

We're having a great time with Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings, and I'm wondering what to follow it up with. Any ideas of similar materials with books that entice those sometimes resistant to fiction teen boys? For those unfamiliar with LLfrom Lord of the Rings, here's my review. Sarah M. quarksandquirks.wordpress.com Homeschooling single mom to DS 13 and DS 9