Looks like you son is really bright! :-D Those scores at the top of the range show that he's good at reasoning and has good understanding. Keep in mind too.. average wise, that working memory is pulling down your DS' composite IQ, so it is likely higher than 124, meaning he is quite the smart dude! It looks like the main problem, relatively speaking, is working memory, and that is going to affect EVERYthing relative to his overall intellect. In other words, it's likely to be a frustration point for him even though percentile wise, he is above average. When it comes to those core academic skills of reading, writing, and math computation, your DS probably feels frustrated that he can't recall things as fast as he can THINK (reason). I could see where his issues with word attack might stem from his working memory difficulties and maybe not having a solid foundation of syllabication skills. When it's difficult to attack words, then a lot of mental effort can go into the act of reading, where the comprehension is lost. I wanted to add this morning.. That word attack requires a child to hold each sound and each syllable in his working memory until he figures out what the word is. Then he has to attach the meaning to the word, and then insert that meaning into the meaning of the overall sentence. Thus, a child with a strong deficit in working memory is going to be frustrated by the word attack. You might check out Rewards at Sopris West given the rest of his reading seems viable. You may not need a full-blown O-G program, but your DS may need deeper training in word attack. Another option for solidifying the foundation he has, as a daily practice at bedtime, is Lexia Reading At Home... It includes syllabication and Greek and Latin roots, and is good for solidifying those word attack skills. It's a mastery-based program so it continually monitors mastery and moves forward as the student can consistently perform well. That said, Working Memory is a cognitive area that can be improved through memory games, digit span practice, and other focused cognitive enhancement programs. You might want to engage in memory enhancement activities as a daily exercise in helping his overall ability to perform academically. With his scores below average in all of the areas of writing (and spelling falling in that area), it isn't surprising at all that your DS struggles mightily with writing. Given that keyboarding is a frustration point for him, have you considered trying Dragon Naturally Speaking so he can dictate his papers? It's a whole lot easier to talk to the computer and have things typed, faster in particular for anyone with difficulty in writing. I'd venture to say too that since your DS' cognition is very high, I'm betting he has some great ideas he can convey in writing given that he can dictate his thoughts. ;-) IEW worked really well for both of my guys. Some of the people in the Learning Abled Kids' support group have preferred EIW (Essentials in Writing). With the numeracy fluency issues being so low.. It'd be really good if you could work with the math facts as part of the memory training.> Check out Reflex Math too.. Its good for helping with the memory, recall of math facts. Even if you do end up having your son use a calculator, if you can improve his math fact recall.. it will help him. It's great though that he has the higher math concepts! It's much harder to remediate the other way around.. where a child can memorize the facts, but have no idea about application to problems. Also.. the understanding directions issue.. I'm thinking that may also relate back to memory.. having to hold the instructions in his head until moving forward. I don't know what specific test she used for that, but multistep instructions can be problematic for kids who have working memory issues. Given you've worked so long on AAS .. maybe a Self-Correction method would help.. because it will have him practicing those words he has issues with and encourage him to pay attention to detail as he writes. My son's spelling difficulties were at the 7th percentile, so similarly low.. After we had taught him all of the rules, his spelling was still very poor. I did some research about what to do and the proven method to use to make spelling "stick", once a child has been taught the rules, is the Self Correction Method. You can see images of our progress too--You will be surprised of the difference between the second-to-last and last writing samples. Those are about two years apart after consistently using "self-correction".. Note my DS was in high school then. We didn't even start working on the remediation until we started homeschooling, which was when he was in fifth grade, so he was older than your son before we started our O-G reading and spelling practice... Since you've already been doing AAS for awhile, and your DS is younger, not sure where that will put your DS with using the self-correction method. Lastly, encourage your son regularly... He's obviously a smart guy and there are lots of other great people who struggle with learning, but it doesn't define who he'll be as an adult. If he likes Steven Speilberg movies.. have him check out the interview with Steven Speilberg talking about his learning difficulties! Those are my thoughts for what they're worth. HUGS!

Reading Horizons.. Read their research rhetoric CAREFULLY. Pay particular attention to PROOF that THEIR program is effective for students actually diagnosed with learning disabilities. A lot of their marketing materials talk about the effectiveness of the O-G METHOD, but not of their specific program's effectiveness with students who have a KNOWN learning disabilities. They talk about how it's proven an Orton-Gillingham program is needed, how you need systematic instruction, and you DO. Read research reports CLOSELY and look specifically for effectiveness of their program with students who are diagnosed with dyslexia. http://www.readinghorizons.com/research/packets/research-rh.pdf The Scottish Rite program would be GREAT if you can go for that for free, but as OneStepAtATime recommended.. and Barton recommended.. You may need to start with LiPS. My DS had to have the LiPS program beforehand and for a child who does not understand the phonemes and doesn't get them.. whether due to speech-language issues, auditory processing issues, etc., sometimes LiPS is required to make the sound pieces CLEAR. The LiPS training was essential for my DS. You can go for FastForWord (FFW) as a program too, but since that requires a provider, you WILL pay more for that than for a LiPS kit. If you do not feel like you can or want to do the LiPS yourself, check for speech-language pathologists who will work with the program... There again, you'll get into more money, like for FFW. I wanted to mention two "practice" options too. Given a child with severe problems, I have really started recommending to parents to have your child practice nightly for 20-30 minutes before bed in a skills program. For a child with severe phonemic awareness issues, using the program Earobics before bed until completed.. I had my boys go through it twice. Once a child is past the phonemic awareness basics, using Lexia Reading At Home or Reading Eggs each night before bed can help build those needed skills. Why do I recommend this? 1) A child with severe dyslexia requires 300+ teaching repetitions for the phonemes to be automatically recalled in what is a state of learning mastery. 2) Whatever is on a person's mind at the time they fall asleep tends to be remembered better--athletes do visualization training before bed, and academically--doing the same with studying brings about better retention. Thus, having your child work with the program as part of a bedtime routine will help them learn the phonemes more effectively. Using the programs can make it kind of fun too since they are all audio-visual and somewhat gamelike. ;-) As far as Barton, Wilson, or AAR goes.. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. Check Out other PROVEN programs for home use at http://learningabledkids.com/reading/proven_reading_programs.htm too.

HUUUUUG... You are NOT alone!! In fact, you'd probably be surprised how MANY parents across the U.S. deal with this kind of educational issue in public schools. So sorry you're having to deal with it though.

Yes, sadly they are then in gross violation with the laws.. You can check with your local advocacy groups and find out how TRUE it is!! The school districts get away with it ALL the time because there is absolutely no consequence for the school. Check out this regarding Failure First at http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,regs,preamble2,prepart2,B,764, Comment: Some commenters expressed concern that children with disabilities have to fail or be retained in a grade or course in order to be considered eligible for special education and related services. Discussion: Section 300.101© provides that a child is eligible to receive special education and related services even though the child is advancing from grade to grade. Further, it is implicit from paragraph © of this section that a child should not have to fail a course or be retained in a grade in order to be considered for special education and related services. A public agency must provide a child with a disability special education and related services to enable him or her to progress in the general curriculum, thus making clear that a child is not ineligible to receive special education and related services just because the child is, with the support of those individually designed services, progressing in the general curriculum from grade-to-grade or failing a course or grade. The group determining the eligibility of a child for special education and related services must make an individual determination as to whether, notwithstanding the child's progress in a course or grade, he or she needs or continues to need special education and related services. However, to provide additional clarity we will revise paragraph ©(1) of this section to explicitly state that children do not have to fail or be retained in a course or grade in order to be considered eligible for special education and related services. Changes: Section 300.101©(1) has been revised to provide that children do not have to fail or be retained in a course or grade in order to be considered eligible for special education and related services. For the child to get what he needs, the parents have to go to court and fight for it, and then all the parents can "win" is a "free and appropriate education". That means the parents have to have the money and wherewithall to sue and force the district into compliance under IDEA. Most parents have neither the money nor the fortitude to go through a lawsuit to force a recalcitrant school district to do what they are mandated to do under the law. As I said, there is no consequence to the district for not complying with IDEA.. no punitive damages, no personal accountability for administrators or teachers, nothing to them except to be ordered to provide educational services for the child. BTDT which is how we ended up homeschooling.. SURE, you can sue a school district and "force" compliance, but you can't make them stick with it after the court-ordred IEP expires a year later. We "won" reading services, but even then.. the school district didn't implement the services properly (DS watching Braves' baseball in reading class, cutting out snowflakes to decorate the hall, playing games, etc.) By time we gave up to homeschool, he was in fifth grade, on a Kindergarten level in spite of an above average IQ.. AND, that was after we sued the district under Due Process the first time. The school then decided in the last IEP meeting we attended to reduce services for our son (even though he STILL wasn't reading). It became clear to us we'd have to sue every other year to force the school to attempt to do the job right (and due process is at least a year long process). Even then, we saw that the services to us weren't worth the paper they were written on if they didn't equal educational progress for our DS. We couldn't ever make them CARE or do the job right. We started homeschooling and GEE.. DS went from kindergarten level to sixth grade level our FIRST year!! He was at a 10th grade level after the second year, and he graduated from high school with his freshman year of college completed. The PS wasted so much of our son's educational time, battled us so hard and ALL we wanted was for our son to be taught how to read. I classify it as educational neglect on their part. (Can you tell it's a sore spot for me?? - Sorry to feel like it's a rant, but it really grates me that school districts across the USA ROUTINELY violate IDEA!) It's a kind of game across a lot of school districts. There are a large number of districts in the nation that DON'T do what they're supposed to do because it is of no consequnce to them whatsoever if they don't follow IDEA. Seriously, If you doubt it's true, go read the laws .. It WILL make you mad! Read the rules on Wrightslaw or in IDEA. Read the rules about the required 60 day time frame at: http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/,root,dynamic,TopicalBrief,4,

The initial evaluation: Must be conducted within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the evaluation or, if the State establishes a timeframe within which the evaluation must be conducted, within that timeframe; and Must consist of procedures to determine if the child is a child with a disability under 34 CFR 300.8 and to determine the educational needs of the child. [34 CFR 300.301©] [20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)©] It's important to note that if a state establishes a timeframe it may be SHORTER than the federal standard, but it cannot be MORE than. Thus some states have adopted 45 day evaluation timelines, but 90 days is outside of federal mandates. ;-)

Always great to hear of good experiences!! Glad you're getting some answers so you can help your DD!

Pen has it right.. the school sounds like they are pretty definitively in violation because when a child is suspected of a disability and a request for evaluation is made in writing, by the Federal IDEA laws, they have **60** days to COMPLETE their evaluation.. There is no such thing as waiting to have an SST and then an IEP. Also, it is a violation because IDEA clearly states in their clarifications that "Failure First" is NOT an acceptible practice. If anyone SUSPECTS the child has a disability and the parent consents to an evaluation, they are required to evaluate the child under the "Child Find" provisions of IDEA. Check out wrightslaw.com and FETAWEB.org (From Emotions To Advocacy) to get a firm grip on your child's educational rights and to learn how to advocate for your child. .. Sounds like your child is going to need you to become a strong advocate if she's going to remain in public school. Since you mention an SST meeting.. Do you happen to be in Georgia? (where most districts are notorious for taking the failure first approach) Even if you do get an evaluation and a disability IS found.. if your school is in violation about evaluations, it's highly likely they'll be resistant to doing the right thing all along the way. Keep CLOSE TABS on your DD's standardized testing each year to make sure she doesn't become the victim of "The Matthew Effect" where the child falls further and further down the achievement ladder as her needs aren't met year after year. For example, when your child entered kindergarten and had standardized testing, what was her percentile rankings in each of the major areas of reading, writing, math, etc.?? Each year her percentile rankings should remain steady or inch up if educational provisioning is adequate... If the percentile rankings drop year after year, then her educational needs are probably not being adequately addressed. For example, if your child is at the 80th percentile at math in kindergarten, 65th percentile in first grade, 45th percentile in second grade, and 35th percentile in third grade.. She did not become LESS capable of learning.. She wasn't taught in a way that enabled her to continue learning at an above average level. Hope that makes sense. ;-)

I always recommend going to Copaa.org and finding a special education advocate or attorney near you, then ask them who they would recommend for a NP evaluation. The advocates and attorneys often have cases where kids have not been thoroughly evaluated and the advocate/attorney needs to build a case, so they usually know who is good at providing a comprehensive evaluation that will stand up in court. They also see all kinds of reports as people come to them for help in dealing with the public schools. That is how we found our great NP.. Through an advocate that worked for a special education attorney.

WOW!! Wondering what state you're in and if this is typical for your state or just your district? That's AWESOME!! I wish ALL states handled it thoroughly like that.. It would make life so much easier for parents and education so much more effective for the kids.

Wondering what state you're in and if this is typical for your state or just your district? It's AWESOME!! Wondering about Janie Grace's state too, so I'll reply to hers with the same question. I always like to know which states are on top of things when helping the moms in my support group. With 1600+ of them, I've got them in all states.

For trustee, you want someone who is wise with money management, that can invest, manage trusts, and distribute funds when needed. They wouldn't necessarily need much in the way of SN knowledge other than SN trusts, if you'll be having one of those. You would want your guardian to be someone who is willing to and able to advocate for the needs of your child. They'd be the one who is managing all of the educational and personal care needs. We did not establish a SN trust, but placed controlling language in our will. Truthfully, I don't understand the differences of when you would or wouldn't want a separate SN trust, so that would be something an attorney could advise about. IN our case, we weren't concerned about the trust funds disappearing into other things because the SSDB would be sufficient for our boys' daily care and the trust would primarily be used for any SN anyway. Factors would be whether the child had ongoing medical needs, the number of kids cared for under the SSDB funding, the level of special education services or private school that would be needed, among other things. As far as chosing goes, I think it is essential that you have a conversation about the SN and the guardian's willingness or comfort with advocacy and managing the SN. It's a big responsibility and not everyone is willing and/or able to handle it. In our family, my DH and I each have four siblings, so we had 8 different placements to chose from in our immediate family... We're lucky that way!

Like several others, we separated the executor, guardian, and trustee. The guardian could petition for additional funds "as needed," but we definitely felt it was best to have oversight of the funds. A valuable thing to keep in mind too while your kids are minors, they get Social Security Death Benefits monthly, which would go to the guardians. Thus, most of the actual living expenses for a child, like food, clothing, activities, etc., are covered by the Soc. Sec. Death Benefits. We specified an extra monthly "allowance" to meet for additional special needs, like the evaluations, tutors, private school, etc., and then had it set up where the money would be payable out for college expenses, with anything that might be remaining at that point to be paid out as a downpayment on a house or at a specific age (I think it was 25). It's wise to talk about and plan for these things!! My DH became the executor for his brother's estate and trustee for my nephew, and it really helps the family left behind a GREAT DEAL to know what your wishes are. It's also good when the duties are split so that one person isn't weighed down with trying to manage it all. Having a child whose parents have just died is very hard on the child.. It helps a lot to have one person handling the estate and another couseling and coping with the child's needs.

Thanks! With the moms, we are just so thankful my MIL is doing much better than expected. When she initially went into the hospital, we weren't sure if she was going to make a turnaround or not. We are blessed and she's doing fabulously, although she has a ways to go before she is walking independently and able to care for herself again. THANKS for the input on the book too. I tried to make it a kind of "brain dump" to share most of what I've learned over the past decade. If it helps moms who need it, it will be serving it's purpose. ;-) And your decision to "totally relax things for now and working on practicing our facts (through various games and such) while I study up and figure out what and how to best teach new concepts" is an EXCELLENT move. Sometimes it is best to give your child simple learning activities while you regroup and decide how you want to move forward. Playing the math games will help solidify the math facts and be less indimidating. Using the games for all of the fact-based math learning is just as valid as other methods when it helps your child remain engaged and learn a subject he otherwise thinks he doesn't like. ;-) At one point in our homeschooling, we systematically checked out EVERY National Geographic and Discovery Channel DVD in the kids' section of the library, and my boys watched those while I figured out how to handle social studies and science. They loved it; I loved it! ;-)

THANKS, OneStep! My guys have dyslexia and my oldest's was severe. I also went back to school and got my Master's Degree in Instructional Design with a focus on Universal Design for Learning, completed Orton-Gillingham training, etc. I posted a response to the OP's question, and like OneStep says here.. I'm willing to help anyone who has questions and needs answers. MANY of the common questions and answers I have put in my book... How-To Homeschool Your Learning Abled Kid: 75 Questions Answered For Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities or Twice Exceptional Abilities (Learning Abled Kids' Guidebooks). One commenter pointed out the book was better if your child has dyslexia than it is if your child has a math disability, and that was a valid criticism.. Since my guys have dyslexia and a much larger number of families I've helped have kids with dyslexia, I'm more knowledgeable in that area. The primary issues I deal with are dyslexia and ADHD, so the book is better for those areas of difficulty, but there is a LOT in the book that pertains to any child who struggles with learning. ;-)

I couldn't agree more with all OneStep shared in her first response here.. A diagnosis is critical for making sure you are addressing all of your child's needs. Since you indicate your child has most of the symptoms, even the more uncommon symptoms, I will say it is more likely he has some of the accompanying issues with executive functioning, memory, processing speed, etc. Addressing only his reading problem will be an exercise in frustration if you have not identified any additional cognitive deficits and addressed them accordingly. If he's not retaining what he's being taught, there is a HIGH likelihood he has deficits with memory or recall, and you won't know which it is unless you have him tested. How you work on strengthening his cognitive skills will depend upon where the deficits exist. So basically you have a choice of taking a pin-point approach or a scatter approach. With a pinpoint approach, you can have your child evaluated by a neuropsychologist, and find out precisely what your son's learning issues are. When you do that, you can address the specific problem areas with programs designed to meet his specific needs, and you will be taking a more efficient route to meeting his needs. With the scatter approach, you can treat everything and hope your DS gets enough of what he needs to improve. You can use a comprehensive cognitive enhancement program like Brainware Safari and figure you'll be strengthening the cognitive processes. Similarly, for reading, you can use one of the programs designed for a child with dyslexia and figure it will provide some benefit. Selecting an online, interactive program designed specifically for remediating reading difficulties can help. Until or unless you're addressing all of the cognitive issues that cause your son's learning difficulties, his reading achievement will be slower in coming, but it will come along if you continue with a program to the point of mastery. The big key is to insure mastery where your son can quickly and automatically recall letter sounds, sight words, etc. There are several other conditions which can affect reading, which can be present in addition to or instead of true dyslexia. You'll want to consider symptoms your son may show which may point to the OTHER areas of difficulty which may be layered on top of true dyslexia. For example, my son also had ocular motor deficiencies in addition to true dyslexia, so he needed both vision therapy and reading remediation. I have this page about the symptoms of true dyslexia, which involves deficits in phonemic awareness, working memory, and processing speed. It's worth a read, particularly to make yourself aware of other closely related conditions that may require different remediation. Feel free to ask any questions or to email me off list if you want to talk about any specifics. My mom and MIL are both having health issues right now, so my coming on the board is sporadic, but I will be checking in.. I'm more likely to see a personal message at this time because I get far fewer of those than notifications of posts on the boards. I had 58 notifications when I logged in today, and admittedly, I'm not going to look at all of them! :-O Let me add too.. You are wise to be concerned, asking questions, and seeking solutions! It's better to start early before that "I can't read" translates into "I'm dumb" or "I can't learn".. we had a very difficult time overcoming my son's perception that he couldn't LEARN (which he picked up through his awful public school experience). Let me know if I can be of help!

Rewards is a great recommendation, as made by FairProspects. You might want to also check out Lexia Reading at Home. It's the program we used with our boys. Given your DS likes Khan and online learning, you might want to check out some Online Interactive Reading programs and games. Lexia is on that list.

Our story of overcoming dyslexia is one I like to share.. It can be a huge struggle in the beginning, but if you remain positive, as Heathermomster says, then you can help your child appreciate the gifts that come along with dyslexia. They are usually very creative, three dimensional thinkers, who can analyze and see solutions where others are baffled. Their learning strengths shine in realms not associated with reading and writing, but with the right kind of instruction, they can learn to read well and even spell!

It's common for kids with learning disabilities to be highly inconsistent in their academic performance. There's a saying that says, "The only thing consistent about a child with learning disabilities is the inconsistency." .. They will seem like they have learned something well one day and seem like they've never seen it before in their lives the next, and back and forth. So, I don't really find it surprising at all that your DS could not pass one day and then pass the next given he struggles with reading. It helps to take several measures over time and consider the average level of performance as his level of achievement. ;-)

Just wondering if you've made a physical visit to each of the campuses.. You may have, so this may be a moot point, but actual visits made a HUGE difference in the list of schools my DS THOUGHT he wanted to go to versus the one he ended up picking. They can have such different personalities and the websites or brochures often do not convey the school's true personality. That said, I pretty much let my guys decide because it's their college experience, their lives, their choices. It's difficult, at times, when with the wisdom of the parent you see the wisdom in considering different factors. I think the kids are more apt to try and do well if they are at the school they chose. Just my thoughts on it. ;-)

It's an awesome and redeeming feeling, isn't it!! :thumbup:

I logged in to 58 notifications after being mostly absent through December.. Still have my MIL in a skilled nursing facility and my mom will be having another surgical procedure soon, but I did want to log in and see how things were coming along. I'm thankful everyone encouraged you to specifically ask for the accommodations in your son's report. Those are an important piece and there are a lot of beneficial accommodations for ADHD, the most significant of which is "undistracted testing". My DS gets to go to a soundproof room for his tests at college, and that is very helpful for enabling him to keep his mind on the test and not being distracted by rustling papers, clocks ticking, who is flipping pages in the test, etc. I was also going to comment on people's suggestion of activity as a primary 'remedy'. While a lot of times that is a suggestion based upon ignorance about the global scope of ADHD, vigorous activity is a stimulant to the brain chemistry. Vigorous exercise is shown to help the attentional functioning of a child with ADHD, as is well-regulated sleep cycles and dietary considerations. Anything you can do naturally to boost the levels of your DS' brain chemistry will help lessen the pervasive affects of the ADHD because more brain chemicals equal better ability to focus, which does include activity, whether your DS shows outward signs of hyperactivity or not. ;-) We used vigorous exercise (an hour per day) to help our DS, and that worked decently when we used it instead of meds. That said, meds are easier, but it wasn't a decision we made lightly.. and I *know* it's one that you'll weigh carefully. Whatever you decide to do is the BEST decision you can make for your child, with his needs, your needs, etc. In the end, each of us has to go with whatever we think is best and take it from there. Sometimes I think it is difficult to keep in mind that whatever decision you make is not the one and only--if it isn't going well, there isn't improvement, etc., then you can change your mind and try another option. Realizing that, when we gave meds a try, made the decision easier for us. I think everyone has already spoken to most things you're concerned about, so I don't know if you still have any open questions in mind. If you desire my input on anything in particular, feel free to ask--either here or via private message. I'm hoping to get back to checking in regularly! ;-) Sorry to have been so out of the loop, but thankful the moms are doing well right now! :-D

TRUE! The disabilities dept at my son's college is studying his freshman cohort for the differences in the GPAs and tracks of the students who take advantage of their accommodations and those who don't. The initial study data showed higher drop out and failure rates for the kids who did NOT use their accommodations. The disabilities dept really stressed HEAVILY to my DS the importance of using the accommodations he was granted because they levelize the playing field.. They don't give him an advantage, they keep his disability from significantly impacting his academic performance. Btw, I've been told by a friend who works at a university that the hardest problem with SN students is not whether the school will give accommodations, but whether the student is WILLING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM!

This reminds me of a conversation with our neuropsychologist. When we had not initially thought our son had ADHD because he CAN focus intently, our NP said that it is a misconception that people have about ADHD that the person can't pay attention. It often seems the person doesn't pay attention to anything, but the root of the problem stems from paying attention to EVERYthing and not being able to willfully pay attention to what needs to be focused upon. Tasks of HIGH interest to a person with ADHD can be focused on intently because of a heightened release of the brain chemicals due to the interest itself..which explained our DS' ability to really focus on things he loves. Without that natural 'boost' of brain chemicals stimulated because of hightened interest, for those things that aren't of REAL interest to the individual, the person can't really weed out all of the incoming things they are paying attention to. Very interesting account you shared! It adds insight. ;-)

We didn't want to do meds for the longest time, but when my DS became an older teen he flat out told us he wanted to give it a try. The very first day he said, "MOM! We should have done this a LONG time ago!" The difference for him personally was dramatic enough that he wouldn't have it any other way now. Because of all of the side effects and/or complications, he understands why we avoided it while he was little, but even so--I question at times whether it was the right decision or not. In the end, it IS a difficult decision each parent has to make as best you can at this moment in time. I can't say I regret not using meds through elementary or middle school, but I do wonder how things might have been different if we did. DS is similarly very intelligent, but his ADHD gets in the way of his ability to demonstrate what he knows without the meds to help him stay focused on the task at hand. I'm so glad you got some good answers and it's nothing as difficult to deal with as you might have imagined! Your doc's recommendations sound great... There are a variety of options for dealing with the memory/cognitive enhancement, so if CogMed doesn't end up suiting your needs, be sure to check out other possibilities. No matter what you choose, as long as you're focusing on the training your DS needs, things will start going better over time. Sounds like he's one smart guy and he'll probably surprise you with where he goes with his dynamo personality and smarts too! :-D

I have to agree with this!! We had Step Up to Writing too and .. eh.. nothing I've recommended to anyone. For step-by-step programs in writing, I MUCH prefer to recommend IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) or EIW (Essentials In Writing).