My daughter is in 300 as well. She’s heartbroken. We had planned on finishing through AP with Mrs. K. Conventions have become a tradition for our whole family :( Would also like to know where the other kids end up. Lone pine is her happy place, even though it’s online!

I had a kid come by our house selling coupon books for his homeschool supplies. I thought it was clever, I bought them :)

That's what I was thinking! I'm overwhelmed by the cost. I know this is not a time to be cheap but I don't want to waste time and money if there's not really much they can do. I was a little thrown back by the referral to the dev. ped. I expected something a little less drastic.

I met with the public schools today to see what services they could offer my son. Academically he is not behind, but he does require more one on one teaching than he should. I don't really think they will be able to address the social/communication issues he's having. Our ped referred us to a development pediatrician, but I'm wondering if I could have him more informally evaluated before we go that route. I'm just not convinced he needs to see the developmental ped yet. Could I just have a play therapist or OT give us their opinion first or will they just want him to be evaluated by the developmental ped first?

I think that's what I'm concerned about. He has a much easier time with me than with anyone else. I guess I'll have to leave it to the pro's to figure out, which is difficult.

Its funny you say this b/c I was one of those and he is definately not! He does complain about his pencil hurting, and has trouble writing.

I posted a while back about my 7yo and you guys were very helpful and encouraging. Thanks again! I've just begun the process of having him evaluated by the public schools (we homeschool) and I'm not sure how to answer a few of the questions I've been asked. First when they ask if his interests are obsessive what does that mean. He's really into Star Wars, dresses like a Jedi whenever we let him, which is most days :), but I'm just not sure that's obsessive. He does seem to fixate on the details... What are they looking for when they ask about sensory issues? He is very sensitive and cries alot but again I'm not sure what too look for. Honestly I've read the descriptions of these behaviors but I'm having trouble understanding what they really look like. In the back of my mind I keep thinking he's fine and I then I feel really guilty... but our doctor seemed more concerned than I expected. I'm assuming this mix of concern and guilt is typical, I hope :) If anyone wants to give me any feed back on public school evaluations vs. a developmental ped that would help too. Our Ped referred us to a Dr. but said to start with the schools since that was the less expensive option. We are in Georgia if that matters.

Just a follow up... The test results were as I would have expected. The material we had not covered did not negatively affect her scores. In some of the sections she answered a large number incorrectly and still scored well above grade level. So all that worry for nothing!

Thanks for all the encouragement. I have to admit I expected that the prevailing response would be that he sounds normal. Since it seems like everyone is recommending an evaluation I guess I'll have to look into it. He's overdue for a well check so it will be a good time to ask our ped. I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to respond!

I was under the impression that being so affectionate pretty much ruled him out for autism or aspergers. He's always shown some of the stereotypical signs of aspergers (hand flapping, lack eye contact, obsessive interests, and not sure if this counts but he's constantly sorting things), but I thought his interest in relationships and affection would mean it had to be something else.

Thanks again for the replies. Just typing all this is like a deep sigh! I really value all the input. My husband and I not being on the same page is really the most critical issue in all this. He naturally comes with his own baggage, and I feel like unfortunately it prevents him from seeing ds with much empathy. I really don't want to husband bash, but many of his melt downs are when they are together. It breaks my heart to watch since ds is so sweet and agreeable with me. Clearly I'm venting at this point. Sorry, but I've kept it all in for a while now.

Thanks for your reply. The melt downs are varied. When he's with me they are very minimal. I feel like I understand him better than others including my husband. I know what upsets him and am able to prevent it. He's definitely starting to stick out at church and he seems to get upset pretty often. He had an incident at one of his home school enrichment classes where his teacher said he wasn't being rude or anything but just couldn't seem to understand what she was trying to tell him and right after we left he broke down sobbing. He loves being around other kids but just isn't on the same page with them. The friends he plays best with are considerably younger than him. At home I've always been able to adapt to his needs pretty reasonably but as he's getting older he's around others more often and that's when the problems are really becoming noticeable. My husband thinks he just needs to toughen up, but I'm not sure I agree. I'm just grasping at straws right now, I hate the thought of a diagnosis but feel bad for ignoring it too.

Hi, I don't post here (or anywhere) often but I need a little insight. I'm having some minor problems with ds7. Let me start off by saying he's incredible sweet and affectionate. He's kind and is always saying how much he loves every one. He is also academically on target and even exceeds in math. We've always assumed he was ADD, not so much hyperactive though. Our pediatrician and others have commented that they suspected he was too. He's just not like the other ADD/ADHD kids I've known. He will sit and stare for hours when I give him an assignment and will play quietly with the same toy for days. He's the opposite of fidgety but always in his own world. The biggest problem we are having is that he still frequently cries when he gets upset. At home he will just stand there and cry if our 2yo hits him or does something that upsets him. There have been a few times he's done the same thing at church and with the kids in the neighborhood. He's also easily overwhelmed. When he plays video games he has melt downs and even wets his pants. At home its not so much a problem since we are a pretty low key house hold. We restrict him from video games at home but he plays them at church and with friends. He has trouble with physical boundaries too. He still sits in he Sunday School teachers lap. This isn't so much a problem, but it seems a little abnormal. Its hard to describe whats going on with him, but he's just not like the other kids his age. There always seems to be a disconnect when he is talking to anyone but me. Most of these thing I've assumed he would grow out of but now I'm a little concerned that he won't. I'm hesitant to have him "analyzed" and honestly I don't even know what I'm looking for. I'm worried that if there isn't anything wrong he will get the impression I think badly of him.

We use Miquon with Singapore. For some reason that I can't explain my dd (who is growing to dislike math) loves using Miquon. When she is stuck on something in Singapore we pull out the Miquon and it just makes sense to her. But it is very time consuming to teach. Many of the lessons take a long time to figure out on my end, but they work. Since I can't devote the time and energy to use it as our main math curriculum we've only used it to supplement. About Singapore... ds loves math and tends to think in very literal concrete terms and is doing great using Singapore only. It is presented in a way that is natural to him.

Our lawn guy charges $40 an hour for a two man crew on a biweekly basis. In that hour they mow, weed eat, and blow our yard which is larger and more difficult than your average suburban yard. He also uses all his own equipment. So unless its an unusually skilled 12 yr old I'd say $10-15.