I don't use the instructor guide's with singapore, but I do go over the textbook with her and do examples with input from her......I probably do give additional explanations where needed - haven't thought about it much though. I can't just give her the textbook and let her have at it.....though I look forward to that day:) Katherine

This is me agreeing with you:) There is a huge body of evidence regarding what works. Huge. :) Katherine

i would try TT. Even if it has it's weaknesses, if she finds it enjoyable and positive, then starts to like math, any holes could be filled in later. My dyslexic child has definitely had classic dyslexic struggles with math - learning facts, recall plus processing speed issues. RightStart was a great fit for a short while - the games and abacus use really did get her quite fluent quite quickly in addition and subtraction. Eventually we switched to Singapore and it's been *wonderful*. We still use those rightstart math card games at least once a week to keep fact fluencey high. :) katherine

what little evidence there is on gf/cf indicates that it is not helpful. It was helpful for us in terms of eliminating sinus infections and being healthier in general, but not helpful for behavioral issues. K

That sometimes has to happen here. One of mine gets VERY addicted to electronics/screens. Very. She's also my LD/ADHD one. We do use medication for her ADHD. The difference between using it and not using it is dramatic. She's dyslexic and strongly strongly dysgraphic. With meds, she is actually able to read at grade level. Without it, she cries, can't sound out words and her reading fluency drops to about the beginning of second grade. The difference in writing fluency is also dramatic. Without meds, she writes at a kindergarten/first grade level. It's illegible. With meds, her writing can look like typical fourth grade writing, if she's trying extremely hard, however, her output is still limited to several sentences. It is difficult difficult, esp when special needs are thrown in the mix. I worked with her 4 hours a day, one on one, 5 days a week to get her back up to grade level across the board (except in writing). This past week, she just started at a private school for kids with ADHD. I was going crazy b/c of her resistance to doing anything academic. Hugs, K

<<In short, synthetic phonics emphasizes explicit and thorough instruction of the spellings a letter or letter group can have (the sound /o/ can be spelled dog, law, applaud, cough, etc.) and the sounds a spelling can have (break, meat, bread).>> OG does as well, though it's a secondary to learning each sound individually. I do wish synthetic phonics was the norm in early reading classes here. A lot of kids would be reading more words much more quickly. Katherine

Neptune Krill Oil will stop it dead in it's tracks. Since it's expensive, you'll want to find the MED - minimal effective dose....for me, that's often taking 1 500 mg pill from ovulation on (14 days for me).....sometimes I can take it just for the week before my period. There is evidence that D helps as well. Since D deficiency is pandemic, everyone should be taking it anyway.....some of the most recent evidence supports 1,000 IU per 25-30 lbs body weight. We do 1,000 IU/30 lbs body weight for the kids and I. Many get sufficient calcium, but most get insufficient magnesium.....for me, staying mag saturated drops my need for ibuprofen to *zero* NKO: Evaluation of the effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the management of premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea - Krill Oil & PMS http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_2_8/ai_103194439/ Vitamin D and calcium: Calcium and Vitamin D Intake and Risk of Incident Premenstrual Syndrome http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/165/11/1246 Oral magnesium successfully relieves premenstrual mood changes. http://grande.nal.usda.gov/ibids/index.php?mode2=detail&origin=ibids_references&therow=217516 This study used tiny amount of crappy magnesium (mag oxide) and it still helped fluid retention: Magnesium supplementation alleviates premenstrual symptoms of fluid retention. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9861593

So so true. However, humans have eaten meat since the beginning of time. This fact colors everything for me. No matter how many nuts and seeds we eat, and no matter how fabulous a vegan diet we eat, we will not match zinc, iron and A levels that our bodies were designed to eat. Having said that, I'm not a fan of a meat or grain based diet but rather a produce based diet with some beans/nuts/seeds and just enough (ideally grassfed) meat and wild fish to round out personal protein/fat/zinc/iron needs. It wouldn't take much....a few ounces of carefully chosen animal products would fit the bill and would carry no nutritional risk. and *having said that*....ethically, I struggle. I was veg/vegan/raw foods for many years and ethically, and environmentally, I am *so* there. I don't want to eat animals. In terms of my health though, I saw the deleterious effects from an extreme vegan diet.....at first it was all light, energy and goodness, but a few years in, the downside became clearly apparent. K K

<<As I recall AL was mostly pictures and context,>> ahhh, so basically 'whole language' for Latin....rather than 'phonics' (so to speak). That would be frustrating. :) k

broken record here;) another data point for D supplementation and lowering blood sugar. There is excl data to support it....and here's a great blog discussing it. As s/he (the author of the blog) says, the relationship is a strong one.....as in take vitamin D and watch blood sugar go down that day. http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/2007/10/vitamin-d-lowers-insuiln-resistance.html My fave vitamin d is Carlson D drops....2,000 IU vitamin D in *one* tastesless drop. I get it at iherb.com http://www.iherb.com/Carlson-Labs-Ddrops-Vitamin-D-2000-IU-11-ml/10364?at=1

deleting this....sorry about the triple post. not sure how that happened.

x

It's the best book out there on this topic. The intervention she's talking about is of course intensive phonics...direct instruction, comprehensive, systematic, multi-sensory phonics. The rewiring part is much much more effective when they're really young (think 5....6). At 9 you'll certainly be able to get him reading well but it is different. The other therapies may or may not be helpful.....jury's still out. But there's no doubt about just how much the right kind of phonics will help - and it will help more the sooner it's started, the the more intensive it is (5 days a week v. 2 days a week). You'll also read in her book that one of the most common mistakes is removing the intensive remediation too soon......so it needs to go on for sufficient duration. :) K

True. Most humans do not efficiently convert short chain polyunsaturates into long chain pu's. An equivalent amout of fish oil and flax oil is in no way nutritionally equivalent in terms of dietary donation of Omega 3's. A gram of fat from cold water fatty fish offers about 10x more LC omega 3. A gram of fat from flax has a signicant amoung of short chain omega 3 it's true.....but by the time the body is done converting it to the form needed in cell membrane stabilization, there is very little. In addition to the issue of challenges converting short chain o-3's to long chain o-3's, many are ineffecient converters of beta carotene to vitamin A. Eye problems, hormone problems, mood stability issues (among other things) will eventually show up in populations not maintaining sufficient tissue saturations of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. The vitamin d issue is also significant. It is impossible to get sufficient D from a vegan diet unless one is willing to take D-3 (animal source) or willing to spend time everyday, *in the summer* midday, in the sun, with most skin exposed, to the point just *before* skin turns pink....and the rest of the year still take D-3 supplements. Zinc is another mineral for concern in a vegan diet. I wish I could go on but it's been awhile since I've read the book......for me, it was a frustrating read. I thoroughly agree with his premise that an optimal diet is predominantly produce (75-95%). The body of evidence supporting that is huge. It was unfortunate to see his misuse of said simply because he has an extreme position when it comes to the environmental and ethical issues surrounding the consumption of meat. katherine

hmmm. the only thing I've experienced is dryness when I wear them....that can be helped by long chain omega 3's (ie fish oil). It might be worth a try. Katherine

vitamin d, it seems, plays a significant role in warding off type II diabetes. You can find the data at vitamindcouncil.org Current evidence is supporting 1,000 IU per 25-30 lbs body weight. Katherine

We have done everything. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Meds are great. I finally tried adderall as well (I was dx'd before dd but tried meds much later). Wow. Lifechanging. K

have you watched Cesar's tapes though? It's amazing. I have a friend near LA who used his services for her tiny agressive (anxiety based) minpin.....that's how I first heard of him. My dh was big on the alpha thing and it was making our hyper/submissive small dog worse. The problem was that our corrections were to aggressive - ie loud, scary rather than calm and assertive. There is a huge difference. I'm really really firm with my dogs but I've practiced the 'calm assertive' thing - and it's been good for me b/c it wasn't natural;) Voices shouldn't be raised, anger/irritation should be completely left out of the equation. I'm just tossing it out b/c what most people think of as being 'the alpha' leader of the pack isn't what's really meant by it. It's much calmer and quieter and the corrections shouldn't be painful. Katherine

I've had four break. There is no mess. Katherine

Totally untrue. Sounds like the Fox news story. When I thought they were really dangerous, and two of them broke in my kitchen, I had a guy from the EPA come over. A good friend's husband is a project manager for them.....he was over within 30 minutes. There was no measurable mercury in the area and I'd done nothing to ventilate. I think the concern is blown out of proportion. The only serious issue is disposal. The trash isn't the place for them. :) Katherine

Totally agree. Get his DVD's from the library or netflix. Or his books, but it really helps to see it in action. She needs a bunch of exercise before people come over - so she's worn out - then people need to be instructed to *completely* ignore her unless she's calm and submissive. If she behaves agressively (even in posture, stance and certainly if she snarls or growls etc) she needs to be corrected until she *chills* and gets that *you* have it under control. :) K

Wait...I'm editing this. You said 'pituitary hormone (TSH)' ...... I was thinking you meant PTH which is parathyroid hormone which would mean vitamin D deficiency (among other things but with the pandemic of D defiency, it's a reasonable assumption). Anyway, TSH is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone and it can indicate subclinical hypothyroidism: http://www.aafp.org/afp/980215ap/adlin.html Having said that, I'd still look at D deficiency first as it will affect so many things, including thyroid. have a look at vitamindcouncil.org D deficiency is pandemic. Unless one is taking 1,000 IU per 25-30 lbs body weight, chances are that one is severely deficient. The test to ask for is 25(OH)D - 'twentyfive hydroxy vitamin d" is how you'd ask for it. Just b/c it's 'normal' according to lab 'norms' doesn't mean it's okay, as lab norms haven't caught up with current evidence. Optimal levels are 55-80 ng/mL. In Canada and the rest of the world a different scale is used. When measuring nmoL levels above 125-150 will be optimal. Katherine

Absolutely. Typical vocab study teaches definitions of words, but never breaks them down into the meanings of the roots. A systematic study of latin roots, prefixes and suffixes will give someone the tools to learn and understand exponentially more words *explicitly* rather than trying to figure them out from context. (implicit) Systematic, explicit instruction will almost always go further (and much much further) than random introduction of material that leaves it up to the student to pick up the connections. Think of it as teaching phonics versus whole language. With phonics, you have the tools to figure out any word. With whole language, you only know the words you're taught and have no tools to decipher the ones you haven't learned. With latin/greek root word study, one will have the tools to decipher 70% of the words in our language. There is data showing that students who've had latin do better on SAT's v. student's who've had other foreign languages or no foreign languages. Katherine

one more thing....REWARDS assumes that they can read any one syllable word......what have you been using so far the dyslexia? :) Katherine

If you want the benefit of some direct instruction in multisyllabic words, then go with Sopris-West's REWARDS Intermediate program. It's much much stronger than megawords, which is more spelling focused. REWARDS is amazing. AAS will deal with your spelling. REWARDS will get them quickly reading multisyllabic words, spelling them, and towards the end starts to work on fluency. The drawback is that the TM is nearly $100, so it's not cheap. However, resale value is great. You might even be able to find one here. I can't see any reason to add megawords to AAS. :) Katherine