*Hugs* bdjjmj. I was always anti-med. I barely even use Tylenol. But meds made it possible to live with her. The behaviors that she had (which sound a lot like what you're starting to deal with) she couldn't control. Hormones made it worse, but didn't cause it. If she doesn't have her meds now, the old behaviors come right back....

Hey, they have a new version. I bet you could find the old (2003 I think?) version pretty cheap then! I forgot your DS goes to school. Can you ask the school to do it, insist rather? This is the Reading Mastery for math.

This sounds very familiar. My DD went seriously downhill starting around age 9. This behavior is heartbreaking. Meds were the only thing that helped her. It was really difficult to get her on the right ones, but once we did, it was like magic. A really good child psychiatrist was the specialist who finally got us straight. Her real issue was an underlying co-morbid psychiatric issue that had been missed by countless other specialists.

When I worked in ps I used a program called Connecting Math. It's designed specifically for kids with ID. if your DS can count to like 10 with 1:1 correspondence he can do this program. It's a SRA direct instruction program and it really works. My first year teaching I had kids that were in a higher level of this program and I was like WTH, they explain things really strangely. BUT, over the next couple years I used the program starting from the first level. It makes sense, especially to our struggling kiddos. You could probably find the pieces at a reasonable price on eBay or something. All you need are the presentation guide and student workbook. There's a placement test on the McGraw hill website. As soon as my DDs 1:1 correspondence improves, I want to use this with her.

Does anyone know this program? The reading specialist at DDs school wants to do this with her at school. Along with PCI. Thoughts? Also of note, her new PROMPT speech therapist wants to do "adapted" Barton 1. Not sure what that looks like yet, but I was impressed with her so I think I'll let her try.

No one?

Catch up on folding laundry HMMMMMM...LAYING ON COUCH WHILE BABY NAPS SOUNDS BETTER...... Wash at least 2 loads laundry TOMORROW Clean kitchen DONE Look online for baby shoes, winter boots for DD and me, baby gates DONE DS1 - tae quan do DONE DD&DS2 - reading DONE DD - typing, math DONE Kid baths TOMORROW Maybe go to the park? Depending on weather TOO COLD :( Brunch - pancakes, bacon and eggs DONE Dinner - meatloaf, cheesy broccoli and mashed potatoes DONE Bedtime routine DONE

Wow! Our milk, soy, and gluten allergies seem easy after reading your list! I second whoever said borscht. I made a batch a couple weeks ago and we ate it every day for a week. Just leave out the potato.

I got a bunch of camis with shelves for DD at target.

OhE, this is so helpful! Thank you for taking the time to share it! I'm going to read more carefully tonight after the kids go to bed.

To do: Clean kitchen - almost Paperwork for work DS1 has tae quan do - done Baths for everyone Have kids clean their rooms and playroom Pick up house Laundry - at least 4 loads. 2 kids still have no pants :/. Good thing we aren't going anywhere today! - done

Boo for insomnia! For today, - cal DDs school - need form for dr appt Monday -done - go to bank - grocery shopping - done - put away groceries once home - done - put gas in van - done - paperwork for work - pick movie for movie night - done - bake treat for movie night - bought at grocery - try to catch up on laundry. 2 kids are out of pants, oops!! - DS2 reading - done - DD reading - DS1 math, chem, English - done - make kids clean up in playroom before movie tonight

Really?! I'm so glad you posted this.

Well, I did ok today with a clingy baby today.... I hope he's not so clingy tomorrow! - reading with ds2 - grr, difficult today! - reading with dd - done - she finished book1A today!! I told her we'd plan a party for tomorrow!! - oversee ds1 school - done - clean out fridge - done - write shopping list- done - clean kitchen - half done, good enough for today - put away too small kid clothes that i pulled out of their closets last week and are now taking over the living room - pack dd lunch - why is this the chore that i hate the most?? I know, it makes no sense. - kids baths -

OMG, I just learned SO MUCH by reading this thread!!!! No wonder I've been so confused by reading programs, it's confusing!

Ugg! So annoying! Hope you get it figured out soon.

No way. It's hard enough for me to get a kid on the school bus at 6:30 and then crawl back into bed....

I'm sure it varies greatly by state/county but in my area, kids that are 18 but still in high school can partipate in a program for kids 18-21. Yes, that includes sped kids who can stay in public school that entire time, but also kids that are just finishing up.

He's officially homeless. I would contact the social worker at his school and let her know what's going on. Doesn't foster care have an 18-21 program for situations like this?

Thank you for your response! It is tremendously helpful to talk about this with people who get it!

Thank you. I'm going to spend some time shopping today!

An interesting option came up at DD's IEP today. I can exempt her from the VAAP. This was brought up because I want her to focus on some very basic skills that she is missing. Exempting her would mean that she wouldn't have to waste her time at school doing ASOL strands that aren't appropriate for her, leaving more time to work on remedial math and reading skills. She's in 7th grade working at a K/1 level. Due to significant behaviors in her past, this is the first year that she's really available for instruction. If I was HSing her, I would definitely ditch everything else and focus on reading and basic math. By exempting her from the testing portfolio, I am essentially creating the same for her at school. She's in a private day placement with 1:1 support. The school is fantastic. Is this something to consider? Basically, the school can't propose it, but I can.

Dd gets a lot of services. She's in a private day placement, an ABA based private school. She's fully self contained and gets a lot of related service hours. Her IEP was this morning. It mostly went well, though this year I'm really having to be the squeaky wheel :/. My major focus today was not letting them take her 1:1. I succeed in that at least! We discussed reading at length. They can do Wilson with her, unofficially as no one is officially trained but they have the materials. Not sure how I feel about that. If she had the same teacher she had last year, I would be fine with it. But she doesn't. I'm supposed to let them know. We have to meet again to finish her IEP. I've been playing phone tag with the reading specialist, hoping to talk to her soon. I looked up Wilson and it's an O-G program. DD failed sec C of Barton, and she says that if they fail sec C, they're not ready for any O-G program? Ugggggg........

Hmmm. The center director recommended LiPS when I spoke with her on the phone before the screening. After working with DD, she said she would probably start with Seeing Stars and use a little LiPS if necessary, as the programs essentially addressed the same problem. However, her assistant was giving me a tour while DD had her screening. I asked 1,001 questions, of course! In a nutshell, very few of the staff at the site had been trained in LiPS, and those who had spent like 1 day on it, max. And hadn't been using it, since they had no kids using it. When I asked to look at the manual, he had to go look for it...and found it sometime later. In a storage closet. It was a little rediculious. So now that I've had some time to reflect, I don't think taking her there for service is what needs to happen at this point, for any program. I'm more inclined to try LiPS, I think at this point. There is a huge speech component to her reading deficits. New question: if my goal is to bring her skills up enough to do Barton, what LiPS materials do I need? Do I need the whole kit? What pieces were the most needed or helpful?

My 3 littles are the same ages as your 3 littles. I agree, it can be tough. I often feel like I'm so busy, but I didn't actually get much done! Following for ideas....