Princess Ariel
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Posts posted by Princess Ariel
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This is a bit OT so ignore me if you want.
Menopause is a very natural part of life. Has it always been so difficult to manage? I can't help but wonder if we're doing *something* that is making things worse?? Hormones in our food and water supply? Longer life expectancy? Higher quality of life expectations (not that that is a bad thing!!)??
nt
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Thanks so very much to all of you! I never believed I would get so many great ideas late on a Saturday night. You are the best! :hurray: Lots for me to check out.
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What about graphic novels? They are available at many different reading levels, but even the shorter books don't look as "babyish"
You might also try high-low books (high interest- low reading level).
Thanks. I will go to that site today and see if she can find something that appeals to her.
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Another option, to get her reading outside her "norm" would be the Great Illustrated Classics. They aren't super adaptations, but do have an illustration on each page (for my son, that was vital). Our library has a ton of them.
Also, graphic novels are a lot more diverse than I originally thought. My son is a Jules Verne fan, but Timberdoodle has so many options -- science, history, literature, you name it! Start here: http://www.timberdoodle.com/graphic_novels_s/346.htm
Thank you! Like I mentioned elsewhere, we have several of the Great Illustrated Classics as that was a good starting point for ds when he was struggling. So most of those were of his choosing for his interests. I will take another look.
I forgot about the graphic novels on Timberdoodle's site. I will definitely look there as well.
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I have never heard of this resource! Thank you so much! I think I will enter some of the books she is reading and see where she is comfortable.
Have you ever come across the AR BookFinder website? I used that resource a lot with my older son diagnosed at 9 with Asperger's (about a year ago). He was and is an advanced reader but was more interested, back when I found AR, in picture books. Both my kids are highly visual, as are my hubby and I. Both boys on the spectrum. Anyway, I did add chapter books for him but would also go to the library with him and pick picture books that were his reading level. This resource can help you figured out what level some of the picture books are. Here's a link to the website:
And here's a link to the parent's guide. (Note: This is a PDF file and will download once you click on it. You can find the link right in their website as soon as you click a category on the fist screen. In your case you would click "parent" of course. The PDF file will explain how the ATOS book levels work.
http://doc.renlearn.com/kmnet/R004037812GG7B98.pdf
Once you are in the website, you can click on "collections" (the third tab found at the top) or you can put a title in the search engine to see what level it is rated at. Like Elizabeth said you may have to go a couple of grade levels below but at the end of the day, who cares what others think once your girl is reading and develops the love for reading? At least that's how I see it :). Your daughter's friends don't have to know every aspect of her life ;) .
All the best! Hope you find something that works for your girl.
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You know, a lot of picture books are written for the parent to read to the child. That means that they're actually slightly more difficult for the reader than easy or short chapter books - but because they're short, and have pictures, they can be more enticing and less threatening for a reluctant reader. Would *you* feel more comfortable going with more-difficult-picture-books for now, interspersed with graphic novels? You can find several websites, like Scholastic Book Wizard, that list books by approximate "reading level" if you're interested.
This is so true! She actually learned to draw by placing tracing paper over the pictures in these books and carefully tracing them. She has gone on to become quite a good artist! So there is a real appeal with those books for her and it would be nice to get back to them again. Thanks!
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Have you looked at the High Noon books? And I agree that graphic novels might be a good sell if she doesn't get confused on how to read them. They confuse me terribly. But DD loves them.
I had seen the High Noon books years ago when I took an OG workshop but never ended up getting any. But I will definitely look again.
I hear you with the graphic novel books. They don't appeal to me but it may work for her. They sort of bother my eyes!
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For my ds, the Magic Tree House series took him from the 2nd grade reading level to the 4th grade reading level. Any series he could get hooked on helped, and our local children's librarian was a good resource for that. Even though out of order, maybe starting with a Magic Tree House book where an artist is met, even if you read it aloud could be helpful. I know one of them has Leonardo da Vinci.
For someone who loves art, books with wonderful pictures like those of Jan Brett could be very appealing--I can see that. john Muth books might also be worth looking at. Maybe books about artists?
The Buddy Files if you have not already found that could be good (has a dog detective, easier reading than Hank the Cowdog).
Even though she does not like reading aloud, doing some to work on fluency with you would likely be a good idea. And yes, some of the Highnoon High/Lo books might be helpful. including for fluency work at her level.
Most important though, what she is doing and picking out herself to read is probably at the right level for her to gain skill and competence and fluency and automaticity--and she is likely to move on when ready, so I'd be encouraging what she is doing--making sure she has plenty of Jan Brett, Berenstein Bears, etc. to practice on. Then looking for similar things, but just a bit harder, and so on to keep her steadily progressing.
Great ideas! Thanks so much. I think we probably have a few of the Buddy books along with several of the "puppy in the pantry" type books from an older child. I am thinking I will be doing a lot of digging through our books this week!
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Be happy and celebrate that she chose to bring some books!!! Talk about them with her and be as happy as you would if she were a 6 year old, trying to leave your sense of what she "should" be reading at her age out of it.
You know, I was actually shocked that she even brought any books along. But it was her decision this time. In the past, when I have suggested it, she might pack some books but never looked at them. So I did give her a lot of praise and sat next to her in the car so she could read them to me (which is another shock that she actually read them aloud to me!)
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Also factor in maturity level and comprehension level as those too can be affected when a child is on the spectrum. It was why, regardless of my son's reading level, I always provided him with books that I felt also met his maturity and comprehension level.
My son also read all the Magic Tree House books a couple of years ago and he still likes keeping up with the series now. He is concerned kids will look at him when getting them at the library but still enjoys reading them when he gets home. He will still take some of our old picture books and read them while we remember moments spent together reading them. Or he will read them to his brother.
Just take her to the library and walk with her through the aisles letting her pick what she wants and observing her choices. Don't get too hung up on grades. It may kill any interest she may have in reading. Look at the reading levels for your own reference when she is not looking.
Thank you! The whole spectrum issue is a big one for her. She isn't interested in things that interest other kids her age. So it's still cute little animal themed books, etc.
We have several Magic Tree House books from the older kids and I think we read one together quite a while back. And we definitely need to get back to the library ( hard to get her out as she prefers to sit at home due to anxiety issues but I need to push her in a good way with that, too)
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Your frustration with the eye docs you've seen doing VT makes sense and I wouldn't want a doc like that either. Maybe drive farther or find a Fellow? Our eye docs don't put everyone through therapy and there are reputable ones. It would just be interesting to see if at this point the vision is part of it. It seems like a complicated situation, but you're certainly doing everything you can! :)
Are you christian? The NIrV is on a reading level that would be accessible to her. Audible has recordings of it as well. Might even work with the immersion reading feature of the kindle.
This doctor was a Fellow. I think her front office staff was a problem, though, but should have mentioned it to her at the time. Just probably too large of a clinic.We only saw the actual doctor at the first and last appointments, almost 11 months later. That older dd worked with a therapist the rest of the time.
I did find another clinic with a Fellow which may be even closer than the one we previously went to.
Do you mean the Bible for kindle? That would be a great idea as well. For immersion reading do you mean text to speech? I think she has that on her kindle. She would probably do best to see and hear rather that just hear. (I am like that too!)
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Gosh, we have several of those Great Illustrated Classics on our shelves. Most are "boy" themed for my son but I will take another look and show dd!
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We have not tried graphic novels or comic books yet but those are great suggestions. I will check into the possibility of books to go with her games, too.
As far as her eyes go, she had a lot of issues early on as a baby. She had nystagmus in her left eye (random movement) and went through much testing, MRI, etc. She got glasses at 13 mo old. At the time they said it was something to do with the optic nerve (it's been a while, cannot remember exact issue) and that her vision would never be as good as in her right eye. (She is adopted and we do not know what went on while birthmother was pregnant with dd.) She used to tilt her head so that she was mostly using her right eye to see and when she was a little older and ran she would move her head side to side as she ran . Over the years, however, it has improved and both eyes are fairly close in prescription now. She sees the opthomologist yearly and also was referred to the optometrist on staff who deals with vision and learning issues. The only problem she found from the testing she did was that dd does not have 3D vision. I know there is a difference between this doctor and a COVD but we have gone that route before and after spending a ton of money found it really didn't help our older dd much at all. But maybe we need to at least have her checked out by someone else who specializes. I just got the distinct impression that everyone who went there for an eval ended up needing therapy. We were pretty much given a really intense sales pitch and even though they are highly recommended and on the COVD list, it seemed a bit high pressure to us.
Thanks again.
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UPDATE in #47
something a little more challenging? She is 13, has PDD-NOS, developmentally delayed, diagnosed with anxiety disorder, average IQ, some working memory and slow processing issues We have had three neuropsych evals and the whole nine yards. She generally doesn't choose to read unless it is related to her DS games, kindle games, etc. Doesn't like to read books on the kindle but prefers a real book if she does read at all. She is very visual, loves to draw A LOT! I know she has some issues with fluency and comprehension and reads at about a late 4th grade early 5th grade level.She never enjoyed being read to, doesn't like reading aloud.
We just went away for 4th of July and she packed a bag of things to do in the car. The books she packed were the "Frances" books,,,,as in "Bread and Jam for Frances", etc. And a few Berenstain Bears books. I honestly didn't know whether to laugh (privately of course) or cry! We have a house full of books she has never looked at. She is still into the "picture" story books if any at all. I know she had some Jan Brett books out a few weeks ago, too. I did buy her several books about cats and dogs (easy chapter books). I think she may have read one of them. Again, not really any interest even though she loves animals (cats and dogs mostly). I have tried encouraging, even bribing but no luck.
I need suggestions on getting her to stretch a bit or raise her confidence up a bit. Are the chapter books just too boring for her because she doesn't have those great pictures to go along with them? She did read the 3 Frances books to me in the car and didn't really struggle with them. She questioned her ability to read a few words but generally got them right. I know if other girls her age knew what she was reading she would be teased terribly. She would honestly rather just watch a movie (watching Bambi as I write this!) When she was tested by the school district 2 years ago, she did great with all phonics related things, nonsense words, etc.
If anyone has ideas I would love to hear them. It does get in the way with trying to plan for school work, too. She is just not interested in history, science, etc. I need some ideas. Of course I am trying to meet her where she is at and be accepting, but I want to make sure I am doing all I can.
Thanks!
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Have you seen this website?
http://www.visual-learners.com/
Lots of articles, etc., on these types of learners. There may not exactly be a specific type of curriculum but you might find suggestions on how to make things work for your ds.
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Mostly with my first, not all day, rather mild by other more severe stories I have heard. Not as much with other two normal pregnancies, none with the ones that ended in a miscarriage.
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I have had trouble with middle of the night waking for a long time (perimenopause/menopause). Previously I used 5-HTP and that worked fine for a while. Now I take L-theanine (Source Naturals brand, 200 mg) and that seems to help a lot. Usually one works but if it is not enough I take another. I have a hard time shutting off my brain and this seems to work.
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...And the hatred of "popcorn" ceilings. Better not come to my house! I have a few! Not really a huge priority for me.
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I am hopeful that a check list will be a new way we can deal with the school work getting accomplished this fall. It hasn't worked in the past, ever, but I implemented one this summer to get a better handle on her daily hygiene. Dd 13 is still at it! Huge improvement. I initially offered an extra dollar to her allowance per week if she does the hygiene tasks and checks them off. I have also given her a lot of verbal reinforcement which is also helping. I am actually kind of surprised but have come to the conclusion that just because it didn't work in the past, it can be worth another try. Hygiene was really coming between us just as the schoolwork has been a major division. So we will give it another go when we start up again!
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Wow, One Step! You really go above and beyond and I really appreciate it!! :hurray: Thanks so much!
If anyone else has anything to add, I am all ears!
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was it worth it? I don't know where I was when this was previously discussed :sad: but I found some threads on it from back in January. Anyhow, I ordered the trial which is only 3 days long, and went through some of it with ds 15 who is diagnosed with dyscalculia. It seemed pretty easy at first but when he got to some areas, I could see he was having some difficulty. I am really considering getting it for him, in spite of the fact that he is 15.
He is on TT6 but I discovered he has been accessing the calculator on the computer sometimes to work the problems and so he isn't really doing as well as I had thought.
I also have to test him yearly and his math scores were really low even using a 7th grade test. (CAT 5, math computation low level, math concept and application, well below average) He said a lot of it he didn't know at all. I just want to know from those who actually used it, if it was worth the price. I wish I had known about something like this when he was a lot younger! He worked at it for quite a while yesterday but when things got harder he got pretty discouraged so we quit.
Also, how easy is it to coordinate with the Ronit Bird materials that were mentioned? Do they work nicely together or does it take a lot of planning?
Thanks much!
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Thanks for your interest. I have not used any of the MP resources yet as they are grouped by grade level and for my two dc, that doesn't ever work! They are all over the place having most of the learning disabilities you mentioned plus ADHD for one and ASD for the other. For my ds 15, two huge weaknesses have always been reading and writing (even the physical act of writing) and so much curriculum is focused on those two areas. Technology has to be part of it for him. However, he tends to get really distracted on devices as he knows what else he can do with them and he is way ahead of me in the technology dept! So I need to be on my toes constantly. ( But that being said, he still really needs an audio component for reading if it's going to get accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.)
As someone mentioned above, it would be helpful to just have subject areas to choose from (rather than grade levels) and a teacher's manual for special needs where there would be many suggestions for adapting the materials, with a broad variety of suggestions for making it work for those who have, for example, dysgraphia, dyslexia, etc. Someone mentioned symbols, which would be great! Of course, I am looking at older dc who may not have abilities equal to their age, but who don't necessarily want to do what they would consider "baby" work. My dd 13, with ASD and developmentally delayed, possibly some of the things geared for younger kids may work for her but at the same time I don't want to underestimate her abilities. Although she is probably at a very beginning 5th grade level in some areas, she would probably love staying at a lower level forever (even though her IQ is average). She doesn't comprehend well, hates to read, doesn't like being read to, but is very visual (movies have always held great appeal for her). She also struggles with fluency. She still loves picture books, though. She doesn't like to stretch herself at all unless it is art related.Due to the ASD, she gets stuck a lot.
So that is my recommendation if it makes any sense!LOL :confused1: It seems that by the time anything like what you are talking about is available, my dc will be past that point. It has been a long road that I am still trying to figure out and I have to say I would love something less teacher intensive but I realize for dc like my own, that is probably not a reality. This mom is kind of in survival mode after a particularly difficult school year. :crying:
I really appreciate all you are doing! :hurray: Good luck to you!
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Just watched this today. It was great with lots to think about. I know I could benefit from listening again.
I am wondering about using magnesium for my dd. She just went back on a SSRI this summer as her anxiety was escalating again. There has been a mild improvement but I am wondering how adding this or even some of this other suggestions, one at a time as she mentions, might make a difference for her. She goes back next week to check on her progress with the new med and I will bring it up. I was considering asking about adding it anyhow due to her monthly cramps which were bad this month (age 13). She isn't a great eater but is gluten free and she has a long way to go to what I would consider healthy eating. It is so hard to change someone like this who is sooooo set in her ways due to the ASD diagnosis and also because of her age.
I found the pdf print out to be helpful in that I didn't have to work so hard to take notes!
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My child was evaluated by an early childhood special ed department at age 3 , had 2 years of preschool, years of speech and OT, 2 neuropsych evals and after a third neuropsych eval, was finally diagnosed with pdd-nos at age 10 (we were told it is also referred to it as high functioning autism). We were told a few times that she was definitely not on the spectrum, even after I had asked about it but was not pushing for a diagnosis. So you never know what can happen! I felt this last time, which was 3 years ago, that the diagnosis actually fit!
How to encourage dd to read ....Update
in The Learning Challenges Board
Posted
Definitely ASD resistance! Oh my goodness for sure! When I think back, those Frances books were her bedtime books for a long time when she was little. Over and over, I almost memorized them. She has had a big spike in her anxiety level this summer and just had her new med increased a couple of weeks ago.
I wish she would cooperate with me reading to her again like when she was little. I will have to find a way to gently approach that possibility with her. She generally resists doing much of anything with me the last couple of years, reading included. So it is hard to have that closeness with her that we once had way back. Part of it is adoption/attachment issues as well as the ASD, her wanting to be in control, etc.
I am going to look for something she has interest in and start slowly.
Thanks for your insight!