The farsightedness just showed up at the "turned 45 and became farsighted" time. He fatigues while reading. He always has. He has a difficult graduate degree that he earned in his 20's and never read anything but the notes from class. He never read the texts and graduated Magna Cum Laude anyway. If it were the farsightedness, I assumed the reading reluctance would have shown up at the same time, not preceded it by 20+ years.

What difference does it make what you do if you messed up raising your children? There are a lot of opportunities to be a very high achiever as a parent. They might not be as socially lauded as other achievements, but I will be impressed with you.

I have an adult family member who I think might be dyslexic. His mother is dyslexic and dyspraxic for sure, but that is probably from being born with the cord wrapped around her neck, not something her son had an issue with. His mother's mother also had undiagnosed celiac sprue which I believe causes nutrient deficiencies that can cause developmental problems, so his mother had two very significant early neurologic challenges that he didn't face. I have had him evaluated by a COVD certified optometrist who only found farsightedness. That is new and his reluctance to read has been going on forever. I thought he had convergence insufficiency because he seems to read just fine on a computer, just not books. The doc didn't find it though. Any advice on what to do next?

I am sorry to hear this passed. I do not live in California, and probably won't send my kids to public school, but I would homeschool if I had to in order to avoid vaccinating my children. I don't do any vaccinations for my children or myself because of the devastating effects they have had on me and my health. I would never dream of forcing someone else to NOT vaccinate their children if they chose to do so even though I am anti-vaccine for myself and family.

I really like a lot of these answers. I wish I had gotten my babies walking for themselves more and longer when they were younger. Teaching my babies/toddlers to read, although no one in real life seems to think that is crazy. They think it is really neat, or at least that is what they say to my face. Ha ha. Only some people on this forum seem to think it is "developmentally inappropriate." I think that is odd since it is easier for them to learn to read than talk and no one considers teaching a baby to talk, "developmentally inappropriate." You do kind of have to see that yourself to know it though, since it is very uncommon knowledge. Teaching my oldest to read was the best thing I could have done for his speech.

Well, they know both that antisaccades are good for frontal lobe function (executive function), and that interactive metronome is good for it, that is impressive. I learned about those through chiropractic neurology training and I don't know how common that knowledge is. I didn't recognize the names of the other techniques, so now I have to find out what they are.

I got the new Candace Meyer book. It is called GR-8 Minds in Motion. It is basically "movement spans" instead of digit spans. I made up that term, and if a person didnt know what digit spans were, it would be hard to know what I am talking about. I think it is a great idea, but it isn't a very meaty book. I could see someone being disappointed in it if they didn't already know how useful and foundational digit spans are and how clever using movements instead of digits is. There are no vision therapy exercises in it at all. I will still probably want the Maze book, but I can't tell if you also need the training to use that book. They were helpful when I called them though. I think the maze book has some vision exercises.

I have orthostatic hypotension, not POTS. I think it is just a milder form of autonomic dysregulation Taking 1/2 a teaspoon of really good salt in hot water or broth in the morning helps a lot. It just tastes better than in cold water. I like Premiere Research Labs Himalayan pink salt the best because the owner of that company tests raw ingredients for toxins obsessively. There is a huge adrenal component to this. Taking adrenal cortex extract has been very helpful to me. I take 2 at breakfast and two at lunch. Here is my favorite kind. https://www.emersonecologics.com/Products/EmersonMain/PID-ADR58.aspx I would not recomend Gatorade because there are very few electrolytes and lots of sugar, but that is a very common recommendation. V8 juice has a lot of sodium and potassium and people who don't like to drink it often like it heated as soup. My condition is caused by mercury toxicity that I got from thimerosal in contact lens solution (was wisely removed in 1990) vaccines (thimerosal is still in most)' amalgam fillings and fish. I am much better after treating that, but I stopped treating it to become pregnant and pregnancy makes it come back some.

Thanks for the book recommendation. I need it. My oldest is adopted. My first pregnancy and C-section ( I had fibroids removed surgically so I had to have planned C- section or no baby at all) were so easy. This pregnancy, NOT! I am just starting to feel functional at 13 weeks. I ate a whole pizza myself today. Ha ha. I've only gained 5 pounds and I can't believe I haven't lost weight since I haven't been able to eat much until today. I was afraid to have twins because of the potential for problems and discomfort at the end of the pregnancy but was blindsided by the early symptoms. I have a lot of help and my two boys are really easy. There is probably little chance I'll have two more easy ones, is there? I was going for a girl and what do you know, two more boys. I'm hoping that new gender blood test is inaccurate, but they say it is reliable. Yes, lots of smart people here. I'll stalk someone else later. Sorry if I scared anyone. I was trying to be too blatant to be up to anything nefarious.

All you posters better be up for some stalking on a public message board, since I know all my posts on this and other boards can be found by googling. I was hoping there was a way to do it within this board since it is easier that way on the other board (Brillkids forum) I tend to stalk (only in a good way) people on. Thanks for the instructions. I have found OhElizabeth's posts to be so insightful regarding specific therapies. When I have found someone who knows things that I have learned that few other people know, I try to find out what they know about everything else. It is a very effective way to leverage other people's knowledge. I probably won't homeschool, although I admire others who do, and I don't have special needs children, at least I hope I don't, but one of my main interests in life is recovering children on spectrum (I consider ADD and ADHD to be on spectrum). I have also found when you find things that are most the effective to educate or "normalize" special needs children you can apply them to neurotypical children with even more dramatic results. I am a chiropractor in Chesapeake, Virginia. I have a four year old, a two year old and I am pregnant with twins. That information is mostly provided to make OhElizabeth not nervous. Although I'm very unlikely to read over 20,000 posts.

Since I read Billie Jay Sahley's book, I would say I have learned not to use GABA, which she recommends, for low GABA because it only works if someone has a leaky blood brain barrier. I like Gabatone instead, but there are other calming multi-herbal formulas like it. That is the only update I can think of, but I did read it a LONG time ago. I also don't remember if she was very magnesium oriented then (I know she is now).

I'm not sure this is the place I would ask, but I would like to read, or at least scan all the posts one poster has written. I went to their profile and clicked on "posts" but only the latest posts came up. I do this on other forums, but can't tell how to do it here.

Shocking and encouraging and somewhat impressive that your doctor knows about GABA. It will help if your son has a leaky blood brain barrier, which many kids with issues have. GABA is too large a molecule to cross an intact blood brain barrier, so if it doesn't work, it doesn't mean your son wouldn't benefit from increasing GABA with something like Apex Energetic's Gabatone, which is a combination of calming herbs that raise GABA. You can use GABA to determine if someone has a leaky blood brain barrier. If it calms them, that is diagnostic for leaky BBB. It doesn't hurt to try it either way. Gluten intolerance, common in ADD, ADHD and spectrum kids, will cause a leaky gut and leaky brain.

I probably read that book 13 years ago. Although it is probably wise to think that way, for example, the concepts of neuroplasticity barely existed 13 years ago, using amino acids to increase neurotransmitters hasn't changed at all since then. I still use the same protocols now that I did then. Specific: Start with Magnesium first, it has 300 known functions in the body, then, if low serotonin - use 5-htp, if low gaba, use herbal calming formulas like Apex Energetic's Gabatone, if low dopamine - use L-Tyrosine, if low norepinephrine, use SamE. A clue to whether someone is low in these neurotransmitters is which drugs help them. Otherwise, Eric Braverman has questionaires. It can be difficult to determine if someone's anxiety is low serotonin or low Gaba or both, but the others are easier to ID. I am oversimplifying the concept of "low" neurotransmitters. It may be receptors that are blocked rather than being actually low. Otherwise it is a very simple system since there are only 4 major neurotransmitters and two minor neurotransmitters that are being targeted by drugs. Dan Amen's books were very medication oriented 13 years ago. His more recent editions are way more "orthomolecular" or nutritional supplement oriented.

OhElizabeth, I am so excited about your Minds in Motion reference. I looked on their website and I am VERY impressed. They have a new book out now and I ordered it. I think Candace Meyer has figured out some key things. I went to school in an amazing school district in Indiana (at least it was then) and I noticed they are implementing her school program.

This is going to sound a lot like my answer to the ADD and Anger thread. Low magnesium is extremely common in general but almost universal in any child with a learning, neurological or behavioral disorder. Don't bother testing for it, just do a trial of it and don't use Magnesium Oxide. Magnesium is calming and low mag is common with anxiety. It isn't the whole issue in most, but can be the whole issue in some. It will cure insomnia in many cases. When mag doesn't work by itself, there is either low serotonin, or low GABA, or both in anxiety. Try amino acids and natural things before drugs to raise those neurotransmitters. See Dan Amen, Billie Jay Sahley and Eric Braverman's books. Amen and Braverman are M.D.s and I think Sahley is a nurse, but medical people rarely know about these alternatives. The only downside of the natural alternatives is that they are not little pills. They are more like foods in that they need to be taken in greater quantity than drugs.

I forgot to mention that movement is the ultimate brain food and the trampoline idea and jumping jacks ideas are great. Getting that proprioceptive input in is vital for proper brain function. The brain is extremely dependent on movement. So much so that if a living thing doesn't move, it doesn't even need a brain. Living things that don't move and don't have brains are called plants.

There is another option besides meds. I know the meds help many times, but using natural things that do similar things to the meds have less, or often no, side effects. Very few medical doctors are aware of these alternatives. Dan Amen has ADD books that talk about them a bit and so do Billie Jay Sahley's books, http://www.amazon.com/Heal-With-Amino-Acids-Nutrients/dp/1889391204. Always look for magnesium deficiency first with any learning disorder. Just a trial of it is often the best way to tell if someone needs it. I make lemonade with two scoops of InGear magnesium powder, lemon juice and stevia in a 28 ounce jar and have one child drink it throughout the day. Magnesium is calming and helps anyone sleep more deeply and wake more rested. Next, if a person would do well with a stimulant drug, often the amino acid Tyrosine will help instead. Tyrosine is a precursor to Dopamine, the neurotransmitter that stimulant drugs attempt to increase. If a person has anxiety issues, 5-htp will help to raise serotonin that antidepressants tend to attempt to increase, or calming herbs will help to raise GABA, which benzodiazepams attempt to increase. Calming herbs include lemon balm, melissa, valerian root, theonine. You don't have to take them separately. There are many formulations that have them together.

We did very early reading, AKA "baby reading" with my two children using Brillkids Little Reader, readingbear.com, Leapfrog videos (only my older child really watched those) and Preschool Prep materials. I credit most of their ability to Read to Little Reader, which only took about 10 minutes per day, when they were immobilized in their high chairs to eat anyway. I was astonished at how much it helped their speech. They are only 2 and 4 now so I can't comment about school. When I spend time in their preschool classrooms, especially the two year old's, there is so much more understanding of everything with him than the other kids. The other children seem vacant in comparison, just because of vocabulary. There are over 2000 words with pictures and videos in Little Reader. Early learning seems like it makes learning "take off." I was really motivated to do this because I anticipated my oldest, adopted child might have reading troubles because his bio mom, although very intelligent, had reading problems and it affected her entire schooling and confidence in life. I wanted to have ample time to remediate if necessary. I also was always the best reader in my class from the beginning and credit all of my academic success to my ability to read easily. I may have to deal with boredom later and I appreciate other's comments about their own children. They are only in school 2 mornings per week now and it is helpful for things like cutting, pasting, tracing and other fine motor, prewriting stuff, which I am not good at doing with them.

I like the free videos on character first education's website. I also like "we chose virtues" products.

You do whatever the person is bad at. (My mother would be very upset with me for ending a sentence with a preposition). That sums up a lot of what chiropractic neurologists do. It is very different from what OTs do, but the chiro neuros steal a lot from anyone who has anything good, wisely, I think. They have their own paradigm to apply things to. (I just can't stop doing it, preposition thing, I mean). I mean "steal" in a good way. I am not a chiropractic neurologist. I took all of the courses for children and then had one, adopted one and stopped going to seminars. It was about 125 hours of training. You think therapy is expensive. Glen Doman P.T., was commonly referenced in the training, and perhaps Robert Doman. I have found much of the Domans' information without going to seminars and it fascinates me. I use it a lot with my neuro typical children and it blows me away. I say neurotypical, but treating brain damage is a growth industry, sadly, and we all have neurological inefficiencies that can be improved. Reading either of Robert Melillo's two books for laypeople would be a great outline of what chiro neuros do for kids. He has an excellent book for practitioners. It was over my head, but still wonderful, so I don't recomend it for laypeople.

Always assume you can improve the brain in any area. I wouldn't hold yourself to some impossible standard though. Having challenged kids is hard, but reach for the stars, you might get to the moon. I would look into the work of Glen Doman if I were you. His methods have produced excellent results for many Down Syndrome kids, who would otherwise be considered to have a relatively low potential.

I think a lot of people need the do it yourself info because therapies are expensive. That is why I think your posts are so great. A mom, or dad, is going to have so much more time with a child than a therapist anyway. Interactive metronome is very well thought of in the chiropractic neurologist arena, but if a chiropractor can't afford to buy one for their office they will use a regular $30 one and do the hack methods too. Brain/ balance centers, the franchises that we're started by a prominent chiropractic neurologist, Robert Mellilo, use IM extensively. They remediate primitive reflexes first though. About 1/2 of my patients have insurance that would cover IM, so for a lot of people it would be worth a try. It is good for pretty much anyone with a brain.

Interactive metronome is particularly good for Dyslexia. It has the component of feedback, which makes it better than the inexpensive versions of it. Some practitioners don't advise it before the age of 6 because of issues like OhElizabeth mentioned her son having with just basic metronome work. Developmentally, a perfectly neuro typical kid might not be able to follow the instructions well enough at age 5-6. It is usually done in 1/2 hour sessions. If OT is covered by insurance, considering the age of your son, it would be worth a try, Cheapo metronome on your own is helpful too, just not AS potentially helpful as having the feedback. I find OhElizabeth's insights and posts to be abundantly helpful.

I would recommend magnesium for sleep. It is my first recommendation for ADHD anyway since it is calming. Don't expect a serum magnesium test to show if it is low though. Magnesium is an intracellular mineral and serum is an extracellular fluid. I just give it. If it helps, it was needed. Do not take magnesium oxide. It is not harmful, but it is not well enough absorbed. Mag malate, mag glycinate and mag citrate are better sources. I give my 3 1/2 year old 300mg per day of powdered mag glycinate and it effects his behavior dramatically. He does not have a diagnosis of anything though.