Can I talk about my youngest, any ideas on what you would do?

[rafiki]

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[Mom2J112903]

Can he build the math problems correctly and find the correct answer, first try, if he uses the MUS manipulatives? This is the ONLY way we have been able to move forward with J...he can build like there is no tomorrow, lol. Ask him to *tell* you the answer, um, not going to happen. We do need to work on his addition though as once he gets deeper into subtraction, he has trouble building addition problems again. He has many different processing disorders, so this has something to do with it as his brain can not "switch gears" so to speak.

 

I would have a private OT and ST re-evaluate him.

 

:grouphug:

[LizzyBee]

For us, speech issues were the first symptom of dyslexia for my dd9. I remember sitting down at the end of her 1st grade year to start planning for the next year, and realizing that she had made almost no progress in reading.

 

About 70-80% of dyslexia is caused by auditory issues, so we started with an evaluation by an audiologist who is specially trained to evaluate and diagnose auditory processing disorder. At 7 yo, my dd had all four subtypes of APD, including very poor phonemic awareness. We started reading a lot of poetry because the rhythm and rhyming helps build phonemic awareness. I downloaded the sample chapter of Literacy Leaders from http://www.epsbooks.com and used that about 10 minutes/day. We used Earobics at the recommendation of the audiologist. Then my research led me to Lindamood Bell Phonemic Sequencing (LiPS), which builds phonemic awareness by teaching students to be aware of the motor process of sound production. LiPS worked faster and more efficiently than the other resources we were using. I am happy to say that at dd's 2-year follow up evaluation in December, her phonemic awareness was fully remediated.

 

Next, we worked through 100EZLessons, which is not really the best reading curriculum to use for a dyslexic kid, but the way that book teaches blending really helped my dd to get over that hump. The stories were manageable because they were short, and completing that book gave her a sense of success. She would flip through the book and see the first stories that were only a few words long and the later stories that were a full page, and it made her feel good to see what she had accomplished.

 

By then, dd was able to just barely pass the student screening for Barton Reading, so that was our next step. Level 1 was really hard for her because it worked with sounds only, no letters. She had to learn to hear the individual sounds in words because there were no visual cues. It was hard but so worth it because, again, it was developing her phonemic awareness. Level 2 was much easier for her because letters were added. We are in Level 4 now, and we are very pleased with the progress she's made.

 

Barton is an Orton-Gillingham based program. This approach is designed to build pathways in the brain to stimulate the areas of the brain that aren't working correctly. It's amazing that this method was developed before the days of brain scans, but brain scans have confirmed that the method works to re-wire the brain. Other OG based programs are Recipe for Reading, which is only $25, but requires more work and planning on the part of the parent/teacher, and Wilson Reading. There are others, but those are the ones that seem to be most popular for homeschooling.

 

Dd had some problems with the language part of math. She easily understood that if she has two cookies and I give her two more, she will have four cookies. But it took a long time for her to understand 2 + 2 = 4. So we did all of her math together with me re-wording it for a long time. Once her language issues were sufficiently remediated, she became more independent and picks up on new concepts much more easily.

 

In addition to the above, dd was in speech therapy from age 3 - 9, and occupational therapy from 7 - 9. Her OT included Interactive Metronome and Therapeutic Listening Program.

 

There is a yahoo group called Heart of Reading that you might want to join. It has been immensely helpful to me.

 

My favorite website about dyslexia is http://www.dys-add.com. My favorite book about learning differences is The Mislabeled Child.

 

I hope something here helps. Hang in there. I used to wonder if my dd would ever read, and now she's reading Boxcar Children books. I've learned to take one day at a time and not worry about the future. :grouphug:

Edited March 23, 2011 by LizzyBee

[rafiki]

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[peacefully]

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[peacefully]

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[Mom2J112903]

Each day he's able to do more and more of the MUS addition without the blocks. He's even able to get 15/20 correct on MUS' online math drill for addition.

 

Subtraction we're only a few weeks into, but yes, he can build the problem when they are written vertically or horizontally. The ones with X or word problems I do have to help with. I also have to remind him to look at the sign if the page is a mix of addition and subtraction. The "algebra" ones are some of the easiet for J. He likes to "solve" so he really "gets" subtraction. J has a hard time with "switching gears" and we are hopeful that once he gets more therapies for his processing disorders, we will see a marked improvement.

 

When telling or writing the answer, it often comes out flipped or is written in reverse. J will still write some of his numbers backwards, we are working hard with his OTs on this.

 

 

Compared with reading and writing, math is his "stronger" subject, but it certainly hasn't come naturally or without lots of practice. J is just the opposite-his reading has sky rocketed recently.

 

When he writes a sentence for Funnix, the first three letters are formed nicely, then it all goes down hill. (I'm beginning to think it must mean something that he can only write three letters before it goes haywire and it's been this way for years now. I think an OT eval would be a wonderful thing to look into for your son. J has fine motor delays along with his processing disorders and it was so aparent in his handwritting.

 

I'm tempted to see how he'd respond to typing.

 

I feel like I should/could be doing something. :confused:

 

An OT, ST and if you can a developemental optomotrist eval is where *I* would start.

[rafiki]

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[LizzyBee]

Is the NP eval coming up soon? I had the audiology eval first, but went ahead and scheduled the psych eval after talking to the audiologist about dd's results. We had to wait about 4 months, so I got an OT eval and updated ST eval in the meantime. Having all those reports to take to the psych was very useful. If your NP eval is coming up soon, I'd probably just wait and get that out of the way before scheduling the other appts so your son doesn't get overloaded.

 

On the handwriting thing, you could try a slant board. We got ours from the Therapy Shoppe online. An OT watched my dd write with and without a slant board and said the slant board removed 80% of the laboriousness. It still took a long time for dd to develop neat handwriting, but at least the slant board made it easier for her.

Edited March 23, 2011 by LizzyBee