Can you give me LD success stories?

[Jean in Newcastle]

It can be a success in one part of one subject! I'd like to know what worked for you in teaching someone with a learning disability. Has it been a particular book? a kind of treatment? an approach like direct teaching or constant drill? lifestyle/diet? Yes, I know these things are highly individual. But I'm at a bit of a low point/ frustration boiling point. In deference to my fragile emotional state right now on this topic could you try to limit this to only what has worked? I'm a bit too discouraged to hear what hasn't worked right now.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Well, I can't tell you from personal experience, but one of my sisters worked at a school for LD kids and she swears by the Orton-Gillingham method for teaching kids who are struggling with reading. Also, having an incentive system worked for her as well for everything!

[aliya]

My 9 year old has shown incredible changes since doing Fast Forward (1 year ago). He went from barely reading - no comprehension - not grasping or retaining anything in his schoolwork to a reader with comprehension, an understander (of processes and concepts) and an all around good, steady student. Best $ I've spent on his education, without a doubt.

 

My 12 year old became a new person (for the better) after we eliminated artificial food coloring from his diet. Even my previously skeptical DH is a firm believer that the modified diet has been a lifesaver.

[Susan C.]

I am not sure if either of my dc are LD, never pursued diagnosis. Ds could not sit still when he was younger. Flat could not. It is the reason I decided to homeschool him. 30 minutes lessons, 30 min. bike riding, repeat, that is how he was homeschooled. He ended up sensitive to food additives and especially dyes. And we have to severely limit junk food and sugar. I figured that out by trial and error. Bad behavior, no attention, squirmy, hmmm, what has he eaten. Then look for a pattern. He is still a work in progress in college, certain supplements really do help him. He is doing quite well in college, though. It helps to have him older to help with the research!

 

Dd didn't read until the end of 2nd grade. (A year of blood, sweat and tears with Alpha Phonics got her going). She is 11th grade now. She didn't do on grade level until 4th or 5th grade, but I kept plugging away and teaching her at the level she could do. She reads a little slowly now, but is doing well. I think the slow reading is her creative side and her stubborn side that will not go further until she gets it. And that is a good thing.

 

With both of them, if the stress level got too high, we would stop and do something fun for awhile (go out and play, do crafts, or go somewhere for the afternoon). It really helped, they can't learn when they are spent anyway.

 

Diet wise, most do not get enough protein. Breakfast cereal has none, lunch meat has very little, so if you have a kid who really misses it, they will feel bad on the above diet. Eggs for breakfast (or even leftovers from dinner), a real piece of meat for lunch (good quality chicken nuggets) with vegetables (my kids liked frozen vegs. in bag straight from the freezer), cheese and fruit for snacks, whole milk (organic w/o hormones), soups/stews, roasts, whole chickens, that sort of eating really helped us.

 

Hang in there!

[LizzyBee]

Well, I can't tell you from personal experience, but one of my sisters worked at a school for LD kids and she swears by the Orton-Gillingham method for teaching kids who are struggling with reading. Also, having an incentive system worked for her as well for everything!

 

We use an Orton-Gillingham based program (Barton) with my dyslexic dd, and I can't say enough good things about it.

 

We used LiPS before Barton, which helped build her phonemic awareness. Before LiPS, phonics went in one ear and out of the other.

 

Her occupational therapist used Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome with her. I think they both helped.

[Paz]

My dd is dyslexic and dygraphic and has sensory issues. She cannot handle noise, crowds, etc. We really didn't think she'd be able to go to college. She is 18 and this semester began dual enrollment classes at the local cc. She is doing very well. Her history professor gave her over 100 percent on an opinion paper she wrote. He loved her insights. When she took her College Placement Test she got 99 percent in reading comprehension and 94 percent in grammar. Here is what I can tell you about our schooling. We did little things each day, not enough in my estimation, not well enough or completely enough, and with much tears, whining, and frustration (from both of us). She did work with a tutor regularly in the Orton-Gillingham Method for about 1 year around age 11 and again last semester to prepare her more in math and writing.

The most important thing for her was reading and discussing ideas. The Well-Trained Mind ideas modified for her have helped her to be able to work with ideas and to express herself well. For the longest time I read and we discussed until she was able to read well on her own (probably around age 13 or 14). Most of the work we did orally. I let her focus on her interested and if she got excited about a subject or activity we went all out on working with her interests. She did learn to type but cannot spell at all on paper. She has accomodations at college for any in class written work. She can use a tape recorder for notes but she usually doesn't. About a year ago she began fish oil and magnesium which have helped her sensory issues. She also had bloodwork done to help identify food sensitivities which have helped. One thing I have noticed with her is that she does not learn in increments like most people. It will seem like we have made no progress for months and like she will never be ready to take the next step and then all of a sudden she gets it. My encouragement is to keep on doing the small things, don't worry about what you aren't covering, and eventually things will come together. Even though you may not see progress right now it doesn't mean that things are stagnant.

[JennW in SoCal]

What worked for me personally:

 

 

• a glass of wine at 5pm
   
  
• lunch while reading a good book and instructions to NOT BOTHER ME
  

 

What worked for the kiddo in question:

 

 

• short and specific check lists for the day
  
• rewards for a good week (we'd get a video Friday afternoon from blockbuster or the library)
  
• doing math together, sprawled on the living room floor with a white board.
  
• Locking the dog in another room of the house during school time
  
• Reading aloud
  
• Not expecting the same level or kind of output that you see describe in the WTM or on these boards. Less writing -- consistent, but less frequently and a smaller amount each time. Allowing other forms of output, whether the creation of a drawing, a video, a powerpoint presentation, an oral presentation or a dramatic presentation.
  
• Allowing the pursuit of interests
  
• Creating courses around those interests (I adapted an obsession with all things Disney to math, science AND history)
  

 

 

Most important of all:

 

Finding something outside the home where the child can succeed. It is refreshing to have someone else value your child for his or her unique gifts as we lose sight of those gifts in the day to day conflicts of learnin' them their readin' and writin'.

 

The success story is that my ld kiddo is now 19 and doing very well. He is gainfully employed, well respected by his employers, and is heading off to college on the other side of the country come August. And glory be he finally has a driver's license!!!

 

Hang in there. Some days and weeks are brutal, but you are well paid in the end with a wonderful young adult who appreciates your hard work.

[elfgivas]

What worked for me personally:

 

 

• a glass of wine at 5pm

• lunch while reading a good book and instructions to NOT BOTHER ME

 

What worked for the kiddo in question:

 

 

• short and specific check lists for the day

• rewards for a good week (we'd get a video Friday afternoon from blockbuster or the library)

• doing math together, sprawled on the living room floor with a white board.

• Locking the dog in another room of the house during school time

• Reading aloud

• Not expecting the same level or kind of output that you see describe in the WTM or on these boards. Less writing -- consistent, but less frequently and a smaller amount each time. Allowing other forms of output, whether the creation of a drawing, a video, a powerpoint presentation, an oral presentation or a dramatic presentation.

• Allowing the pursuit of interests

• Creating courses around those interests (I adapted an obsession with all things Disney to math, science AND history)

 

 

Most important of all:

 

Finding something outside the home where the child can succeed. It is refreshing to have someone else value your child for his or her unique gifts as we lose sight of those gifts in the day to day conflicts of learnin' them their readin' and writin'.

 

The success story is that my ld kiddo is now 19 and doing very well. He is gainfully employed, well respected by his employers, and is heading off to college on the other side of the country come August. And glory be he finally has a driver's license!!!

 

Hang in there. Some days and weeks are brutal, but you are well paid in the end with a wonderful young adult who appreciates your hard work.

 

:iagree:

alll of this. what a great post! for dd who is dyslexic, there was not just one thing.... we tried just about any approach i could think of. in the end, the key was that she is kinesthetic, so we worked at teaching her body to read...

 

:grouphug:

ann

[Momofeat]

It's funny that you asked this today, because I just had a discussion about this subject with my dd(11) this morning.

 

She has dyscalculia, and for the first time since Kindergarten, she has made over a year's progress in a year's time. To me, that's a huge success. She's still below grade level, but she is gradually closing the gap.

 

When I was a Special Ed teacher, I saw countless children close the gap, and I even saw a few whose IQ jumped several points! I'm a big Orton-Gillingham fan too. :D

[ElizabethB]

For people taught reading with sight words, nonsense words, spelling and syllables and a lot of repetition.

 

I've done some math remediation, too. Repetition and explaining things 100s of different ways, getting things down to a very simple level of explanation.

 

I had one student who needed even more repetition than my normal high repetition students, and he was one of my first students, and a few years before I became a Christian. He is lucky to be alive! :D It took a year to get him to grade level, most of my students take a few months. His IQ was below normal. I had my best student right after him, I procrastinated taking him on because the schools were going to put him in Special Ed and I didn't think I could take 2 special needs students at once, my one student drove me so crazy. Eventually, the dad of the 2nd student was scheduled to deploy and so I relented to help them out. It turns out that he was actually very bright, he remediated in only 8 lessons! That was a big relief. He was actually one of my most enjoyable students--a very nice young man who was bright and easy to teach.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Thank you so much! After I started this thread I realized that my worst nightmare would be if no one had any LD success stories! Can you guess how pessimistic I've been on this whole topic? I'm busy looking up the programs, and methods mentioned here. I really appreciate the information and the encouragement.

 

And Jenn - I was so down and pessimistic that it sort of bowled me over when you talked about the gifts that a child with these struggles has. Isn't that awful?! I needed to take a step back and look through more objective lenses than my grey colored ones. . .

[Upward Journey]

One thing I have noticed with her is that she does not learn in increments like most people. It will seem like we have made no progress for months and like she will never be ready to take the next step and then all of a sudden she gets it. My encouragement is to keep on doing the small things, don't worry about what you aren't covering, and eventually things will come together. Even though you may not see progress right now it doesn't mean that things are stagnant.

 

One of mine is like this. Sometimes we both get discouraged, but then I remind her "remember when reading was so hard and now look." or her handwriting it was aw.ful. then all of a sudden she got a bee in her bonnet and spent all her extra time practicing. Now she's got the best handwriting of all her siblings. Our current struggle is math (she's more than 2 grade levels behind) but we're persevering and I just keep reminding her of the other things that she has overcome.

 

I don't have any specific programs to recommend, (we've used so many) Keep swimming and looking forward. :grouphug:

[Farrar]

I taught many kids who were classified as LD during my teaching career. I worked in a very small school and worked with many of my students for 2 or 3 years. I can think of specific times that I had breakthroughs with kids and helped them push through and get to a new level with something, but as you said, it can be so individual. For me, the biggest success has just been seeing how some kids who made me want to pull my hair out in despair back when they were middle schoolers are now living pretty successful lives - I still hear from many of them (mostly through the magic of Facebook) and some of the kids who really struggled with basic skills like constructing a decent sentence are now in college or employed. They're young adults who are on their way in life.

[hsbaby]

My oldest dd is Autistic. She didn't learn to read until she was probably 11. She knew sight words prior to that. She still struggles with blending, but is making progress (we are using Scaredy Cat Reading system). Math has been our biggest struggle. I seriously thought she would never learn to add. Just this year ( using touch math), she was able to learn to add single digit and double digit problems (with carrying!). We have just started using Number Neighbors and it has been awesome. It is really boosting her confidence and she is actually enjoying math!! Still trying to figure out how to increase her retention and comprehension in Science and History. Good luck. The road is long and daunting, but progress can be made:)

[sparrow]

Teaching my son to type using Dance Mat Typing and then allowing him to type copywork, spelling, or any other work that required writing. By taking away the frustration and stress that came with physically writing, he thrived. The act of writing took so much brain power for him, that his spelling and grammar were non-existent. I finally gave in and realized that typing came naturally for him and surprisingly the spelling and grammar came right along.

 

We still have to go over multiplication facts over, and over, AND OVER (has it really been 3 + years now?!). Believe it, or not, he often struggles with x0 and x1 :001_smile:. Finding the area of a trapezoid comes easy to him, but ask him what 6x0 is and he has to really think!

 

:grouphug: It's not easy, but wow, it's rewarding when they really GET it!

[HomeOnTheRanch]

Thank you all for sharing. Really.

[Alexandra]

We use an Orton-Gillingham based program (Barton) with my dyslexic dd, and I can't say enough good things about it.

 

We used LiPS before Barton, which helped build her phonemic awareness. Before LiPS, phonics went in one ear and out of the other.

 

Her occupational therapist used Therapeutic Listening Program and Interactive Metronome with her. I think they both helped.

 

This program was the turning point for us.

[ktmo]

Long-term success - I am a successful Dyslexic. I struggled with ps and ended up in a private school for students with learning disabilities for 7th and 8th grade. They used an Orton-Gillingham approach. I ended up struggling through high school, but got into a state college. I struggled my first year and a half, and finally something clicked. I graduate on time and ended up going to grad school. I am now a special education teacher (I after-school my DD - that is why I am on this forum). I teach middle school students who struggle with reading. I am using a program called Corrective Reading, which was created by Siegfried Englemann (TYCTR100).

[Jean in Newcastle]

I struggled my first year and a half, and finally something clicked.

 

Thank you for saying this. I've had this gut feeling that this child just needs more time for things to come together. But I've see-sawed between wanting to give her time and feeling guilty if I don't push her.

[sparrow]

Thank you for saying this. I've had this gut feeling that this child just needs more time for things to come together. But I've see-sawed between wanting to give her time and feeling guilty if I don't push her.

 

I now look back over the time I tried to push and feel guilty about it. This year I approached things at his speed and it has been SO much easier for both of us, as well as far more productive.

[texasmama]

:grouphug: I will come back to this.

[Jan in SC]

Find an activity outside of your house and school for that child nf he/she excels in something, let it continue!! It makes a huge difference in self-esteem.

[Stacy in NJ]

as PDD-NOS (Autism Spectrum). When we first began she was barely reading as a second grader, her level of comprehension was significantly delayed, and she stuggled in all areas of academics. Currently as a 6th grade,r she reads above grade level, has a vocabulary tested above grade level, writes on or near grade level. She continues to struggle in math and science, but has come along way with them as well.

 

She's an enthusiastic fiction reader and understands every thing she reads now.

 

I think she quite possibly will be capable of college if she takes an alternative route. The math portion of the SAT might not be do-able for her, but, who knows, she's young yet and may develop further in her mathmatics ability just as she has done in her reading.

 

When df first approached me about tutoring, she wanted to focus primarily on reading and we did. My oldest ds13 is dyslexic and she know I had experience with reading difficulties. But, over the years that focus has shifted as her abilities have developed. After she began reading well (about 4th grade), we then focused on writing. Now that she's in 6th grade and capable of writing devleoped paragraphs, we're focusing more on math.

 

I definately see this child as a success story. Her parents' expectations of her and for her have expanded as the years have progressed. That's a very good thing.

[Stacy in NJ]

You can challenge her and push and still give her time. I know it sounds like a contridiction, but keeping focused and working every day, but at the same time, remaining patient, relaxed and positive are key traits to success, imo. Pushing doesn't mean she need to be in tears everyday. Giving her time doesn't mean NOT working consistently.

 

I've had this gut feeling that this child just needs more time for things to come together. But I've see-sawed between wanting to give her time and feeling guilty if I don't push her.

[texasmama]

One of my kids has an LD (non specific type), some anxiety and a lot of sensory issues. He is neurologically disorganized and always has been. He is mostly very sweet, but he is difficult to teach because he is easily overwhelmed by new materials and goes into an emotional tailspin that is hard to recover from. (That is the background...)

 

He is doing much better.:001_smile: Yay!:D This is the end of our third year of homeschooling, and he is really doing well. We had him tested by the school district about a year ago to get some specific information/feedback about his strengths and weaknesses, which helped me so much in approaching his issues.

 

What has helped...My son gets OT targeted towards his sensory issues 30 minutes per week. It has helped his learning/neurological functioning so much. I don't know how it is related, but it is. I have advocated for (and received) OT for him this summer because he regresses so much when he doesn't receive the services for several weeks. This is through the local school district.

 

I watch how I speak to him. I don't tell him his answer is "wrong" ever. I say "You need to look at this one again". I put him at whatever level he is capable of working at. His strength is math so I make sure he gets the very best math instruction I can give him to build on this strength. He is weak in language arts so I began the year working with him at WWE 2 (he is in fourth grade). He has progressed to WWE 3, but it was slow going. I change and adjust the program to fit his needs and introduce new things slowly. He was 10 weeks into WWE 3 before he agreed to read his own passage rather than having me read it. I didn't make this an issue. I read it and kept introducting the idea of him reading it. Eventually, he agreed to read it himself. We use curriculum which doesn't have tests. It just worked out that way, but it is a good fit for my son. He truly feels like a "loser", in his words, if he does "poorly". He is a perfectionist, so I constantly point out mistakes I make in math, spelling, etc. Then I laugh hysterically at myself, pointing out how funny that is that I added that wrong, etc. This is to help him see that it is okay to make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, and that it is good to be able to laught about these.;) I don't really think my mistakes are hysterical, but I don't let making mistakes define how I feel about my abilities, which is the lesson I am trying to pass on.

 

He takes piano lessons. He does recitals in front of a small audience twice a year. This helps him neurologically as well as builds his confidence.:001_smile: He plays basketball. He is good at it. This builds his sense of competency. He was not good at it when he started, but after years of playing, he has developed some motor memory with the sport. My kids will be tall so basketball is a sport we have steered them towards. We are thinking towards the future when he will be a teen/adult and will have a lot of knowledge and skills to be able to participate in a fun sport, which will help him socially, as well.

 

We went to a therapist when it became clear that he/we needed some support for his anxiety. It was a short-term thing, but it really helped.

 

I spend a lot of time talking to him and normalizing feelings, thoughts, etc. He is capable of some insight so I work with that. He needs much more support than the average child in this area, but my background as a therapist with kids has helped me a great deal in helping him.

 

I have a lot of patience. I always keep in mind that he is doing as well as he can, given his neurological functioning. I don't make his struggles about me, my teaching, my parenting or about his character. They are neurological issues beyond his control. That takes some pressure off of both of us.

 

My very secret fantasy, which I haven't had to use for a while because things are going better, is imagining that he is an adult and accepting the Nobel Prize or somesuch. He is successful, we are past the hard years, etc. The things that I sowed into him are being reaped. I know that is kind of corny;), but it does help me to look far into the future and see a time when everything turned out fine. This child has been a struggle to help/parent/teach for a very long time so I have needed to be able to think beyond the day to day.

 

I hope that helps, Jean. I know that some of this is specific to my child and his issues, but maybe there is something you can generalize. This is the child God gave you. You are the parent this child needs.:grouphug:

[Blue Hen]

Jean, I really want to get back to quilting so I'm not taking the time to read the other threads but I would love to share my son's story. Yes, it is a success story---he's my oldest, a freshman in college, honor's students, dean's list --- he is home this weekend with his GF cause they both have lots of work to do and knew our home would be quiet.

 

In K the PS said DS would never, ever learn to read and there was nothing we could do other than accept this fact. HA --- this researcher of a mom went to work, got DS to specialists who id the underlying problem (severe auditory processing disorder) and DS went through a program called FastForWord. In mid-1st grade kid was reading on a 4th grade level. So, let's see, that's seeing specialist to get to underlying cause and mom taking over the remediation, working 1-1 with kid to get him the remediation, then teaching the reading. Lot's of 1-1 work.

 

Fastforward to beginning of 2nd grade and we were now dealing with ADHD and math LD's. One down (reading issue) 2 to go. For these we did medication, behavior modification and lots of 1-1 work of mom with son to address the math LD. Oh, and we brought the child out of the PS and home.

 

Through the grammar years and logic years I wondered if this child would ever work on his own without me sitting next to him, without me pestering him to get his work done and if he would ever remember his math facts. Well, he did get there. What helped me were things I heard from various conference speakers --- ask the child to do only one new thing at a time. Stay right next to him and guide him. When they can do it alone they will tell you to go away. If what you are trying is not working, try a different approach. That is what I did. It was tiring! There were days I felt so envious of friends who talked of how they finished all their school work in 2hrs. There were days I was upset that we had to skip park day cause the work was going oh so slow. It is hard! And stressful!

 

So, DS is in college and went in with 36 credits earned from scoring high on Advanced Placement tests. He's doing a dual major too --- computer science and mathematics. Yea, this kid who could not add 2 + 3 in 3rd grade without using his fingers loves math and does extremely well in the subject too. He's on the dean's list too, and an honor's student! Go figure. Oh, and he does not have any accommodations in college although he tells me struggles with staying focused, keeping track of his tasks and getting his work done in a timely manner but he has taken ownership of these responsiblities so maybe it is a good thing we skipped park day when he didn't have his work done. His job back then, as it is now is getting his work done before play time.

 

Enjoy the journey!

Carole