How do I get it done?

[Abecedarianmama]

I have four children, 9, 6, 5 and 3. The oldest is adhd, the 6 year old has capd, vision problems (diagnosed by a developmental eye doctor) and I don't know what else, my five year old has some vision problems, and my three year old is deaf with cochlear implants and had a stroke so he has many other things going on. The fourth grader is actually going to finish a full school year for the first time, and we only did spelling, math and english this year. The 6 year old needs several hours a day of vision therapy, occupational therapy and capd therapy homework, the 5 year old needs a bit and the 3 year old gets assignments from speech, OT and PT. I don't know how to get all of this done, and I'm avoiding all of it instead of doing some. How did you find the time to keep up with everything and get it done? HELP!

[rafiki]

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[PeterPan]

Well clearly you're knocking it out, because your oldest is right on grade level. Good job! Summer is coming up, so take advantage of that and put aside the academics to work on therapy stuff. Vision therapy is something where you can make tremendous progress pretty quickly. Did they give you a time estimate? Maybe you'll be done by fall? We started around this time last year and were done by Christmas. So it's not like it's forever or going to subsume your entire next year (hopefully).

 

Personally, on the academics, I think you could put a lot aside for summer. The one thing I wish we had done better was to keep up on math. If I could suggest, simply pick *1 hour* a day to work on academics. Do math and then a tad bit of LA, whatever you can get done with them in that *1 hour* and call it good. So divide up your tasks into chunks (1 hour of academics, 1 hour of VT, 1 hour of CAPD therapy, 1 hour of ...). Then figure out where you want to stick those. For us, the therapy stuff was wearying, meaning she just needed to PLAY a lot in-between. Play you can handle, right? :)

 

I would see if you can do some of the therapy homework for your 3 yo while your olders are having that 1 hour of acadmics. Probably 20 minutes would get you through the ST homework, right? Then do the OT/PT homework at a different time. Maybe all the kids would like to do the OT/PT homework together as a break? Is it stuff that would be fun to do with all of them? Then, maybe with time your 9 yo could even take over supervising when you need a break. He's probably pretty close to that age where he could.

[VinNY]

See if you qualify for any aid or respite care through a local or state agency considering especially your 3 yr olds needs. Can you afford a mother's helper to come in and help with their homework?

 

I think in your situation, you would have to put a time limit on at home therapies and prioritize. You didn't state how many days a week they were getting outside therapy or if they were going at the same time. I know that when my dtr was 6, we were at OT 2X a week and speech 5X a week with two different therapists. I also had a newborn and 2 yr old with older kids needing me. I did minimal homework at that time. With each yr that passed, I did more home based things like Earobics, LiPs and exercise from Dr. Rosner's book, Brain Gym, gymnastics and dance to help OT. I paid my 12 yr old to teach her to ride a bike last summer and the town swim instructor to help with her fear of water.

 

We didn't do VT until she was 9..I couldn't handle the running around...so kudos to you for all you are doing.

 

I think OhElizabeth is right..concentrate on therapies this summer and phonemic awareness type exercises for the 5 &6 yr olds.

 

You deserve some help with your 3 yr old.

[Misty]

I have a similar situation..

 

13yr old - OCD, Tourette's, attitude, LD"s

10yr old - Asperger's, auditory processing

8yr old - Asperger's, ADHD, severe OCD, NVLD, SPD, needs vision therapy, retained moro reflex, behavior problems, acts like a 3yr old half the time!

4yr old - quirky, but no diagnosis.. However, he is having a CT scan tomorrow and surgery later this month (biopsy) to rule out fibrous dysplasia.. :confused:

 

AND my husband has been gone for the past four years for military service!:glare: My head is barely above water at this point.

 

:grouphug: to you!

[SonshineLearner]

Do car school on the way to appts. SOTW on cd.... Shurley Jingles if you want those learned... etc.... :) Sounds like a lot of appts and such, give yourself time off if possible. Sounds like you're doing a lot!!!

[dsmama]

Great suggestions so far. You DO have a lot going on!!

 

- Love the idea of looking to see if you qualify for respite care. It has made a big difference for me.

- I try to find fun things for the kids to do while another is in therapy -- card games, simple workbook page, etc., that still are somewhat school related.

- I try to have "therapy days" for appointments. I try to have Mondays and Wednesdays devoted to school time, if at all possible, and do therapy Tuesdays and Fridays (and sometimes Thursdays). This helps me and the kids know mentally that Mon/Wed is definitely a day to focus on school.

- I assign an older sibling to have time with my toddler, allowing me one-on-one teaching time with another child. Five year old can watch Signing Time with brother for 20 minutes. Big sis can read a book to brother, etc.

 

Good luck. Best wishes. You are obviously doing well because it sounds like some things are going well!