Kidlet has me stumped

[Emagine]

repost:: I posted this last night in another area.

 

My DS will be 9 in Sept. He is on the Spectrum along with other issues. I have managed to get him nearly caught up in some areas after pulling him out of PS. We started from zero in every subject, and I do mean every single thing.

 

I have him reading now, very well. Not as great as most 9 year olds but wow he is willing to pick up a chapter book (of his interest) and read out loud. This is huge. Big words he needs help on but a year ago this was a major battle on.

 

Where we are still lagged on is spelling. I have tried spelling every which way to Sunday. SpellingCity, writing, jumping on letters, bouncing on a ball, basic writing book - but no matter what once you break into those 4 letter words it is like that little mind just shuts down. I am not sure if it is that he can not or he looses himself because I have not crossed that line yet to find out.

 

We are doing AAS with little brother to learn the basics, we are doing A Reason for Spelling A (which I find no better than any other ones I have tried).

 

The more hectic of a spelling book the more scattered in his thoughts I find him but I feel like I need something or I am missing something. We just began AAS and he is doing good with the phonics part.

 

I do not want him too far behind but really stumped. I am going to talk to DH tonight more about it because this is the first time I feel lost in how/what to do because I do not know why he is doing this. He does not mix up or put letters backwards it is either he can not or will not or both. I have no figured out the level here yet because of this. I know some of it is a can not but what do I do?

 

Thanks.

[Mom22ns]

I don't really know what you can do, but I do think that spelling often improves as reading vocabulary improves. Spelling words are normally well below reading level. I wouldn't panic. If AAS is helping, I'd stick with it. Be patient on this one.

[HollyM]

I have him reading now, very well. Not as great as most 9 year olds but wow he is willing to pick up a chapter book (of his interest) and read out loud. This is huge. Big words he needs help on but a year ago this was a major battle on.

 

First, give yourself a big pat on the back for that one. That is a big hurdle :)

 

As for the spelling, I second the stick with the AAS if that is what you have. If you find he is frustrated with it - try Sequential Spelling. It is very easy to use, short for kids to do daily and gave my guy a lot of confidence. He actually looks forward to spelling each day which was unthinkable even a few months ago.:tongue_smilie:

[Guest]

Many, though by no means all, spectrum kids have difficulty with spelling and writing. Sometimes this is due to the mismatch between their visual wiring and the phonetically based strategies of most spelling programs.

 

Michele one l is a big proponent of Apples and Pears; I'm sure she'll post and tell you about it (I don't know it).

 

MIn my dd's case, she was a visual rather than a phonetic speller and all the programs I floundered around with used phonetic spelling or word families. This simply did not work with dd. She needed two things: first, vision therapy to deal with visual processing issues and visual memory; and then the visual spelling strategies that I found in Jeffrey Freed's book Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World. She ended up moving from not being able to spell most three letter words (we're talking at age ten or eleven here) to spelling at grade level, in just over two years. Spelling is still by no means a strength, but it's amazing what she achieved once I figured out how to work with her.