fastforward Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Right now, I'm overwhelmed by so much and I have few people IRL who will understand or listen, so I hope no one minds that I vent here. I'll try to keep it focused around my SN daughter. She had an auditory evaluation 3 weeks ago and I don't have any results back yet. The screening went somewhat poorly, IMO, because the doctor doing the hearing portion made judgments about homeschooling before the actual exam, and made up her mind that my daughter didn't have auditory processing disorder based upon our conversation. Both my daughter and I left that appointment tired and frustrated. She has another appointment with a different group of doctors at another location, but it isn't until December, so I'm itching to know what to do, if anything, before that time, and until I get some results back from the cruddy auditory eval. In the meantime, I've been doing a good amount of reading both here and some recommended books. On one hand, I'm grateful for the information and knowledge, but on the other, it's too much for my inadequate mind to handle. :( I wonder if I should be buying Earobics or the similar program offered by Super Duper. I wonder if I should just wait until the next eval in December or just do what I'm doing right now with DD (just regular schoolwork). I am also wondering if homeschooling is the best for my older DD. Right now, I devote so much time to my other DD (the one with suspected SN) that I feel my older daughter is missing out on too much. The work she does isn't challenging, she is unfocused a lot of the time, and I feel we are behind where she could be. Add my 3 year old to the mix, who spends a lot of time with her grandmother or playing by herself because I'm working with her older sisters, and I'm becoming toast. Also, we have no heat at the moment because our furnace was flooded out during the hurricane and we're trying to deal with this as the temps drop in my area. I'm simply not coping well. Kudos to anyone who got this far with my rambling mess of a post. I may come back to delete later. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 :grouphug::grouphug: I have 2 children with special needs. Different needs and different effects on our schooling and time. I am sorry about the crummy doctor visit. I have had my share of those as well. They are so discouraging. As far as research, sometimes you just have to give yourself a break. Give it time to connect and gel in your brain. Give yourself time to relax and take a mental break. Otherwise, like your kids, you won't remember what you read and you won't be able to apply it. Every now and then I go to the library and get myself some 'brain candy' to read or I spend time knitting yet another dishcloth because it gives me a mental switch. Last night I took all my books and graded papers at a coffee shop. I looked strange taking in all those TM, but doing that, and spending $2 on an endless cup of coffee, refreshed me in and unexpected way. I also did lesson plans and surprised myself with how much I was able to complete with out child interruption. I have found that sometimes I just have to switch focus. Right now I am waiting for results and more appointments with my dd. What I am doing with her is in a holding pattern while I spend some heavy duty time with my ds. At some point dd will have more appts and evals and I will have to move more of my focus to her. It is hard. Because of the difficulty in balancing all of this, we did decide to use video curriculum with my son for at least half of his subjects. It frees me up more, he can do school most anywhere, and I can spread my focus when I need to with out his falling further behind. For my dd4 and the issues caused by just her age, well, we have at times passed her on to someone else. I have hired a friend who kept her one morning a week to play with her dds, we have done Mother's Day Out, and so on so I can have fewer interruptions with ds. My dd is also in 6 hours of therapy each week so I use those times for the more intense teaching times with ds although I admit is is easy for me to use those hours for errands and fail to teach or follow-up with my son when I should be. :grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merry gardens Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Been there done that! Being in limbo waiting for evaluation is a lousy place to be. Even worse if you already put the energy into an evaluation that wasn't helpful. My main suggestion would be to step away. It it is two months until December. I would encourage you to set some limits on yourself about continuing to study and research. You clearly know enough to make use of the information you get from the evaluation when you get it. I wouldn't buy any program or make any big decisions about school until you get back results from the evaluation. Right now, I'd think about shifting your energy a bit to focus more on the fun and happy aspects of life in your homeschool. Today might be a good day to pick apples or bake a fall treat. Or maybe a day for Pjs, popcorn, games and movies. Anything to refocus on being together and getting away from worry for a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraphina Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 :grouphug: I wouldn't make any decisions until December. Just keep trying to do what you are doing, enjoy the fall weather, try not to stress over the small stuff, yes yes easier said than done. Enjoy your time with your children, that is something you won't regret. And see if anyone has a space heater you can borrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpence1978 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 There is no magic program, therapy, supplement etc, some things help, but the wiring will still be there and won't make a SN child turn into a typical child. If you embrace each for who they are, feed their strengths and gently work on their weaknesses, they begin to blossom. I really needed to hear this little bit of advice. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnella Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 My older son is in ps right now partially because his younger brother takes up so much time. It doesn't help that I'm disabled either. When I couldn't find the high level Spanish instruction my older son needed in our area, I gave up and let him continue in ps. Then he decided to join JROTC this year, so we agreed he'd stay in ps. Sadly, he is bored sometimes. So it's not a perfect solution, but it's the best one we can manage. As you learn more about your child's SNs, you'll be in a better place to make decisions for both of your children. I'm supposed to be reading up on my younger DS's special needs, my illnesses, and starting very soon, colleges for my older boy. I have to rotate all that heavy duty nonfiction with light weight fiction from time to time. So please give your brain a break. Plus you'll - hopefully - be better able to target your research after the December evaluation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastforward Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Thank you for all of the thoughtful responses. Yesterday, I wrote out a response but had to run out quickly so it never was sent -- probably a good thing since it leaned on the side of being depressing. :glare: We ended up taking a day "off" to go apple picking and to visit a historical state park, and it was a welcome change to the usual routine. DD has not had a neuropsych evaluation done yet. That is part of what is scheduled for December. I've also taken a break from reading about APD and other special needs. Combined with a few field trips, this will hopefully help me to relax a bit. I'm sending up prayers and crossing my fingers that it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer-72 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Thank you for all of the thoughtful responses. Yesterday, I wrote out a response but had to run out quickly so it never was sent -- probably a good thing since it leaned on the side of being depressing. :glare: We ended up taking a day "off" to go apple picking and to visit a historical state park, and it was a welcome change to the usual routine. DD has not had a neuropsych evaluation done yet. That is part of what is scheduled for December. I've also taken a break from reading about APD and other special needs. Combined with a few field trips, this will hopefully help me to relax a bit. I'm sending up prayers and crossing my fingers that it works. Taking a break from reading about special needs was the best thing I did while ds was undergoing all of his initial assessments. I needed to be sure that my answers to the questions were reflective of my own observations. It was so easy to have them clouded by what I had read and had interpreted to represent ds. I hope the next couple of months go smoothly for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 First, :grouphug:. Second, is it possible for you to "just take a break" from formal schooling and do some nature study (walks in the backyard or park) or trips to the zoo, etc? Maybe just do some Read-Alouds and educational/cultural videos with everyone. That does count as education and you might all be a bit more relaxed. The anticipation and not knowing is always the hardest! Take a deep breath, maybe eat some chocolate :D, and listen to your Mommy's Intuition. Go from there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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