Visual-Spatial Curriculum

[Guest littlefeet4]

I have a 7 year old amazing boy who is visual-spatial and kinesthetic learner. I have never gotten him diagnosed, but I know that he has speech & language delay, and articulation disorder. He also appears to have attention deficit and may be in the spectrum of autism, high functioning. He is also socially different that other boys his age. We haven't taken him to any specialist because of financial issues, but I do have a degree in speech therapy and so have been working with him myself.

 

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with teaching him. Last year I really felt we didn't get to cover enough - if I were to put him in regular school with other 2nd graders this fall I know he would be lost and behind. It makes me feel a bit of a failure because it seems everyone who homeschools has kids that excel or surpass other kids. He is very bright, but I think it took me a very long time to get used to his learning style and teaching him the way he learns best and at times I just simply didn't know how to present the material to him, but I am learning.

 

Anyway, I'm trying to find more visual-spatial curriculum for him this year without being too expensive. I have heard of Time4Learning and definitely considering it, but it is a bit pricey at about $240 a year. What other good ones are out there? I would prefer to have one with a Biblical world view.

 

Thanks for your help!

[wapiti]

FWIW, I collected a list of older threads about curricula for VSLs in this one: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?p=2479335&highlight=visual#post2479335 There may be a lot more to choosing a curriculum for a VSL than simply whether the material is presented visually. It sounds like you're looking for an all-in-one curriculum, though that's not someplace I'd expect to find a good fit for a 2E kiddo. I'd worry first about skill subjects (reading, writing, math) and do the rest more...creatively but with less emphasis. I'd expect to choose curricula for subjects individually.

 

As for the speech issues, I might keep an eye out for language processing issues down the road. It's very fortunate that you should be able to handle that yourself. If possible, I'd administer the various tests and such at least once every year or two or whatever, just as though he were a regular client of yours, so you can track progress.

 

As for the possibilities of ADHD and spectrum issues, that would probably have me running to the neuropsych. Some universities have good neuropsych departments, where you can get an evaluation for a good price, usually performed by a grad student and overseen by the instructors. Other than that, I'd definitely call the school district to ask about whether they'd do some testing (not that they're typically wonderful with 2E kids, but it's a place to start if you can't afford anything else).

 

I'd also read the following, all of which should be available within your library system:

 

The Eides' The Mislabeled Child and the Dyslexic Advantage

Silverman's Upside Down Brilliance

Freed's Right Brained Child in a Left Brained World

[Lecka]

My son is a rising 2nd grader, too, in public school. There are kids functioning at a wide range of levels. Not all the kids in public school are magically at 2nd grade level.

 

The kids who would be lost and behind hopefully are going to pull-out or having accomodations made. Or maybe they are lost and behind.

 

I honestly think -- if you are teaching him how he learns, he is learning more than he would in school, most likely. I look at little at grade levels and being on level etc. but there is an area right now where I think it is going to be pull-out and accomodations for my son - - and it is okay. He is working hard, he is making steady progress.

 

My son had articulation errors also, and now he has met his articulation goals (yay!) and is still in speech for cluttering, talking too fast, and talking nasally.

 

But anyway -- there can be an overlap with articulation disorder and visual-spacial and dyslexia. If you look at Overcoming Dyslexia it might give you ideas for reading, if he seems to fit that profile. It is not bad! Just certain ways or teaching reading tend to work better and some methods do not work well.

 

I am a heavy after-schooler in the area of reading. We are blessed my son's school math works for him.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Lecka

[herekittykitty]

I think a lot of "regular" curricula can be adapted to be more visual spatial as yo implement it.

 

Two things that come to mind are to get some plastilina clay - it never dries out and you can find it at most art stores. Let your child self create concepts whenever possible. You can use this for math concepts, letters/words, really anything.

 

Also consider looking at the book Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World. It talks about ADD, but even if your child doesn't have ADD, there are whole sections about the best techniques for teaching to a visual spatial child. One thing the author stresses is to encourage and prompt your child to make mental picture of what he or she is learning. This really teaches them to use their strengths.