SPD and ADD/HD anyone?

[Guest NorthofU]

Does anyone homeschool a child with SPD and ADD/HD. My almost 5 year old is constantly jumping around and everyday is a struggle with a lot of things as every day is different feelings for her.

 

She's currently in Jr. K at a private Christian school but I'd love to have her home too. I'm just not sure how to do it. My other daughter is 6.5 and is an accelerated learner. I also have a 2 year old.

 

Help!

[MomatHWTK]

Bump for you. My kids are different ages than yours. I just kind of deal and make the best of it. Some days are good, some days are not as great.

[ssruckman]

My son is 9, diagnosed with SPD, ADHD and GAD. We are waiting for results from his neuropsych eval, who thinks he me have Asperger's.

 

His SPD is pretty severe, and he takes Straterra, which barely takes the edge off the ADHD. On a good day we get in a page of math, some LA, he reads some history and practices his music. He takes science, creative writing, Spanish, an geography at our co-op, and sometimes had a little homework from there. Usually one hour a day of seatwork is what I get from him right now.

 

His OT works with him on handwriting twice a week and does Therapeutic Listening. We have a weighted vest that he can use during seatwork to help him focus.

 

I also have s 13 yo son who thankfully is pretty much a self learner at this point. He has some SPD symptoms, but is a sensory avoider, and likes complete quiet to study, so he goes to his room.

 

Suzanne

[mybluesky]

My son is 5, and we just started homeschooling kindergarten. He has SPD (severe) and we are waiting for an appointment at the end of November with a developmental ped. to find out about what else might be going on (ADD or ASD).

 

I have started a couple semi-desperate threads already because homeschooling has had such a bumpy start for us. He simply can't do workbook kinds of things; he needs to be moving all the time. He has no patience for repetition of material at all, even things he hasn't mastered. We have finally put together a schedule that seems to be working for us both. In the morning he watches a science video for a half hour, and then I read to him for 1-2 hours while he plays legos (which he literally can do all day). After lunch we have two 5-minute lessons: one math, and one phonics. We literally set a timer for each. (I'm hoping to stretch these out gradually as time goes on.) Then he is done for the day.

 

That really seems to be all he can tolerate right now. I admit to being really frustrated sometimes, because there are so many wonderful things we could do or I could be teaching him, but it is overwhelming to him. I have planned field trips and some days he just.can't.do.it.

 

With his SPD being so different every day, I'm trying to be accommodating and flexible. It's hard, because I get frustrated, but I'm learning to let go of my own plans if necessary.

 

I do only homeschool one child, so my situation is definitely different than yours. Is your dd an auditory learner? Are there ways to let her move and groove and yet still listen in on some of what you are doing with your dd6.5?

 

I wish I had more advice/ideas for you in terms of how to balance homeschooling all three kids. In our situation, a school setting was simply unworkable for my ds. It was way too stressful. He turned to me yesterday and told me that he loves school! :-) That makes every bit of this worth it!

[PandaMom]

I have a 7 y/o DD who was diagnosed with SPD at 4. She recently underwent neuropsych testing in April-June and was diagnosed with PDD-NOS(with feature's of Aspergers), ADHD(combined type), GAD, Expressive Language Disorder and Cognitive Disorder with Working Memory Difficulty. She is on Vyvanse for the ADHD and Zoloft for the GAD. She just went on the Zoloft so I don't see any improvement yet. The Vyvanse has really helped and she is able to focus and do her work. I just have to be creative when working with her and realize her limitations.

 

Susie

DD Dallas(7)

[Guest NorthofU]

Glad to see there's some homeschool support here. I'm in Canada. We have a developmental Ped. who has stated SPD but we haven't gotten any diagnosis of ADD/HD other than a report from a psychologist who said that it was emerging.

 

We've been through the whole Autism diagnosis with no success.

 

She tolerates sitting doing Funnix math and reading on the computer but it involves a lot of my time. She starting to become a little more independent on the computer however. I think next year will be better in some ways because I think I can get my 6.5 year old more independent on things like math. This all being said, I will have a baby by then as well.

 

I just find it tricky to find time to do everything with my advanced learner and one who is interested some days and not others. I think I need to have her sit on a ball or something while I teach her. might help.

[PeterPan]

I suggest you talk with the school. If they have an observation window for the classroom (one way glass), then I would advise you to go watch her for a day. That way you can get a sense of how she works, what things the teacher is doing that *work*, what things do *not* work, her attention span, etc. Talk with the teacher. That's experience you can build on.