ADD testing?

[MistyMountain]

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[SKL]

Since she is 7 years old, she should be eligible to be tested for auditory processing disorder, or so I'm told.  That would be my first thought after going through similar issues with my eldest.  However, my eldest has not gone through APD testing.  We have an upcoming appointment and this will be a topic of discussion.

 

What do you do at home with her for math?  I was afterschooling math for about an hour a day during the second semester of 1st grade, and I wished I'd realized the need sooner.  If you haven't already done so, I'd buy some math manipulatives including cuisenaire rods, a Base 10 kit, and abacus, and perhaps some geometrical solids, as well as one or two supplemental workbooks that parallel the curriculum your daughter's school is using.  This helped my daughter a lot.  I'd also recommend reviewing addition flash cards (and later subtraction facts) on a frequent basis, as this will improve her speed and help her keep up with her class better.  Another resource is math storybooks, which demonstrate how math concepts are applied in real-life situations.  For early 1st grade I like the MathStart series (level 2) and the books by Greg Tang, among others.

 

How is she doing in the other subjects?

[MistyMountain]

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[SKL]

I feel for you.  The school may do testing (at no charge) if you ask for it, but the ADD testing would be behavioral, and I got burned with that last year because of the teacher's bias / unreasonableness.  The report is in the file for who knows how long - probably until my kid dies of old age.  So I really hesitate to recommend that to anyone else.

 

To help her with facts, I would ask her the facts (maybe show her a flash card, e.g., 2+5) and have her use the c-rods or base 10 cubes or an abacus to show how she arrives at a number.  Also, keep doing the same 10 or so fact cards over and over until she has them pretty well down, and then mix in a few new ones and take out the "too easy" ones.  There are also "facts equations" worksheets you can print out for free on the internet.  I would just do some every day and they should get easier for her.

 

Does the school give parents access to the math curriculum online? Mine did last year, but not this year.  That was helpful to give us a head start on new concepts / confusing instructions, although it was also a little controversial.  ;)

 

Also, because she is a good reader, you can encourage her to carefully read the instructions on the math papers, and learn how to think about what the written words say even if she is not able to listen well.

 

I encourage my girls to view challenge as a good thing.  If they are getting everything right, that's great, but being challenged is better.  Nobody is great at everything.  We talk a lot about that over here as we have very different individual talents.

 

Sorry you are dealing with this.  "Not listening" such a frustrating problem because it doesn't respond well to coaching, and practicing at home can only take the child so far.  I hope your teacher remains positive as your child learns ways to work around this problem.  Be patient, it will probably be a slow process.