Recommended Science Schedule for Dyslexic/Dyscalculic

[OneStepAtATime]

I will try not to be too wordy here.  My DD is dyslexic and probably dyscalculic.  The reading issues we are effectively remediating and I have high hopes for writing, too.  Math may never be a subject she functions well in (there has been progress but incredibly slow).  I need to start planning her science schedule for High School.  We want to start whatever she is doing early (maybe mid-8th grade) so she has plenty of time to get through all of the subjects.  She wants to go to college and will work through summers to have the extra time to cover subjects.  We are currently doing an Elementary level chemistry with her younger brother which I am beefing up to make more like Middle school for her and she will be doing some general labs through Landry Academy this year (7th grade) so she will have had some exposure to real labs, but nothing close to High School level.  We have spent the past 2 years on remediation of reading so she is a bit behind in science for middle school but had an excellent science background from her brick and mortar elementary (great science teacher).  She has trouble pulling all the strands together into a cohesive whole, though.

 

I remember virtually nothing about High School sciences.  I know that Chemistry is math intense.  I assume Physics is too?   The University she is interested in doesn't seem to have standards that would be out of her reach, but maybe I don't know what I am talking about.  They require a minimum of Biology, Chemistry, Physics plus either Astronomy, Aquatic Sciences (she has a special interest here so maybe we could pursue this but I have no idea how), Earth and Space Science, Environmental Systems or an AP course in any of the above.

 

Math minimum requirements are Algebra 1, Algebra II and Geometry along with Precalculus or higher (or Mathematical Models with Applications prior to Algebra II, but not sure what that is...).  If we can get an official diagnosis of dyscalculia I am hoping we can get the Algebra II/Pre-Calculusrequirement waved since she is not intending to go into a STEM subject.  I just don't think we will ever get to that level of math.  I don't anticipate her starting on Pre-Algebra until 9th grade at the earliest.

 

What schedule would you recommend?

[Melissa B]

It is really hard to do high school sciences without the math. My second child is in the same boat. The college math/science minimum requirements you listed are quite high. You may want to check with the college and make sure students are getting admitted with only the minimum classes. The colleges my kids are planning to attend generally require 4 math credits at Algebra I and higher and 3 science credits of choice, 2 with lab. But students actually getting admitted have 4.5 to 5 credits of each math and science.

 

I would probably do something like this.

 

9th - Prealgebra & Earth Sciences (or Marine Sciences)

10th - Algebra I & Conceptual Physics 

11th - Algebra II & Geometry & Biology

12th - Precalculus & Chemistry

 

My dd (currently in 8th) will do something like this:

 

8th - Prealgebra & Geology (I am counting a half credit of high school science)
9th - Algebra I & Conceptual Physics

10th - Algebra II & Geometry (half credit) & Biology

11th - CC dual enrollment Intermediate Algebra (half credit) & Chemistry

12th - CC dual enrollment Liberal Arts Maths I and II (two credits) & two science credits of choice (with lab)

 

This will give her 5.5 credits of science and 5 credits of math without doing precalculus which she likely couldn't handle. She chooses not be tested for dyscalculia and ADHD though family members with very similar issues have that diagnosis.

 

 

[Heathermomster]

This is tentative.

 

8th     Physical Science, pre-Algebra

9th     Biology, Algebra 1A

10th    Chemistry, Algebra 1B

11th    Biology II, Geometry

12th    Conceptual Physics or Earth Science, Algebra II or Consumer Math

[OneStepAtATime]

It is really hard to do high school sciences without the math. My second child is in the same boat. The college math/science minimum requirements you listed are quite high. You may want to check with the college and make sure students are getting admitted with only the minimum classes. The colleges my kids are planning to attend generally require 4 math credits at Algebra I and higher and 3 science credits of choice, 2 with lab. But students actually getting admitted have 4.5 to 5 credits of each math and science.

 

I would probably do something like this.

 

9th - Prealgebra & Earth Sciences (or Marine Sciences)

10th - Algebra I & Conceptual Physics 

11th - Algebra II & Geometry & Biology

12th - Precalculus & Chemistry

 

My dd (currently in 8th) will do something like this:

 

8th - Prealgebra & Geology (I am counting a half credit of high school science)

9th - Algebra I & Conceptual Physics

10th - Algebra II & Geometry (half credit) & Biology

11th - CC dual enrollment Intermediate Algebra (half credit) & Chemistry

12th - CC dual enrollment Liberal Arts Maths I and II (two credits) & two science credits of choice (with lab)

 

This will give her 5.5 credits of science and 5 credits of math without doing precalculus which she likely couldn't handle. She chooses not be tested for dyscalculia and ADHD though family members with very similar issues have that diagnosis.

I like the schedule but I don't see her making it through to pre-calc or even Algebra II, although if we were able to go really, really slowly with a very basic program, it MIGHT be possible.  I really don't think it will happen.  We are still working through elementary level math in 7th.  Heavy sigh...I will consider your thoughts, though, as the rest of this year progresses.  Hopefully, there will be some light bulb moments for math like there have been for reading.  Thanks for the suggestions.

 

This is tentative.

 

8th     Physical Science, pre-Algebra

9th     Biology, Algebra 1A

10th    Chemistry, Algebra 1B

11th    Biology II, Geometry

12th    Conceptual Physics or Earth Science, Algebra II or Consumer Math

That sounds doable if I actually bumped everything back one year (really thinking of doing that, actually, but then she wouldn't graduate with the other homeschoolers and her ps peer friends).  I wish we could make that schedule work but I don't see her being ready for pre-algebra by fall.  The remediation with Ronit Bird books and Dyanmo math is finally helping her make connections, but I think we are looking, if very lucky, at pre-Algebra by 9th.  Maybe I am wrong.  I hope that the light bulb moments that are clicking with reading will also click at a faster rate in math than currently.  I just don't know.  I agree that Algebra would be better if broken up over two years (that is how I finally managed to get good grades AND understand the material in math), but that would put Geometry in 12th grade and we'd never get to any higher math.  

 

Ugh!  Why didn't i pull her out of school sooner?  Why didn't we get evaluations sooner?  

 

Thanks for the responses, ladies.  I really appreciate the help.   I will think over this, keep a close eye on our progress the rest of this year, look at options for trying to move forward a little faster through the summer, etc...

[swimmermom3]

One thing to keep in mind is that you do not have to stick to a traditional school year. You may find that with the current learning challenges it may be more beneficial to do school year round. You won't lose as much ground with the summer break and then having to review everything. This would allow your daughter to have a more natural pacing and when she is done with one level of say, math, then she can move to the next without worrying that there are only two months left to the "school year."

 

I would work to get your dd as much math and science as possible because kids grow and change. There are many famous scientists and mathematicians that were dyslexic. I think I just read that Pierre Curie struggled mightily with dyslexia. Out of the box problems sometimes require out of the box solutions. Just a thought.

[MtnTeaching]

My dd (15) is in 9th and dyslexic.  I can guarantee that she also has some signs of ADHD, but more the "spacey" kind than the "hyper" kind. She is extremely artistic and athletic, but keeping a room clean is beyond her.  She believes she does want to go into a animal science-related field.

 

Dd came home from ps just after 2nd. She was already being pulled from class for reading help and had an IEP for speech. Although, I loved most of the teachers at her school, her 2nd grade teacher was absolutely horrid. My ds had the same teacher earlier in Kindergarten and I had asked the principal to please put dd in one of the other two teachers' classes for 2nd.  He did not honor my request, placed her in that classroom, and stated the "HE" felt it was best for dd to be in with that teacher. It was a traumatic year.  Anyway... off topic (I am also ADHD  :001_smile:).  

 

Long story short - she came home with me. At the end of 5th, she was formally diagnosed as dyslexic. She had always struggled with math, reading was extremely slow, comprehension was fairly good if read aloud to, spelling is still atrocious and she has problems with memory. 

 

Math was always a struggle through elementary.  We tried program after program with very little success - until 7th grade.  We tried Teaching Textbooks and it has been a lifesaver for her.  The fact that it is a video is HUGE for her. She says that hearing it, along with seeing it being worked out allows her to understand it better than if she tried to work it from a book.  Even though she was extremely weak in her basics (we had been working on multiplication tables for years until we found Times Tales - another miracle for her) and she could not remember the steps to long division to save her life, I started her on TT Pre-Algebra in 7th.

 

I actually thought it was more important for her to have an extremely strong base in the basics, so she took two years to do the Pre-Algebra.  She went slow and covered every single topic in the course.  I would also supplement where needed when she did not understand something.  Now in 9th, she is in TT Algebra 1 and is enjoying it. She said the style of teaching just "fits her".  For us, finding the right curriculum with the correct learning style for her was a large part of the battle.  It does require that we go through the summer.  If we stop math, we almost have to start over again.

 

For science, I worked with her all three years of her middle school doing the Pearson "Science Explorer" series.  Earlier, I had tried the ps elementary school's way of doing science by chopping it up throughout the year with a little of this here and a little there of different focuses. It did not work for her.  I found she needed to focus on one thing at a time.  We did Earth Science in 6th, Life Science in 7th, and Physical Science in 8th.  As long as I worked closely with her and included a LOT of hands-on projects and box-type experiments, she did very well.  Learning Ally (which used to be called the "Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic" has all of these books on audio.  She was able to listen to them auditorily while she read the words. It has been a huge lifesaver for her, as well. I also added a lot of videos through Discovery Education Streaming.

 

Learning Ally has also been THE way that she is able to keep up on her literature.  She has managed to stay pretty close to grade level by listening to the recordings while she reads the words.  She has never been one to read for pleasure, but I also assign her pleasure type books that are a bit easier for her and complete fluff.  I keep hoping she will find something that really piques her interest and every once in a while I do.  The good thing is that even with the pleasure books, for the most part, they are also on Learning Ally if she chooses to use it.

 

I have been writing this as I run back and forth between getting the trash out, helping dd with a Brave Writer course, discussing AP English Language with ds(11th), dealing with a puppy, and still trying to get Christmas decorations put away after our big snow we had.  I apologize if it is totally disjointed, but these are a few things that worked for us.  Hopefully, it will help in some way.  

 

Good luck with this, I feel your pain.  It is so hard to watch our baby girls struggle and not know what to do to make it easier for them.

[OneStepAtATime]

My dd (15) is in 9th and dyslexic.  I can guarantee that she also has some signs of ADHD, but more the "spacey" kind than the "hyper" kind. She is extremely artistic and athletic, but keeping a room clean is beyond her.  She believes she does want to go into a animal science-related field.

 

Sounds a lot like my DD, loves all kinds of art mediums and is always trying new art endeavors and really is interested in animal sciences, too, but she is insecure about animal sciences because her pseudo-aunt had to work so hard to get into vet school (which DD is interested in) but she had great grades and was strong in science and math and DD is not.

 

Dd came home from ps just after 2nd. She was already being pulled from class for reading help and had an IEP for speech. Although, I loved most of the teachers at her school, her 2nd grade teacher was absolutely horrid. My ds had the same teacher earlier in Kindergarten and I had asked the principal to please put dd in one of the other two teachers' classes for 2nd.  He did not honor my request, placed her in that classroom, and stated the "HE" felt it was best for dd to be in with that teacher. It was a traumatic year.  Anyway... off topic (I am also ADHD  :001_smile:).  

 

Awful!  Sounds like our experience.  Some great teachers for both kids, but two really, truly horrific ones that still cause us issues to this day, nearly two years after getting out of the situation.  My DS was pulled out during 2nd because of a truly abyssmal experience with his teacher (caused PTSD symptoms it was so bad).  Both kids are dyslexic along with other issues but neither was diagnosed right away (5th and 2nd) so they struggled in silence for years.  Once we had the diagnosis and started homeschooling both full time in 6th/3rd we spent over a year trying to find our footing.  We are only now really moving forward again.  Thankfully, reading, spelling and grammar remediation are finally going great through Barton Reading and Spelling.  Still trying to pull everything else together.

 

Long story short - she came home with me. At the end of 5th, she was formally diagnosed as dyslexic. She had always struggled with math, reading was extremely slow, comprehension was fairly good if read aloud to, spelling is still atrocious and she has problems with memory. 

 

Very, very much like my DD.  What finally turned reading and spelling around was Barton, but working memory is still fairly poor and gets overloaded with too much sound.  I can't give a long verbal explanation or she loses me after the first few words.

 

Math was always a struggle through elementary.  We tried program after program with very little success - until 7th grade.  We tried Teaching Textbooks and it has been a lifesaver for her.  The fact that it is a video is HUGE for her. She says that hearing it, along with seeing it being worked out allows her to understand it better than if she tried to work it from a book.  Even though she was extremely weak in her basics (we had been working on multiplication tables for years until we found Times Tales - another miracle for her) and she could not remember the steps to long division to save her life, I started her on TT Pre-Algebra in 7th.

 

We bounced around on math, too.  Just a few months ago we did start TT, but for 6th grade since she was so far behind in math (awful math teacher for three years, who just kept passing her even though she was actually flunking most of the tests; we didn't realize how far behind she was until 5th because she kept making B's).  She liked TT,  However, she ran into a wall with multiplication and division so we have gone back to basic subitization skills.  Those are starting to get more solid so I hope we can continue with the rest of TT 6th and finish it this year, move to TT 7th, with supplementation from Math Mammoth and Math U See over the summer and through the first half of 8th and if we are very, very lucky we might hit pre-algebra the summer before 9th and continue through 9th.

 

I actually thought it was more important for her to have an extremely strong base in the basics, so she took two years to do the Pre-Algebra.  She went slow and covered every single topic in the course.  I would also supplement where needed when she did not understand something.  Now in 9th, she is in TT Algebra 1 and is enjoying it. She said the style of teaching just "fits her".  For us, finding the right curriculum with the correct learning style for her was a large part of the battle.  It does require that we go through the summer.  If we stop math, we almost have to start over again.  Yes.  I know if we stop she will lose everything she has worked so hard to achieve.  I would love to take two years for pre-algebra, 1 1/2 to 2 years for algebra and 1 1/2 years for Geometry.  No point in moving forward if she doesn't get it at all, though, so we will just have to see how she is understanding topics as we come to them.

 

For science, I worked with her all three years of her middle school doing the Pearson "Science Explorer" series.  Hadn't heard of these.  I will look into them.  Earlier, I had tried the ps elementary school's way of doing science by chopping it up throughout the year with a little of this here and a little there of different focuses. It did not work for her.  I found she needed to focus on one thing at a time.  We did Earth Science in 6th, Life Science in 7th, and Physical Science in 8th.  As long as I worked closely with her and included a LOT of hands-on projects and box-type experiments, she did very well.  Learning Ally (which used to be called the "Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic" has all of these books on audio.  She was able to listen to them auditorily while she read the words. It has been a huge lifesaver for her, as well. I also added a lot of videos through Discovery Education Streaming.  We have a Kindle Fire and have looked at Learning Ally.  DD seems to get lost, though, with audio books.  She does a whole lot better if I read to her because I can tell when she is getting confused and slow down, emphasize words, discuss vocabulary or concepts she doesn't seem to be grasping, etc.  

 

I think Discovery Education and Discovery Science are very helpful for accessing lots of videos quickly and organizing them for easy access.

 

Learning Ally has also been THE way that she is able to keep up on her literature.  She has managed to stay pretty close to grade level by listening to the recordings while she reads the words.  She has never been one to read for pleasure, but I also assign her pleasure type books that are a bit easier for her and complete fluff.  I keep hoping she will find something that really piques her interest and every once in a while I do.  The good thing is that even with the pleasure books, for the most part, they are also on Learning Ally if she chooses to use it.

 

Although reading is still slow, just in the past 3 months we have had a tremendous breakthrough in reading, so DD's confidence has gone up.  That has really helped.  She got the book Divergent for Christmas and read the entire book in 5 days (all nearly 500 pages).  Even 3 months ago that would have been completely impossible.  She started reading within minutes of opening the gift.  It is such a wonderful moment as a parent to see a child that HATED reading and COULD NOT read effectively at all finally choose to read an entire chapter book for pleasure for the first time in her life.  Hopefully, your child will find something that really grabs her, too, but it is great that you have found ways for her to read more independently.  DD craves independence but we are still trying to find ways to provide that.  I will look again at Learning Ally.

 

I have been writing this as I run back and forth between getting the trash out, helping dd with a Brave Writer course, discussing AP English Language with ds(11th), dealing with a puppy, and still trying to get Christmas decorations put away after our big snow we had.  I apologize if it is totally disjointed, but these are a few things that worked for us.  Hopefully, it will help in some way.  

 

Not disjointed at all.  Thanks for making the effort in the middle of a very busy day.  I really appreciate it.

 

Good luck with this, I feel your pain.  It is so hard to watch our baby girls struggle and not know what to do to make it easier for them.

In many ways it is so much more painful than giving birth.  But thank goodness for homeschooling and a chance to make things better.  Don't know where we would be now without that option.  Best wishes to you and your family!

 

[OneStepAtATime]

One thing to keep in mind is that you do not have to stick to a traditional school year. You may find that with the current learning challenges it may be more beneficial to do school year round. You won't lose as much ground with the summer break and then having to review everything. This would allow your daughter to have a more natural pacing and when she is done with one level of say, math, then she can move to the next without worrying that there are only two months left to the "school year."

 

I would work to get your dd as much math and science as possible because kids grow and change. There are many famous scientists and mathematicians that were dyslexic. I think I just read that Pierre Curie struggled mightily with dyslexia. Out of the box problems sometimes require out of the box solutions. Just a thought.

I agree, We had not done so except for our reading remediation program last summer, but I have talked things over with the kids and we all agree that year round schooling is necessary.  Still working on our schedule for this next summer since we have certain programs that the kids want to attend, but it really is such a waste to have to go back and review and review and review because so much was lost over summer break.

 

The point about math and science is well taken.  Thank you.  My DH is dyslexic and struggled horribly in school, but he is a brilliant engineer and computer specialist and even has quite a bit of medical knowledge and a strong interest in chemistry and physics and aeronautical engineering.  He understands concepts in all these areas far better than I ever will, yet I got much better grades in school.  Lower level math still trips him up though.  :)  Math and science are extremely weak subjects for me.  I need an out of box thinker to help me teach these topics.  DH is awful at teaching and admits it, so I guess we need to be more proactive about seeking sources.  Thanks for refocusing me in this area.

 

"Out of the box problems sometimes require out of the box solutions. Just a thought."  Love this!!! :)

[kiana]

Depending on how she's doing when she gets there, you might look into the Power Basics series. They're designed to deliver on-level content to students who are reading below grade level -- I believe they're at about a 5th grade level. They have basic math, algebra, geometry, consumer math, biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science. They are PS texts but you can buy them through rainbow resource.

[OneStepAtATime]

And thank you, truly, to  ALL who have responded.  DD and I have been talking and just having some goals to shoot for is helping us refocus our energies.  Really appreciate the help and support!!!

[OneStepAtATime]

Depending on how she's doing when she gets there, you might look into the Power Basics series. They're designed to deliver on-level content to students who are reading below grade level -- I believe they're at about a 5th grade level. They have basic math, algebra, geometry, consumer math, biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science. They are PS texts but you can buy them through rainbow resource.

I will look into this tonight.  Thanks so much!

[swimmermom3]

I agree, We had not done so except for our reading remediation program last summer, but I have talked things over with the kids and we all agree that year round schooling is necessary.  Still working on our schedule for this next summer since we have certain programs that the kids want to attend, but it really is such a waste to have to go back and review and review and review because so much was lost over summer break.

 

The point about math and science is well taken.  Thank you.  My DH is dyslexic and struggled horribly in school, but he is a brilliant engineer and computer specialist and even has quite a bit of medical knowledge and a strong interest in chemistry and physics and aeronautical engineering.  He understands concepts in all these areas far better than I ever will, yet I got much better grades in school.  Lower level math still trips him up though.   :)  Math and science are extremely weak subjects for me.  I need an out of box thinker to help me teach these topics.  DH is awful at teaching and admits it, so I guess we need to be more proactive about seeking sources.  Thanks for refocusing me in this area.

 

"Out of the box problems sometimes require out of the box solutions. Just a thought."  Love this!!! :)

 

I have always been a language arts kind of girl until homeschooling. Going back through and reviewing math and science and being exposed to different ways to teach them, has really kindled a level of enjoyment in those subjects that I didn't know could exist for me. Doing lab experiments with one of my sons remains a homeschool highlight to this day. I don't think it's ever too late to learn or relearn subjects that may have been problematic or of no interest to you 20 years ago.

 

Anyway, I really wanted to address the part in bold up above. I can think of at least six husbands of board members, probably more if I think about it long enough,  who face several learning challenges, some of them quite severe, who are very successful in the fields of math and science. This aspect fascinates me because I have recently started reading biographies of famous scientists and it seems that learning challenges often show up, even with these acknowledged geniuses. What looks like absolute failure in math in third grade can be something altogether different in college because that student with "different" wiring may also approach those subjects in a completely non-traditional fashion.

[PeterPan]

OneStep, I just want to triple ditto everything Mtn. said.  She's the AWESOMEST PERSON EVER (well ok, in addition to everyone else who is), and it strikes me just now that you seriously should make an effort to come to the Cincy convention.  Do you have a convention you go to?  You need to get connected with people and meet them in person and meet their kids and hear their private sagas.

 

You know that we did not get a dyslexia label, nevertheless I'll give you three cents.   :D

 

1) Look at TokyoMarie's response to me in the I'm freaked out about high school thread on the LC board.  She gives specific amount of times, and it's VITAL that you have a reality check.  Whatever reality is for your kid, it HAS to check theories.

 

2) Theories about sequences for academics won't do.  I had all kinds of theories (read my old threads about science on this board!), but now I only have one criterion: THIS PROGRAM CAN GET DONE.  I'm totally program/resource driven at this point.  If I see something that can get done, that's what we're going to do.  So for us, the GA PBS (that I've been shooing people to in droves, haha, nope not an original find for me but something someone else here on the boards found) is in the "it gets done" camp.  Mtn.  brought up the idea of videos.  Humor plus video, hehe, that's what makes it work in our house.  But seriously, I can guarantee you your question will shift from how do I do x subject to I've found a material for science my kid can effectively use and what year should I use it...  Toss theory for realistic.  Don't chose something less realistic to hold to a theoretical timetable.

 

3) Um, I have no 3.  Anything Mtn says is brilliant.   :D

 

You mentioned reading aloud vs. audio.  That could be a processing speed thing.  She's still young, only being in 7th, so think in terms of how you gently notice these skills and stretch them and grow a bit.  Don't snap the taffy; just STRETCH.  Dd was able to do her National History Day project last year doing the reading herself.  This year she got interested in the Holocaust and got into some weeds that were really thick and hard to sort out.  I literally had to read the article aloud to her, saying a couple words and PAUSING for her to process.  (Her processing speed is in the dumps relative to IQ, btw, something you already know.)  I was getting a little freaky about that, but I didn't have to do that long before SHE figured out for herself that, duh, if her processing speed is low and the material is thick, she's REALLY GOING TO HAVE TO HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON.  Ding, ding, ding!!!  That's maturity and understanding yourself.  That's WAY more important than what material was learned, because if she starts to understand her brain and have the words for what she does and figures out how she can intersect with material and get it to work for her, she can do ANYTHING.  Well, at least I tell her she can do 90% of anything.   :D  She's not as smart as everyone else, but she can understand herself and how she learns.  She knows now to hit pause, rewind, etc. till she understands, and I DIDN'T TELL HER THAT.  She's doing it and not bucking, because she discovered it for herself.  You give them things that stretch them and let them DISCOVER this.  You'll find ways and they'll become obvious to you.  Little short term projects, that kind of thing, just small things that STRETCH them.

 

You realize my dingbat child who struggles with the vocab for her spanish class came yesterday and told me she wants to learn HEBREW???  She's such a nut, lol.  You just never know where they'll end up.  I don't know if she can or not, but I'm fascinated that she wants to TRY.  I'm impressed that she's confident within herself of her ability to learn (and accepting of the things that are hard or glitchy) that she's willing to plow forward.  I wouldn't sacrifice that positive attitude for ANY list of fancy classes on a transcript. If what you *think* you need to do is creating stress that would hinder that positive attitude, that understanding of self, that zest for learning, I would back off and re-evaluate and get more balanced and positive.  It's ok to stretch and have some things be hard, but get it balanced so the overall tone is healthful.  

 

There, three cents, maybe four.   :)

[PeterPan]

I have always been a language arts kind of girl until homeschooling. Going back through and reviewing math and science and being exposed to different ways to teach them, has really kindled a level of enjoyment in those subjects that I didn't know could exist for me. Doing lab experiments with one of my sons remains a homeschool highlight to this day. I don't think it's ever too late to learn or relearn subjects that may have been problematic or of no interest to you 20 years ago.

 

Anyway, I really wanted to address the part in bold up above. I can think of at least six husbands of board members, probably more if I think about it long enough,  who face several learning challenges, some of them quite severe, who are very successful in the fields of math and science. This aspect fascinates me because I have recently started reading biographies of famous scientists and it seems that learning challenges often show up, even with these acknowledged geniuses. What looks like absolute failure in math in third grade can be something altogether different in college because that student with "different" wiring may also approach those subjects in a completely non-traditional fashion.

I was say it's because the thing that made math hard for them also made them incredibly good problem-solvers and good at making connections that others don't make.  Dyslexic Advantage talks about this, and I totally agree.  That's not, however, to say that math becomes a wet slide in college for them, ugh.  Just means they also bring some unusual strengths to the table and deserve accommodations and extra help to let that come out.  It's sort of the normalcy behind these labels, that they're not exclusively a defect but a DIFFERENCE, a difference with positives and strengths to give to the world.

[OneStepAtATime]

Thanks OhElizabeth.  I appreciate your feedback.  You know I always value your input.  I will reread all of this thread this evening when I have more time.  Much to think about.

[swimmermom3]

I was say it's because the thing that made math hard for them also made them incredibly good problem-solvers and good at making connections that others don't make.  Dyslexic Advantage talks about this, and I totally agree.  That's not, however, to say that math becomes a wet slide in college for them, ugh.  Just means they also bring some unusual strengths to the table and deserve accommodations and extra help to let that come out.  It's sort of the normalcy behind these labels, that they're not exclusively a defect but a DIFFERENCE, a difference with positives and strengths to give to the world.

 

:iagree: Many years ago, when my kids were still in a private school, I somehow ended up working in the Extended Care program teaching morning Kindergarten. If you knew me IRL, this would be worth a significant chuckle (but not nearly as much as the year I taught Sunday school). Anyway, the woman that ran the entire Extended Care program was a gifted educator who had the unique ability to look at what most of us would view as "negative" behaviors or traits with the students and to spin them into positive assets. I don't mean in a naive fashion either. She would observe the child at length and then adjust her communication or actions with the child in such a way as to turn what I saw as "willful," "stubborn," behavior into leadership skills. It was like watching a really good magician at work except the results were real, not an illusion. It was a gift to work with her and to learn to suspend my judgement and to turn the situation or my idea of the child, or the behavior totally on its head and look at from more than just one angle.

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

OneStep, I just want to triple ditto everything Mtn. said.  She's the AWESOMEST PERSON EVER (well ok, in addition to everyone else who is), and it strikes me just now that you seriously should make an effort to come to the Cincy convention.  Do you have a convention you go to?  You need to get connected with people and meet them in person and meet their kids and hear their private sagas.

 

You know that we did not get a dyslexia label, nevertheless I'll give you three cents.   :D

 

There, three cents, maybe four.   

Not much time but....

 

1. Yes, she is awesome.  

 

2. Actually I have been to a couple of conventions but after your post a while back about the Cincy one, I am actually intrigued.  I hadn't seriously pursued it because life is so busy, but after you mentioned here, I am looking into it again.   I need to see about cost and time etc. but I am very interested in attending....

 

3. And I think that was definitely worth more than four cents..... :)

 

4.  Planning to re-read this entire thread later, along with a few others that have been really informative.  LOVE the Hive.  Keeps me focused on what really matters and how to navigate through the stuff that doesn't....

[PeterPan]

 

2. Actually I have been to a couple of conventions but after your post a while back about the Cincy one, I am actually intrigued.  I hadn't seriously pursued it because life is so busy, but after you mentioned here, I am looking into it again.   I need to see about cost and time etc. but I am very interested in attending....

 

Pm if you actually decide to come. We have a board get together, so there's a FB group for that.  Also, well you can always try to get together with me for dinner or dessert or something and trade war stories...  :)  But if you want to do that, make your hotel res soon.  They'll sell out.

[OneStepAtATime]

Pm if you actually decide to come. We have a board get together, so there's a FB group for that.  Also, well you can always try to get together with me for dinner or dessert or something and trade war stories...   :)  But if you want to do that, make your hotel res soon.  They'll sell out.

I would love to swap war stories!...and I would love to get together with everyone else, too.  I will PM you if this starts to look feasible and I will keep the hotel tip in mind.  Thanks!

[OneStepAtATime]

Good golly. Not to be negative, but is she dead set on that school? I did not have to take half of that stuff to go to college. I never took Chemistry or physics or even calculus. But I skipped 8th grade math (pre-alg) and continued as one of the younger students in all my math classes so I wasn't behind but I just chose not to take calculus. I took trig and alg. II in high school. Peers would ask me for help in pre-alg. because I was in algebra and I told them their work looked harder than ours. Maybe that was just my experience. Then in community college I took Algebra and Trig again. Trig was not a requirement, but I wanted to take another math class... I think it was toward my AA degree which I wanted before I transferred. Is she looking at a community college or University? Because I am thinking that community college requirements would be less intense.

 

I believe I have dyscalculia but writing things down helps a lot. I have trouble doing mental math, bad sense of direction, time management. I hear it's very complicated to get an official test (I think very expensive).

 

I do not want to discourage you. In fact I just want to relieve some anxiety if you think that all schools require that.

Actually, she isn't dead set on that school, but it is the closest and she wants to live at home.  It is only about 20 minutes from us and 10 from her paternal grandparents house so she liked it for location and that it has a better reputation for academics than any of the other schools close to us.  Also, several family members, including both paternal grandparents and some cousins, have gotten Bachelors degrees there.   There IS a community college she could attend and then transfer.  It is not too bad I don't think. They have made significant strides recently to improve their academics, etc.

 

Thanks for the response, by the way.  DD struggles so much with basic computations but I think she can grasp higher level math o.k.  Working on introducing that while still working on subitization skills.  Still trying to get the right balance of remediation and accomodations.  It is nice to hear from someone who has similar issues that was able to go on to higher level math and also find ways to function in the real world.  DD gets very insecure sometimes that she still has trouble with clocks, calendars, etc.  I will pass on your story to her.