summerreading Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I brought ds8 a reading tutor today. She agreed with me that he should be evaluated and said in her own way that he does seems dyslexic. We will see an NP in a few months. This was a free first meeting session for her to get to know him. She gave me tons of tips, one of which was to stick to a good routine every day, be very consistent in the same order or subjects at the same time. That dyslexics really need this structure to function well. I have a dilly dally 11 year old who would forget to shower and how to do math if I didn't remind him, love him but that's how he is :) and a 5 year old who is completely obsessed with me and needs to get in on anything I'm doing with another child. I've been struggling with structure and organization for so long. I hear the siren song of we're so relaxed HS bloggers, but relaxing is stressing me more. I do need and want a routine and still do fun things like field trips. Add in dh who has the classic dyslexic brain and works at home and I feel like I need to remind him all the time what he should be doing, I feel like it's too easy to say HS isn't working for my crew. What do you say about her advice? How do you implement structure for you dyslexic dc? ps, my son doesn't have a dyslexia label, but I highly suspect so I'm just treating as such until seeing the NP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 We've tried various options. What seems to work best is that each child has a checklist and I have a master checklist. DD just naturally gets up earlier than DS and I have encouraged this to continue. She gets up, has time to swing and listen to music and maybe sketch, with a little interaction from me. Then she and I work on whatever materials need to be worked on one on one. The DS gets up, we watch CNN Student news and any science you tube videos that are needed for the topic we are covering while DS eats a late breakfast and DD eats an early lunch. We then do whatever materials we are doing together, then DD goes off to do some of her independent stuff, like typing while I work with DS. In the afternoon are any experiments, additional read alouds, "house maintenance" and outside the house activities. The kids do seem to badly need externally created structure but hate it being extremely rigid. I have to keep the routine fairly predictable but I need to recognize when we are having a tough day and shift things around when needed. Toughest stuff is math, so we try to do math early. By afternoon, they are not able to think through as easily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutingmom Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 My dyslexic son seems to work well with a checklist, and I even let him pick the order he is doing things based on my availability. One easy way to get structure going, if you have room, is to use a modified Workbox method. In this case I'd keep the order of the subjects the same.... possibly having one or two 'this box changes' boxes in it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 DS has a specific wake time and morning routine (bath, Bible, and breakfast). Once that routine is completed, we sit down and review what needs to be accomplished for the day. He writes everything down in his journal, and we discuss the best order to complete his tasks. Any task that requires my immediate presence is saved until the afternoon. I periodically check on him to ensure work is getting done. DS takes classes outside the home, so his workload is too fluid for me to plan. I also never know how math will work out, so I have to make adjustments on the fly. The days are consistent but not rigid. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I also do a checklist for DD. This year it's daily but this fall it will be weekly. I let her move things within the day but not to other days. She thrives with routines and predictability. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 My 6 yo uses a pocket chart with cards for each item in the day. He turns them as he completes them. My dd15 gets written out checklists. They used to be on paper and now they're in Microsoft One Note. The structure and clear expectations are to support executive function issues. Might give you something else to read about while you wait for your evals. :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Smart but scattered and add friendly ways to organize your life are two books that have helped here. Also if you yourself have executive function issues you might see if there is a really organized person in your life that can partner with you to get some systematic structure going. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerreading Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Smart but scattered and add friendly ways to organize your life are two books that have helped here. Also if you yourself have executive function issues you might see if there is a really organized person in your life that can partner with you to get some systematic structure going. Sadly, it's me whose trying to pull this off. I have Smart but Scattered as an audiobook and haven't finished it from like a year ago. I'll just have to channel my inner Flylady. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Absolutely! Take babysteps, as Flylady says. Make one small change that you can make consistently. Don't try to revamp your whole life at once and create something you can't live with and then have it fail. You make steps toward structure, adding routines and habits, pegging them to other things. Don't feel bad about not finishing the books. I don't finish a lot of them either. I get bored, read a chapter here or there, and move on. A lot of them spend forever repeating stuff you've already figured out from other places. Or you could try listening to it on 2X or 1.5X and see if that helps. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I'd like to add that my son's organization skills nearly killed me at the beginning of the year. DS made me nuts because I assumed he could self-organize in ways, and I discovered that he could not. I had to really work with him at the beginning of the year and after Christmas break. He is much better now but teaching these kiddos organization can be a challenge, and the process is ongoing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerreading Posted March 24, 2015 Author Share Posted March 24, 2015 Absolutely! Take babysteps, as Flylady says. Make one small change that you can make consistently. Don't try to revamp your whole life at once and create something you can't live with and then have it fail. You make steps toward structure, adding routines and habits, pegging them to other things. Don't feel bad about not finishing the books. I don't finish a lot of them either. I get bored, read a chapter here or there, and move on. A lot of them spend forever repeating stuff you've already figured out from other places. Or you could try listening to it on 2X or 1.5X and see if that helps. This book is awful as an audiobook! I got it so dh could listen but it makes you zone out. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm having a lot of I can't do this moments. But plan and check off the marks and it will get done. I'd like to add that my son's organization skills nearly killed me at the beginning of the year. DS made me nuts because I assumed he could self-organize in ways, and I discovered that he could not. I had to really work with him at the beginning of the year and after Christmas break. He is much better now but teaching these kiddos organization can be a challenge, and the process is ongoing. Very good to hear. Do you have EF issues too? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 This book is awful as an audiobook! I got it so dh could listen but it makes you zone out. Thanks for the encouragement, I'm having a lot of I can't do this moments. But plan and check off the marks and it will get done. Very good to hear. Do you have EF issues too? None whatsoever. Sometimes it is hard to plumb the depths of their needs. If I hadn't raised the child myself for 15 years and witnessed first hand his struggles, I would be absolutely convinced that he was purposefully being obtuse. My 7yo DD is better organized. She is scary organized. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingCat Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 be very consistent in the same order or subjects at the same time. That dyslexics really need this structure to function well. Structure yes, having to do things every day yes, but not same order/same time here. We both do better with routine -- but with the routine allowing for some choice in order/time. (I'm fairly unorganized and Smart but Scattered doesn't work here -- I've checked it out of the library multiples times too thinking there must be something I can use but the way it's written just doesn't work w/my thought processes --- I do think it is not really meant to be used as an audiobook though) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I'd like to add that my son's organization skills nearly killed me at the beginning of the year. DS made me nuts because I assumed he could self-organize in ways, and I discovered that he could not. I had to really work with him at the beginning of the year and after Christmas break. He is much better now but teaching these kiddos organization can be a challenge, and the process is ongoing. Landmark also has a fabulous book and separate complementary graphic organizer book on study skills, time management, & organization. I've read it and started working through it with ds and I think it will be a huge addition to our middle year studies. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Workboxes have been incredibly helpful here in structuring the kids' days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I bought workboxes through Costco that have been great here. Easy to stack and don't take up a ton of space. They come in different colors so I was able to color code some things. They latch, too, so small stuff doesn't fall out and get lost. They also fit on my book cart. :) I can't find the link but if I run into it later I will post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerreading Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Workboxes have been incredibly helpful here in structuring the kids' days. I need like ten of these for legos alone. Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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