Jennefer@SSA Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 How this book makes so many things click for me. My child truly is VERY right brained and I am VERY left brained. No wonder I tend to get waaaayyy too frustrated with him. I just didn't get him. I am only about 60 pages into this book and feel like I understand my little man better than I ever have before. Just wanted to share in case someone else needed a good read about ADD/ADHD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 That's one of my favorite books. It turned on a few light bulbs for me, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellycbr Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Can you tell me some things that jumped out at you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 9, 2008 Author Share Posted October 9, 2008 He defines ADD as more of a learning style than a "disorder". He actually says that the disorder label is not warranted and has hurt this group of kids tremendously. He claims that only 2-3% of the population have true ADD/ADHD and the rest is pseudo-ADD (the other 20-30% that ps schools/pediatricians claim are ADD). You can tell true ADD/ADHD b/c those kids are visual and right brained learners. He gives a test to check whether your child fits this description. My ds was off the charts right brained. I am very strong left brained. That clicked right there as to a huge part of the reason I get so frustrated. Before this book I didn't truly understand how his brain worked. I knew "what" he did but not always "why" he did these things. So many things that my kiddo does that are considered strange are commonplace in the world of right brained learners. He also walks through each subject and tells different things to try to support a right brained learner. Every single one has been a huge hit with my ds but I *never* would have thought to teach/present that way because it is so foreign to how my brain is wired. One example...he says to write a new spelling word on a sheet of paper and write each part of the word in a different color. Ask the child to stare intently at the word for at least 20 seconds and get a "photo" of the word in their brain. Then ask them to spell the word forwards and backwards! I thought there was no way my ds7 could do this but we tried with 10 new words that before yesterday he could not spell and lo and behold he could spell everyone forwards and backwards after using this method. Right brained learners can do this because they are not spelling phonetically but are using a word image in their brain. They can see the word just as clearly as if they are looking at it on paper so spelling it in any direction is no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damselfly Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'm off to Amazon to order myself a copy :D !! Thanks for the suggestion. It sounds like what I am in desperate need of at the moment~~ something to help me understand my DS5 better. Especially when it comes to homeschooling, his learning style, and my ability to teach him the way he needs to be taught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 You are welcome! I hope you enjoy it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyable Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Oh good! I just got this one out of the library and from your description it will be a great read for us. My dd seems to be very right brained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I know my ADD/Asperger DS is very right-brained, but I'm not sure how to accomodate for that. It sounds like this book would be a big help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellycbr Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'm curious if this is what I need for my DS(7.10), who is challenging to his HSing Mum. Teaching him how to read is really the mountain I'm trying to ascend. He starts to read, then is distracted by the picture, or something outside, back to the page, can't remember where he's at, starts reading from somewhere else, and then is frustrated that it doesn't make sense. I'm thinking a little Attention Deficit is going on, but DH doesn't wan't any labels, and I can understand that. I just want to find the right tool to help DS succeed, and enjoy reading. Does this sound like the right book? Are there any other resources for teaching reading to a bit of an AD kiddo, who is really very bright at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 that talks about how to teach reading to right brained learners. This book is an easy read so it wouldn't hurt to get it and try the recommendations. I might start with using a blank piece of cardstock (blank to cut down on distractions of pictures a bookmark can have or lines a ruler would have) cut to a size that will fit right in the book. Teach him to keep the marker right under the line he is reading. I would also take time to look through the selection you are reading *before* you begin and let him look at the pictures as long as he wants. This was (and sometimes still is) an issue for my ds when we read, too. Luckily now that we are in chapter books there are not as many pictures to distract him! :) How is he in other subjects? How is he dealing with life in general? Do you only see the distraction come into play in reading? If it is only reading he may have a mild learning disability in reading or he may simply be a late bloomer. If ADHD is at play you will see these issues across all of life! If your son does have ADHD you can know it and deal with it and never seek an official label. Let me know if I can help in any other way. There are also ladies on this board much more knowledgeable than I who can be a tremendous help in finding resources that can help you, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pam in AL Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 This topic has been discussed a lot recently in our homeschool group. One of the mothers whose child was really struggling used the resources at Diane Craft's website. She has seen a dramatic change in her daughter's learning ability after implementing Diane's suggestions. She ordered two of DVD's available at the site and in a couple of weeks our group is going to have a mom's night out to watch the DVD's and discuss the right brain teaching strategies. I hope this is helpful to someone. Pam in AL http://www.dianecraft.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 16, 2008 Author Share Posted October 16, 2008 Thanks so much. This world is new to me so I am excited to learn all I can. I will check out those links. Thank you again! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellycbr Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Jennefer, Does the author say anything about nutrition? Are there breakfast foods they should have, as well as avoid, to get the day off right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 Nothing about foods that I have read so far. I learned from others on this board that eggs (I believe it's the choline in the eggs) can help some kiddos tremendously. I make sure my little guy get a balanced breakfast each day with a little protein (or a lot of protein), whole grain and some fruit. Honestly for us I have seen very little change with diet. We were gf/cf for 8 months (Very, very strict too) and saw NO change. We continue to be nitrate/nitrite, preservative, dye, refined sugar/flour/rice, gmo corn, et al. free because we feel it's healthier but not b/c it's helped with behavior. I have almost finished the book and if he does say anything about diet, I'll post it here. Jennefer PS We are going to start the Feingold Diet soon. Not sure if we'll see any changes there either but I want to try regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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