Experiential Learning Curriculum? Processing Disorder Help?

[Kaitfish]

Hello! We tried a montessori this year and it did not work for my dau with dyslexia/processing issues (long story). I just pulled my 9 year old dau, 7 year old son, and 4 year old son out and quit my full time job..... My daughter struggles to learn unless she experiences what she is learning, so I'm searching for a curriculum that is specific to 'experiential learning'. My first grader is advanced, and my 3rd grader is behind, so I'm thinking about doing a second grade curriculum and modifying it as needed for each individual student. What do you use? Any suggestions? I started to do the online public school but it was so stuffy and boring, with too many rules. If there is already a thread about this (I've searched), would you direct me to it?

 

I'm also searching for experiences people have had with neuropsychologist for testing their kiddos for processing issues, memory issues, etc. Something beyond dyslexia is going on and I just wish it was easier to find it out- I'm researching like a crazy woman but I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel when some parent out there may be able to point me in the right direction. Our dyslexia remediation therapist is helping us find someone to test, but it's taking a while and then what do we do with the results? I wish there were somewhere we could type in all of her symptoms and then it gave us an answer about what is wrong, how to help strengthen her brain, if it is something that can even be remediated, and where we should seek help? Has anyone done Brain Balancing for their processing disorders? 

 

Thank you!!!!!!! I'm so needy at this phase and the professionals in my community don't seem to get it or have any ideas for me. 

[OneStepAtATime]

A neuropsychologist will give you numbers and possibly analysis of those numbers to help you break down what is happening but they probably won't have many suggestions for specifics on how to address weaknesses.  In other words, they may give you a really great analysis of the numbers but they aren't going to give you a list of curriculum that will "fix" your child.  There is no such thing and your child isn't broken.  They just process differently.  Your child will need scaffolding for some things, remediation for some things, opportunity to run with their strengths, and a lot of love and patience while you navigate these waters.  A neurospych can help with figuring out some of the details of your child's strengths and weaknesses.  A neuropsychologist can still be helpful.  I just don't want you going in with the expectation that they will provide you with a perfect path for "fixing" everything.  :)

 

Be prepared for a lot of trial and error as you try to find specific materials and ways of providing instruction.  Every child is different because of their different balances of strengths, weaknesses and personality.  Please be patient with yourself and your children as you travel this path.  There is no quick fix, but the journey can be wonderful if you take time to focus on the positives and your time as a family.  Don't let the stresses and worries rule you.  

 

If your child needs specific experiences to learn, then for content subjects maybe do interest led exploration for now with regard to things like History and Science.  Work on skills separately.   You say you have a dyslexia specialist helping you with the reading part?  Do skills reading based on what they are recommending but for content subjects do read alouds and audio books so your kids are still being exposed to vocabulary and grammar and story concepts, etc. at their intellectual capacity, not their reading level.

 

For math, you may need something very systematic with LOTS of review.  Maybe CLE.  Give a placement test for whatever you choose and don't panic if they test at a level lower than you had hoped.  Math is building blocks.  You need to help them build those blocks.  Along with whatever material you use for math skills, also incorporate real life math.  Give them something to wrap their brains around in real life.  And play lots of math games that don't expect prior knowledge they don't have (see Sorror's Relaxed Math thread for some good suggestions).  And don't quiz or drill them in public.  Stress may shut them down completely.

 

What is the dyslexia specialist doing for reading remediation?  What sort of credentials do they have or training/background knowledge?

 

 

[Kaitfish]

A neuropsychologist will give you numbers and possibly analysis of those numbers to help you break down what is happening but they probably won't have many suggestions for specifics on how to address weaknesses.  In other words, they may give you a really great analysis of the numbers but they aren't going to give you a list of curriculum that will "fix" your child.  There is no such thing and your child isn't broken.  They just process differently.  Your child will need scaffolding for some things, remediation for some things, opportunity to run with their strengths, and a lot of love and patience while you navigate these waters.  A neurospych can help with figuring out some of the details of your child's strengths and weaknesses.  A neuropsychologist can still be helpful.  I just don't want you going in with the expectation that they will provide you with a perfect path for "fixing" everything.   :)

 

Be prepared for a lot of trial and error as you try to find specific materials and ways of providing instruction.  Every child is different because of their different balances of strengths, weaknesses and personality.  Please be patient with yourself and your children as you travel this path.  There is no quick fix, but the journey can be wonderful if you take time to focus on the positives and your time as a family.  Don't let the stresses and worries rule you.  

 

If your child needs specific experiences to learn, then for content subjects maybe do interest led exploration for now with regard to things like History and Science.  Work on skills separately.   You say you have a dyslexia specialist helping you with the reading part?  Do skills reading based on what they are recommending but for content subjects do read alouds and audio books so your kids are still being exposed to vocabulary and grammar and story concepts, etc. at their intellectual capacity, not their reading level.

 

For math, you may need something very systematic with LOTS of review.  Maybe CLE.  Give a placement test for whatever you choose and don't panic if they test at a level lower than you had hoped.  Math is building blocks.  You need to help them build those blocks.  Along with whatever material you use for math skills, also incorporate real life math.  Give them something to wrap their brains around in real life.  And play lots of math games that don't expect prior knowledge they don't have (see Sorror's Relaxed Math thread for some good suggestions).  And don't quiz or drill them in public.  Stress may shut them down completely.

 

What is the dyslexia specialist doing for reading remediation?  What sort of credentials do they have or training/background knowledge?

 

Thank you for your response, you are always so helpful! The therapist is a wilson OG therapist- she has her own business and has helped me well outside what she helps her normal clients. She noticed early on that my daughter was not retaining the information that most usually do. For example, she will give her three word sounds and then ask her to write them down and switch out one sound and she would have already forgot the sounds. So she has helped me slow down a bit and stick with teaching her the words and sounds that she needs to grasp to make sure she has mastered those before moving on. We are building up from the beginning, hoping to build a strong foundation of understanding. But she has not dealt much with kiddos that have what appears to be a more global issue going on. She explained the benefits of neurotesting and has helped me understand why it's important to find someone very qualified to give my dau the W test. 

 

I love that I get to have the one on one time with my daughter at home, she is already doing so much better with her memory, eagerness to learn etc. I just want to be doing everything I possibly can to help her get over the hurdles, and from what I have read, building up her brain muscles seems to be the ticket. If the neuropsych doesn't know how to do that, who would know? I feel like occupational therapy is good, but not 100% on the money on what she is going to need- does that make sense? I need a holistic approach, or someone that knows about processing, memory, dyslexia, kinisthetic, rote memory, spacial memory, and even nutrition. It's frustrating for parents I think because we know someone out there has been through this or knows the best step and it just takes us digging through all of the other stuff to pin-point it! But I do think she is improving, I just want to make sure Im doing everything possible to give her the tools she needs. She truly is an amazing inventor, artist, and loves learning about history or stories, etc. 

 

We have been using MathU See and she does so well with that, I think it will be our ticket for sure. We use the audio book or read to me on Epic, which is great because most of them have a question time at the end of the books. Her interest in books is highly advanced for her age, but she cannot read. I would say writing her thoughts on paper is worse than her reading. She will have well-developed thoughts and sentences that come out on paper very confusing because of the misspelled words- words that I know she knows if I ask her how to spell them outloud, but when she goes to write them, without assistance, she spells them different every time almost. She has about 100 sight words down, but she is in 3rd grade. So we are slowly just going to memorize the s words and rules. The more I read, the more confidence I am gaining about understanding we are on the right path, but I still need a lot of confirmation that this is exactly what she needs.  Thankyou for the suggestions! If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them! Thank you for taking time to help all of us!:)

[OneStepAtATime]

Big hugs.  I agree, what you need is someone who knows about ALL of those things and can help you with the global picture and all the details. Sadly, that rarely happens as far as I can tell.  It certainly has not happened where I live.  And I have not seen terribly many post about such a scenario, if any at all.  It is all piecemeal.  We get part of the info from this person, then part of the info from someone else, and someone else has another piece, etc.  Very frustrating and frankly can be pretty unproductive at times.  Eventually a clearer picture does emerge, though.  I agree, though, to start with a neuropsychologist.  They will give you a more global view.  After that you can figure out which pieces to pursue further, if any.

 

With regards to writing, I strongly, strongly encourage you to scribe for her for now while she works on reading remediation.  If you want her continuing to write at least something then keep writing mainly just to copywork for now if that doesn't frustrate her.  Maybe let her record her writing on audio, if she prefers, then you can write it out for her and read it with her to make sure what she said is what she wanted to say.  

 

Also, start her on typing.  Touch Type Read and Spell isn't "fun" but the lessons are very short and reinforce Orton-Gillingham based reading/spelling remediation.  It is usually available for sale on Homeschool Buyer's Coop for cheaper than going through the parent company.  It may take years for her to become proficient enough at typing to produce papers that way, but it can help tremendously with communication and writing later on.  And who knows?  Maybe she will pick it up quickly.

 

Keep tapping into her areas of interest.  Help her master areas that matter to her.  Having something you are good at and honing a skill in can be a HUGE help in getting through areas that are hard.

 

Have you read any books on dyslexia? 

[Kaitfish]

Great advice on the writing and typing!! We will continue with the neuro for sure. I have read a few books and I'm always looking! I just finished The Dyslexic Advantage- so good. Thank you for your ideas!!! It's nice to know, and frustrating to know, that this is what most folks struggle with- putting the pieces together on their own. At least I know I'm not missing something and I can just keep working on it. Thank you so much!!! 

[Heathermomster]

I'm not going to address testing and who to see. I wrote a ton and then that info went poof into a bit bucket. :scared:

 

If your child can express her thoughts well by speaking, scribe for her. The accommodations for writing disability are scribing, typing, and speech to text software. DS is diagnosed with a writing disability, which effects legibility and sequencing/processing of ideas. He learned to type in 5th grade and now types everything but math. Both of my children worked with an OT and ped PT, and the experience was very helpful with notable improvement. I don't really recommend typing for very young children. My DD is 3rd grade, and her hands are too small for adult keyboards.

 

For handson science, maybe look at Gems Science kits and perform unit studies with a notebooking element. Really, there are many science kits available for handson learning, and you need to look around and see what you can find. Hobby Lobby sells kits and hands out a weekly coupons making them affordable. We use a Brock Magiscope for science, have completed growth experiments, attracted tadpoles, built a bat house, shot rockets, legos, snap circuits, built bridges with wooden craft sticks, played with a spectroscope,....there are tons of handson things to do. Evan Moor and Scholastic Publishing both sell PDF booklets. Home Science Tools sells great kits as well.

 

For memory work, DS clapped, stomped, sang, and moved his body. As he memorized Bible verse this way, his ability to memorize increased. He also chunked bits of info to memorize digits and spelling words. For spelling words, he table wrote with his finger and eyes closed a well as air wrote words using large arm movements.

 

For spelling, work with the Wilson tutor and request that she provide a spelling list or recommend one. Children are able to read at higher levels than they spell. Spelling is harder and will take a longer time.

 

For literature, keep up with the high interest and high reading level audio books. When DS was early elementary, he was creating shoebox dioramas, 12" main characters, booklets, brochures, and poster projects about story and story elements. You can get ideas from publications like How to Report on Books. As you serach for materials, seek things that are multisensory and pay attention to your student. Allow her to pursue her own interests. Over time, you will figure out what she likes and dislikes. My DS loves museums, documentaries, and certain lectures.

 

Good luck!

Edited October 8, 2016 by Heathermomster

[Kaitfish]

I'm not going to address testing and who to see. I wrote a ton and then that info went poof into a bit bucket. :scared:

 

If your child can express her thoughts well by speaking, scribe for her. The accommodations for writing disability are scribing, typing, and speech to text software. DS is diagnosed with a writing disability, which effects legibility and sequencing/processing of ideas. He learned to type in 5th grade and now types everything but math. Both of my children worked with an OT and ped PT, and the experience was very helpful with notable improvement. I don't really recommend typing for very young children. My DD is 3rd grade, and her hands are too small for adult keyboards.

 

For handson science, maybe look at Gems Science kits and perform unit studies with a notebooking element. Really, there are many science kits available for handson learning, and you need to look around and see what you can find. Hobby Lobby sells kits and hands out a weekly coupons making them affordable. We use a Brock Magiscope for science, have completed growth experiments, attracted tadpoles, built a bat house, shot rockets, legos, snap circuits, built bridges with wooden craft sticks, played with a spectroscope,....there are tons of handson things to do. Evan Moor and Scholastic Publishing both sell PDF booklets. Home Science Tools sells great kits as well.

 

For memory work, DS clapped, stomped, sang, and moved his body. As he memorized Bible verse this way, his ability to memorize increased. He also chunked bits of info to memorize digits and spelling words. For spelling words, he table wrote with his finger and eyes closed a well as air wrote words using large arm movements.

 

For spelling, work with the Wilson tutor and request that she provide a spelling list or recommend one. Children are able to read at higher levels than they spell. Spelling is harder and will take a longer time.

 

For literature, keep up with the high interest and high reading level audio books. When DS was early elementary, he was creating shoebox dioramas, 12" main characters, booklets, brochures, and poster projects about story and story elements. You can get ideas from publications like How to Report on Books. As you serach for materials, seek things that are multisensory and pay attention to your student. Allow her to pursue her own interests. Over time, you will figure out what she likes and dislikes. My DS loves museums, documentaries, and certain lectures.

 

Good luck!

So many great ideas! Thank you for taking time to write this down. It sounds like my dau has similar writing disabilities. The typing would be so good for her. I just copied all of you suggestions. Thank you!