Stop schooling to do therapy?

[FrogMom5]

Hi. I'm fairly new to the boards. I posted once on the high school board a month ago.

 

My questions is this: Is it ok to stop schooling a 7th grader for about three months to do therapy work? My son is 13 and has a slow processing time. He's bright but takes a long, long time to complete his work.

 

I want to work on his processing time, as well as making writing and spelling easier, using Brain Builder and some of Diane Craft's techniques but don't know how to fit them in our day. We are already spending an average of 6 hours per day to do school work. Should we stop schooling for a few months and just work on the therapies?

 

You need to know that we are already behind in writing and spelling. Due to his vision issues, we did no reading, writing or spelling until he was 10. Then, of course, we began slowly, with reading first. He's not where he should be with writing or spelling, though he's ok with reading (just not speedily!).

 

I don't mean to sound dense. Your opinions are appreciated.

Denise

[Laurie4b]

I am not aware of any research about those particular techniques increasing processing time. (By research, I mean peer-reviewed.) Before I ditched any academics, I would make very sure that there is strong research support for the techniques' effectiveness. Otherwise, he ends up 3 more months behind.

 

Even if a technique has a research-base of being effective, I would not totally stop school for a 7th grader. I would cut back content area work, but not reading, writing (including spelling), or math.

[Virginia in Tx]

We used 2 therapy programs Audioblox and Brainskills. Both had exercises that worked on processing time and memory issues. It was one hour a day (sometimes we went 1 1/2 hours if it was a good day) 5 days a week. We did each one for a year. So I did adjust the academics but didn't entirely stop - I continued doing those things my son was okay at (math, science, history) and eased up on the literature and writing - the therapy is hard and takes a lot of concentration - trying to do a full literature program (the thing that my son struggles the most with) at the same time would have been too frustrating. It would be very difficult to spend all day working on the one thing you aren't good at - you might consider a longer therapy time frame with less hours per day.

[FrogMom5]

Thank you Virginia and Laurie. You're right, I wouldn't stop everything. I was tired and feeling overwhelmed last night when I wrote the original post.

 

I am concerned about my son getting further and further behind. Just not sure how to help make things come a little easier for him.

 

Virginia, can you tell me more about Audioblox and Brainskills? Especially Brainskills. Is that a computer program? Are they both Brain Gym type of programs? It seems many programs today are predominately mid-line crossing exercises. How do you tell which one is best for your child?

 

Thanks for your help.

Denise

[Mom22ns]

I have a sixth grader, so I'm a year behind you and I feel your frustration. There are those days where I think I'm losing ground and it all seems so discouraging. My advise is to take a deep breath and a hot bath, but don't stop what you are doing.

 

I don't know a lot about the therapies that you are wanting to try. When we were doing a lot of processing work with my son (we did Fast Forward, IM, and a program designed by a local developmental center specifically for him) He did 2-3 hours/day 5 days/week and we did it in the afternoon/evening after 7 hours of school each day. We were all exhausted. His school work did suffer, but overall he made great strides forward.

 

I would not let a 7th grader off of the basics. I would make sure you are moving forward with math, reading, and writing. Spelling, I would probably be less concerned about, but I would be trying to hit the basics hard every day. If he (or you) is exhausted by those, then spend some good quality time reading aloud to him to get in some history or science or just good literature. Grow his mind while he thinks he is resting it. Leave paper and pencil behind for more read aloud and discussion time, but make him keep plugging away at the basics first.

 

Debbie

[cillakat]

Even if a technique has a research-base of being effective, I would not totally stop school for a 7th grader. I would cut back content area work, but not reading, writing (including spelling), or math.

 

2nd. I would work intensively using evidence based methods in the areas of reading, writing, spelling and math while letting most of the rest go temporarily.

 

But I'd also want to be certain that I'd be using the best of what's available in terms of improving cognitive skills. There is a small body of evidence currently available....I'd stick with it.

 

K

[Laurie4b]

Has your son had a neuropsych evaluation? When you refer to "vision issues" what do you mean? How were the processing speed issues identified? (ie by what kind of professional and with what test?) Is his processing speed lower than his overall IQ?

[Mom0012]

Up until last year, I've done one major therapy program with my son every years since he was 3 or 4. When he started school, we did take time off to do the therapy if it was an intensive, daily thing, but none of these types of therapies we did lasted more than 6 or 8 weeks.

 

My son was a lot younger than yours, but I can understand how overwhelming it feels to try to do all the schoolwork and the therapy at the same time. Doing a therapy program can be especially draining and frustrating since you are working on the areas your child is weakest. Can you wait until the summer and then just focus on the therapy? Or, if it's something that is going to need to be done for a year, can you try to stick with the 3Rs for school to open up some time for the therapy?

 

Lisa

[Virginia in Tx]

We used Audioblox first because my son had very significant delays in working memory, processing speed and some cognitive delays. In my opinion it is a more fundamental program than Brainskills (the exercises in Brainskills are more challenging). Audiblox did significantly help working memory and some cognitive issues, reading comprehension improved (my son does not have dyslexia so we did not do this part of the program). There is a yahoo group for audiblox users - you could probably read about some other people's experiences there. There is a computer component but it is just one part of the program - most of the exercises are done without computer.

 

http://www.audiblox2000.com/

 

Brainskills is the home version of PACE (which is done in a therapists office only). For a while you couldn't purchase it. The version I have is not computerized, but it looks like the one they sell now is computerized - that would have been lots better for my son. It really helped us with the processing speed because all exercises are done to a metrodome (very challenging and frustrating for my son). But it really did produce some good results. My son is still slower than average in things like reading and writing but no where near what he was before. I am thinking of doing it again this summer - just as refresher.

 

http://www.brainskills.com/html/about_us.html

[ElizabethB]

I've started testing my students memory and have found that their short term memory improves after working through my online phonics lessons and Webster's Speller. (I generally also use the Blend Phonics Reader with most of them, and some of the more advanced students also get M.K. Henry's Words.)

 

I was curious because they seemed to be doing better in their other schoolwork and their ability to generally focus and remember things above and beyond what would be expected from just being able to read their assignments better.

 

So...whatever else you decide to cut back on, I wouldn't cut back on reading and spelling, especially something that focused on phonics basics, and syllables and syllable division, and spelling.

[FrogMom5]

Wow! Thank you, all of you. It looks like I have some research to do. In addition to BrainSkills, have any of you used anything that increased your child's processing time?

 

Some of you asked for background info. on my son. Here is our story.

 

When he was three we discovered, through county testing, that he had receptive/expressive language delays, gross and fine motor skill delays. Over the years we have done the following:

 

1. Sublingual allergy drops - worked well

2. Nutritional supplements - most worked well

3. Auditory Training - Tomatis, SOMONAS, Fast Forward

4. GMS - a sensory integration gymnastics program

5. Vision Therapy (with Dr. Wachs in Wash. DC)

6. OT

7. Interactive Metronome

8. Cranial Electrical Stimulation

9. Some limited Brain Gym

10. The Brushing technique (Wilbarger Protocol?)

11. I don't know what to call it but I rolled him in a futon and laid on top of him, gently. He loved it.

12. Assorted things like weighted vests, nubby cushions, etc. that didn't seem to help.

 

We saw fantastic results with Tomatis, Vision Therapy, IM, CES. We saw good results with GMS and OT. I really didn't see anything with Brain Gym but we didn't do that much of it. Everything else, we didn't see any results, though we kept at it for a long time.

 

His processing time is much better than it was but I am worried about high school. I'm even more concerned about his load for college. At this point, I think one or two classes will be all he can handle. That will frustrate and depress him.

 

If he has reached the limit as far as processing, fine. We'll focus on helping him accept his limits. But, I am hoping to bump him up just a bit more so he won't struggle as much.

 

As far as testing, he's been tested by Neurologists, Audiologists, OTs, Psychologists, Educators, etc. They all diagnosed slow processing time, among other things. The vision problems were that he didn't have binocular vision and his eyes weren't tracking. He did vision therapy under an O.D. who is, in my opinion, a gifted doctor.

 

Is he working below his IQ? Yes, significantly. Not that I put that much stock in IQ scores. It's just that it is evident that he thinks he can work faster and better. He's frustrated with how long it takes him to do his work. He tries very hard to quicken the pace and he is concentrating very hard.

 

By the way, my processing time is slower than the average. I remember lots of people always being frustrated with how long I took to do things. But back then, I'm 45, life was slower. Today, everything is now, now, now and I'm not as slow as he is.

 

Honestly, I'm scared for him. I'm sure many of you feel that way about your children too. We have two other children, an 8 year-old with ADHD and a 2 year-old.

 

Thanks again for responding to my questions.

Denise

[Mom22ns]

In addition to IM we did other exercises that used a metronome. I have no name for them. We did arrows, slap/tap, and a whole slew of others I don't even remember, all paced to the metronome. That stupid thing ticked away in our house every day for a year or more. I really do think they improved my ds's processing though. To be honest, slowing down the metronome was as difficult as speeding it up. We had to do the exercises at all different speeds. These exercises all combined physical, verbal, and timing together and my son's brain did gradually respond. It learned both to increase its responsiveness and improve self control too. We used to do these as a warm up before school to get the "brain awake".

 

I think for processing it was the most effective. We did FF (not too visible results), OT (great for sensory issues, and a variety of other issues through the years), Nutritional supplements (varied results), GFCF diet (very helpful) and I'm sure many more I'm not thinking of at the moment :lol:

 

We don't worry too much about my son anymore, although there are those moments. When he was 3 or 4, speaking in one word nouns, living in his own world, the future seemed very scary! Now, most of the time, he just seems like a typical 11 yr old. He has his challenges, but from where he has come, I usually remain confident, he can overcome what is left.

 

Debbie

[Cathy in SoCal]

Our ds (8th gr) just finished 1 1/2 yrs of ed therapy for auditory processing. We went the route of individualized program with a therapist. I can't tell you the difference it made for him in all areas of life. He is a different kid now...or should I say the real "him" has blossomed. We had our therapy sessions 1-2 per week and did homework here at home 1/2 hr to 1 hour a day. He/we worked very hard--PACE & Master the Code. We continued as much of his regular school as possible during that time.

 

But a foundational therapy he did from the beginning was Samona Sound Therapy. We saw an incredible difference due to this therapy. He is finished with the other but continues with Samona. We can tell when he have been out of town or on break (when it wasn't in the schedule) when he isn't doing it. It is amazing. Once he gets back to it, he is back again. I would never have believed it if we hadn't seen it first-hand. Here is the site:

 

http://www.samonas.com/

[Tara from Florida]

Hi. I was drawn to your question because I did exactly what you were contemplating. The biggest difference was that my child was only in the 2nd grade so that may have some bearing upon how much weight you give to my comments, but read down about my husband too !

 

Let me preface this by saying I was totally petrified about stopping training while I did the therapy we chose. We did PACE, followed by Master the Code (the complete phonics code program by the same developers). At first I thought I was nuts but we did 1 hour of training followed by a one hour “brain Break†followed by one hour of training. We did training 5 days per week.

 

In the beginning we did nothing else. OK nothing formal. We still went to the library, talked about stuff we say, went to the museum etc, but no book work. This was primarily because my daughter had auditory analysis problems and developed an allergy to paper (translation if it needed to be read or written she didn’t want to have anything to do with it). Oral work was continued including scripture memorization and speech and communication drills. Grammar was done orally too.

 

Because she was so frustrated with the written word, she would literally walk 10 feet around a table with a pencil and paper on in, while most other kids would be over there just drawing at least. Not my kid.

 

We had to train her to hear the sounds, introduce the symbols one at a time and them using sand, shaving cream, glow in the dark markers with black lights and other fun things try to get her to create the letters without inducing nausea (quite literally). After she gained confidence step by painful step we gradually introduced colored markers, colored pencils, pens and pencils.

 

About a month into the program auditory was repair and she spontaneously asked one day. “Why aren’t we doing school when we aren’t in PACE?â€. That’s when we slowly started back to the books.

 

My biggest fear was that she would “get behindâ€. To be honest, it took her 8 hours to copy a sentence and after 2 years still couldn’t spell “tinâ€, “pin, “sin†and “spinâ€. I finally realized that she really couldn’t get much further behind and that by working those areas she was struggling in while trying to remediate them we may be counteracting the positive “I can do it†effect of the training by reinforcing the prior belief of “I am stupid†or “I can’tâ€.

 

Would I do this with a 7th grader? Frankly, if the program is as effective as PACE then I would suggest that you wouldn’t need to stop the entire time of the training, because if the training is working they will want to do it more. For an even more severe case of “just doing training†read about my husband below!

 

I am familiar with Dianne Craft’s work and she is very well informed and educated. We differ on a number of points; primarily because I was so pleased with the results from PACE that I became a trainer myself.

 

Although I would not purport to speak on Ms. Craft’s behalf, my understanding is that she tends to train on the premise that “learning glitches†occur when one hemisphere of the brain is not well integrated with the other. Although this has a great deal of merit, it does presuppose that each of those hemispheres is sufficiently strong on their own.

 

PACE is based on the science of neural plasticity. In short the neurons that fire together wire together. This would not only include crossing the corpus colosum (from one hemisphere to the other) but also includes increasing neural pathway development within each of the hemispheres too. Instead of teaching to the child’s strength, it strengthens the weaknesses, without decreasing the natural talents and abilities.

 

Now you mentioned that your son’s primary issue was processing speed. I agree with one of the other posters that I do not believe that Diane Craft’s program is specifically designed to address this issue, although benefits may well be obtained.

 

My husband who is an extremely gifted individual also had slow processing speed. He scored as a 15 year old. This had a huge impact on him because he was always taking longer than everyone else to do, well, just about everything. Intellectually, he knew how long a particular task should take and so he would budget that amount of time. Of course this left him perpetually behind, under stress feeling as though he was letting others down, which in turn slowed him down all the more. He always felt that if only he could just figure out what it was everyone else was doing, he could speed up.

 

You asked if a 7th grader should take the time off to do training. Well, my husband left his job for 6 weeks and did PACE and Master the Code 3 hours every day, five days per week. Did it set us back financially? You bet it did. We had the cost of the program plus the loss of income. Was it worth it? Every penny! Almost sounds like one of those commercials: Priceless! He gets his work done faster, has more time for family and his health is better too. His self esteem is higher and he is less concerned that he will be setting a bad example to our children. I can’t count the number of times he has said he wished he could have had this type of training way earlier on. Although his grades were good, he always took longer to study, complete the tests and everything else.

 

One of the other posters mentioned the new online BrainSkills. I have a great deal of information about that program on my site as well as some information on my blog and a forum in case anyone wants to add in their thoughts.

 

I really like the new program. It adds in some of the high and low frequencies as well as high and low volume components of Fast Forward. There are some really cool activities that stretch processing speed in a way that is very fun. One example is a puzzle game that requires you to put a puzzle back together with your cursor. There is a memory component to it where numbers (starting with only one and building up) flash on the screen while you are doing the puzzle and you have to remember the information long enough to input the result when you are done with the puzzle. In some of the more advanced puzzles, if you aren’t fast enough the puzzle starts to break apart again.

 

In another activity where processing speed is an issue, they combine it with auditory. This requires both an input speed component as well as a motor output action (selection of the correct response but on beat). If the wrong answer is given of the answer is supplied off beat, then the screen response for that answer is a grey block. If correct and on beat, then the square for that answer will be part of a picture. This is really important as the picture response is pleasurable while the grey square is “blahâ€. When there is a pleasurable response there is a release of dopamine in the brain. Neural plastic changes are solidified when there is dopamine present! They have really done their homework on this one.

 

In addition to the BrainSkills on line there is an online test call The Gibson Test of Brain Skills. Although it is not a “double blinded standardized test†is does accurately correlate with standardized test to the extent they have results this far. The cost of the test is only $29.95 so a pre-test and a post-test will not bust the budget like a “professional†evaluation would.

I am sorry for the horrendously long post but I am very passionate about this stuff since my family has been there….

 

If you would like more information on some of this you can check our my web site at www.TheBrainTrainers.net. Also there are a few really good books out on the science of neural plasticity. My favorite (although it does quote Freud a fair bit – but primarily in a non theological way) is The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge. With a young man in your home you may also find the section in this book on neural plastic changes and pornography rather enlightening (and frightening). It explains a lot on how this problem has and is becoming an epedemic with internet access and the speed at which images can be viewed (think about the part I mentioned about "the neurons that fire together, wire together" and the release of dopamine – this also applies to detrimental learning patterns as well).

 

Anyway – that last part was a true digression :blushing:

 

Feel free to call me if you have any questions.

[Laurie4b]

I've been thinking a lot about this post.

 

One thing I've been thinking is this: I think it's really a good thing to try to address underlying issues through various therapies and do it myself. However, they come at a cost--not just economic, but academic. For every hour your student is doing therapies, he is not doing academics. Our hope in this exchange is that the therapies will improve our student's capacity to do academics so signficantly that it will make up for time lost.

 

In our quest to help our kids, I think we often overlook the power of direct instruction. That is the time spent breaking things down and teaching specifically how to do them. It's interesting to me that in the MRI research on dyslexia, that it is good direct instruction in phonemic awareness that actually changes the brain. It's not been some attempt to change the brain and then teach reading.

 

I am constantly walking this tight rope and find that I need to keep reminding myself that lots of time in good, quality direct instruction cannot be sacrificed for various therapies. It makes it all the more important that I am aware of how strong the research base is for any given therapy because it would be a shame to waste academic hours on a bogus therapy in an attempt to address "underlying issues" . It's hard enough to take those hours for a therapy with a research base.

 

So one thing for sure that will increase your son's processing time in writing and spelling is practice in writing and spelling.

 

My advice would be whatever you do, make sure you are using very solid teaching techniques (as separate from curriculum. A teacher teaches the curriculum. It's the techniques that create change. Some curricula like IEW or Reading Reflex or REWARDS have technique built in, but most don't.) and keep teaching directly. Work in therapies around that. And always keep asking yourself whether the balance is appropriate between direct instruction time and finding therapies.

[FrogMom5]

You all have made many great points. There are some programs I now want to look into for my son. Also, from this discussion, I think it is best not to stop schooling. I do have a lot of questions for you all.

 

Some of you said not to do anything that wasn't "proven" scientifically. So what technique or program is scientifically proven to improve processing speed. From the posts, it looks like PACE might be and the info. on repetition for children with dyslexia. Besides what we've already done (listed in previous post), is there anything else? Is the BrainSkills program a "proven" program? The description of BrainSkills intrigues me.

 

It is my understanding that motor planning, processing time, short-term memory, organizing and attention are all part of Executive Functioning. They are all connected. My son has deficeits in all of these areas. I was once told that Executive Functioning problems are the most difficult to improve. Do you all agree with this statement? Have any of you had any success with a program or treatment for Exec. Functioning?

 

The evaluation we just had done showed my son does have attention issues (the daydreamer ADHD) and dyslexia. The doctor wants to put him on stimulant medicine and thinks it will help with the processing time as well as focus (it all seems to be the same ball of wax). We are not opposed to medication since he is now a good way through puberty and since he is reaching a critical point academically. However, I would like to help him make permanent changes to his brain so he can either eventually go off meds. or needs less of them. Does that make sense?

This thread continues to be really interesting as well as informative. Thank you once again.

Denise

Edited March 1, 2009 by FrogMom5

[Laurie4b]

There are different levels of research. There are double-blind studies. Those are the gold standard. The only program that I know that has double-blind studies is CogMed. It doesn't work directly on processing speed; rather, it works on working memory--the hub of the executive functions. There is research at the level of published, peer-reviewed studies that are not double-blind. "Double-blind is often difficult when there is more than taking a pill or a dummy pill involved. These can be studies with control and experimental groups and a large number of study participants, and generally take care of the placebo effect. If these have been done on a product, they will be cited. You should then be able to find the journal in a medical library. (There are some journals that are pretty bogus, too.) There are studies done by individual practioners and not published in peer-reviewed journals. Lastly, there is anecdotal evidence. Some mom on here says, "X worked for my child." There is a preponderance of research of the latter two types. They are the least reliable and the most likely to be attached to hype up a product that really may operate by placebo effect alone. Just because there is only the latter kinds of research doesn't mean that the product or technique doesn't work. But you are taking a bigger risk.

 

I have used some interventions knowing that there wasn't a good research base (only the last two kinds of evidence) because there weren't alternatives. However, what I was saying is to weigh that into the cost-benefit analysis very carefully. Direct instruction has documented benefits. I gave the example of phonemic awareness training changing the brain and dyslexic kids start using the correct part of their brain to read. But we know that anything that you do imprints the brain. Kids who receive direct instruction and practice get better at those academics than those who don't. Kids who practice taking timed 25 min. essays ahead of the SAT fare better than those who haven't practiced, even if they are equal writers. Top athletes and musicians practice for hours and gain both perfection in technique and speed.

[Terabith]

BrainSkills is the online, at home version of PACE/ Learning Rx. The PACE program is driven by trainers, and is really expensive. However, it does yield results. It's a very good, proven program. However, if you can't afford or if there is not a PACE provider in your area, BrainSkills is the at home version of the program. It is also very good.