The end of the school year is approaching and I don’t know who is more excited about the two week break between school and summer camp, my son or I.  We have not had a break from homework since August 2008.  A key component to overcoming his learning challenges is not only to learn specific strategies for reading, writing and math but repetition, repetition, and more repetition.

He has made tremendous progress this year!  I am so proud of him and his incredible hard work.  We do about 1.5 hours of homework 5 nights a week.  For second grade, this is a lot of work.  If anything, our son is going to have an incredible work ethic.  The words he can now read include anticipation, commissioned, audience and Constantinople!!  Wow – he has done so well.

Recently, the summer reading list came out in our school’s weekly newsletter.  I contacted our son’s teacher in order to get guidance on his independent reading level for the summer.  Well let’s just say it is not where I expected it to be.  Hence “the punch in the gut” in the title of this blog post.  I felt so deflated.  I just wanted to sit down and have a really good cry.

I reached out to his teacher and asked about his independent reading level and now I understand.  Learning challenges like everything else in life is about layers.  This year was a year of building the foundation.  He has strategies for decoding words he doesn’t know.  He has strategies for comprehending the material he is reading.  He has strategies for writing and answering questions.  He has strategies for paying attention and remaining engaged in the classroom.  All of this HAS resulted in tremendous progress.

The next layer that has to be attacked, however, is comprehension.  He is working so hard to decode and read and do, that his brain processing does not really have the room for full comprehension.  As we practice his strategies more, then the strategies themselves will become second nature so that he can grow into comprehending the material he is working with.

So once again I have to remind myself that “my framework” is not what is relevant.  Learning challenges, like everything else in life, is a journey that has to be broken down into manageable pieces.

He is working hard, he is making progress and he likes school.  It is all good.  So I was able to give myself a swift kick in the a—and remind myself of how proud I am of him.  I also decided that I am going to get ice cream for every night of those two weeks where we have a break!!

So until next time …. Take care.

Hi everyone! I know it has been a while since my last post. Life got to be too much and I had to step back from some things for a while.

Do you know how sometimes you know things but you don’t really realize things? Well I had one of those realization moments recently.

I feel like I have a fair amount of connectivity with other mothers. A lot of it is either online or connecting with those that I know in person through emails, texts and so forth. Being a working mother and a working mother of a child with special needs, I don’t really have a lot of time, often, for personal phone calls, lunches or even coffee get togethers.

I do consider myself lucky, however. I have family and friends who provide me with emotional support and listen. Although they listen, they don’t always understand or get what our family’s situation is all about.

I recently volunteered at my son’s school for a teacher appreciation luncheon. It is a great school that focuses on the types of learning challenges that our son has. I wanted to be there to get to know some of the teachers and administration better. The biggest benefit of me being at the luncheon, however, was the other moms there and their support of us and our particular challenges of our first year at this school. It made me feel so much better. They understand specifically the challenges that we are facing this year with the workload and the emotional stress. They have been through it and empathize. They validated the stress that I feel most nights.

It made me realize that having real life connections with individuals who have total knowledge and understanding of our challenges is important too and very powerful.

I am going to be a volunteer in my son’s library once a month for the remainder of the school year. I volunteered because my son really wanted me there. I am going to be the biggest beneficiary, however, because I will have personal time with other mothers who totally and unequivocally understand and empathize.

I call this localized support (I am a geek at heart) and I have come to realize that everyone should try to have a piece of this type of support within their support network.

Online, offline, localized … what do you think? What has been the most powerful type of support for you?

Until next time …. Take care

One of the challenges associated with ADHD and ADD is “executive functioning”. I have talked about this before. This like so many other things is a confusing element to ADHD but one that I feel is really important to be aware of and necessary to understand the challenges of your child holistically. In fact, many experts in the field of ADHD/ADD are starting to suggest that ADHD be re-conceptualized as an “executive disorder” and deemphasize the focus on hyperactivity and attention. Problems with executive functioning are not limited, however, to only those with ADHD or ADD. Executive dysfunction sometimes is the only problem and sometimes is part of a larger problem.

The easiest way to think of executive functioning is that it is the administrative or managerial part of the human brain. Executive functioning has to do with organization, planning, self-control, and time management, for instance. Like anything else, any individual with executive functioning issues will have areas of strength and areas of weakness within the broad spectrum of executive functioning.
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MEET CHARLIE OUR GUINEA PIG

As many of you know, having a child with ADHD or working memory issues creates a challenge when trying to get them to take responsibility for multi-instruction tasks. We have had a difficult time getting our son to be independent and to take on responsibility. Some of this is probably our fault. He works so hard with his learning disabilities and ADD that we probably baby him too much otherwise. However, he was begging – BEGGING for a guinea pig. Even though we really did not have ANY desire to have another pet in the house (we have a Havanese dog and a Beta fish), we decided to use the opportunity to teach responsibility and to increase his independence.

At the pet store, we made a very hard deal with my son. He had to take responsibility for caring for the guinea pig with my help. If he did not, then we were going to give the guinea pig away and he was going to have to pay us back for the cost out of his allowance. We emphasized the deal several times and made him repeat it back to us several times before we even bought the guinea pig. So we bought the guinea pig and named him Charlie.
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Recently a question was posed on the web which asked, as a mother of a special needs child, what would you want a mother of a typical needs child to understand? As a mother to both a special needs child and a typical needs child, I found the question very difficult to answer.

Recently there was a discussion question put out on the web which asked what I would want a mother of a typical needs child to know about mothering a special needs child. As a mother to both a typical needs child and a special needs child, this question is really difficult to answer. Our son has both learning disabilities and ADD.

I have to say that I have written and re-written my answer probably a dozen of times. Finally, I think my answer comes down to what I feel is obvious. What mothers of typical needs children, family and friends need to understand is that we, families of special needs children, need understanding and consideration of our situation. Not unlike those with physically visible handicaps, those with invisible to the eye special needs require consideration, accommodations, respect and understanding. Invisible special needs can make daily situations no less daunting than for those with physical handicaps.
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Working memory problems seem to be prevalent in those with ADHD and learning disabilities. Mainstream thinking to date has been that a person’s working memory is rigid and cannot be changed. Recently research is changing that thinking and software based training may, in fact, improve an individual’s working memory. I will share my experiences in future videos and I try out what is currently available.
 
 

 
 
I am soooooo confused!! I have heard so many terms associated with our son’s issues that I am really really confused. ADD, language processing issues, expressive language processing issues, receptive language processing issues, Dyslexia, and visual memory processing. Then there is the list of potential problems – dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysphasia. What the h— does it all mean? You read the symptoms of any number of issues and you start to believe that you are a hypochondriac!! I know hypochondriac is not the right word here but you get what I mean.

So 6 nights a week, we work together for an hour and a half. Reading, writing, word rings, spelling words, math problems, and language arts work sheets. It is all about repetition, repetition, practice and practice.
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http://dyslexiaparents.blogspot.com/

Dyslexia Blog
SHARING RESOURCES AND INFORMATION ABOUT DYSLEXIA FOR PARENTS

Ann shares wonderful information that has helped her work with her son. She also offers a very unique perspective of an ex-pat living in Turkey!!

Betul / Ann

I am a parent of a child with dyslexia. I am English but have lived in Turkey for many years. I met Betul who works with children with dyslexia, and now we have started this blog together in order to try to give information about dyslexia and learning disabilities.

Sample Blog Post
http://dyslexiaparents.blogspot.com/2009/08/telling-time.html

TELLING THE TIME

Many children with dyslexia struggle to learn to tell the time easily.
Dyslexics especially have problems telling the time on a clock with hands:

They may be able to tell whole hours and half hours (5:00, 5:30, etc.) but not smaller chunks, such as 8.04.
They often find it difficult to distinguish between the minute and hour hands.
Concepts such as before ( to )and after (past) on a clock are confusing for them.

As a parent there are several ways you can help them to learn to tell the time.

You could buy a teaching watch for your child. I obtained one which is produced by ELC ( Early Learning Centre) from Leonardinis.This watch has different coloured hands – for the minute hand and for the hour hand. There are a set of numbers for the minutes as well as for the hours.Also the watch face has ‘past’ and ‘to’ written on it in different colours.All these things make it easier for your child to tell the time.

http://www.leonardini.com.tr/

When I go out with my child I make him the ’official time keeper’ – and ask him at frequent intervals what the time is in order that he practices !!!

In addition there are many online free games which children can do to practice telling the time .
In a previous blog entry I wrote about online maths computer games,including ones to practice telling the time.

I found a very good puzzle by Larsen . The child has to match the correct clock faces to the right time.The puzzle contains 42 different clock faces with both the 12 and 24 hour time written on it.

I found an interesting article Charlottes clock taken from the Special Children Magazine,issue 166, May/June 2005 ,which is written by a mother of a child with special needs. In this article she explains how she approached teaching the time to her child. The techniques she described could be used with a dyslexic child.

http://www.mathsextra.com/articles.htm

www.mathsextra.com/documents/CharlottesClock.pdf

http://dyslexicstoryteller.blogspot.com/

Eric Wolf is a professional storyteller and uses that capability to share his personal story of dyslexia coupled with awareness, education and compassion. Anyone with a dyslexic in their life should read this blog.

Eric Wolf
Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States

Dear Reader, I awaken compassion for students with learning disabilities in themselves and those around them. Compassion is a difficult thing to teach and even more difficult to learn. By telling stories of how I struggled with my dyslexia, I help students with learning disabilities laugh at their own problems, and inspire empathy in the rest of the student body. I demonstrate that being in school is worth the hard work. I set a good example; despite my dyslexia, I graduated with a Masters of Science in Education from Lesley University in Boston. The positive influence on students of meeting someone who had similar problems and succeeded cannot be underestimated, nor can the morale-building effect on staff when they meet an adult who was helped by their profession. I speak to the staff about the issues they struggle with and I honor the place they are in. I create a unique residency experience for your school; a storytelling residency can have a powerful effect by teaching students how to effectively listen and support each other. I leave behind the ability for students and teachers to more effectively communicators. Peace, Eric James Wolf

Sample Blog Post

http://dyslexicstoryteller.blogspot.com/2009/07/nuts-in-bolts-of-being-dyslexic.html

Nuts in Bolts of being Dyslexic

Recently I had a classic dyslexic experience.
For the past five months my phone service has been telling that it has messages.

As a dyslexic person I have tendency to switch the audio recognition of sounds, colors or other stimulus. Red means green, black is white, t is h or yes means no. While the more obvious red and green analogy is rare for me these days. I have been known on a once every five years occasion to go through a red light. (That could be an interesting PHD for some one; Dyslexia and traffic accidents – anyone?)
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http://dyslexia-blog.ghotit.com

Ofer Chermesh is an adult Dyslexic who now works in the area of developing assistive technology for dyslexics. His company is called Ghotit. Ofer’s blog offers information and insights from the perspective of someone living with dyslexia. He shares insights on himself with the hope of helping others and educating those without dyslexia.
 
 
Ofer Chermesh and his company, Ghotit

My name is Ofer Chermesh and I am one of Ghotit founders. I have always struggled with writing and reading. When I was 10 years old I was diagnosed as a dyslexic. I have struggled with my dyslexia throughout my life, in school and in different workplaces.

I hope you will find Ghotit useful to you as it is for me.
 
 
Sample Blog Post

http://dyslexia-blog.ghotit.com/2009/08/03/dyslexia-student-exams/
 
 
No Ifs or Buts – Dyslexics Deserve Extra Exam Time
Posted by: ghotit on: August 3, 2009
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Evaluations. Academic Tests. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III. Cognitive Testing (WPPSI-III). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. And the list goes on …
 
Have you ever read an evaluation report sharing the results of such tests? What is desperately needed is evaluation results that are written in PLAIN ENGLISH. “Plain English” is a generic term for communication styles that emphasize clarity, brevity and the avoidance of technical language.
 
Academic evaluators should be required to report their results in Plain English. I have been through two rounds of full evaluations of my son. While I basically grasped the learning issues that my son has – I have never fully understood the results of these tests. Why? For some reason, the evaluators keep the language in the report in their academic context and do not report the results in plain English. I understand that verbal memory is the retention of the spoken word and a relative percentage score associated with that. I do not understand a scaled score of “4” on digit span!!
 
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