Need plan for right-brained child

I’ve been mulling and thinking of a response to this post for a while.  I finally have some time to sit down and type instead of quickly read and move on.  I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and chiming in.  It is sure nice to know that I’m not alone (though I often feel that way!).

I’ve been reading “The Right Side of Normal”.  It is very good.  I am almost finished with it.

Another excellent read is “The Gift of Dyslexia” by Ronald Davis.  This one really helped me to understand what is going on and why the symbols (numbers, letters, etc) cause so much trouble.  “The Right Side of Normal” touched on this, but “The Gift of Dyslexia” really explained it.  Did you know that there are 40 different ways a right brained person can see the word “cat” . . . and none of them will show you a cat! =)

We have used the Davis Dyslexia Program.  Here is a link for info on the program: http://www.dyslexia.com/  and here is a link for the webpage for our facilitator: http://dyslexiaandlearningsolutions.com/

The Davis Program works with the minds eye and “de-triggering” those symbols, sounds, etc. that “trigger” the minds eye to “wander.”  Their webpage probably explains it better.  We  started 1 year ago.  When we started my DD was reading on a 1st grade level.  After 2 weeks she was a 3rd grade level.  That was the drastic jump.  I’d say she is 3rd/4th grade level right now.  We’ve seen huge leaps and bounds with her ability and smoothness.  Her confidence is still growing.  We definitely still have the issue with being able to read grade appropriate words but having difficulties with easier words.  That is all a part of dyslexia and we are working through it.  When we started she was “triggering” on all the letters, all the numbers, all the math symbols, all the punctuation, 8 sounds, and horizontal and vertical lines.  We are just finishing up with the detriggering process.  The program is expensive, but when looked at as a whole – one price and quick progress, compared to a smaller amount every year and years of work – it is not so bad.  Our facilitator was able to give us a discount and willing to take payments.  We also get unlimited phone calls and/or emails after the initial program and 3 follow-up visits included in that price.  We have just recently used one of the visits and email periodically.

We used Diane Craft’s multiplication cards and found them to be a huge help in learning the multiplication and division facts.

For spelling we are using a method recommended by our Davis Facilitator and it goes very will with SCM’s Spelling Wisdom.  When we have a word to learn, I write it on the board and tell her what it is.  She looks at the word, takes a mental picture of it and then writes it down.  That’s it.  She’s done and knows the word.  She seems to be retaining them, too.  Sometimes we have a word that we need to go back to, but for the most part she seems to be learning them.  We use Spelling Wisdom for copywork on Monday and pick out the words that she needs to learn from that passage, Tuesday we work on “taking pictures” of them and write them out, Wednesday I dictate the passage to her.  I think only twice since Christmas she has missed a word on Wednesday.  If she does we just work on it again the next week.

Sometimes I really think that she is just refusing to do her work, but then I think maybe it is a right brained thing.  I wish there was some way to know for sure.

I, also, wish there was some sort of right brained curriculum list that we could choose from.  There are some things out there that are geared for them, but not an extensive list.  It would sure make choosing things easier to know that it is using the right brained learning style.

I also wish I knew a way to get around the attitude.  I know that a lot of it is frustration, but that doesn’t make it okay to get disrespectful and rude.  But, when the disrespect is dealt with she just gets angry and tells me that I am mean and disrespectful and that it is all my fault.  I don’t want her to associate the getting in trouble with not doing her school correctly, but I’m sure she does.  I would really like to get past the anger and disrespect.  Sometimes I really want to unschool.  But, as she has told me when hollering about why she doesn’t get to do what she wants to with her time, she wouldn’t ever do anything with math and she’d never read anything again.  It’s true.  She wouldn’t.  She would ask me to give her the answers and read things (or her sister) and then get mad at me when I would give her the tool to do it herself.

I wish school could be fun . . . or at least enjoyable.  But she constantly tells me how she hates school.