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possible learning disorders…really overwhelmed
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I’ve been doing some reading on learning disorders and it seems likely that both my 7 YO and 10 YO have one or more. 7 YO doesn’t read fluently, has many ADHD symptoms, and several dyslexia symptoms. He also has a processing delay (often takes him several seconds to mentally “switch gears” when doing something to be able to respond to something that was said to him). While researching for him I was a bit shocked to realize that my 10 YO, who was an early reader and still reads above grade level, had several symptoms of dyslexia for both spelling and reading (such as difficulty decoding unfamiliar words). I knew she had trouble with these things, but didn’t realize they all fit together. She is also very easily distracted, possibly ADD.
I’ve asked some questions on another hs’ing forum and keep being told that they need to be evaluated for various things because yoy can’t really tell what’s going on without testing…dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, vision processing disorders. I looked into them a little bit and they cost a fortune…the price range I was quoted by the office that does auditory processing testing was $300 to $2000. I know dyslexia testing is super pricey also. We don’t have insurance, and regardless of the cost, I don’t see DH being willing to do any testing. He thinks the 7 YO reads fine, and he’s certainly not going to think there’s anything off with the 10 YO who does fairly well overall with schoolwork. He has the general viewpoint that pretty much everything is some variation of normal and not a big deal, which can be rather frustrating at times. “Oh she has diarrhea every time she eats oatmeal? Oh well, everyone has diarrhea sometimes.”
Anyway, I feel very overwhelmed just thinking about it all, not to mention looking at all the different programs out there that claim to be good for these things and thinking about how much more time this is all going to take. I feel overwhelmed most of the time anyway, and this is just adding more levels of stress. Is it really necessary to get evaluations done? Can I just choose programs that seem like they will help whatever issues it seems likeliest that they have? Dyslexia (stealth dyslexia for DD) and ADD/ADHD seem to fit them the best as far as symptoms go.
I have an appointment in July (such a long wait…made this two months ago) for my son to be evaluated. He just turned 8 yesterday and I believe he has dyslexia, dyscalculia and ADHD. First off, stay calm and know that your children are in great hands being cared for and taught by none other by the person who loves and understands them the best. You sound like the kind of mother who will do whatever research it takes to help with the problems. For us, a large hospital nearby, which is covered under our insurance, does evaluations. Have you spoken to your regular family doctor? I spoke to someone recently who was looking at testing privately and was coming up with similar numbers as you but hadn’t even considered anyone covered by insurance, thinking that the care wouldn’t be as good. I took one of our daughters there last year to be evaluated (asked for a specific doctor who was a Christian recommended by friends from our co-op…was blessed to hear about her!). My daughter turned out to have auditory processing issues but the whole time I was thinking, “I’m going to be here with Joshua; I’m going to be here with Joshua.”
In the meantime we are using Level 1 of All About Reading and making progress. Progress for me means he is not frustrated at all and we are working through the program daily. He can read three letter words. We use Math U See, but he is more frustrated with math. I have to go slower with that and have more patience. I would check out these couple of sites…Susan Barton’s website, All About Reading, http://www.learningabledkids.com, and Dyslexia Games. Stay strong, mama!
IF you want to do testing: Check with your local public schools, I believe in all states they are required to offer testing for your child. They may not be used to doing that and you may have to push a bit – or you may have a school that is super easy to get that done with. You won’t know until you ask. And you can always go with further testing later on if you wish.
IF you don’t want to do testing: Then don’t! Just read about the issues you suspect and gather ideas for what helps. Then implement. Don’t stress, don’t panic. Just plug away at issues.
One thing our 7 yo boy enjoys is doing as much of his work, except copywork, sitting bouncing on a yoga ball. He can’t super bounce, only during free,unschool time. Although he doesn’t super bounce on it for free time cause he’s bouncing on it for school so much. the ball is his, no one can bounce on it, including our 4 babysitting girls! Patrick, focuses much better with his gross motor bouncing! I consider him a normal moving and shaking boy and the yoga ball helps him to do his best, without punishing his with his surplus of energy. His oral narrations are better because his focus is better. Also, our first ball lasted 1 day, the dog popped it. it’s new home is on top of the dryer behind a bi-fold door he;s responsible for. No kids can play with it, as they are $10 online. Also, his balance has improved over the months of him bouncing! I know this seems so small, but I hope it helps. Martha ps, he just has bounced through old Yeller and it’s sequel savage sam, both as read alouds, audiobooks and movies. Audio by his request.
I’d recommed you check out Susan Barton’s websites – Bright Solutions for Dyslexia (dys-add dot com) and bartonreading dot com. She specializes in dyslexia and is willing to email or talk on the phone at no cost.
Even if you’re not sure whether your kids have dyslexia, she has enough info there to help point you in the right direction.
We chose to not formally test our 10yo daughter. She is dyslexic, and I think has ADD or ADHD. But she’s responding super well to the Barton Reading Program, and if she needs a diagnosis for later education, we’ll address it later on.
You might also check with your State Schools for the Deaf for auditory processing disorder testing. Our state offers free testing.
I agree that testing is not a must at this point. If hubby wants testing and God opens a door, then by all means. Locally we have Easter Seals that offers testing on a sliding fee scale, as well as therapies for OT, speech, etc. I am not sure if they evaluate for dyslexia, etc.
Some public schools won’t test for dyslexia until the child has spent several years with phonics, in part because some students simply mature later in this area.
Shriners hospitals may have help too.
Otherwise choosing curricula that is helpful for dyslexia and working on other issues is plenty.
I tend to choose obscure programs, but it works for us:) abcdrp. com is what we are using. Phono-graphixs .com has card games that my dd7 loves. The games motivate her to do her reading lessons so she can play new card games.
All About Reading and AAS are good programs, but we prefer Abecedarian (abcdrp. com) because too many rules confuse my dd.
Barton is another popular choice.
For ADD, sizzlebop. com has books and lots of great tips.
The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan by, Ben Foss, and The Dyslexic Advantage by, Brock Eides, and The Right Side of Normal by, Cindy Gaddis are my favorite books for parents.
You can do this 🙂
Wow, caedmyn, thank you for a timely post.
I suspect that my 7YO has dyslexia/dysgraphia and I’ve been struggling with how to proceed. She can read fairly fluently, but she is at a loss when it comes to sounding out longer words. She also has several of the symptoms that correspond with dyslexia.
I found that there is a grant-funded learning center in town that offers kids with dyslexia tutoring free-of-charge. I was interested in looking into that because the people at the center are so knowledgeable and experienced.
The problem is, however, she would need a diagnosis. I’ve called two places that will evaluate for dyslexia – one charges $3,000, and the other $4,000. My only other option is to have testing through the schools. I am so conflicted and hesitant to pursue that option after I went through an IEP red-tape nightmare with my son about 7 years ago.
I did find out that the Catholic nuns in town who run a school for at-risk children are trained in dyslexia, so I may meet with one of them about private tutoring.
Just reading these comments, though, brings me some peace. All of the dyslexia experts are saying, “If she doesn’t catch up by the end of third grade, then chances are she’ll never catch up.” Then I remind myself that, although it takes her longer to learn things, she is only 1/2 a grade behind and she is making progress. I so appreciate the stories I read from moms who have been through this before me.
Anyway, thank you all for your input.
It makes sense to me to just try programs for dyslexia, ADHD, and auditory processing disorders (another thing that’s been suggested as possibility for both kids) for now and not pursue testing unless there’s something inexpensive/free out there. I’m not sure DD really needs testing anyway as her issues are fairly mild. DS’s are not as mild, but they don’t appear to be severe either, and he is making progress with what we’ve been doing which is not anything specialized for dyslexia, albeit slow progress. I can purchase a computerized program for auditory processing disorders for around $100 that both kids could use, and it sounds like this is what’s commonly recommended anyway (along with therapy, depending on the severity of the issues) for kids with APDs.
I’ve been planning to put DD in Abecedarian’s short level B and DS into their short level A, which is what they tested into. I’m also looking into a couple of inexpensive movement/exercise based programs for ADHD (S’cool Moves and Brain Gym), and two computerized programs for auditory processing disorders called Earobics and…can’t remember the name of the other one.
I called the Deaf/Blind school here and they only do hearing tests. There’s a Scottish Rite language center here but I think they require a diagnosis first. I left a message there a few days ago and haven’t heard back. It doesn’t appear that Easter Seals here offers anything.
I have some books on ADHD and dyslexia on hold at the library. I’ll have to see if I can get The Right Side of Normal through ILL. I know the things that have helped DD have been things that are supposed to work better for right-brained learners.
My oldest was diagnosed with dyscalculia & ADHD-primarily inattentive last year. She has a serious medical condition & we were able to have the testing done for free so I can’t offer much help there.
For us-I knew something was going on with her but I couldn’t put my finger on the exact issue. I had a few ideas, talked to a few knowledgeable friends (counselor, SLP, OT, etc), talked to her team of doctors, & did my own research but I just couldn’t figure it out. So testing was invaluable for us. It caught some things I didn’t think of (the dyscalculia) & confirmed some suspicions I had (ADHD). It also pointed out some weaknesses that made sense (visual motor & fine motor issues) and helped me gain services for her in those areas. It also confirmed that I wasn’t crazy or a terrible teacher.
I had a wonderful examiner & so it was really great to sit down with him & talk through the results & what to do about her issues.
It was also an extremely stressful time! All of last school year was a big blur of stress!! The worrying, the testing, the results sinking in, switching curriculum, reading up on all the issues, finding therapies for her, driving to those therapies…it was really tough!
This school year has been so much better though! It really did all pay off! We still have some tweaking to do & a long road ahead but it’s not as overwhelming now. And I am used to therapy ‘interrupting’ my day haha!
I hope you are able to find the right solution!!
You’ve gotten a lot of good suggestions. I agree that it is overwhelming when trying to sort through a child’s learning struggles. We ended up getting some testing done through a school district, but they only tested certain areas and I’m debating if I should pursue finding more answers with a specialist or just let it go for now. A few books that I didn’t see mentioned above that may be helpful to you as you sort this out are the following:
– The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide – This book addresses a wide variety of various areas that impact learning, how certain symptoms can look like something else in certain situations, and also emphasizes finding your child’s strengths to help them overcome (or accomodate for) their weaknesses. It is the type of book where you can just read different topics at a time and you don’t have to read cover to cover if you are pressed for time.
– Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up by Ellen Braaten PhD and Brian Willoughby PhD – This book is just about kids with low processing speeds.
– When the Brain Can’t Hear by Ph.d. Teri James Bellis – This book addresses auditory processing disorder
Depending upon how low a person’s processing speed is, I have been told that Interactive Metronome (or a home version of it) can be helpful. I have heard positive things about Earobics and Fastforward, but don’t remember if that was for auditory processing or phonological processing or something else.
I know others mentioned the books, The Dyslexic Advantage, Overcoming Dyslexia, and Dyslexia Empowerment Plan. They are all good reads (dyslexic advantage being my favorite) as well for understanding dyslexia better.
If you suspect ADHD (very common with dyslexia), there are a variety of books that can give helps and understanding in that area. Susan Barton at bartonreading .com or dys-add .com will email you a list of warning signs of both ADHD and dyslexia if you request it on her website. As others said, she is also helpful over the phone related to dyslexia and ADHD. She’s not just about selling her product either. She actually recommended that I NOT purchase her product at one point in time as she didn’t think it was the right fit for my child at that point in time (that said, we are now using Barton Reading and it is going well).
Some dyslexics also have working memory struggles. There are a variety of games you can plan to build working memory if that is an issue.
Best wishes and I hope you find the right solution for your family soon! It is overwhelming to sort through it all.
I will see if I can get some of those books from the library.
I found someone 3 hours from us who’s on Susan Barton’s list of recommended testers for dyslexia. She charges $475 for testing. She also does free 60 minute phone consultations to determine if your child even sounds like they need the testing, so I have an appointment with her Monday for one of those for DS1 (hoping there might be time to talk about DD too, but we’ll see). It’ll be really nice to talk to someone who knows what to look for and see what they think. I haven’t mentioned any of this to DH. I don’t think he will believe there’s any problem at all. But maybe I’ll be able to make a more convincing case after talking to the lady on Monday (assuming she thinks there’s a problem also). I don’t need him to agree with me to purchase not-too-expensive things that may help as curriculum, but it would be nice to at least have someone to talk to about it all.
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