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"The Right Side of Normal" for those with learning disabilites or gifted
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Can we talk about this…I know some say they don’t want to “label” their kid, as someone said on this thread. But then I’ve heard others say that their child felt relieved to have a name for what they struggled with/whatever was different about them. If a child has a physical disability they’re going to know they have it at some point and know what it is called, even if you don’t focus on it or focus on their strengths instead. Is it that much different for differences in the brain? What are people’s thoughts on this?
We have not had formal testing done, but I have two with symptoms of ADHD/ADD and dyslexia. I have not said anything to them about it, but I know that for myself, I felt relieved to know that they are actually wired differently, and all these behaviors that have frustrated me for years weren’t naughtiness on their part, or poor parenting on mine, but actual wiring differences. Which isn’t to say that they/we don’t need to work on those things, or that they’re necessarily any easier to live with, but it is easier for me to be understanding now and not feel so frustrated with them, or with myself.
@psreitmom…I am not creative either…In ref to the creative examples you asked for: I follow my daughter’s lead. I may offer a few suggestions to her, but she will let me know what her favorite idea is for that lesson. Sometimes she needs nothing extra but when she does, we go for it. 🙂
For example, when we learn a new phonogram in reading (we do Logic of English), I let her draw a picture to help her remember all the sounds the phonogram makes. We take the extra time to do many of the tactile, visual, auditory, etc. suggestions in the teachers manual. She likes to play the piano, so she might make up a song to remember the new phonogram or spelling rule.
For history, she may prefer to act out her narration in a costume, draw/paint a picture of the story, make a shoe box scene of the story, do a quick puppet show with popsicle stick people….anything with movement and creativity. Narration is very creative in it’s own right….I just give her the time and materials to take it a step farther. Sometimes, lessons are longer than I would like, but she knows the information when I ask her to reflect back a few days later so it’s worth the extra time to me. Plus she involves her little sister in her creations.
For math, she may draw an elaborate picture to depict the math concept or a word problem we are working on. SCM recommends Right Start Mathematics and it is absolutely wonderful for right-brained learning because of the visual and tactile methods used. She has learned well using this program. We are only on Level B in the second grade but what she does know, she has mastered because we go at her pace to fit her needed ways of learning.
For science, she LOVES Nature Journaling. Again, the drawing is something she greatly enjoys. Try using different mediums for interest. Think about photography and then letting her paint a picture from the photograph later on while you cook supper.
For read alouds, the opportunity to imagine the stories in her head are so fun for her. I try not to miss our literature read alouds. The kids often draw while I read. She listens better if she is playing quietly with something.
***SCM’s resource Your Questions Answered: Narration by Sonya Shafer is an EXCELLENT resource for creative narration ideas. See pages 25-27, p. 78, and Chapter 26 for ideas.
Hope that helps
If it was anything I said, I was not insinuating that having a ‘label’ was a bad thing. When my daughter was tested last fall, I was relieved to have a better understanding of what was going on. I feel, and I believe the author of this book also feels, that many children are being labeled when they just need to be taught differently. I said my daughter could have probably a half dozen labels, which is very discouraging for me. After being given a diagnosis of PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) and being told that her horizontal brain pathways were 4 years behind her age, I just resigned myself to the fact that she would not go very far academically, especially math. I do believe she has legitimate delays, but I am understanding now that some of these ‘labels’ may just be a result of the need to be taught differently. This year it seemed like we were just going through the motions in school. I was losing all the enjoyment of homeschooling. Now, as I am reading this book, I see a different future in her remaining homeschool years.
When my daughter was in kindergarten, I was trying to teach her phonics, writing, and arithmetic. I see now that she just was not ready at that age. I should have let her learn through playing and exploring. Unfortunately, we suffered many frustrations and tears for several years trying to find something that worked. For her dyslexia, we tried the Barton program, which helped for a while and then failed. Because of other processing issues, my daughter could not remember all the spelling rules. On a positive note, my daughter loves watching Wild Kratts. She knows more about animals from watching that show (right-brainers learn through picture/video) than she would ever learn by me reading to her. She is turning 13 this month. She is now playing with an army plane and soldiers I found in the attic. She just brought her Our Generation doll to me and showed me how she set the doll on her stuffed horse. At the same time, she says she can’t wait to become a mom, because she loves taking care of babies, which she is very good at. So, you see how out of balance her training has been? We have a lot of catching up to do in some areas.
I started this thread because I am getting excited about planning for this fall and wanted to share my experience, in hopes it would help someone else who is discouraged. I’m only a quarter of the way through the book, but I am thankful that now it seems like I have a path of learning for my daughter that will help her move forward a little faster than if I would keep going along the same path as before. As far as labels, each one needs to decide what they want their child to know. My daughter knows somewhat about her diagnosis. But, I do need to be careful that she doesn’t use it as crutch to get out of some of her work by saying ‘ it’s too hard’, etc. I am hopeful that by utilizing some of the methods given in this book or any other resources that address these things, I will be able to see my daughter blossom in ways I may have never expected.
@caedmyn: if you are referring to my warning against “labeling” children….Please do not misunderstand. I was not saying that you should not seek to find out an answer for a child’s behavior. I, too, have ADHD and I was extremely relieved to receive a diagnosis and get help. Help is good!!! It’s important not to dwell on labels in negative ways. Use the label to educate ourselves and move right along loving and teaching those babies the best way they need despite the world’s criticisms and educational measuring sticks. 🙂
5heartsathome – Thanks for the suggestions. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with all the information I am taking in right now. We have only 2 official days of school to finish for this school year, although I want to work on some things over the summer. I will need to take time at some point to put it all together and decide what we are going to do this fall. I have talked to my daughter about her interests in science, and she just says ‘animals’. She also said she was interested in landscaping. She was helping her aunt do some of that yesterday, so that spurred an interest. So, I think we have our science topics planned:)
Math is really the most difficult to plan. I have always like the looks of Right Start, but I thought it was pricey. I went with Math On the Level. Pricey, but only one purchase and will last until she graduates since she is working at a very low level. I may look again at Right Start, but after what the psychologist recommended for math, I don’t know if it would be wise to put the money into it. I will definitely look at the narration tips. My daughter loves to be read to, so we don’t miss read-aloud time either:)
I just wanted to mention that, although I am gaining much knowledge about my daughter from reading this book and I plan to incorporate some of these ideas into my daughter’s schooling, I am reading this book objectively. I have been trying to explain to my husband some of what I have been reading, because I don’t think he will take time to read it. He is the one who cautioned me about reading objectively. I know that what one person says does not mean that everyone will obtain the same results if following those suggestions. Every child is different.
I am using this information, hopeful that my daughter will better progress if some of these methods are put into practice. I am better understanding why she does some of things she does, so I am taking a different approach to certain areas of training. I feel like I lost some valuable time with her because I didn’t have this information when she was young. But, I am grateful that, even though she does not do well in the academic work, the Lord has been working in her life and she is developing character that is more important than any academic progress she will make. And that is one area I have noticed, after reading almost half this book, is not really talked about. It’s more about academic success. So, while I am intrigued by all this right-brained information, I will not let it over-shadow what I believe to be the most important areas of teaching in anyone’s life. I am excited about homeschooling my daughter using some new methods, so I will glean what I can from this or any other resource, and let God show me what she truly needs.
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