| Author | |
JuliaT
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 25 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 563
|
| Posted: May 13 2007 at 5:46pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
I feel like I am losing my mind. I need to talk to someone about this problem but I don't have anyone irl who I think will take me seriously. After reading some of these posts, I think this might be the place.
I have 3 children--2 dds(7&4)&1 ds(6). I am pretty sure that my oldest dd has a math learning disability. It is called dyscalculia. It is like dyslexia with numbers. We have been struggling with this since K. We could be working on a concept for a month, leave it for a day, come back to it and it would be as if she had never heard of it before. This has been extremely frustrating. My dd also has major meltdowns when she doesn't get the answers right. Math is exhausting for both of us every day. I have done so much research and reading trying to find out the best way to teach her math. I think I have come up with the best way so far.
I am wondering if my ds has dyslexia. I know that it is still too early to know for sure, but there are little things that are pointing to this. We have tried and stopped learning how to read so many times this year. I have put away the books until the fall, then we will be more consistent. I have read Overcoming Dyslexia and I can see my ds in the dyslexics that are discussed in this book. Also, he has speech problems. As he is getting older, they are becoming more severe. He stutters so bad that I have to turn away so he doesn't see the tears in my eyes. We can't afford private speech therapy. We are not able to access therapy through the school either.
Then there is my youngest. She is extremely high-maintenance. She has sensory issues--loud noises, always cold yet can't handle warm clothes on, picky eater, can't handle itchy clothes, etc) It's as if she doesn't know how to handle her emotions. She has meltdowns continually throughout the day when she has been wronged by her siblings or when things don't go the way that she wants them to. I used to think this was a discipline issue, but I'm not so sure anymore. My sister has read The Highly Sensitive Child due to her ds' problems (he has similar issues as my dd) She told me the characteristics that were discussed in this book. My dd had most of them. In fact, all of my children had the charateristics but in a more subtle form.
Is it possbile for all of my children to have problems or am I just a label-happy mom? How do you know that their is indeed problems with your children and that you are not a label-hypochondriac? How do you trust your instincts when everyone around you thinks that you are exaggarating and making more out of this than you need to? How do you know whether they are right or that you are?
I should also say that my dh is dyslexic and that the sensory issues are prevalent in my side.
Another thing is, if I am right about all of this, the thought of teaching them scares me. The thought overwhelms me. I am able to teach my dd math, because, so far, she is the only one that I am teaching. I have time to find different ways to teach her math. But I don't know if I can spend this kind of time and effort for all three. Just thinking about it exhausts me.
This has become so long. If this isn't the right place to post this, can someone lead me to the right place for help? Thanks for reading.
Blessings,
Julia
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
albeto
Forum Pro
Joined: March 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 105
|
| Posted: May 13 2007 at 11:33pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julia,
Yes, I think you will find much help from this forum. Not only will you hear words of encouragement and support I could only dream to come up with, but I imagine you will be introduced to some new ideas to help make your days a little less frantic so you can enjoy your family. From reading what you explain, I can't imagine you are over labeling. Yes, I understand that when we have one child with particular needs above and beyond what we would normally expect we do get sensitive to any little possible glitches in our other kids. I've been so bold as to assume family and neighborhood kids have unaddressed issues! Fortunately, I've never said this out loud so when I see them grow I am not embarrassed for thinking this! But yes, we are a little trigger-happy with finding "issues." However, it sounds like you have a firm grasp of what exactly is catching your attention. It doesn't sound like an unfounded assumption from here. I'm sorry you have such troubles finding support. I was told that I was A)too harsh and overbearing, B)coddling them too much, C)needed to pray more and D)using religion as a crutch. All at the same time! Of course from different people! How could they know? How can you articulate so many little, nitty-gritty things that just don't add up and explain it coherantly to someone when you're sleep deprived, frustrated, anxiously awaiting the next meltdown, revisiting the last thing that when wrong and trying to figure out what you did or didn't do that made it such a mess?
Dyscalculia is a real glitch in processing. You already see it as real. Very few people have heard of it and I wouldn't be suprised if your family or friends thought you were making it up. Catch your breath, stand firm and don't worry about convincing them. That's the last thing you need to put your energies into right now. You can find help, tips, tricks and curriculums that cater to teaching to our kids with this. I'm glad you've found a math program that seems to work. Perhaps another one will come along which will catch your attention and you will find something better, or something from which you can encorporate. I'm sure there are ladies here who have experience with stuttering who can point you to helpful places.
I get so annoyed when I hear people have been told that dyslexia can't be tested for at a young age. Bologna! It can! You have already done it! If you don't have the financial resources to prove it then simply go on to the second step - find ways to accomidate for your children. Write down every little, far-fetched idea and theory that comes across your brain. Chances are, there will be some that repeat or make sense when you look at it again. My sister found out she had dyslexia in college. My parents found out her senior year in high school but chose not to tell her because they thougt there was nothing to do. My father has it and he learned to adapt. My cousin on my mother's side has it and he learned to adapt (unfortunately, not as well). My sister learned to adapt but when she actively started to learn about it she blossomed. Now, at age 40, she has so many little tricks of the trade that sound weird to anyone who doesn't know her but it works for her. For example, she doesn't read important letters anymore. Her dh will read them to her. She has found that if she reads them, she reads what she thinks it says. One day she was furious with her ds's school who wrote a letter home to her. She read it three times. She showed it to her dh who read it and she was sure she gave him the wrong letter! This one wasn't so awful! So she doesn't do that anymore - she can't trust her brain. She doesn't mind, she knows what she can and cannot do and she doesn't force what can't be done. Also, she will not go into a movie late. Late means, the previews have started. For some reason, it gets overwhelming for her when the screen is on, the lights are low, she has to find a seat, make sure the family is with her, make sure everything is fine. It causes her too much stress and she can't enjoy the movie. This is too much stimulation visually when she has to concentrate in low light. Her dh thinks she really likes to watch the previews! She doesn't mind - she knows what tricks work for her. Now you can find out for your kids before they are adults! How fabulous for your kids to have a mother who isn't persuaded by well-meaning friends and family to give up and stop focusing!
The meltdown of your dd can be overwhelming for your whole family, I'm sure. If you can find out what is causing it (evaluation from developmental pediatrician, child psychiatrist or psychologist), then you can start attending to her needs as well. There is a thread about discipline which I would recommend reading, if you haven't already found it. I would suggest that after you have found the triggers to meltdowns (itchy clothes, certain foods) you concentrate on discipline. The bottom line is, we all must learn to act appropriately when things bother us. With some of our children this simply takes more practice. With a patient attitude and knowledge that you are teaching her a skill, not battling a deviant child, you will gain confidence that will give you strength from which you both can learn to draw. I'll never forget watching my friend handle her preschooler with down syndrom. At preschool it was time to go. He had just finnished chemotherapy for lukemia and was well enough to go to preschool. Major meltdown when it was time to go. I cringed inside. My oldest has Asperger's (which used to have serious behavioral issues) and my adrenaline went through the roof. I was so anxious for her - how embarassing for her! He was writhing on the floor, all the kids watching. Well, my friend smiled, looked at me and said, "Yeah! Welcome to my world! Come along, honey, Mommy said time to go." With such calmness to her voice! I was stunned. She understood this as not a battle of wills but of a skill that needed work. Time to go when we aren't done having fun. I would have used health as an excuse, missing so much school as an excuse, down syndrom as an excuse, and would have left in tears. My friend saw it as (yet another) oportunity to teach her boy proper manners. Wow, what a difference.
Please don't take much more time worrying about how to educate all your children now. Just learn about what they need and eventually the pieces will start to come together for you. Like I say, I wish I had some practicle advice about teaching kids with dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, stuttering, etc, but I think you'll get that soon.
Don't forget to take care of your faith. Please don't forget. That can be the first thing we let go in the panic of daily survival. Remember, Christ didn't come to offer some wonderful ways to handle stress. He came to bring us His life. Utilize the sacraments as much as you can. Pray and offer up all your suffering. Ask Our Lady of Sorrows to guide you and instruct you in how to take care of your kids' needs.
I'll be reading this and praying for you
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
esperanza
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 17 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 855
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 6:39am | IP Logged
|
|
|
albeto wrote:
Don't forget to take care of your faith. Please don't forget. That can be the first thing we let go in the panic of daily survival. Remember, Christ didn't come to offer some wonderful ways to handle stress. He came to bring us His life. Utilize the sacraments as much as you can. Pray and offer up all your suffering. Ask Our Lady of Sorrows to guide you and instruct you in how to take care of your kids' needs.
I'll be reading this and praying for you |
|
|
...such good advice (all she wrote)
Maybe someone here lives in your state that knows of resources. HSLDA keeps a list of homeschool friendly people that do evaluations...that might be helpful.
I will pray that you find the "peace of Christ" amidst all this in your life.
I am praying and hoping for you to meet your needs and the needs of your sweet children. The graces are there for the taking 
__________________
In His Peace,
Tammy Gonzalez in VA
dh-Johnny
mom to Tara-'85, Noelle-'88, Jeremy-'91, Elizabeth-'93, Emma-'96, Dominic-'99, Gabriel-'01, Elijah-03
and Jacinta-06
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JuliaT
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 25 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 563
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 8:42am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Albeto, thank you so much for your words of wisdom. You have given me so much to think about. You are absolutely right about why others don't believe me when it comes to my children's problems. Listing the problems doesn't do it justice, you need to see the child in action to understand why I am concerned. I cannot possible list all of the things that I see in my children. So many people have said to me that my dd's problem with math is just that she is not good with numbers. But if they could see how she reacts when we are doing math. She literally hyperventilates. I have to talk her down continually when we are going through a lesson. This isn't normal. This isn't a simple case of not being good at math.
I received a PM from another mom who lives close to me. She suggested I try my hs liason from our school board to make sure that I can't get help from the ps system for my ds. I was thinking about this last night and I think I will contact my son's therapist that he had in pre-school. We aren't able to see her anymore due to red tape, but maybe she can give me some ideas on how to help him at home or she might be able to pull some strings for me.
As far as my youngest goes, I agree totally with teaching her how to handle her problems in a socially acceptable way. I have been trying to do this. I shadow her alot during the day so that I can nip these situations before they become full-blown tantrums. I try to talk her through them. What I have found to be helpful is to just hold her while she gets her anger out then we talk about how she could have handled that situation better. Then we do what needs to be done, be it an apology or finishing a task that brought on the tantrum.
Also, what you have said about your sister has twigged some things in me. I am learning that dyslexia is not just about getting the letters mixed up. There are so many other things that go with dyslexia. I am wondering if some the things that I see in my ds as ideosycracies are actually part of the dyslexia.
I feel much better this morning. I feel stronger. Your words have helped so much. Thank you for taking the time out to write such a helpful post.
Tammy, there is someone on this list who lives close to me. She has PMed me with some suggestions as to how to get help from my school board. Thank you for your prayers.
blessings,
Julia
mom to 3(7,6,4)
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Nina Murphy
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2006
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1546
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 9:38am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I don't have time, Julia, to write much of what is on my heart, but I wanted you to know I am sending love and sisterly support and sympathy, and praying for courage, strength and wisdom for you. You are not losing your mind. You're just living the Christian life and embracing your Jesus on the Cross.  Please don't feel alone----think of all of us going through the same things when you feel crazy.  We're in this together, even though it doesn't "feel" like it.  But we are.
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Willa
Forum All-Star
Joined: Jan 28 2005
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3881
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 10:16am | IP Logged
|
|
|
JuliaT wrote:
This has become so long. If this isn't the right place to post this, can someone lead me to the right place for help? Thanks for reading.
|
|
|
It fits perfectly here, Julia!
I have often read that the mom is usually the first to know when there is something going on. I think you definitely ought to take your observations seriously.
About the child with sensory issues and meltdowns, it might be useful to read The Out of Sync Child -- it was extremely useful to me in dealing with my now 7year old with lots of sensory difficulties.
The bottom line is that if you can find your child's particular sensory profile, you can provide a "sensory diet" that meets the child's needs. The sensory activities can be fun and beneficial for all the kids since usually they are things like swinging, backrubs, playdough play that kids like to do anyway, and they can avoid or diminish meltdowns due to sensory issues.
My son age 7 receives speech therapy from the school presently. The speech therapy is useful but going there always reminds me of how much we do at home without even trying. THe SLP, good as she is, has to "catch up" on my son every time we visit. Professional therapy can be very beneficial but most therapists will agree that it is the home environment and parental support that makes the biggest difference.
I guess I'm trying to say that you are probably doing much more good than you imagine right now. If and when you get labels and targeted therapy you will probably find you've gotten a head start on the treatment just by spending time with your kids and trying to find what worked.
It sounds great that you have a local hs liaision to your school district. I've also heard that NATTHAN is a useful site for those who are trying to homeschool special needs children.
__________________
AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Rachel May
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 24 2005
Location: Kansas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2057
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 2:27pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Just a thought on the stuttering...as we've been working through Charles' speech issues (not a stuttering problem) I met a speech therapist who told me that 80% of stutterers stop on their own in time. She also had 2 professors in speech therapy grad school who had stutters.
I have a Highly Sensitive Child too. Life has gotten much better, but I'm going to get that book, Willa. I'm glad you mentioned it.
__________________
Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Nina Murphy
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2006
Location: California
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1546
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 7:42pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I have two out-of-sync, sensitive--- "hyperesthesic" (opposite of anesthetic!) children. And one of them had stuttering, actually as a child, and totally outgrew it! 
__________________
God bless,
~~Nina
mother of 9 on earth,
and 2 yet-to-be-met
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
albeto
Forum Pro
Joined: March 03 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 105
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
JuliaT wrote:
Also, what you have said about your sister has twigged some things in me. I am learning that dyslexia is not just about getting the letters mixed up. There are so many other things that go with dyslexia. I am wondering if some the things that I see in my ds as ideosycracies are actually part of the dyslexia.
|
|
|
It's quite a trip, isn't it!?! When you see it as a processing issue, it's hard to believe it stops at letters swimming around the page. Everything can swim, and yet, some things make so much sense so quickly. She helps keep books for a megachurch with thousands and thousands of members. It's fun for her. She is so clever with numbers it's scary! She not only thinks outside the box, she reinvents new boxes as she goes. And, because she knows how insecure it can be to feel like she's the only one who doesn't "get it", she is tremendously patient and kind.
I do think God uses our weaknesses, and the weaknesses of those around us (which often magnifies our own which we never would have seen) to show us who He is. I can finally say, I am blessed to have a child with autism. He has torn down all the walls of pride and allowed me to know my creator for who He is - humble and unconditionally loving.
I'm glad you're feeling better!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Marybeth
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 02 2005
Location: Illinois
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1277
|
| Posted: May 14 2007 at 10:39pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julia,
I know how you feel. It often leaves you with a cold pit in your stomach when all your love and anxiety for your children comes together. I use my dh as a buffer against family. He tells them our decisions regarding schooling,sports,etc. b/c they never question him. It cuts down on questions and those "concern" type comments from relatives.
I would look at sleep issues and diet for sensory issues. I have them and dairy esp. cow's milk and too much refined sugar makes me more sensitive to my enviroment...read I get crabby...very!!! Keeping a log/journal may give you some insight into time of day,weather,certain foods..finding triggers helps. Also,record sleeping..time to bed,get up,wakefulness in the night,etc.
My sister highly recommends Raising Your Spirited Child and The Explosive Child.
Why not put the math books away and take an unschooling approach to math this summer? I know there have many math threads and certainly check out or post in the Unschooling section for specific activities. I would recommend baking,playing board games and reading books about math. I know it sounds like I am simplfying greatly your child's struggles which I don't mean to do.
Just a few thoughts about how to keep math going yet give you the time and stress free months to research about dyscalculia.
Will pray...you aren't alone and prays will be offered. Please keep us posted as we can always learn from each other and new ways to help our dc.
God bless you! You are wonderful mother to your children! Happy Belated Mothers Day!
Marybeth
__________________
Marybeth (Mb)
http://held-together.blogspot.com
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Taffy
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 05 2005
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1567
|
| Posted: May 15 2007 at 8:10am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julia, I am so glad you're feeling better. I hope you are able to find some help from a speech therapist. I just found out last night from my husband that our speech therapist who was leaving has already left to take a new position in Winnipeg and the other speech therapist for the division is on maternity leave and wasn't replaced because no one could be found. I am SO hopeful that you have better luck in your division.
But, remember that there is a lot you can do at home. I am sure that others here can point you to some resources if you need some and I have a few I can share although mine deal mostly with autism.
You are doing a great job and, believe me, you'll probably have more success with your children than the school system will. I can say this because I know how dedicated a mom you are. Also, you are willing to work until something works right, rather than simply say that your child can't learn or simply give up.
Again, glad you're feeling better. 
__________________
Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
Susan's Soliloquy
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Taffy
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 05 2005
Location: Canada
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1567
|
| Posted: May 15 2007 at 8:11am | IP Logged
|
|
|
albeto wrote:
I do think God uses our weaknesses, and the weaknesses of those around us (which often magnifies our own which we never would have seen) to show us who He is. I can finally say, I am blessed to have a child with autism. He has torn down all the walls of pride and allowed me to know my creator for who He is - humble and unconditionally loving.
|
|
|
 I couldn't agree with you more, albeto. Mothering a child with autism has brought about the same blessings to me.
__________________
Susan
Mom to 5 on earth and 1 in heaven
Susan's Soliloquy
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JuliaT
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 25 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 563
|
| Posted: May 15 2007 at 8:16am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Ladies, thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers. I cannot put into words how much they all mean to me. Your words have been the impetus to put things into action. I called my ds' speech therapist that he had in preschool. She told me that she would look into things for me and find out our options as far as therapy goes. She seemed to think that as long as my ds was registered with school board, he would be eligible for therapy. I told my ds that his therapist was going to help us and he said, "Whew!" He wants help as well.
I have ordered The Out of Sync Child as well as The Highly Sensitive Child from the library. I will also see if they have the books that Marybeth recommended.
One other thing that I have done in the past few months that I think is helping us as well is taking more of an unschooling approach with our days. I have an hour or so with each child to work with them on whatever there needs are for that day. The rest of our learning time is up to them. This has seemed to solve alot of our problems as far as learning goes.
I do math this way as well. The living math approach has helped with the melt downs. I still can't get rid of the curriculum (I'm not quite there yet,) but I use the curriculum in a unit study sort of way. I take a block of lessons that focus on a concept. One week we do the math program and then the next week we do living math activities that have to do with that concept. This seems to be working for us.
I can see that in taking action in helping my children, I am battling the doubts that I can't do this. In taking action, I can see that I can indeed do this. The road will be long and, at many times, it will be hard, but I can do this. Thank you so much for helping me see this.
Blessings,
Julia
mom to 3(7.6.4)
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: June 24 2007 at 2:26pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julia:
Glad you got so much good support here. Hugs.
Ditto what was said about following your instincts. We have a bunch of dc with vision problems - but no one here thought they had it at all. Eye doctors told us our children's vision was perfect, docs told us we were crazy ... Some tried to diagnose things I just knew weren't true - and we just wouldn't go with what didn't ring true after giving a fair hearing.
When I wasn't sure what in the world we were dealing with - just knew it was more than slow bloomers, I actually kept a journal of what worked/didn't work each day. I also jotted down things like dc being nauseas (I thought it was the beginnings of the flu at the time I wrote it down, never dreaming it would be one more clue pointing to the vision problem). This list let me know when something fit and something didn't. I also knew that many of the docs were placing labels rather than diagnosing (these never even looked at my typed up notes and came up with things that didn't fit my dd but were the labels of the day for whenever they didn't know). Anyways, it kept us on track on our hunt till we could get meaningful diagnosis that gave us some ideas on how to help our dc. At some point we knew in our heart the main problem, and then insisted that we be sent where it could be accurately diagnosed (this to docs who had been telling us nothing was wrong). Well, perseverence pays. That notebook was invaluable to saving time for the lovely vision therapist that we used and she worked with us, always respecting my input.
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
tntreefarm
Forum Newbie
Joined: May 21 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 23
|
| Posted: June 26 2007 at 9:19am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Hi Julia,
My daughter has recently received the official math LD diagnosis. It didn't take rocket science to figure it out but sometimes you have to do the testing to make others happy.
Your discription of doing math work with your daughter sounds like what I've gone through. with accomodations she was doing well with 1st grade Saxon- we moved slow and I had to modify lots of things but the slow incremental and hands on of Saxon I believe got her as far as she is. Then she hit a wall- or rather she slammed me into it. She has lots of visual-perceptual and grapho-motor problems. Apparently, to do math you need to have good visual perceptual skills. She certainly can't visualize number lines or groups of items moving within a closed set. The idea that 3 and 2 are 5 as well as 2 and 3 are five just doesn't register.
One the other hand she reads very well. If print is small and the lines are long she will avoid reading a book- but take the same reading level and enlarge the print and put it in smaller groups and she does great. Her eye sight is 20/20.
I'm finding it hard to find help for a math LD. Improving her visual skills should help however those that work with visual skills spend lots of time talking about reading. whenever I read about LD there is a lot of talk about reading. whenever I read about Asperger's (her main d(x) there is lots of talk about reading).
So, I dont' have anything useful to offer you except that whatever you think is going on probably is...
and she is angry and difficult to teach because she is clueless about something we take for granted.
hang in there......
Peace, Cathy
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JuliaT
Forum All-Star
Joined: June 25 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 563
|
| Posted: June 27 2007 at 11:15pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Janet, I love the idea of a notebook. I think, though, I would use the notebook for journaling what we have done through the week, the difficulties as well as the successes. I think that would be beneficial in trying to figure out what to do next. It might help the paralysis that I have been feeling lately.
A great deal has happened since I wrote my original post. I have read The Highly Sensitive Child by Elaine Arun. The light has been shining ever since. From reading this book, I have discovered that all three of my children are Highly Sensitive. They all manifest it in totally different ways, though. This makes life very interesting. But what made the light shine even brighter was the realization that I am Highly Sensitive as well. This is the reason why I feel like I am losing my mind some days. When I have days with hissy fits and melodrama, my brain starts to ache because I cannot deal with all of the stimulation.
This information has helped me cope with everything in a much better way. I am being more proactive than reactive. I am making sure that I am taking care of myself so, in turn, I can take care of my children in a calm manner. This was big for me. Due to this realization, life has become better.
I have tried to get speech for ds, but the school refuses. My ds' former speech therapist is trying to help me make some headway in this area.
I have also tried to get an assessment done on my ds for dyslexia. The school board's attitude was less than desirable regarding this. I am starting to think that maybe I don't really need an assessment. Does it really matter? From all that I have read, I am pretty sure that he is dyslexic. I have found a program that is supposed to be pretty good, but it is so expensive. I might be able to get it later on down the road but not for right now. So I am trying to find ways to help him without all of the expense and the professionals.
The same week that I was fighting with the school board in trying to get assessments done, we found out from the dentist that my ds has 9 spots in his mouth where there are no permanent teeth. I had never heard of this before. What with dealing with my ds' speech and reading problem, I was devastated by this news. It took me a few days to calm down but I am seeing things different now. My ds has a lot of difficulties to deal with. But all of these things will make him a strong man of God. I believe that God has a plan for my son that will use this strength and the other characteristics he will gain from these difficulties. I can already see this quiet strength in him. I look forward to watching him grow into the man that God desires him to be.
Blessings,
Julia
mom to 3 (8,6,4)
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Juliainsk
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
ALmom
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 18 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 3299
|
| Posted: June 29 2007 at 11:40am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julia:
Hugs again. Just as an assurance to you, my mom, myself and many in our family have places where we do not have permanent teeth. My mom in her 70s still has baby teeth. Mine were pulled for braces when I was a teen. The important thing there is that if they get cavities, a lot of ped dentists will wait to fill if the child is near age of losing teeth anyway and cavity is small, but if there are no permanent teeth, obviously you are not assuming they will fall out.
Oh one other thing we did when pursuing how to help our dc - we prayed for those professionals helping us find answers. I used their expertise, but did not feel any less capable of knowing my own child. I made it work as a team - whether they were in on that or not  .
Developmental optometrists do test for processing problems and do provide ideas and therapies along those lines. Our developmental optometrist does refer to others in the search when he sees more than vision and visual processing involved. He was also willing to work with us where we were the therapist (expense and distance issues). A lot of times you just have to be courageous enough to ask. If something didn't seem to fit, I'd come back with - well my dc has this problem, does what you've said explain this. Sometimes what I thought was totally unrelated, turned out to be related in ways that the doc was able to explain. Sometimes it was a clue to me that this was not related and we hadn't yet gotten to the bottom of it. We were able to have the developmental optometrist do the vision testing on our normal insurance, then when he found the problem, our medical insurance paid for the additional testing. The one thing insurance wouldn't cover, was the actual therapy - but there are ways to do that part yourself once you know what is wrong and have the doc overseeing. Prayers for all pursuing answers.
Janet
Janet
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Special Blessings
Topic: Feeling overwhelmed
