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monica Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 09 2007
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Posted: Sept 24 2009 at 10:14pm | IP Logged
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hi ladies,
i am probably worrying for nothing, but that mothers intuition can be so strong, you know? my 3yo ds (will be four in april) doesnt know his colors, though he was tested for color blindness and isnt color blind. he knows green, and that is his favorite color. he can put like colors together, but he just cant name them yet.
he also doesnt count even to 5 or know the alphabet song.
i have worked with him and try to bring thing up naturally (ie- what a nice orange shirt you have) but with my first son, i didnt even have to work at anything like this, he just absorbed it.
his speaking skills and coordination are great. potty training is still in progress, but mostly i am wondering if you can see symptoms of a learning disablity or something as early as this?
i know you will think i am going off the deep end, but it really does bug me.
anyone have any advice? similar stories?
thanks
monica
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folklaur Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005 Location: N/A
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Posted: Sept 25 2009 at 1:14am | IP Logged
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oh,
you know your child best, of course! so take whatever i say with a grain of salt, 'kay?
but at 3yo...i wouldn't be worried. it is only a recent thing that we have kids learning all those things so very young, and that is because they are often in a preschool classroom setting.
and it is no good comparing from child to child - that will drive you crazy in a hurry - they are all SO different and will do things on their own timeline, even if they are neurotypical. (my oldest was reading at 4, my middle was reading at 4, my youngest is 7 and is still not reading. and the youngest is the only one without physical/neuro disabilities.)
but - you also have to listen to your mommy-gut.
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julia s. Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 27 2005 Location: Maryland
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Posted: Sept 25 2009 at 7:17am | IP Logged
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Monica,
My feeling is if you think there may be something wrong then pay attention to this. I have had two children with different developmental problems, both were mild and people kept telling me that I was just being too concerned, but looking back I can tell you now that I picked up on the subtle difference because I was their mother.
Now having said that I'll ask you if you notice him not being able to remember other things like songs you sing. Can he pick out other people's emotional expressions and respond accordingly (or does he laugh when people show anger or get scared when people are being kind to him... that sort of thing)?
It could be he is so much into gross motor skills that his brain doesn't want to learn anything else right now. If his speaking language (expressive language) is good than that is a good sign too. Being able to count is a complex process and it may just take him awhile to learn that some don't start until late 4 or 5 so hang loose there. I would work on just one number like 1 or his age 3.
I would sing to him a lot, read to him, and run with him and just listen to what he is telling you and springboard from that for now.
Even if he does have some LD my guess given what you've said is that it would be mild and he would just need a little tweeking with his studies. But like I said you know best.
Sorry for such a long post.
HTH.
__________________ julia
married to love of her life
with ds12 ds8 ds3 and ds1
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monica Forum Pro
Joined: Feb 09 2007
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Posted: Sept 25 2009 at 12:43pm | IP Logged
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thank you ladies, for your encouraging words. i think the thing that is a red flag for me is how well abram does in so many areas. He talked early and talks more than many kids his age. he can already "read" a book he knows by retelling the pictures. he picks up words from us and uses them even when he has no idea what they mean. i think it is a bad tendency i have to compare him to his brother. his brother is a very abstract thinker and i think abram may be a concrete thinker, and numbers and letters and even colors are kind of out there.
i think i will focus on tactile learning with him, as he is so physical, into wheels and sports. i have thought about montessori, but i am intimidated by the structure of it and getting all the supplies. any thoughts?
thanks so much
monica
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violingirl Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 27 2008 Location: Missouri
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Posted: Sept 25 2009 at 1:40pm | IP Logged
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My initial thought is that he's not picking it up because it's just not important to him to know the alphabet or colors or whatever. The skills you mentioned that he has give me the impression that he's a bright kid but just isn't interested in the naming part of things- maybe his interest is more in how things function?
I had a student several years ago that at the end of the school year could tell me all the letter sounds but none of the names- she was only worried about function, rather than nomenclature. The letter names came for her the next year, but she could read before she could identify letter names.
For getting into Montessori, I totally understand the intimidation factor and feeling like you have to have all the supplies to be able to use the method. I felt the same way! I started by just making or buying 2-3 activities at a time, seeing which direction DS1 wanted to go and then making/buying new work in that direction, just 2 or 3 things at a time. I make quite a lot of things, but there are certain things that are worth buying, IMO. If you want some great "make your own" ideas, check out My Montessori Journey. The archives are incredibly rich and there are an awful lot of materials thrifted or purchased at dollar stores. This site in particular helped me to see past the "right materials" and deeper into the purpose behind the work by using our own materials.
__________________ Erin
DS (2005) DS (2007) DD (2012)
Mama In Progress
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anitamarie Forum All-Star
Joined: Oct 15 2008
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Posted: Sept 25 2009 at 11:05pm | IP Logged
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If you are concerned, you should look into it. We are blessed that our school district has a pre-school evalutation program that is totally free. Maybe you have something like that where you are.
You are probably already doing this, but we read a lot of "high content" books. Melanie Watt has a beautiful series of books with these early learning topics. One is The Alphabet with Wild Animals. There is one for colors, numbers, shapes, opposites. These have been a gold mine in our house. The pictures are lovely and she has chosen unusual animals a lot of the time (i.e. N is for Narwhal), so we get a little extra learning.
My dd didn't know all her letter sounds even at the end of her second year of preschool (5 years old), and she was a later reader and spelling is a struggle for her. Even though everyone around us, including pre-school teachers were telling us she'd be "fine", I just knew there were issues there. I was right. We just work a little harder in that area now that she is third grade. The beauty of homeschooling.
Go with your gut. Watch him closely, but don't obsess and don't give up.
God Bless,
Anita
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