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    Joined: May 2009
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    Originally Posted by polarbear
    1) If you can afford a developmental optometrist evaluation and you feel relatively sure that the dr you'll see for it is credible, do that in place of her regular eye exam next year (I only say "in place of" because the eye dr that we had our dd's vision therapy through included a standard exam as part of his intake evaluation). Although it isn't true for everyone, our insurance paid for our dd's developmental optometrist evaluation and the bulk of her vision therapy - so, it's at least worth a look into.
    We did have her looked at by a developmental optometrist when she was about 8 before the last set of testing. She found nothing wrong other than the slight farsightedness. Vision therapy was not recommended. I do know that our insurance will not cover anything related to vision at all, though, other than basic eye exams @ the peds office. Since it came back clear once, I'm not inclined to spend the $ on it again.

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    2) Try to get your dd accommodations at school based on what you know already from her previous testing. Our dd who has the associative memory challenge has recommendations for accommodations that include books on tape (including textbooks), quiet place in the classroom for testing, not graded on spelling except on spelling tests, a copy of times tables etc or calculator during math work (that's not a reading accommodation, but a lot of kids who have challenges with reading have issues with memorizing math facts), and other accommodations which I can't remember at the moment!
    Books on tape might help and I've been thinking about that for home, honestly. No one would know if she read the Lord of the Flies or listened to it on tape!

    The reason we haven't sought accommodations has been b/c the few we've tried haven't helped and I haven't known what else to ask for. Extra time made no difference; that was the main one we tried last year. Not being graded on spelling might, though.

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    3) You might be able to find a person through your local dyslexia association who could either give you advice or give your dd a dyslexia screening for much less $ than a neuropsych evaluation. Our ds had a spelling tutor many years ago who we found through our neuropsych who was "just a mom" initially but went back to school to become an educational consultant after raising her own dyslexic children. We had our dd screened for dyslexia through a retired sped teacher who now consults for our local homeschooling community.
    Do you think that someone with experience testing for dyslexia would recognize it in a HG kid who is performing beyond age expectations in reading/writing?

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    4) Re-read the Eides' books and see what they suggest. I've got that on my own list of things to do - one of these days...
    I actually haven't read their book although looking more at their website and other stuff is also on my list. Do they have more than one book or should I be able to find it just by looking for the one book they've written?

    Thanks!

    Last edited by Cricket2; 04/24/12 03:40 PM. Reason: messed up quote
    Grinity #128111 04/24/12 03:44 PM
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    Originally Posted by Grinity
    As for the ADD, I wish I could remember if you have gone the medication route, and if so, did that help at all? What were the pros and cons?
    No, we have not. Dd is very opposed to treating ADD at all. She's been refusing to take o-3 supplements even although they seemed to help last year. She seems to view it as us saying that there is something wrong with her that needs fixing. I don't expect that I could talk her into meds and I don't want to force it on her.

    I try to go the supplement route with those things that seem to make a difference surreptitiously. I put magnesium in her smoothies, feed her foods with ALA o-3s since the only veggie DHA comes from algae and tastes so bad that she'd notice if I slipped it into food (although DHA is probably better)...

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    Cricket2, have you read "the Dyslexic Advantage" by the Eides? they have a website related to the book as well. It's all about reframing dyslexia as its strengths and how to develop them in people/kids. There are probably some ADD books like that as well. Thomas Armstrong comes to mind.

    Your DD sounds pretty sophisticated with regard to her opinions of treating ADD (a relative of mine's son did also when he was younger and now he's majoring in educational psychology at college, he's pretty passionate about it!) Is she mostly keeping away from artificial dyes, tons of preservatives, high fructose corn syrup etc.?

    When I was 12 I had severe poison ivy (in bed for 2 weeks, couldn't walk, my eyes were closed shut). They gave me pain meds but I ended up refusing them because of how they made me feel. I wanted to soak in a tub and rest etc., have silence.

    Maybe if you could reframe these issues with her to realize the strengths they translate to for her and what she can offer?!

    That's what the Eides book is all about.

    I used to have a friend who taught K and she said she saw her ADHD kids as the "hunter gatherers" who were good at staying still for short times but moving around alot, darting when needed...and the sit-still, scheduled kids as the "agriculturalists" who followed the rhythms of the season, could patiently wait, etc.


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    oh yes and the stuff about the older sister is horrible. It's one thing when people make comments within earshot of a child, but someone you're paying to help your child? Please?!

    As a second daughter and the quiet/slow one I take personal offense - !

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    Here is an short summary of the different types of dyslexia.

    http://www.macalester.edu/academics/psychology/whathap/ubnrp/dyslexia/types.html

    My DS19 has the phonetic/coding issues type of dyslexia. His misspelled words didn't even have the phonetic awareness and his over writing was disorganized even when spelled correctly. He is MG not HG+. I will say his MG has helped him overcome the disability as well as can be expected.

    I know there are at least 3 types but I'm not familiar with the others.

    I have heard friends mention caffiene can help with ADHD. I had a doctor ask me about my caffeine intake and if I was self medicating with the coffee ...hmmm I'm still pondering that one.


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    Cricket, so many of your daughter's challenges sound similar to my DD. I've been contemplating whether we need further assessment or alternate diagnosis for her too. I understand your frustration and desire for answers.

    I seem to recall that the Sally Shaywitz book Overcoming Dyslexia had a passage about a gifted dyslexic who was a high functioning but slow reader. I haven't read Dyslexic Advantage -- it wasn't out yet when I was in my obsessive reading phase about gifted dyslexics. I did read the Eides' Mislabeled Child and listened to their webinar on Dyslexia and Writing Challenges in Gifted Children. The webinar mentioned that gifted dyslexics were not caught by most typical screeners for dyslexia including phonemic awareness. Unfortunately, the DVD had such poor resolution that I couldn't read the graphic that they presented in any detail. They said that the one area where gifted dyslexic consistently struggle is with writing conventions and spelling. They felt that keyboarding was imperative for these kids. They recommended Write Out Loud software and some others that I can't recall. They found that spelling and conventions improved after several months using this type of product. I'll see if I can borrow those DVDs again and give them another listen. It probably would be good for me to revisit this info. I'll let you know if they had any other recommendations. I would assume that most of the content got into Dyslexic Advantage since it came out shortly after that.

    As for rocky mountain dyslexia folks, they were very nice but didn't really view my DD as dyslexic. Most of the kids they work with are not reading two years above grade level. You could give them a try. They may have gained different expertise in the interim. Another recommendation that I got was to contact Beverly Trail. She is on the CAGT board and wrote a book on 2e issues. I never got around to doing it so I can't tell you if she is helpful.

    bzylzy #128128 04/24/12 07:01 PM
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    Originally Posted by bzylzy
    Is she mostly keeping away from artificial dyes, tons of preservatives, high fructose corn syrup etc.?
    If I were totally responsible for her diet, she'd be eating none of those items, but dh has a major sweet tooth and buys huge amounts of complete crud. His last shopping trip (he likes shopping a lot) included three packages of oreos and licorice.

    I'd say that she eats 75-85% stuff that I buy and then dad slips in junk. My stuff is all whole grain, lots of fruits, veggies, nuts, beans, things like tempeh, no preservatives, no HFCS, no trans-fats, low sugar in general, no food dyes, etc.

    Thank you all for the book recommendations, BTW. I'll see if I can get both the Eides' book and the other one mentioned later.

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    Sounds like the problem may be visual dyslexia. Most visual dyslexics can describe the visual problems that makes reading difficult. Some visual dyslexics will assume their vision is normal but reveal their visual problems in a discussion about vision and reading. All you have to do is talk to her.

    Ask if she has any trouble seeing the letters or words that makes reading difficult as a start.

    Ask if all the letters and words are complete ( no parts missing) , clear not fuzzy , uniform ( look the same ) , stable ( not moving ), all in focus at the same time , words or lines run together and last if she has any reading induced headaches or if reading makes her tired or sleepy.

    After the discussion you will know if she has visual issues that need to be addressed. You would be amazed at the # of surprised parents of even adult children that find out their child with reading difficulties thought it was normal to have to wait for each word to come into focus before they could read it or having to guess what the letters were because parts were always missing or thought reading was like a long wheel of fortune game with letters missing from words where you just guess and go on.

    Visual dyslexia is much less common than dyslexia and much easier to remedy but the reading symptoms are similar. Visual dyslexics normally lack the oral language and communication problems , word confusion , executive function , short term memory , left / right , language delay and other associated problems that are often found to indicate dyslexia.

    You can find more information about visual dyslexia at dyslexiaglasses.com/visualdyslexiasolution.html if your daughter describes any visual problems that cause reading difficulties or you can eliminate visual dyslexia as causal if the discussion is negative for visual problems.

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    Originally Posted by Cricket2
    I try to go the supplement route with those things that seem to make a difference surreptitiously. I put magnesium in her smoothies, feed her foods with ALA o-3s since the only veggie DHA comes from algae and tastes so bad that she'd notice if I slipped it into food (although DHA is probably better)...

    I can cover up the taste of the fish oil with mint extract.

    DD eats these "bars" that are black beans, honey, cocoa powder, flax meal, and fish oil all mixed in the food processor. I stir in raw oatmeal, then squish it into blocks with wax paper and freeze it.

    Looks nasty, but she's eating it willingly and getting 300 mg of fish oil each day without complaint.

    #128206 04/25/12 05:14 PM
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    Originally Posted by John Hayes
    You can find more information about visual dyslexia at dyslexiaglasses.com/visualdyslexiasolution.html if your daughter describes any visual problems that cause reading difficulties or you can eliminate visual dyslexia as causal if the discussion is negative for visual problems.
    Has anyone had luck with these types of glasses? It looks like something similar to irlen syndrome to me and I know that most major dyslexia associations don't believe that colored lenses actually work. $220 is a lot to spend for glasses unless they really work.

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