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    #2666 05/27/07 08:36 AM
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    Lori H. Offline OP
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    I first started homeschooling my son after Kindergarten when the teacher recommended holding him back in transitional first grade (a year in between kindergarten and first grade) so that he would learn to color in the lines, even though we had explained at the beginning of the year that he had hypotonia and some problems with fine motor skills. We didn't know that OT was available at the school and it was never suggested that he needed it. We also told the teacher about my son's highly gifted adult half-brother who had problems in school because he was never allowed to learn at his level and thought it was a waste of time so he dropped out.

    My son had started kindergarten already reading very well since he had started reading at 2 and was at about a 5th grade level at the beginning of that school year, and had figured out how to do math with negative numbers. But this school believes that all boys with spring and summer birthdays like my son should be held back and then, of course, my son would not color in those lines, so the teacher thought a year of doing lots of coloring would be good for him. She didn't believe he needed to learn anything since he already read and did math very well.

    A relative of mine (the elementary school principal) set up a meeting with a first grade teacher who was working on her master's in special ed. I showed her samples of my son's work. She believed he was highly gifted and told me that he needed to be homeschooled or put in private school. So that is what we did. After one year of homeschooling for only a couple of hours a day he scored grade levels ahead of where he should have been for his age except in spelling which was only slightly above grade level but since they were having him write the words and his hands got very tired I don't think it was a fair assessment of his spelling ability. The doctor joked that no matter what we did he would never be gifted in handwriting and to teach him to type. We talked to the special ed director at the school with the certified educational psychologist's report and test results in hand and asked what accommodations could be made for my son if we put him back in school. He said it would be best for us to continue homeschooling because it would be difficult to accommodate his needs in that school but he would set up an IEP meeting so we could discuss it. That was two years ago. My special ed teacher friend even reminded him to call us several times but he wouldn't do it. I talked to the superintendent of the school. He said that our problem was a "good problem" to have and we should continue homeschooling.

    So my son has never had any occupational therapy or physical therapy of any kind. His condition is mild but he would have trouble keeping up with the amount of writing expected in school. His developmental pediatrician recommended working with him at home with Handwriting without Tears for his handwriting difficulties and doing activities from "The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun--Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction" for the vestibular dysfunction and vision therapy for the visual motor integration problems. My friend thinks sitting in a classroom all day would be hard for him
    because he seems hyperactive and fidgety but he does not have ADHD according to the developmental pediatrician. I let him move around a lot while he is learning because it works for him. His problems aren't really problems at home but would be in school.

    My special ed teacher friend recently told me that there is another child at the school now that seems to have some of the same characteristics of the vestibular dysfunction that my son has and she thinks I should try to fight the school to get OT for him, but our school does not allow part time school and the child has to be enrolled full time to receive any services. It didn't matter to them that they should have provided OT for him when he was in kindergarten. She mentioned some kind of listening therapy that the other child was doing. I can't see how this would help him any way, but I hate to think he might be missing out on something that might possibly help him. Has anyone else had any experience with this type of therapy? Does it really do any good?

    My son wants me to quit worrying about this and accept him the way he is. He seems happy and has gifted friends with common interests. He is happy that he doesn't have to deal with the bullies at school that his friends tell him about.

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    the Listening Program can be very helpful. It helps coordinates the two sides of the brain. It's pretty powerful, imo. We are waiting to start up a round with Mite (9).



    Willa Gayle
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    Lori H. Offline OP
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    Thank you. Is the therapy expensive? I doubt that our insurance will pay for it. We are on a very limited budget.

    I read some info about it online but I still don't really understand how it would improve muscle tone, balance and coordination, which is what my son needs help with the most, especially since he never seemed to have any trouble with hearing.

    One article I read said children with motor delays physically can hardly listen, or it requires a tremendous effort that cannot be maintained for more than a few seconds or minutes. This does not seem to fit my son. He had gross motor and fine motor delays when he was younger but his learning style has always been slightly more auditory than visual. He can listen to the news and remember more than a lot of adults can. He was able to sing on key earlier than a lot of kids and has done musical theater since he was four. He has been taking piano since he was five and he can listen to a note played on the piano and then hours later match that note with his voice from memory. I can't even do this. I am always slightly off. It bothers him when people sing off key.

    The only kind of therapy my son had was vision therapy and that did help him. His eyes would get tired and lose focus. When he had just turned seven he could only read about a paragraph before he would start losing his place, so he had to read with his finger under the words. The piano teacher had to point to where he was in the piano book or he would lose his place. She noticed a difference after the vision therapy. His handwriting improved also. He still can't write more than a couple of paragraphs before his hands get tired (he has hypotonia) but it is so much better than it used to be.

    If I thought the listening therapy would help him as much with his coordination and muscle tone, then I would have to find a way to do it.

    Thanks again and please keep us updated on your son's progress when he does the listening therapy.

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    Lori H. Offline OP
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    I just wanted to share some of the things I have done to help my son learn in spite of his differences.

    Since handwriting is difficult, he learned to type and has been typing lots of messages to other players when he plays Runescape. I know there have been a lot of negative things said in the news recently about these games being addictive, but if you limit the time spent on these games, I think they can even be educational.

    My son pays more attention to spelling so that he doesn't embarrass himself on the game. He is willing to work on preparing for a Pee Wee spelling bee, using the words from last year's list. There are over 3000 words on this list and I have seen some of these words on 8th grade spelling lists that I found online. I ask him to spell the words without having seen them and I only have him write the ones he misses. He gets a lot of them correct without going over the words first. He got phobia and hemoglobin correct because he had seen these words recently in things he had read. I am guessing he saw the word phobia in his sister's college psychology book. Since I usually ask him to spell words for me while he is playing video games he doesn't mind working on spelling. I let him do it this way because he is good at multitasking, so why not use it.

    I don't know if he has a bad case of psychomotor overexcitabilities or if it is his sensory issues but he has a hard time with sitting for long periods of time. He learns well if I let him move around while I read to him.

    So he does some of his learning while he plays on the Wii. I really like the Wii. Not only does it get him moving, but he can read the news and he enjoys reading it to me. I encourage him to read the science and health and technology sections. Occasionally there is something there that I wish he hadn't read, like yesterday one of the articles he read mentioned "erectile dysfunction" and I had to think of an excuse to leave the room in a hurry so he didn't ask me what that was.

    He is enjoying reading an online high school/adult level version of The Wizard of Oz with over 1,000 SAT words added to the story. You can click on the SAT words and it gives you the definition. I would love to have my son's reading comprehension tested after he finishes this. I have never heard of some of these words and others I never bothered to look up the etymology. I never needed to know the exact meaning or other meanings but my son likes doing this because you can make more jokes if you know more words. The only problem is that where we live (small town) a lot of the adults wouldn't understand the jokes because they don't know what some of these words mean. He knows not to use some of these words around kids because he knows they wouldn't understand, but with adults it is more difficult. At least he found a "geeky" group of friends that he can talk to without worrying about this. The only problem is, most of them are three and four years older and everything is so age segregated here. He couldn't be in the same class in Vacation Bible School as most of his friends. His age mates in his class noticed the difference and one of them even said he thought my son had to have at least finished sixth grade and must be in the wrong class. My son likes to participate in discussions and since he is homeschooled I think it is difficult for him to know how much to lower the vocabulary level he is using in his speech. I think when he is an adult this will no longer be a problem.

    I leave Popular Science magazine in the backseat of the car so he can read it when we are in the car. He likes to read it to me while I am driving, at least when the battery runs out on his Nintendo DS.

    It is a shame that kids like my son are held back in our public school because of sensory or motor issues. He just wants to learn, in the way he learns best, so we have to homeschool.

    It has been three weeks now and our Department of Education will not answer my emails about our problems with the school. I will try to get my letter to my senator written this week and also have my son type his own letter. If I can get up the nerve we will deliver the letters in person.

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    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    I just wanted to share some of the things I have done to help my son learn in spite of his differences.

    Good for you Lori! I'm sure that lots of folks will get good ideas and support from reading this post.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    Since handwriting is difficult, he learned to type and has been typing lots of messages to other players when he plays Runescape. I know there have been a lot of negative things said in the news recently about these games being addictive, but if you limit the time spent on these games, I think they can even be educational.

    I agree wholeheartedly. Unless the parent was savy enough to avoid media entirely right from the begining, I think the best approach is to use their best features, with limits. Runescape, in particular, was the turning point in my son's typing ability when he was 9, last year. 100wpm typing opened up many doors for him - into our local prep school, and into his grade skip.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    Since I usually ask him to spell words for me while he is playing video games he doesn't mind working on spelling. I let him do it this way because he is good at multitasking, so why not use it.
    Good for you for being able to take advantage of these children's unique abilities! Way to think outside the box.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    I don't know if he has a bad case of psychomotor overexcitabilities or if it is his sensory issues but he has a hard time with sitting for long periods of time. He learns well if I let him move around while I read to him.
    A local school has all the children sitting on those big excersize balls. I've also heard of a school that provide a jump rope outside every classroom, and students who need it can go out to the hall and jump, provide they act responsibly. Then there are the kids who sit still when the material is interesting to them, but fiddle and twittle the whole time. We recently ordered some human chew toys from the southpaw catalouge.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    So he does some of his learning while he plays on the Wii. I really like the Wii. Not only does it get him moving, but he can read the news and he enjoys reading it to me. I encourage him to read the science and health and technology sections. Occasionally there is something there that I wish he hadn't read, like yesterday one of the articles he read mentioned "erectile dysfunction" and I had to think of an excuse to leave the room in a hurry so he didn't ask me what that was.

    We had the same problem with "sexual assault." Supposedly we had a "no TV news" policy in our home, but apparently not all of the family members were consistiently in agreement. DS reported that DH dove for the mute button, which helped attract DS's attention. I was a relieved camper, but not a happy one.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    He is enjoying reading an online high school/adult level version of The Wizard of Oz with over 1,000 SAT words added to the story. You can click on the SAT words and it gives you the definition. I would love to have my son's reading comprehension tested after he finishes this. I have never heard of some of these words and others I never bothered to look up the etymology.

    Cool! Do you have a link? ((applause))


    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    I never needed to know the exact meaning or other meanings but my son likes doing this because you can make more jokes if you know more words. The only problem is that where we live (small town) a lot of the adults wouldn't understand the jokes because they don't know what some of these words mean. He knows not to use some of these words around kids because he knows they wouldn't understand, but with adults it is more difficult. At least he found a "geeky" group of friends that he can talk to without worrying about this. The only problem is, most of them are three and four years older and everything is so age segregated here. He couldn't be in the same class in Vacation Bible School as most of his friends. His age mates in his class noticed the difference and one of them even said he thought my son had to have at least finished sixth grade and must be in the wrong class. My son likes to participate in discussions and since he is homeschooled I think it is difficult for him to know how much to lower the vocabulary level he is using in his speech. I think when he is an adult this will no longer be a problem.

    LOL - it won't be a problem if he learns to value his gifted characteristics and is sure to live and work in a place with similar folks. If the local adults don't get his jokes now, do you think they will after he grows? I just had this discussion with my son, that I didn't value my characteristics, and so didn't choose a geographic location where I had a high chance of meeting similar people, and that if he hadn't come along, I would have continued to take responsibility for fitting in while still feeling that there was "something wrong with me" because I had to work so hard at it. And yes, a lot has to do with my style of humor going over "like a lead ballon" in many situations. I've learned to modify my delivery, but it's really hard work! Of course it's easier now that I'm not seeing myself as wrong for having to make the effort.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    I leave Popular Science magazine in the backseat of the car so he can read it when we are in the car. He likes to read it to me while I am driving, at least when the battery runs out on his Nintendo DS.
    Good for you! I try this with novels I think he would like. Lately we have been talking in the car. ((!))



    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    It is a shame that kids like my son are held back in our public school because of sensory or motor issues. He just wants to learn, in the way he learns best, so we have to homeschool.

    I sounds like at least some of what you ask for should be middle school or high school classes.

    Originally Posted by Lori H.
    It has been three weeks now and our Department of Education will not answer my emails about our problems with the school. I will try to get my letter to my senator written this week and also have my son type his own letter. If I can get up the nerve we will deliver the letters in person.

    I am cheering for you! I would suggest that you send a physical letter rather than an email, certified delivery ((LOL!)) I think delivering them in person is a wonderful idea. I would reccomend that you make a "date" to visit. There may be someone in your senator's office who is "in charge" of education policy, but it would be nice to get the tour, and at least shake hands with the Senator. May good energy go your way!

    Trinity


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    Lori H. Offline OP
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    We found the online book at www.vocabulary.com. Last year, he read all the Vocabulary Cartoon books and learned a lot of SAT words there but he wanted more, so I started looking and found that site. My son now just makes up his own funny way of remembering definitions.

    Out of curiosity, I typed a couple of paragraphs of "Random Events" info that my son read to me from Runescape and it came up Flesch-Kincade grade level 9. I think a child would have to be reading and comprehending at a high level to get very far on this game. The Runescape website says it says it is recommended for ages 13+.








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