I struggle with the same issues about how much to help. I guess it's a matter of deciding what your goal is in doing the work. For example, if your goal is to teach him all about history, then I would read it to him so that he can learn the material, and then I'd maybe have him read it again himself (either to me or silently) just to practice with the actual skill of reading with the advantage of already being familiar with the material so that it is less frustrating. We've been doing that and he definitely understands more advanced material than if he was having to read it on his own. As far as writing goes, my son seems to have trouble getting his thoughts down on paper, so we'll have a conversation first about the topic or question wherein he actually does the thinking, and then I'll remind him of exactly what he said to me while he is writing it down. My DS is working on his typing skills, so sometimes I'll have him write his answers down and then type those answers into the computer (harder for him) or sometimes I'll just let him type directly into the computer. Our discussions help with the learning of the material and the writing/typing works on his actual skills. I'm not sure how my helping him will work down the road -- like when he goes to college all by himself -- but for now we're trying to focus on learning things at his intellectual level while also trying to "remediate" his skill areas. Is this a good plan? I don't know yet!
