Hi there! I am hoping for any insight anyone can provide. My 3rd grade son started having increasing problems in school at the end of the last school year. I was in contact with his teacher, as well as the school psycologist. We discussed different causes for his falling behind and disrupting class - including allergies, asthma inhaler, sleep disorders, spring fever, etc. But, because it was the end of the school year - we decided to wait and see what this school year would bring (hoping all would be well, I guess). Well - all is NOT well! My son, by the second week of school (we just finished the third week), was saying how he hated school, didn’t want to go anymore, and even offering to give me his birthday money he had saved if I would do his homework for him! He has, to date, brought home 13 “E’s”. Spelling and English are absolute nightmares - for us and for him. He gets frustrated easily, has a VERY difficult time following directions, and cannot remember from one day to the next what we went over the day before. His teacher has been sending little notes home - such as, “We went over the directions in class”, “We did these problems together in class”, “he needs to pay better attention in class”, and yesterday sent a note saying that next week he will only be expected to do 8 spelling words, instead of 15. I have been in contact with a friend who has 3 out of 5 children who have LD’s - and she suggested this site. Everything she described to me from her own experiences is EXACTLY what we have been observing - wanting us to spell the words out loud, as he writes them, as opposed to copying them from his paper, writing “fo” instead of “of”, having great difficulty in sounding words out, and most often, he has papers that he is given a box of words, and he has to choose the correct word to complete a sentence - when we read these to him - he can get everyone right; however, when given the paper in school to read himself the sentences and fill in the word - he gets EVERY one wrong. The teacher is sending home papers and asking us to redo them with him, telling us what a poor reader he is, and asking that we have him read daily at home. I have requested that the school psychologist, who I understand can do testing on him, speak to his teacher, and get the ball rolling. But, in the mean time, I am concerned that he is truly falling farther and farther behind in class. His desk has to be away from others in class, as he “disrupts” the other students. He is not extremely hyper at home - not anymore than any other 8 yr. old boy I have seen. But, his grades are suffering, but more importantly, I’m afraid he isn’t learning. My husband and I both work full time jobs, so I know that it will be extra work on us to teach him in such a way that he can learn and understand. But, I am willing to do anything to help him. Any advice that anyone can give - I’m all ears (eyes)! Thanks a lot. StephanieH.
Re: convinced 8 yr. old son has LD - HELP!!
Nancy gave you great suggestions, and I would emphasize the part about getting private reading remediation. The only other thing you might want to consider is an evaluation by a neuropsychologist, so that you’d have a report to provide to the school. School testing is usually pretty limited, so don’t look to find out a lot that way. In fact, I just answered a post from a mom whose child didn’t qualify as LD at school but was diagnosed by a neuropsychologist. But even if you don’t get services at school, they need to be aware and perhaps modify some things for your child.
Re: Re: convinced 8 yr. old son has LD - HELP!!
I also suggest reading some books that have helped me a lot:
Parenting a Struggling Reader by Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats
Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz
The Everything Parent’s Guide to Children with Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall
The last book gives a good non-technical description of the various therapies available.
[Modified by: edhmom (edhmom) on September 24, 2006 03:37 PM]
Re: convinced 8 yr. old son has LD - HELP!!
StephanieH., I know that it’s been awhile since you posted your need for advice, so I hope that you are still checking. I think that your son would also benefit from finding his true strengths! It is so very difficult to watch our children suffer the consequences of poor self-esteem! Find out what he really enjoys, what he is really good at and make sure that he has plenty of time to do those things especially if you proceed with some therapies that are truly difficult for him! We must balance our focus on our children’s learning difficulties with a focus on their strengths. This makes for an overall greater well-being of the whole family. Continued good wishes,
Steph
Here’s what I would recommend.
Get a developmental vision evaluation. See http://www.childrensvision.com for more info, and http://www.covd.org to locate board-certified developmental optometrists in your area.
Find a private reading tutor for him. My preference is for a Phono-Graphix or ABeCeDArian tutor, but these are not available in all areas. It is usually easier to find an Orton-Gillingham tutor. Call your local branch of the IDA (International Dyslexia Association) to get a list of tutors in your area.
If you can afford the money and the one-on-one time, put him through PACE. This should strengthen all of the skills necessary for easy classroom learning. Website for this program is http://www.processingskills.com or http://www.learningrx.com
It’s hard to be sure without having observed the child, but it’s pretty clear from your description that your son is not reading at grade level. This is most probably because he has not been taught with a good program.
I recommend the vision eval because many students with the attention and reading problems you described have undiagnosed visual efficiency lags. Regular eye exams, whether done by an optometrist or an opthalmologist, do not assess visual efficiency skills.
PACE is just a wonderful all-around program. However, you want to be fairly sure there are no severe visual efficiency problems before starting it.
My advice is to *not* rely on the school for remediation. Your child will receive much more benefit from one-on-one tutoring with a qualified professional.
Nancy