V's happy :) but his processing is REAL bad

[Ktllc]

I pulled him out of preschool, just got tired of their bs.
I can't believe the change in V. He is SO happy, a lot easier going. He is even kind and will purposely do nice things for me and Sweet Pea (when Partner is at school during the day).
No problem with saying "bye" when his Dad goes to work or when V goes to work with him. Seriously?? It had gotten so bad, we were reading a social story on how to say good bye (and why we say bye) every day. This afternoon, he climbed in truck with a single "bye Mom, see you later". No tears, not screaming, etc.
On the other hand, now that I have more time with him (almost) one on one. I become more aware of his lacking skills. Poor little guy: he does not register anything. He asks the same questions over and over. Don't recall new words (we are learning about hatching eggs and our new incubator. It's still the "egg thing" or the "machine" to him).
It's like the world is so confusing for him. People's name are impossible to remember.
I'm hoping that patience and lots of repetition will allow him to learn more and be ready for Kindergarten? :/
But it is really nice to see how relaxed he is. The good weather is here, and he spends lots of time outside playing with dirt, sand, gravel and just getting dirty. The other day he picked up my hammer, asked where he could use it and spent about 10 minute pounding the gravel driveway. I could just see how he enjoyed it. Just being allowed to be himself.
How is my wild and dirty child ever going to fit in school?? A child who does not like words but still wants to learn and understand? A child who needs to experience with his hands? A child who gets distracted by every noise and smell around him? A child who can not look at the big picture and gets lost in details?

 

[keista]

If he's anything like my son, those words will come. Technically it is an "egg thing" Most technically, an egg hatching machine. Does he know what it is when you say it? If so, in my opinion he'll be fine.

My 16 y/o still calls fans wind-blowers. Mostly because it's fun, and *technically* because that's what it is.

 

[Malika]

It must be good to see your child being so relaxed and happy. So "himself". Shame you cannot get him into a Montessori-type school, but of course I understand the constraints. I think about taking my child out of his school where the routine and structure is good for him, and where he is learning, but where he is doing things that are not natural to him and which actually take a great effort on his part, I believe. Part of me really longs to do it... just for the happiness and relaxation you are talking about.

 

[justour2boys]

I have a (now 7th grade) Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) son and he is an extremely visual/spatial learner. So when ever I can, I try to reinforce elements he is learning in school with visual cues and hand-on learning. We do alot of flash cards in our house and you would be surprised at the educational videos on You Tube! But it also explains why he is strong in science and math and weak in English and (some) history.

When my difficult child was alittle I had him watch the Leap Frog videos about letters, sound and words. It helped tie together what the letter looks like and the sound it makes. I often tell my difficult child to close his eye and take a "picture" and this can help something stick in his memory.

My biggest struggle with school was getting them to stop telling him concepts, they need to SHOW him concepts. I have learned a lot from reading books about visual/spacial learners. And it has helped me as I am an auditory learner!

Here's an idea... if he is working on his letters/sounds, gather a pile of gravel and build the letters out of rocks, repeating the letter's sound as he is making it, then name some items that start with that letter.

 

[Ktllc]

Justour2boys, those are all very good ideas. I will try to make him build letters with different material. I might just wait a few weeks though. We have tried so many things and so far, nothing has really worked. I am going to focus on real functional stuff right now: days of the week, months, numbers of eggs he gathers every day, how to cook with what we produce, plant a garden, etc... And sights words with simple pictures to help him explain what we are doing (like little posters describing our experiments).
The problems with the flash cards I had bought on the market: they are very colorfull with lots of details and he gets lost in it. He does know what is important and what is not.
I have not read any books about visual learners. V is definitely visual but he also has some visual/spatial problems that his Occupational Therapist (OT) works on. Pretty ironic!
I think we are both going to learn alot.
Keista, his understanding is not really good. He has a hard time knowing what people mean, their intention and how/what he should answer. One has to keep the language very simple and rephrase a lot. For example, right now if I mention the word incubator, yes he knows what it is. But I also said "see you tonight" and he did not know what I meant by it. I had to explain that tonight was later, when it will be dark and I will see him then, I am saying bye.