Fran
Former desparate mom
I thought this might give parents a head's up of what to expect or look for.
http://www.concordspedpac.org./trouble.htm
http://www.concordspedpac.org./trouble.htm
Signs of Learning Trouble
- Thread starter Fran
- Start date
Sheila
Moderator
It is rare, rare, rare for ADHD to exist on its own. ADHD medication is a great thing when it works, but it is not a cure-all.
The medication gives my son that extra 1/2 second needed to think before he acts thereby curving impulsiveness. Helps him make better decisions by giving him more time. It allows him to focus thereby facilitating learning. I can tell by the neatness of his handwriting if he hasn't had his medication. With that being said, the medication doesn't help at all with-his pencil grip. In our case, that's connected with-fine motor skill delays.
This thread is long, but it has information in it that is helpful in understanding how fine and gross motor skills can impact learning. (Poor or ineffecient pencil grasp and improper formation of letters can be signs of fine motor skill delays.)
There's really so many possibilities. Without multidisciplinary evaluations, it's difficult to sort things out. But I'd be leary of limiting the evaluation to just ADHD.
There are several good threads in the Special Education Archives on learning disabilities if you're interested.
The medication gives my son that extra 1/2 second needed to think before he acts thereby curving impulsiveness. Helps him make better decisions by giving him more time. It allows him to focus thereby facilitating learning. I can tell by the neatness of his handwriting if he hasn't had his medication. With that being said, the medication doesn't help at all with-his pencil grip. In our case, that's connected with-fine motor skill delays.
This thread is long, but it has information in it that is helpful in understanding how fine and gross motor skills can impact learning. (Poor or ineffecient pencil grasp and improper formation of letters can be signs of fine motor skill delays.)
There's really so many possibilities. Without multidisciplinary evaluations, it's difficult to sort things out. But I'd be leary of limiting the evaluation to just ADHD.
There are several good threads in the Special Education Archives on learning disabilities if you're interested.
Fran
Former desparate mom
So far,capri, I haven't met anyone who "waited it out" to have a resolution of the problem. Maybe once they have passed by puberty some learning issues resolve.
I never knew why that is something folks say to parents. Wait for what??? especially when everything shows that early interventions works better to prevent secondary problems with learning disabilities.
I never knew why that is something folks say to parents. Wait for what??? especially when everything shows that early interventions works better to prevent secondary problems with learning disabilities.
Thank-you Alisha i will be reading avidly. I have found in the UK it can be very hard to push past the ADHD diagnoses when you get it. Maybe it is a case of people are so happy to have got that far they stop.
I am going to keep the pressure on for that kind of evaluation for both my difficult children andmaybe one day i will get it for them.
In the meantime i am gonna Read Read Read.
I am going to keep the pressure on for that kind of evaluation for both my difficult children andmaybe one day i will get it for them.
In the meantime i am gonna Read Read Read.
Sheila
Moderator
Reading is good!
My son's first diagnosis was ADHD. His diagnosis history is in my signature. I asked his Occupational Therapist (OT) what is the deal with-these various problems? She finally put it in terms I could understand. "There's only once central nervous system -- the brain." So, if there's a blip in one area, there's a possibility of blips in other areas. Sigh........
My son's first diagnosis was ADHD. His diagnosis history is in my signature. I asked his Occupational Therapist (OT) what is the deal with-these various problems? She finally put it in terms I could understand. "There's only once central nervous system -- the brain." So, if there's a blip in one area, there's a possibility of blips in other areas. Sigh........
Capri -
My 7 1/2 son does have a diagnosis of dyslexia. My husband has it, too. I looked through the chart and I found that these portions apply to my son:
Pronunciation problems as a young child. His were attributed to chronic ear infections, but my difficult child's were worse (difficult child had 4 sets of tubes v. only 2 for Avery) and he is not dyslexic, but his speech was even worse and he had therapy longer than Avery did.
Delayed decoding - Avery is very bright, so bright that his private preschool placed him in kindergarten at 4 years and 3 months old. Nobody could figure out why he didn't learn to read right away, despite his effort (which was substantial, this kid TRIES!). He repeated K even though the school said he could go to grade 1. I am so happy we did K again. By that point, I suspected something was wrong but we were in the depths of difficult child's problems and, sadly, my good little boy's needs were placed on the back burner. When he did not read at the end of K, I resolved to work with him over the summer. I noticed a lot of reversals in his letters as well as poor handwriting. In grade 1, I asked for an evaluation for Learning Disability (LD) and was told he was "too smart." I was about to fight it when things reached a head with difficult child and we pulled them both from that school. At the new school (a different public school in the same district), I asked his new teacher for an evaluation. She did not think it was needed, but did agree to ask the sped teacher to stop in and check him out. She called me a week later to tell me that the sped teacher felt he was dyslexic and they were sending home paperwork for me. He began reading instruction in the Orton-Gillingham method last February. In September, he was switched to Wilson method. I have been told that more teachers in our SD are trained in Wilson and that Wilson is suitable for children who learn very quickly, like Avery.
Poor spelling - YUP, but then again husband and my daughter (who has a verbal IQ in the profoundly gifted range) can't spell either.
Fine motor - YUP, as well. He is getting Occupational Therapist (OT) twice a week for it.
He does not have any attentional difficulties, thankfully. It is hard enough to educate my oldest boy who has nothing but attentional issues! He remembers many facts easily and I have been told that he is quite good in math. The second K teacher (who also had difficult child) told me that she thinks Avery is more gifted in math than difficult child, who she once described as one of the most gifted in math kids she had ever taught. I don't see that Avery is more gifted than Ryan, but it's hard to compare because when Ryan was in grade 2, he never did any work!
Dyslexia is a tough diagnosis, Capri, I will not tell you that it is not hard. But my husband was not diagnosed until adulthood, was treated like a moron for most of his school career and wound up a fairly successful attorney. He did take the bar exam 8 times, but that just makes me respect his persistence! He refused the offered accommodations, but now states that we must ensure that Avery gets every single one he is entitled to!
If your daughter is dyslexic, try and have her instructed in Orton-Gillingham or Wilson. I see vast improvements in my son since the method of teaching him reading was changed. The best part is your girl is young.
Michele
My 7 1/2 son does have a diagnosis of dyslexia. My husband has it, too. I looked through the chart and I found that these portions apply to my son:
Pronunciation problems as a young child. His were attributed to chronic ear infections, but my difficult child's were worse (difficult child had 4 sets of tubes v. only 2 for Avery) and he is not dyslexic, but his speech was even worse and he had therapy longer than Avery did.
Delayed decoding - Avery is very bright, so bright that his private preschool placed him in kindergarten at 4 years and 3 months old. Nobody could figure out why he didn't learn to read right away, despite his effort (which was substantial, this kid TRIES!). He repeated K even though the school said he could go to grade 1. I am so happy we did K again. By that point, I suspected something was wrong but we were in the depths of difficult child's problems and, sadly, my good little boy's needs were placed on the back burner. When he did not read at the end of K, I resolved to work with him over the summer. I noticed a lot of reversals in his letters as well as poor handwriting. In grade 1, I asked for an evaluation for Learning Disability (LD) and was told he was "too smart." I was about to fight it when things reached a head with difficult child and we pulled them both from that school. At the new school (a different public school in the same district), I asked his new teacher for an evaluation. She did not think it was needed, but did agree to ask the sped teacher to stop in and check him out. She called me a week later to tell me that the sped teacher felt he was dyslexic and they were sending home paperwork for me. He began reading instruction in the Orton-Gillingham method last February. In September, he was switched to Wilson method. I have been told that more teachers in our SD are trained in Wilson and that Wilson is suitable for children who learn very quickly, like Avery.
Poor spelling - YUP, but then again husband and my daughter (who has a verbal IQ in the profoundly gifted range) can't spell either.
Fine motor - YUP, as well. He is getting Occupational Therapist (OT) twice a week for it.
He does not have any attentional difficulties, thankfully. It is hard enough to educate my oldest boy who has nothing but attentional issues! He remembers many facts easily and I have been told that he is quite good in math. The second K teacher (who also had difficult child) told me that she thinks Avery is more gifted in math than difficult child, who she once described as one of the most gifted in math kids she had ever taught. I don't see that Avery is more gifted than Ryan, but it's hard to compare because when Ryan was in grade 2, he never did any work!
Dyslexia is a tough diagnosis, Capri, I will not tell you that it is not hard. But my husband was not diagnosed until adulthood, was treated like a moron for most of his school career and wound up a fairly successful attorney. He did take the bar exam 8 times, but that just makes me respect his persistence! He refused the offered accommodations, but now states that we must ensure that Avery gets every single one he is entitled to!
If your daughter is dyslexic, try and have her instructed in Orton-Gillingham or Wilson. I see vast improvements in my son since the method of teaching him reading was changed. The best part is your girl is young.
Michele
Michele
Thank-you for sharing part of your story with me. My husband was made to feal thick through school as well. He is now the best Engine man i ever met. He works faster than anyone he ever met and still makes no mistakes. Yet when he writes he prints and his spelling is, well, umm, creative.
My daughter is also very smart. She has a great analytical mind and is good with figures too. She has a huge vocab and is very well spoken(when she isnt using the baby voice she does).
But when it comes to reading, it just hasnt clicked. She tries so hard as well. She struggles with every single word (though she knows the sounds of the letters) and by the time she gets to the end of the sentance it means nothing to her.
Sometimes she will look at a word and she knows she knows it but she just cant access it.. Yesterday she was looking at the word "Two" for about a minute. She knew she knew it, she just couldnt access the memory. It's so hard to watch her struggle.
Yes fran, I know what you mean. "Wait" they say. How long? What for? why wait?
Thank-you for sharing part of your story with me. My husband was made to feal thick through school as well. He is now the best Engine man i ever met. He works faster than anyone he ever met and still makes no mistakes. Yet when he writes he prints and his spelling is, well, umm, creative.
My daughter is also very smart. She has a great analytical mind and is good with figures too. She has a huge vocab and is very well spoken(when she isnt using the baby voice she does).
But when it comes to reading, it just hasnt clicked. She tries so hard as well. She struggles with every single word (though she knows the sounds of the letters) and by the time she gets to the end of the sentance it means nothing to her.
Sometimes she will look at a word and she knows she knows it but she just cant access it.. Yesterday she was looking at the word "Two" for about a minute. She knew she knew it, she just couldnt access the memory. It's so hard to watch her struggle.
Yes fran, I know what you mean. "Wait" they say. How long? What for? why wait?
Capri -
Your daughter sounds like Avery, except he does not do a baby voice, LOL! Your description of her reading sounds so much like him before he began getting special reading instruction. He is being taught strategies that work for him and he is improving. He is almost at grade level.
Michele
Your daughter sounds like Avery, except he does not do a baby voice, LOL! Your description of her reading sounds so much like him before he began getting special reading instruction. He is being taught strategies that work for him and he is improving. He is almost at grade level.
Michele
