Teaching Math to NVLD Kids

“On Cloud Nine” is useful but not complete. I have mixed feelings about it. I use their number line, I use their visualizing strategies, but other than that, I don’t find the program is enough. Frankly, the only truly complete program I know of for someone with visual processing issues and NVLD is the Montessori math curriculum. So make sure that whatever you look at has loads of manipulatives - your child needs to see, touch, and TALK about everything.

Please get the book “The Source for Visual/Spatial Disorders” - it provides a wealth of info and math activities for kids like yours. The resources in the back of the book will show you exactly what kinds of manipulatives you need for him. The book is also, on its own, a fascinating read.

Make sure that whatever papers you use for math are blown up to a large enough size that your son isn’t struggling to take it in visually. That problem, combined with a left brain orientation to learning math, makes everything so difficult to him. But really steer away from math sheets; your son needs to work with lots of manipulatives. Because he’s got a visual processing disorder, you have to be careful with the manipulatives; you may need to manipulate them for him in some cases. I’ve worked with children with severe visual processing difficulties, but I have always been able to adapt the work so they’ll be successful.

EPS puts out books called “It’s Elementary” which teach kids strategies for doing math problems. I like those books. Before I even use them, though, when I’m working with a NVLD kid, I do math problems with them in the form of acting out stories. I simply tell the child we’re going to be actors, then I make up little addition or subtraction stories involving scenarios such as eating crackers. The children enjoy the process and afterwards I comment that this is what math problems are about. After spending quite a bit of time doing that, I present the book
.
The key is to constantly appeal to the child’s verbal sense.Make sure whoever works with your son tells him to “talk it through” with everything he does in math.

Jody,

Another approach that I have had success with is to remediate the actual deficit. My son had sequencing and visual spatial issues. He was at the bottom in math.

I did two things that worked.

Interactive metronome really did an amazing job on his sequencing issues. www.interactivemetronome.com

I did some work with my son to improve what Jerome Rosner call’s visual perception. I think it is visual spatial but call it whatever you want.

His book is called “Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties.” In it he describes a series of exercises using a geoboard to get a child to better able to perceive and draw shapes.

It really worked. After IM and this approach my son is an average math student in a regular class in third grade. He does not need different approaches anymore. He can learn visually. It is amazing to me. This kid would cry when I asked him to count using a numbers chart. Now he has no trouble with it or any other graph type work.

I am also using audiblox with him. www.audiblox2000.com I think this is also an excellent program for NVLDers to address those core deficits.

I also have my son in vision therapy because he has some real ocular motor issues. I can see how this particular issue is blocking his learning in some areas like reading for extended periods.

Once you address those core deficits your child can learn like everyone else. It can be a battle but in the long term it is worth it.

My son is pretty independant with his homework now. I think he may even eventually do really well with math. He is getting very quick with his skip counting and his calculations.

The therapist we have worked with told me she has only seen a few truly NVLD kids. By her definition, they couldn’t progress in the therapy she does. My son’s responsiveness to therapy is a key reason she told me she thought he had “right brain deficits but not at the level of a syndrome.”

Guess what I am saying is that kids that are truly NVLD may not respond the same to these interventions as others. On the other hand, the diagnosis seems to be fairly generously handed out these days so you really don’t know, unless you try.

Beth

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried my son in neurodevelopmental therapy several years ago when he was 5-6. Although he got better at the excercises, it did not seem to transfer over to improved behavior or academics, and it was extremely expensive and time consuming. I’ll ask the OT at his school about audiblox.

Jody

I don’t think my son is truely NVLD. He deficit is a visual/motor deficit. I think all these conditions ADHD, dyslexia, NVLD are rarely clear cut one or the other. I believe most kids are on a continuum and can be moved along that continuum.

Another question I had – how does Interactive Metronone differ from neurofeedback? I ahve also heard very good things about this therapy.

Jody

We did IM with great results, but not everybody does it seems. There are two issues—whether the child can get better at the procedure and whether improvements in this area are related to improvements in other areas.

My son scored off the chart the first time we pretested with this—and we did other OT like therapy first. Motor difficulties seem to be an integral part of his learning profile—and we thus got a lot of milage from IM.

IM involves keeping the beat of a metronome—using computer equipment so it is quite precise. Look at the web site—it is quite descriptive.

Like Linda’s son, my son’s ability in math improved following IM. He is now getting solid B’s. Last year he was struggling with C’s. He has become much more teachable.

Beth

Neurofeedback involves using computer games to improve attention. The game provides direct feedback to the patient. EEG electrodes are placed on the head and the patient moves the game along by paying attention. If the attention falters the game stops.

IM is different in that the patient must perform body movements to the beat of a metronome. They get feedback in the form of sounds that let them know if they are too slow or too fast. It improves timing. It is used for remediation of deficits and to improve the timing of high level athletes and musicians.

I don’t know why it improves sequencing but I believe I remember there is at least one study on their website that shows improvement in sequencing. My son’s sequencing issues were rather extreme and so the improvement I saw was rather dramatic.

I think the level of benefit depends on the type of disabilities.

Jody,

I noticed your original request was for materials you can use. Consider Touchmath (find them at www.touchmath.com) for basic math facts. My NLD child has made progress -slow but steady- using their techniques & clear, uncluttered worksheets.
L.

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“On Cloud Nine” is useful but not complete. I have mixed feelings about it. I use their number line, I use their visualizing strategies, but other than that, I don’t find the program is enough. Frankly, the only truly complete program I know of for someone with visual processing issues and NVLD is the Montessori math curriculum. So make sure that whatever you look at has loads of manipulatives - your child needs to see, touch, and TALK about everything.

Please get the book “The Source for Visual/Spatial Disorders” - it provides a wealth of info and math activities for kids like yours. The resources in the back of the book will show you exactly what kinds of manipulatives you need for him. The book is also, on its own, a fascinating read.

Make sure that whatever papers you use for math are blown up to a large enough size that your son isn’t struggling to take it in visually. That problem, combined with a left brain orientation to learning math, makes everything so difficult to him. But really steer away from math sheets; your son needs to work with lots of manipulatives. Because he’s got a visual processing disorder, you have to be careful with the manipulatives; you may need to manipulate them for him in some cases. I’ve worked with children with severe visual processing difficulties, but I have always been able to adapt the work so they’ll be successful.

EPS puts out books called “It’s Elementary” which teach kids strategies for doing math problems. I like those books. Before I even use them, though, when I’m working with a NVLD kid, I do math problems with them in the form of acting out stories. I simply tell the child we’re going to be actors, then I make up little addition or subtraction stories involving scenarios such as eating crackers. The children enjoy the process and afterwards I comment that this is what math problems are about. After spending quite a bit of time doing that, I present the book
.
The key is to constantly appeal to the child’s verbal sense.Make sure whoever works with your son tells him to “talk it through” with everything he does in math.

Jody,

Another approach that I have had success with is to remediate the actual deficit. My son had sequencing and visual spatial issues. He was at the bottom in math.

I did two things that worked.

Interactive metronome really did an amazing job on his sequencing issues. www.interactivemetronome.com

I did some work with my son to improve what Jerome Rosner call’s visual perception. I think it is visual spatial but call it whatever you want.

His book is called “Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties.” In it he describes a series of exercises using a geoboard to get a child to better able to perceive and draw shapes.

It really worked. After IM and this approach my son is an average math student in a regular class in third grade. He does not need different approaches anymore. He can learn visually. It is amazing to me. This kid would cry when I asked him to count using a numbers chart. Now he has no trouble with it or any other graph type work.

I am also using audiblox with him. www.audiblox2000.com I think this is also an excellent program for NVLDers to address those core deficits.

I also have my son in vision therapy because he has some real ocular motor issues. I can see how this particular issue is blocking his learning in some areas like reading for extended periods.

Once you address those core deficits your child can learn like everyone else. It can be a battle but in the long term it is worth it.

My son is pretty independant with his homework now. I think he may even eventually do really well with math. He is getting very quick with his skip counting and his calculations.

The therapist we have worked with told me she has only seen a few truly NVLD kids. By her definition, they couldn’t progress in the therapy she does. My son’s responsiveness to therapy is a key reason she told me she thought he had “right brain deficits but not at the level of a syndrome.”

Guess what I am saying is that kids that are truly NVLD may not respond the same to these interventions as others. On the other hand, the diagnosis seems to be fairly generously handed out these days so you really don’t know, unless you try.

Beth

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried my son in neurodevelopmental therapy several years ago when he was 5-6. Although he got better at the excercises, it did not seem to transfer over to improved behavior or academics, and it was extremely expensive and time consuming. I’ll ask the OT at his school about audiblox.

Jody

I don’t think my son is truely NVLD. He deficit is a visual/motor deficit. I think all these conditions ADHD, dyslexia, NVLD are rarely clear cut one or the other. I believe most kids are on a continuum and can be moved along that continuum.

Another question I had – how does Interactive Metronone differ from neurofeedback? I ahve also heard very good things about this therapy.

Jody

We did IM with great results, but not everybody does it seems. There are two issues—whether the child can get better at the procedure and whether improvements in this area are related to improvements in other areas.

My son scored off the chart the first time we pretested with this—and we did other OT like therapy first. Motor difficulties seem to be an integral part of his learning profile—and we thus got a lot of milage from IM.

IM involves keeping the beat of a metronome—using computer equipment so it is quite precise. Look at the web site—it is quite descriptive.

Like Linda’s son, my son’s ability in math improved following IM. He is now getting solid B’s. Last year he was struggling with C’s. He has become much more teachable.

Beth

Neurofeedback involves using computer games to improve attention. The game provides direct feedback to the patient. EEG electrodes are placed on the head and the patient moves the game along by paying attention. If the attention falters the game stops.

IM is different in that the patient must perform body movements to the beat of a metronome. They get feedback in the form of sounds that let them know if they are too slow or too fast. It improves timing. It is used for remediation of deficits and to improve the timing of high level athletes and musicians.

I don’t know why it improves sequencing but I believe I remember there is at least one study on their website that shows improvement in sequencing. My son’s sequencing issues were rather extreme and so the improvement I saw was rather dramatic.

I think the level of benefit depends on the type of disabilities.

Jody,

I noticed your original request was for materials you can use. Consider Touchmath (find them at www.touchmath.com) for basic math facts. My NLD child has made progress -slow but steady- using their techniques & clear, uncluttered worksheets.
L.

[%sig%]