Hi Everyone,
I am writing for some suggestions on what to do with my son. He is 10-years-old and has dyslexia and ADD/inattentive type. He currently attends a school for dyslexic children and is in the 3rd grade (he is a year behind). Now that we have reached the end of the school year, he is having trouble. Trouble in math and trouble in reading. In math, he makes mistakes when doing the work—it’s almost as if he is not thinking about what he is doing. In his other classes, he has trouble finishing his work on time—it takes him a long time to think of an answer and then an even longer time to write it—he writes very slowly. I am afraid that he will held back another year—if not this year, then in the future—unless something can be done.
What should I do? I heard PACE was good but I can’t afford it and the nearest provider is 3 1/2 hours away. I’m really at a loss to know what to do to help him. Please help—thank you.
Re: Problems with Son
Hi Drae.
There are two schools of thought on this:
1) The schools for dyslexic children my daughter could have attended did not have FUNDS for any type of assistive technology. They would have made her do everything with a paper and pencil, penalizing her for needing extra time.
2) We chose the public school route. General ed with accommodations and use of assistive technology. Accoms. are becoming less and less as the remediation and OT kick in - and the money we would have spent on private school tuition goes to private one on one remediation.
She now types 20+ wpm, in 4th grade.
Think about all your options. Only public schools have the law on your side - if you educate yourself and learn how to use it to your child’s advantage.
Re: Problems with Son
Look into audiblox.
It addresses some of the same things as pace but is much cheaper and can be done at home.
Re: Problems with Son
Your post does not say whether your son takes any medication for his ADD. Some parents and teachers feel very strongly this is not an acceptable approach and rule our medication. If you’ve done that, working one on one with your son at home at night might be of help to him as he tries to learn to bring focus to his work.
It’s also true that this close to the end of the school year, many children’s energies and attention spans wear thin. The next school year might find him refreshed and ready to go.
Good luck.
Hi Drae!
Our son also has ADD inattentive and has rote memory processing delays. They sound so similar though. What I ended up doing to help Brent in math was to use graph paper to help him bring the numbers down correctly. Can he dictate to you to help him write/answer questions? Brent would stare at the paper for hours and get 0 written down. But when we talked to him he had some really good ideas. We also found Inspiration (costs about $50) to help him build understanding of material presented. The graphic organizers were a great help. We also use taped books as he doesn’t self correct which makes reading much more effective and quicker. We also so found that a cup of coffee in the morning helped focus Brent, unless your son is on other medication. Afternoons are still a loss, so his teachers (he’s now 13) make modifications as the day goes on.
Has your son been tested for a learning disability? If not you might want to consider that and get an IEP (Individual Education Program) to help remediate areas of need. You’ll need to ask for the testing in writing.
There’s hope though…when Brent turned 12-13, he was able to focus for longer periods of time and became more organized. What I learned from his 7th grade was that most general ed teachers do not know how to teach ADD/ADHD children so I have advocated for him and educated all of his teachers on what works for him.