WAY OT - Sorry. Desperate for help

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (katiewise) :

]Does Anyone out there have any knowledge/experience/or for God's sake ]a NAME, for a quirky, dyslexia-like, selective learning disability as ]described below?!!! katie - if you're still awake, check your e-mail

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

newest creations: ----------- I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for all.

Well, when I was in kinderkarten, I used to write my name backwards. Most of the letters were right sided, but some were backwards and sometimes I had started right way, but if the name wouldn't fit for one or other reason, I had started again and wrote all letters correctly but starting from right to left and *all* letters were backwards! I never had that problem in school thou. Maybe they checked more carefully what I wrote... Maybe your son is learning too fast and his motorskills in writing isn't going as fast?

Johanna

I don't have any experience in this at all but I want to add my vote of support to you and son's search for that elusive connection.

{{{hug}}}

There are some forms of dyslexia that fit this description. Have you had him screened yet?

Katie,

Has your son been seen by a specialist yet?

I have a son with several nuerological disabilities. I started asking for help when he was about 15 months. He was not diagnosed properly until he was 8. By that time, not only had our relationship suffered, but also the various other relationships within the family. He was also kept back a grade, which was very damaging to his self esteem.

My suggestion is to try to find a doctor in your area who can properly diagnose and then help educate all of you, so that your sons childhood is not adversly effected by this. We went to 16 doctors before we found the one who could help us.

Good luck to you. And, understanding, comforting hugs to you and your son.

Beki

Katie,

I'll ask my sister about this (she is a special education teacher) and see if she knows anything. I do know that there are learning disabilities that are solely related to writing.

Sounds like Dysgraphia...my son has it, but good luck getting him any help in the school...we can't get help for anything that stars with "dys" in our school district. Arleen

Hey, it must be the day for sisters! :-) I'm going to ask my sister, too, cuz she's an LD specialist. I agree with some of the others, though - - you should find someone who can do an evaluation. Does the school system have one?

I'll get back to you when I hear from my sister! :-) Susan in VA

Katie,

I am so sorry for you and your son!

I am REALLY glad you are seeing the problem so early, though.

I have several friends with odd learning disabilities who are otherwise quite bright. One in particular has had a really horrible time and has effectively not gotten anything out of his grammar school and school years. His mother tried long and hard to get him help but he was seen as a "bad child" at school and couldn't get the help. His parents ultimately had to send him away to school. Because of his dietary problems and behavioral disorders (which IMO probably at least somewhat stemmed by not being able to participate normally in school because he couldn't follow what the rest of the class was doing and the teachers didn't understand why), it was very hard for them to place him in a school which was appropriate for him even when they sent him away. Now that he has finally received the help he needed in order to be able to learn to read (he could always read aloud normally but for some reason couldn't take in anything he read), he is an avid reader, is doing great in college (he can't figure out why everything is so easy and that is his big worry), and if you talk to him you would find him a very articulate and even intellectual young man.

I am not saying this to depress you. Rather, I would like to encourage you to find out as soon as possible what is wrong with him and address it so that he can enjoy school and keep up with his own abilities in other ways. Unfortunately his teachers may not understand and need to be educated. As other have said, you need to find someone to diagnose him and the first person may not do that correctly.

I hope someone else from the group can provide more specific recommendations as to his problem. But please be aware that we support you!!

marisa2

katiewise wrote:

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Did you know that some of the brightest people have some form of dyslexia? It runs rampant through my family - the most common form being half my family can't follow driving directions. My mother gets lost coming out of the bathroom! (trying to make you smile) Your son sounds like a wonderful, delightful child. I understand his and your frustration completely, but dry your eyes because you have to be the strong one.

The good news is that there is help out there. Besides the school system, there are doctors, there's Sylvan or Huntington or other specialty schools and there is YOU. He might need nothing more than tons of patience and practice, far more than his teacher can give him. Of course you want to try every avenue and find out what the experts say, but in the long run, it's your attitude that will be the most important. He's bright, he's beautiful and he's healthy. He just needs a little extra help in one area and you will find it for him.

Chin Up, Katie, we're all pulling for you and your son.

Cheri (Bubbee to Emily and Nathan)

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Johanna Koski :

]Maybe your son is learning too fast and ]his motorskills in writing isn't going as fast?

good thought!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

newest creations: ----------- I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for all.

As you say, sounds a bit like dyslexia, but after reading your post I think it may be something else...

One thing for certain, you need to get a professional diagnosis and fast... or he will learn to hate, hate, hate.... almost everything about learning :((

All the best (sorry I can't offer more)

Mavis

Speaking as a 25 year vetran Spec Ed teacher you need to get your son evaluated. By Federal law the school district has to complete a full evaluation within 30 school days after you request it. On your own you should have your health care provider also do an evaluation and give you the proper referrals to specialists as needed. If you get bogged down by the school district check for a local advocacy group like PACER or the like to assist you with the Spec. Ed process. Your state might have a state wide or more local organization. In Minnesota we have MACLD (Minnesota Association for Children with Learning Disabilities).

My speciality is kids with emotional and mental health problems and my LD background is limited. I cannot begin to guess what the specific problem is although I have seen issues like that in students.

The bottom line is that you need to get a full medical and educational evaluation. Your local school district needs to provide it for free even if your child is not in public school.

On Thu, 15 Apr 2004 11:29:53 -0400, DreamBeadr wrote (in message ):

Same here. DD was six when we got her full diagnosis. Part of me was glad that it took so long, because we managed to raise her up until that point without knowing anything was wrong. (One blessing of having an only child)

BTW, I found that the free CORE evaluation from the public schools is worth less than what you pay for it. We ended up going the "pay megabucks to Children's Hospital" route, and are glad we did so. She's learned her own accomodations so well that her current teacher had no idea that she's a special needs kid until we told them at a parent/teacher conference a couple of weeks ago.

He was also kept back a grade, which was

We consulted with DD before holding her back a grade, and it was her decision as much as ours. We transferred schools at the same time, figuring that the school that was holding her back wasn't getting another chance to whack at my kid's self esteem. (BTW, it was 6th grade, so it's not like she was a little kid)

Best thing we ever did. The new school had no "history" with her, treated her like everyone else, and she's done very well ever since. BTW, she's taking advanced placement classes these days, and will be taking simultaneous Trig and Calculus classes as a high school freshman. Not too bad for a "brain injured SPED" kid, huh?

Call our local Big Deal children's hospital (I called the one in Boston, since that's where we live), and ask for a referral. We got a terrific treatment team on the first shot. By law, you can get your local school system to pay for this, provided they did a CORE evaluation first. However, if you can possibly manage to pay for it yourself, you'll be better off - the diagnosis could be influenced by the school, since they're doing the paying.

Seconded!

Kathy N-V

My DS, age 6.5, first grade, has some wierd type of spatial reversing learning diability. It ONLY affects the physical writing process. Many of his letters and numbers are backward, >

STOP!!! This child has NO DISABILITY didn't your child's teacher tell you that this is PERFECTLY NORMAL in children of this age - especially BOYS this is normal??????

IGNORE IT -mostly - but don't fuss about it. IT WILL go away on it's own. My mother taught 32 years- her advice follows. "Don't worry about about this unless it continues after the third grade... it is developmental - and not highly unusual. They can have the child trace letters that are made of sand paper, or in a sand tray... You can also teach some aids for remembering.... As showing them that their left hand forms and capital L when the thumb is opened out...and index finger points straight up.

And teaching them to write the word bed and see if it is big enough to lie on or the posts are in the middle if the write "deb" and the space in the middle is too small.

First graders usually reverse letters.

Tell her not all seeds bloom at the same time, but that doesn't mean that the best ones bloom first.

It is a matter of brain development and not to even TRY to remediate it at that age. It won't work and will frustrate her and the child!

The choice of second grade teacher is more important. ..."

if your child reads and does everything else that well - there is nothing really wrong with him-- it's just a developmental brain thing -- he'll grow out of it.

Please email me - if you'd like to talk to my mom.....

Cheryl last semester of lawschool! yipee! DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass

Possibly true but why take the chance. If things do not get better past 3d grade then time has been wasted where help could be given. Plus time has changed and curriculum has changed the old 3d grade rule does not always apply.

She will feel a lot better if the experts rule out any problems and it turns out to be age developmental. But if it is a learning problem then it has been caught and less education time has been lost.

Finally please do not try and diagnose or un diagnose a learning issue based on an Internet Usenet posting. Let the people who know handle it which was my original advice. Education is too important to mess with it.

Greg

I worked in a school district for several years, in the office. Where do you live (what state). Schools are required to provide you with testing services, etc. Many, many people have this kind of thing. Some people have written that is might be normal; lots of kids do write things backward at first, but if you truly think it is a problem, demand some help. Try not to get too worked up about it; the more you feed into his frustration the worse it will be. He is obviously very bright. Focus on all the cool things he can do well. Point out to him that he is able to do a lot of things his classmates find impossible (all that 3rd grade level stuff).

For your own sake, get some help from a learning specialist. Your school must have a Learning Disabilities Specialist.

Also, congratulate yourself for being a parent who gives a damn. He's gonna be fine. It may be a struggle, but you said it yourself, he has a wonderful mind. KathyH

Possibly true but why take the chance. If things do not get better past 3d grade then time has been wasted where help could be given. Plus time has changed and curriculum has changed the old 3d grade rule does not always apply.<

because -- of the EXACT PROBLEM this mother is causing right now - pressuring the child to do it "RIGHT" when their brain cannot this is not a CHOICE - the brain is actually reversing the letters -- by third grade - the brain is mature enough that more effective corrective measures can be used - relatively painlessly -

"new techniques" have nothing to do with it -- this is known SCIENTIFIC DATA there is NOT LIKELY anything wrong with a child that is reading as well as she describes - and merely mirror writing it is just a very common behavior.

Focusing on the "bad" or "wrong" merely makes the child unhappy with learning and school.... the focus should be on what the child does well - this problem will solve itself over time... and is NOT AS IMPORTANT as the child's self esteem and other development. When the brain is ready - the correction will happen.

PLEASE PLEASE do not let all these people make you think your child has some horrid undiagnosed problem.

Cheryl last semester of lawschool! yipee! DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass