9 answers

Does Anyone Have a Child with a Learning Disability?

My son is 9 years old, will be 10 in August.... he started kindergarten earlier than most, and he struggled with every bit of it, so we held him back. He went through 1 year of pre k, 2 years of kindergarten, and now he is in the third grade, and he struggles with everything. When he was in first grade we were worried that he might be dyslexic, and had him tested for it and other things.... the results... he was borderline disability... so the next year we had him tested (by another doctor) at the end of 2nd grade, and the results? He was borderline disability... this year we have worked and worked with him... his grades have been getting better, but the reason is because they are working on things that he can visualize... for example, in math they are working on shapes, and perimeters, if he sees them, he can learn them. He is very forgetful when it comes to academics. If they learn their multiplication of 2's this week, he can recite them to me on Thursday night, but Friday when he takes the test, he has forgotten them. He cannot tie his shoes, he can barely count to 100, struggles with counting by 5's, 10, and so on... he cannot retain much of anything he has learned. Reading?!? He can read every word in a book, and he knows what each individual word means, but when finished with a small paragraph, he cannot tell me in his own words what he just read..... homework??!? It takes us, atleast 3 hours to complete 1 math worksheet, and a comprehension worksheet on the story of the week. I have 2 other children and three hours a night, is stressful on us all. Is there anyone that is going through the same or similiar? Oh... when it comes to hands on activities, he's great at it. He can take anything apart and put it back together w/out help... he can watch a show and tell you exactly what happened a week after he watched it... he is very intelligent when it comes to anything other than academics. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know!! Thanks!!

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i do not know if my kids have a learning disability but i know i do.. i was in Learning disabled classes and specal ed classes when i was in school all growing up i had problems learning i od have one thing to say. watch his report cards cause i know when i was in school i was help back in the 7th grade. but thay used to give me good grades just so thay would not have to deal with me the next year.. i had all kinds of prioblems im from connecticut and when my mom moved me to kansas when i started school thay did not like how i talked and stuff cuase i had an accent and stuff but i droped out in the 8th grade

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i do not know if my kids have a learning disability but i know i do.. i was in Learning disabled classes and specal ed classes when i was in school all growing up i had problems learning i od have one thing to say. watch his report cards cause i know when i was in school i was help back in the 7th grade. but thay used to give me good grades just so thay would not have to deal with me the next year.. i had all kinds of prioblems im from connecticut and when my mom moved me to kansas when i started school thay did not like how i talked and stuff cuase i had an accent and stuff but i droped out in the 8th grade

I have twins that are 7 and a 15 year old son that has the same problems. We had to get him a tutor that was a woman from Harding University. She really helped him in areas that we haven't even thought of. He now has all B's in school which is alot better than F's. Good Luck G.. I hope this helps you. If you are not close to Harding then maybe another college.

I have an 11 year old son who has many of the same problems your son has. When he was in his second year of Kindergarden we had him tested and found out he has Autism. Now that the school has all the information from the psychiatrist they are able to better help him. My son is in regular classes but with a twist...if his teachers or he notices something he is struggling with he goes to the special aide teacher who helps him in her ways and so far it is doing him WONDERS!!! Every year we go in for ARD meetings with the principle, teachers, speach therepist, behavorial specialist, and special aide dept. and we go over his scedules and things we can all do to help him and with the exception of 2 years in Kindergarden he has passed all his classes and advances w/o many problems. They also have special testing situations set up for him to help with TAS testing and other state mandated testing so he has a better chance of passing. These ladies have been wonderful with him and have helped us be able to help him with homework better so we are all less stressed out, even him! Hope this helps some. If you need any other information just contact me and I'll let you know everything I know about Autism and how to deal with and Autistic child. I say this because the way you describe your son is the way I would have described my son at that age and even would describe him today but w/o the problems at school because we now know what to do so his schooling is WAY better then it was. PS. That borderline disability thing needs to be looked at by someone other than a regular DR. try a psycologist or psychiatrist they may say different and most schools will pay for it if none of their testing does any good. A.

Hi, my son too has a learning disablility. He started K. early and we had to hold him back. He was diagnosed finally with ADHD and had to be put on Adderall. He struggles with academics, yet can too recite everything from a movie he has watched a week ago! It takes a lot of time and patients to do homework and even just explaining the easiest day to day things....all I can tell you is give it time. It will get easier as he gets older. These kind of kids just need love and patience. I'm right there with you sweetie...I'm 30, and deal with this every day with my son..he is 8, fixing to turn 9. It is a very hard road. I will pray for you!

Have you considered homeschool? I know that homeschooling doesnt work for some families, but if your son is a visual learner, then you could teach him in that way. I know public school is notorius for teaching kids all the same thing in the same way, and if a few kids dont learn the matierial as quickly they just keep going.
Best Wishes
Manda

My son is 13 and he has always had problems in school.They tested him at school early on for Everything .In the end they said he was a little munipulative and there was really nothing wrong with him.But yet we struggled.The six hour homework sessions will drive you crazy.I started noticing that when he was interested in what it was there was no problems but if he thought it was boring he would try not to do the work.I had to call him out on it and get kinda rough.I stopped sitting with him the whole time.I'd stay close to make sure he keeps going but told him, you can do this, you have done this ,you will do this.Once he knew I wasn't going to hold his hand through the whole thing and he was wasting his fun time it got better.Pointing out what he could be doing instead I think helped the most.I still have to get all drill sargent with him on occasion but he does alot better now.

ok, so i'm not the end all be all resource when it comes to kids and their learning styles, but i do have a mother in special ed. and i was in enrichment/gifted classes all my life and treated for adhd while my sister was gifted and dyslexic. soi've had experince with all kinds of leaning styles and problems in a first hand or second hand nature.

if you find that your child works better in a hands on environment or in a visual enviornment, i would go ahead and test that theory by having him take a learning styles inventory (easily found on the web). from there i would work with his teachers and resourse teachers if neccessary to build a curriculum that mirrors the one given to regular students but is presented in a way that he can grasp. it might be the only chance your child has of not being left behind in the grades to come. if you find a method that works, be it finding and conducting science experiments around concepts that he's learning in math/science classes, or having him visualize or make models/dioramas of the stories presented in reading/english. if you get a sytem down now, then he'll be more successful where it counts (in highschool, and eventually college). there are laws to help parents in every state to make your kid's teachers help them or make modifications to help them with their learning disabilities. it does take an extra effort to get them enforced, but it's worth it. good luck.

It sounds like your little boy isn't having trouble because he isn't bright, but because he is a different type of learner. If you can get your hands on a book called, "The Way They Learn" by Tobias, it may help in your understanding of what is going on with him. Sometimes, too, there is a disconnect in the way the neurotransmitters send messages to the brain. There is a company called Learning RX that deals with these types of issues all the time, and can probably help him a great deal (it is not tutoring, but actually trains the brain differently). Just because he was tested and they haven't figured out what is going on with him, don't give up! It just means they don't know. I would recommend looking into homeschooling him, because it will take the pressure off of everyone. If you are already spending 3 hrs. at night doing homework, then homeschooling would be a wonderful option. This kind of pressure on a kid his age for very long will cause him to give up, and he is way too bright for that.

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