Seeking Help with Learning Problems

Hi J.,
I don't know about the loss of oxygen at birth, that is something I would want to look into. My son is 5 and he struggled to learn his ABC's at 4. The only way he learned them was the leap frog video. Now, that series is what got him interested in reading. I do have a lot, I mean a lot of friends with children with learning disabilities. It almost seems like an epidemic. My son still has speech problems. He has never been diagonised with anything I really believe that he has. But I am glad I got him tested, as are all of my friends. The only reason is because they are receiveing awesome free help and support. My husband has trouble with labels but I don't care because after we got him tested we got help. I only wished I would have had him tested at 2.
Best of luck to you. I hope it is just a boy thing!
take care
diane

Call your local school district and have him evaluated...if he has any kind of learning disability, they will help him learn threw special programs....They have to provide education from age three so just call...My daughter has pdd and is three and we are just finishing up all the evaluations takes three months..so i will find out the outcome next week...

Two issues: (1) Your worry about what problems he might have due to having no oxygen for 30 seconds, and (2) whether he has a learning disability because at four years old he doesn't know his ABCs.

For the first issue, ask your child's pediatrician for a reality check. Bring the child's medical record from when he was born (ask the hospital he was born at for a copy, if you don't have one already).

For the second, ask your child's preschool teacher, for a reality check. If he hasn't gone to preschool yet, enroll him. Then ask the preschool teacher about his ability to learn after she's had some time to get to know him.

Have him evaluated if you're still worried, by the county, just to make sure.

My firstborn was born with an Apgar of 4 and he reads four grade levels ahead.

R u rushing the learning process? Pls reconsider..

Have you contacted his pediatrician? If not you might want to start there. I also know in my county there is an Infant and Toddler program that is free because it is part of the Public School system. They were extremely helpful when my daughter refused to crawl and should have been learning to pull herself up. They are located in Glen Burnie. I wish you the best.

I would definitely have him tested. Pending the outcome, you may want a second opinion. I am not sure if the loss of oxygen would have anything to do with it. I would also try different methods of teaching him (if you haven't done so already) to see how he learns. He is only 4 years old and has atleast another year until he begins kindergarten. There is still plenty of time for him to learn his ABC's, but I would consider the testing just to put your mind at ease.

I hope this helps! Good Luck!

if it makes you feel better to have him tested, then do it, but albert einstein didn't speak till he was 4 yrs old. some kids are verbal, some not, some kids remember everything they are told (like my son,,, trust me it isn't always wonderful..lol).. but each is different. I have never pushed my kids, i have made them do "the work" and enjoy learning... never test etc. or do flashcareds..ug..... or whatnot. just relax, he will come into his own. both kids get a's and b's without trouble.. it will be fine. you just don't want them to have a bad "taste in their mounth" for learning.
good luck
mother of 8 and 10 yr old

Getting him tested is a good idea to rule out anything. But just keep in mind that kids learn differently and at different rate. Some kids learn well visually while others learn well only if they hear it aloud. So try different ways to teach him.

Y.

I agree with everything everyone else has said on here. One word of advice if the pediatrician you are using is the same one who evaluated your son at the hospital after he was born, go to a different pediatrician for a second opinion. There was a major lawsuit here in the last year for injuries a little girl sustained at birth and the pediatrician denied the extent of the issues for many years. Good luck!
H.

I have a son who is now 20 years old. His heart stop beating during delivery. His name is Ricky. Well from the time he was little keeping him focus was challenging in itself. His father and I did everything we thought good parents should do. We read to our children every night, worked with them to prepare them for kindergarden, and ect. My experiences with doctors was helpful, I was told that some children who have problems during delivery could be related to add. Well of course I did not want to hear that. Years ago that was harder than today. Our job as parents is to do whatever we can to help our children to have a better life. I think taking your son to the doctors would be a very wise decision. Not only you can find answers to your situation, but help you understand about the problem, if there is one. Also children do learn at different stages in their lives, some are little slow speaking and then when they learn to speak, its like oh no they never be quiets,lol. I would also try to teach them their abc's and make it a game, only do a few at a time, and when He gets them take him out for an icecream or what ever he likes to do. Some children need a little encouragement. Whatever you choose I think He is lucky to have a mom like you. God Bless, M.

Hi i dont know if this will help but my daughter has maltible learning problems we started to see this at the age of 4...She is 6 now and she is in 1st grade she is in special ed classes which she gets 1 on 1 help from a teacher (i know special ed sounds scary but it works) and also the infents and toddler program might help...yes it is hard for her to do her homework but we get it done w/ the help of me...I also found out that she has ADHD which makes it harder for her to focas....so i dont know if i helped you at all if not i am sorry for bothering you have a good day
A.

Rare is it that I've seen a mommy's gut be wrong.

You have a few choices for testing: if you have health coverage, you can get him tested privately. For this route, it depends a lot on where you live (which I don't know). Find the best hospital and go there. Your pediatrician should have good recommendations for you too. (Although your garden variety pediatrician generally won't diagnose a learning disability, he'll say, "Looks like he has a delay...go get him tested.")

Another option, which is also a good one, is to call your local school district and make arrangements to have an "early intervention" test. Many if not all the districts to this now and at no cost to you.

Go with your gut, J..

Email me if you need anything.

Hi J.
I would get the peace of mind getting him evaluated. I have a son who is 3 1/2 and had PDD. He is smart as a whip but he was speech delayed. After his eval and got the help he so desperately needed. Its scary to not know what's happening with your child. I was floored to hear my child had PDD. But with that ingorance he wasn't getting the help. Getting help at a early age is vital.
Hang in there.
If you EVER need to talk or get support email me.
Ivillage has excellent message boards just for specific "issues".

Good Luck
N.

J. if there is one piece of advice that I could give you, this would be it. IF YOU THINK THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR BABY, GO WITH YOUR GUT. Get him tested. The worst they can say is that he is totally fine and stop worrying about it. I have a 10 year old with PDD NOS (form of autism) and around 2 1/2 I started to notice things not quite right (or what I thought was right). See Tony was my first and not having a sibling, most people chalked his delay on that. I was not satisfied and pushed the issue. And after getting him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician, I was right. He is only 25% delayed, but enough to need assistance. We jumped right on getting him help and today he is doing really well. Most parents wait because they think they are crazy and the longer you wait, the more trouble the child will have catching up. PLEASE DON'T WAIT.

If I can help you any more or if you just need an ear, please feel free to contact me. Best of luck with him.

Hi J....sorry to hear about your little guy! Have you tried singing the letters? and learning only a few at a time? I have two boys and don't think they learned any slower than girls in fact my niece seems to be lagging behind a little...I think it's the fact that each child is soo different that you really need to find what works best for that perticular boy or girl. Try making turning learning into a really fun game I'm now teaching my youngest to write his letters and we make a daddy A mommy A and baby A I draw the shape and he fills in the face, now he can write his whole name and all the letters up to g. Hope I was able to help. Best of luck
F.
www.fingerpaintz.com

Hey J.,

At this age I wouldn't worry about him remembering.He just might be developing a little slower. I would wait till he gets into school before any talk of testing. If he likes the computer, you could try computer games that teach the alphabet. I was worried about my daughter at first. But at this age, just a few months can make a big difference. All of a sudden she just took off with learning. Putting her in a preschool really helped. Also, my daughter does better learning from her father than I...and I'm a teacher! Don't pressure him to remember them because that causes them to shut down. Try the computer games. My daughter loves them. Hope this helps!