The freedom in truth-eval update

Yesterday was the final ARC meeting with the local public school, pertaining to Helana’s evaluation.  We began this journey in an attempt to get her qualified for speech services.  I agreed to a full evaluation and to listen to a proposed IEP in the event I decided to enroll her.

Yesterday was the day that the evaluators gave their reports and an outline of the IEP handed out.  The overall report was a little distressing, but not shocking.  We’ve known for some time that Helana has a learning challenge, but since Weisskopf was unable to acquire an actual IQ score, we were unsure to what extent her challenges took her.  The school however was able to acquire a score.  Obviously I am not going to share that here, but a certain amount of relief comes from having this bit of insight.

Although I am not going to enroll her at this time, I find the suggested IEP very helpful in my own endeavors.  Their plan to help her transition also gives me peace of mind.  Their outlined academic goals are not unlike mine, so I am relieved to know that I have not been hindering her by spending so much time on certain concepts/tasks.  In fact, I was surprised to learn that their goals for her are actually a lot smaller than my own.  While I could suggest they tweak it, and they probably would, I still feel it is best to continue her education at home.  I feel much more confident now that I know what she WOULD be learning in public school and honestly feel we could be more productive at home.  The only real advantage I can see from sending her would be on the social level:  working among a group, following directions given by others etc.  By choosing to home school her, she will still receive speech therapy once a week in the classroom in a group.  I think this is the perfect opportunity to see how she would function in a group/classroom setting.  If she does well and seems really excited about her sessions, then I will give heavy consideration towards enrolling her in the fall.

School Eval Update

Today was intended to finish up H’s evaluations at the school; meeting with the speech pathologists and the academic side of the psychologist evaluation. 

The final speech eval went fine, with minor issues of her attention swaying.  The session with Ms. Adams from the psychology department did not go so well though.  Helana was just not cooperating and gave the impression she had not learned any thing but “M” for the past three years.  She was also looking under the table and turning upside down in her chair.  Fortunately, Ms. Adams realized it was a bad time and not an actual reflection of Helana’s behavior/knowledge.  At least that is what I am hoping.  We are going to try again next week, at an earlier time so maybe she won’t be so worn out.

We are considering putting her back on ADHD medicine but are waiting for the final report from the school to see what they suggest.  I really hate the thought of medicating my child and wish there was a natural way to help her focus. 

We also must get to the bottom of her reading difficulty.  When I say difficulty, I mean the fact that she always feigns fatigue when time to read.  “I’m tired. Take a break” is what I hear every day during reading time, even though she just had a nap or finds the energy to play outside.  I know it is a way to avoid doing what she doesn’t want to do and most of the time I do not give in.  It does make me wonder though…..could it be early signs of dyslexia?  I mentioned this to Ms. Adams and am curious to learn the special ed team’s opinion.  Not only does she have difficulty focusing on a page, reading, but she also has a difficult time with directional and positional words/concepts. 

February Assessment

Today we began an assessment of Helana’s basic concepts.  She has struggled with these for years and we still need to work on what I would call pre-k concepts.  I decided to take an assessment because her understanding of these seem to fluctuate.  I also assessed her ability to listen to and follow through on spoken direction.

Guessing Game

Helana loved this activity.

I blindfolded her.

Then I placed an object inside a pillowcase.  I described the object to her, asking her to repeat the clues and try to guess what object I was describing.  I then allowed her to feel inside the pillowcase.  While still blindfolded, she held the object in her hands and repeated the clues until she was able to guess the object.

She was able to guess the object within seconds of holding it in her hands.  Here are the objects:

For glue, I used descriptive clues such as “It is white.  It is gooey. You use it to stick pictures on paper”.  She hesitated the longest on tissue: “It is soft. You use it to wipe your nose”.

What we accomplished with this activity:  practice in descriptive language, problem solving skills, listening skills, practice using senses other than sight, deduction

 

Long/Tall/Short

With this exercise, we used a curtain rod and a marker to explain long and short.  We then used a Barbie and a small plastic doll to explain tall and short.  Helana was quick to identify each.

 

Sorting Into Groups

We took objects from around the house and sorted them into groups based on their common purpose.  Our groups were: Things we use to eat; Things we read; Things we play with; Things we wear.  Helana had a bit of a struggle with this.  I am unsure if she just had difficulty focusing or simply did not grasp the concept.  We will make an effort to do similar activities daily.

 

Listening to and following directions

With this assessment, she did a worksheet that required following “complicated” directions.

She had to color all circles blue, all squares red etc.  She did fine except I needed to repeat directions several times.  Then she had to listen to complicated directions such as: “Draw a line under the small blue circle above the bird”.  I had to repeat and help.

Sorting Coins

The title says it all.  We sorted coins onto designated paper.  She had a very difficult time visually discerning the different coins.  She did not seem to grasp that a penny is not a quarter, though she could see the quarter was bigger.  I would show her the coin, have her hold it and feel it then place it in the proper place.  I then asked her to find all the quarters in the pile of coins.  She continuously handed me a penny.

What Comes Next

In this game, we had to put the puzzle pieces together in the correct sequence of events.  Such as washing a car: started with a dirty car, then a pic of a girl washing the car, then a pic of the clean car.  Helana had difficulty with this as well.  The others included building a snowman and milking a cow.  She did not seem to grasp which step came first and what came next.

 

Tomorrow she meets with the school psychologist at the local public school to continue her comprehensive evaluation.  This week I hope to complete my assessment so we may know how to best proceed from now until the end of our school year, which will be in June.

Try and try again

That’s what you have to do when home schooling a child with a learning difference.  Consistency is key, yet so is experimenting.

Today Helana and I began our journey into addition recall.  We’ve been using manipulatives to answer questions like, “how many do we have if we add two more blocks”, but today I pulled out the flash cards. I wanted to see if she could recall at all what we’ve been doing.

Begin at the beginning, that’s what I say. (I’m brilliant, I know) We began with 0+0 all the way through 0+12.  She can tell me that zero means “none”, but I am unsure if she really grasps that because she could not tell me that “none” plus 1 equals one.  So we pulled out the blocks.  She started with 0 blocks.  I say, “Okay, what do we have if I add two blocks to the table”.  “Count,”
she said.  So she counted two.  Then I said, “So, you started with zero blocks but I added two and now you have two.  So zero plus 2 is how many?”  “Three”, she says. 

We circled around this for a few more tries before I just pulled out the flashcards again.  I held them up and began going through them one by one, without asking for a response from her.  When we got to 0+8, I said, “Zero plus eight equals…” and she said “eight”.  She continued from there on up to 12.

I am finding with Helana that explanations confuse her.  I think that is why she struggles with sounding out simple words.  I need for a concept to be broken down and explained before I understand it, thus, that is how I am inclined to teach.  That doesn’t always work for my daughter.  Just reciting facts, going through flash cards work for her in just about every instance.  Repeat. Repeat. Then she gets it.  That is why she can easily read “what” and “look” without a lesson on “wh” or “oo”; going through flash cards.  As far as her computer lessons, she tries and tries again until the programmed voice tells her it is correct.

I feel very uncomfortable with her “learning” this way because I do not know if she actually KNOWS the material or is just memorizing.  Then again, if that is what helps her navigate life then so be it.

No OT?

If you follow A Grace-full Life, you may recall that I am in the process of getting Helana evaluated by the special ed department at the public school.  The purpose is to see if she qualifies for speech services and/or anything else they may be able to provide while I continue to home school.  Well, the test consultant and the OT came by for a home visit yesterday morning.  Normally they would observe her in her classroom, but since she is home schooled, they came here.

The OT said Helana’s motor skills were intact.  Helana displayed her fine motor skills by doing a worksheet then a little needlepoint.  The OT said it was great.  She is able to switch from one hand to another smoothly as well as use both hands at the same time.  There is a little concern about her eye tracking though.  That may be an attention problem instead of a physical one.

The OT also said Helana has an excellent pencil grip, using the tripod method.  Way to go!

Next up, we will have a speech eval and a meeting with the school psychologist.  In the end, the school will present me with IEP if I choose to enroll her in the fall, or a list of services if I continue to home school.

I am very curious to see how the school’s results compare to those from The Weisskopf Child Evaluation Center. A year has passed, so I am sure there will be some difference.