Getting Some Help

Things with The Adventurer have hit a bit of a wall, and I'm turning outside our home for some help.

While we got a very detailed report a year ago, as part of his initial evaluation, the tips and suggestions were, are, so many and so varied that I find myself overwhelmed with what to do, when.

The short list  of what needs to be worked on includes Working Memory, Processing Speed, Phonemic Awareness and Visual-Motor Coordination.  Unfortunately, that breaks down to a very long list of specific tasks, and I find myself letting slide the more "minor" aspects.  Which is not good, because all of those "minor" aspects are actually key components to his ability to really learn to read. Sigh.

So, outside help.  An on-line friend has just launched a business to look over data supplied by the family and help come up with a plan of action for teaching the student.  Basically, she takes the big goal, "Teach Child to Read" and breaks it into smaller, manageable goals for you, and then suggests activities, links, materials, etc. to help you get there. I've sent off a summary report to her, will schedule the payment and then she'll schedule a phone consult with me to make sure she understands what are current struggle is, and where we want to go.

I cannot wait. As I was summarizing things for her, I realized just how much I've let slip through the cracks. All those little bitty therapy type activities.......set aside. Oops.

Meanwhile, The Adventurer continues to make completely random progress, which is honestly the most mind boggling and overwhelming aspect of teaching him, at least to me. Since he was evaluated in August 2012, he's gained 7 letter sounds, bringing his total to 18 letters for which he knows the sounds (some of those have more than one sound). He still stumbles over some of the same exact ones he's been stumbling over, which is not the most encouraging thing. The letter f, for example, we've been reviewing for years.

At the same time, though, he has learned how to segment words into sounds, has learned to recognize a vowel sound when in the middle of a word, and has learned how to decode a series of three letters into the three sounds represented and thus read the word, so long as it's made up of letters/sounds he knows. Which is all huge, and super encouraging.

This non-linear progress is present in math, too, wherein he can divide and multiply (not on paper, but in his head, he can tell you if we have 12 or 15 donuts, how many that means each person in our family gets to eat).  At the same time, subtraction drives him batty. Non-linear learning. Fun stuff. Very challenging for me, and I am really hoping my friend has some great ideas to work around that.

What's the point of this post, then....?  Well, to not be afraid to get outside help when you need it. Don't feel you have to do this all alone; whether it's outsourcing higher level maths & sciences, or seeking advice on helping a student with learning disabilities, or even just hiring an artist friend to do art lessons, or a music teacher for music lessons.  If there's anything you aren't comfortable teaching, get some help. I know I am.