Re: Having trouble with numbers

[Guest guest]

Hi Dara,

I spent the last 20 minutes typing a response to your question and then my

computer hang and lost it....

I am too tired to try again at this point, you are welcome to call me at

. , I will be very happy to help you out.

I taught my son how to count, and he is non-verbal. I am also teaching him

how to read the calendar and days/week, months/year...etc.

Having trouble with numbers

> Hi all, I have a question. Sammy is 5 and he has no concept of numbers.

> He can count to twenty (if he chooses to) but he cannot recognize the

> symbols. Every once in a while he can. In school he was supposed to

> guess how many pennies were in a jar (100) and he guessed 3. His teacher

> took out 3 pennies to show him and then he guessed 5. He also struggles

> with the days of the week and the date. Even after everyone else has said

> it he cant remember it.

> What kind of help should I get for him. We have been working on it at

> home forever and he still doesnt get it. Is there a specific type of

> therapy that helps with these kinds of concepts? Keep in mind that he is

> extremely defiant at home with us so outside help is absolutely necessary!

> Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

> Thanks,

> Dara

>

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

> Texas Autism Advocacy

> www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

>

> Texas Disability Network

> Calendar of Events

> www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

[Guest guest]

Check out www.halo-soma.org. Soma has written a manual on how to teach

using the RPM approach. Her non verbal son Tito and my limited verbal

son as well as thousands of others have used this method to learn math.

Two years ago one of our IEP goals was to fill in numbers on a chart to

100 leaving many spaces filled in. He never mastered it using the ABA

approach. Today, he's included in Algebra in 8th grade and has a 97

average. Call HALO and talk to Trish and see if either Soma or the

intern a can get your little guy in. You might also want to wait and

watch for when camps start up in the summer this is a great time to

learn RPM and you'll leave with DVD's to show your school that in fact

your child can learn. What my son can " and will " say on verbally is

quite different than what he can say on the letterboard and number

board. I wish more of us had the verbal ability of Temple but that

doesn't mean our minds work differently so knowledge and learning are

still the core focus that is why it is so important to find a method

that will enable your child to communicate fully. Certainly earlier is

better so that like Tito he can be independent in his writing or typing

as soon as possible but anyone can learn with RPM at any age. And

behavior is not a requirement, RPM is not a tool to modify behavior but

it does remarkably after several sessions make even the most aggressive

person more engaged in learning than on stimming or aggressive

outbursts. Everyone is welcome, everyone can learn.

Trina

Mouser wrote:

>

> Hi Dara,

>

> I spent the last 20 minutes typing a response to your question and

> then my

> computer hang and lost it....

>

> I am too tired to try again at this point, you are welcome to call me at

> . , I will be very happy to help you out.

>

> I taught my son how to count, and he is non-verbal. I am also teaching

> him

> how to read the calendar and days/week, months/year...etc.

>

>

>

> Having trouble with numbers

>

> > Hi all, I have a question. Sammy is 5 and he has no concept of numbers.

> > He can count to twenty (if he chooses to) but he cannot recognize the

> > symbols. Every once in a while he can. In school he was supposed to

> > guess how many pennies were in a jar (100) and he guessed 3. His

> teacher

> > took out 3 pennies to show him and then he guessed 5. He also struggles

> > with the days of the week and the date. Even after everyone else has

> said

> > it he cant remember it.

> > What kind of help should I get for him. We have been working on it at

> > home forever and he still doesnt get it. Is there a specific type of

> > therapy that helps with these kinds of concepts? Keep in mind that

> he is

> > extremely defiant at home with us so outside help is absolutely

> necessary!

> > Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

> > Thanks,

> > Dara

> >

> >

> >

> > ------------------------------------

> >

> > Texas Autism Advocacy

> > www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

> >

> > Texas Disability Network

> > Calendar of Events

> > www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org

[Guest guest]

Dara,When I read your post, I also thought of RPM as a means of teaching him these things.  I'm by far no expert, but have visited HALO and seen this method in action (it literally made me cry while watching), and I have been reading Soma's book.

That said, I would also find a way or person to have him tested to see if there is something functional going on.  Our children can have both auditory and visual processing disorders, so you have to consider what he is seeing.  Processing disorders have nothing to do with the functionality of the ears or eyes; these problems exist in the way the brain processes the information from the ears or eyes.

I have a visual processing disorder.  I have very little depth perception.  Something in my brain cannot make sense of the information it receives from my right eye, so what does my brain do?  Past four feet in front of me, my brain " throws out " the information from the right eye and only processes the information from my left eye.  This phenomenon is called " suppression. "

For years, doctors made me wear glasses that did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to improve the " eye sight. "   It was a waste.  You can't fix a visual processing disorder with glasses!  If you gave me a test on telling how far one object is away from another, I would probably fail.

If your child is having visual distortions, Irline (sp?) lenses might help.  I know my son is able to read print better with a blue overlay (the lenses are not cheap, so I made overlays out of clear, colored dividers). 

So, try a different methodology (RPM) and also look into what might be going on brain wise as well.  You might look for sunglasses with different colored lenses just to see if this helps.Haven