Re: 12 yr old son with apraxia dealing with pre-teen problems

[Guest guest]

>hello my son is 12 too please e-mail me would love to chat

> My son is 12 and has verbal apraxia/limb dyspraxia due to

kernicterus.

> I know so much about apraxia/dyspraxia I could probably write a

book.

> What I don't know is how to deal with a 12 yr old with apraxia.

It's

> never really been a big deal to r that he had

apraxia/dyspraxia. He

> kind of just accepted it and went on. Now it's bothering him.

Anyone

> else that has a pre-teen pls share any advice you have on helping

them

> deal with being a pre-teen with apraxia.

> Also, anyone have any ideas on what I can do about reading and

> stuttering? He's still on 1st grade level in reading. He has a

problem

> reading his own name at times. We've tried just about everything

but

> maybe someone has run across something I haven't tried. So anything

> that's worked for your child let me know. And the stuttering

started

> about a month ago, he's never had this problem before. Any advice

you

> have I'll take.

>

> Thanks!

> dette

>

[Guest guest]

> >hello my son is 12 too please e-mail me would love to chat

> > My son is 12 and has verbal apraxia/limb dyspraxia due to

> kernicterus.

> > I know so much about apraxia/dyspraxia I could probably write a

> book.

> > What I don't know is how to deal with a 12 yr old with apraxia.

> It's

> > never really been a big deal to r that he had

> apraxia/dyspraxia. He

> > kind of just accepted it and went on. Now it's bothering him.

> Anyone

> > else that has a pre-teen pls share any advice you have on

helping

> them

> > deal with being a pre-teen with apraxia.

> > Also, anyone have any ideas on what I can do about reading and

> > stuttering? He's still on 1st grade level in reading. He has a

> problem

> > reading his own name at times. We've tried just about everything

> but

> > maybe someone has run across something I haven't tried. So

anything

> > that's worked for your child let me know. And the stuttering

> started

> > about a month ago, he's never had this problem before. Any

advice

> you

> > have I'll take.

> >

> > Thanks!

> > dette

> >

>http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/kernicterus.htm

Have you tried a social support group that he can attend, with you.

Possibly his stuttering maybe because he is more aware of himself

trying to communicate with others, maturing,friends? You might want

to talk with a speech therapist on this too? Jeanne

[Guest guest]

I have a 12 year old soon to be 13. I had the same problem with reading at the

1st grade level. I am fed up with the school and have hired a private tutor.

She is using MoodBell LiPs and Visualizing and verbalizing, and SI. He

just started going the end of May. He is almost done learning all the letter

sounds and how to make them. Soon he will be getting to words and how to use

the letter combinations to read words. I will let you know how it goes. The

tutor sounds very optimistic.

Good Luck,

Lorraine

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " david-tammy marlow " <gootee65@...>

>hello my son is 12 too please e-mail me would love to chat

> My son is 12 and has verbal apraxia/limb dyspraxia due to

kernicterus.

> I know so much about apraxia/dyspraxia I could probably write a

book.

> What I don't know is how to deal with a 12 yr old with apraxia.

It's

> never really been a big deal to r that he had

apraxia/dyspraxia. He

> kind of just accepted it and went on. Now it's bothering him.

Anyone

> else that has a pre-teen pls share any advice you have on helping

them

> deal with being a pre-teen with apraxia.

> Also, anyone have any ideas on what I can do about reading and

> stuttering? He's still on 1st grade level in reading. He has a

problem

> reading his own name at times. We've tried just about everything

but

> maybe someone has run across something I haven't tried. So anything

> that's worked for your child let me know. And the stuttering

started

> about a month ago, he's never had this problem before. Any advice

you

> have I'll take.

>

> Thanks!

> dette

>

[Guest guest]

Nope we have no support groups here. We have to drive 4 hrs round trip

just to get ST for 30 minutes a week. During school we're lucky if we

get 1 hr a month with the school ST. His ST that we drive 2 hrs to see

didn't have an answer when I ask her about the stuttering.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Lorraine. I would appreciate an update on how the readings

going. I'm thinking of trying the Sylvia Learning Center, it's 2 hrs

away but we already drive 4 hrs round trip for speech so I guess we

could handle it. Have you ever tried Sylvia (that is how you spell it

isn't it)?

Bendette

[Guest guest]

No I haven't. I was told that Sylvan learning centers aren't meant for kids

with learning disabilities. I may be wrong though. My son's psychologist has

seen some kids make progress with Huntington Learning center though. If you try

Sylvan let me know how it goes.

Good Luck,

Lorraine

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " avoice4kyler " <avoice4kyler@...>

Thank you Lorraine. I would appreciate an update on how the readings

going. I'm thinking of trying the Sylvia Learning Center, it's 2 hrs

away but we already drive 4 hrs round trip for speech so I guess we

could handle it. Have you ever tried Sylvia (that is how you spell it

isn't it)?

Bendette

[Guest guest]

Dette,

Jeanne here.Are there any social groups that are run by ST in your

area, maybe other kids his age need help too? I will post your

message to the ST on my group list too, Maybe they know someone who

can help too.I don't know what area you live in.

>

> My son is 12 and has verbal apraxia/limb dyspraxia due to

kernicterus.

> I know so much about apraxia/dyspraxia I could probably write a

book.

> What I don't know is how to deal with a 12 yr old with apraxia.

It's

> never really been a big deal to r that he had

apraxia/dyspraxia. He

> kind of just accepted it and went on. Now it's bothering him.

Anyone

> else that has a pre-teen pls share any advice you have on helping

them

> deal with being a pre-teen with apraxia.

> Also, anyone have any ideas on what I can do about reading and

> stuttering? He's still on 1st grade level in reading. He has a

problem

> reading his own name at times. We've tried just about everything

but

> maybe someone has run across something I haven't tried. So

anything

> that's worked for your child let me know. And the stuttering

started

> about a month ago, he's never had this problem before. Any advice

you

> have I'll take.

>

> Thanks!

> dette

>

[Guest guest]

Bendette,

sorry to butt in, but having done Huntington and Sylvan for my

oldest, I would like to save you some money and try Oxford Learning

Center. Ideally, you would like to retrain the brain and see if

there are any obvious disabilities in the way of learning and

retaining all information learned. With that note, please get your

child evaluated by a developmental optometrist who will test both

vision, perceptual test, Dyslexia prescreening and cognitive

training. www.covd.org

will list a provider near you.

www.oxfordlearning.com has many centers. They have trained my

children to accommodate their learning disabilities. Oxford was the

only center that after diagnostic testing recommended further

testing be done based on the diagnostic. They are there to help the

child and if there is a deeper root to the problem (CAPD) they will

make a suggestion so that you are not wasting money on tutoring when

your child has other issues.

my two cents,

joanne

mother of 4, oldest on her way to college!

[Guest guest]

Joanne,

Thanks for butting in and confirming that Huntington and Sylvan learning centers

are a waste of money. I had thought about going there myself, with my son and

daughter.

I was told by my eye doctor that he would recommend 30 sessions of vision

therapy for my son. I am just trying to get the school to pay for it. I am

trying to get the school to pay for the moodbell tutoring as well. If

money wasn't a strain I would pay for him to go to the moodbell learning

center 4 hours a day 5 days a week. The fee is $5,000 a month, plus 160 miles a

day of transportation. I currently have an unsigned IEP. We didn't agree and

so I didn't sign it. My husband and I decided to pay for the tutoring so that

my son won't have to wait any longer to learn how to read. He is almost 13 and

the school wants us to believe that he has little potential. We believe he has

lots of potential, just they haven't provided the right program for him. I have

been told that if he does well with the tutoring, that I can take the school to

due process and get them to reimburse all the money we have spent on tutoring.

Protection and Advocacy told me that, that is proba

bly my only hope, since parents rarely win in due process anymore. So I pay for

the tutoring in hopes that we can prove the school wrong. was diagnosed

as MR for years, until we realized that he was really Severe Disorder of

Language. He has some non verbal average IQ, he even has an average IQ in

listening comprehension. I know my son has CAPD it was diagnosed 5 years ago.

I would be interested in looking into Oxford Learning Centers. I checked out

there website and see that they are in Southern California. I am about 5 hours

away.

Thanks again for the advice.

Lorraine

Mom to almost 13, almost 15, 16 1/2, and 25

-------------- Original message ----------------------

From: " howdiette " <mulholland34@...>

> Bendette,

>

> sorry to butt in, but having done Huntington and Sylvan for my

> oldest, I would like to save you some money and try Oxford Learning

> Center. Ideally, you would like to retrain the brain and see if

> there are any obvious disabilities in the way of learning and

> retaining all information learned. With that note, please get your

> child evaluated by a developmental optometrist who will test both

> vision, perceptual test, Dyslexia prescreening and cognitive

> training. www.covd.org

> will list a provider near you.

>

> www.oxfordlearning.com has many centers. They have trained my

> children to accommodate their learning disabilities. Oxford was the

> only center that after diagnostic testing recommended further

> testing be done based on the diagnostic. They are there to help the

> child and if there is a deeper root to the problem (CAPD) they will

> make a suggestion so that you are not wasting money on tutoring when

> your child has other issues.

>

> my two cents,

> joanne

> mother of 4, oldest on her way to college!

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Have you been on the READ Now messageboards? Theres a developmental

optometrist in Covina, Cali. He is very helpful and therapy is not

always required in his office. Here is one of his responses to a

mother who was looking for suggestions. Maybe a light bulb will go

off . . .

.. Please read the attached article and go to my website at

www.optometrists.org/stephey

2. In my optometric/vision therapy/educational/cognitive practice I

do NOT recommend in-office therapy unless inidicated. I DO use the

HTS program as part of a therapy program. Many OD's doing vision

therapy do like to do in-office work. I can't argue with that if

that's what it takes for the patient to be successful.

3. Vision therapy is ONLY controversial for those who don't know

what they're talking about or are in a position to have to pay for

it, i.e.- an insurance company or school district. Interestingly,

most insurance companies will pay for speech therapy, physical

therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, psychotherapy,

etc. BUT not vision therapy. Why? Generally, it's because

ophthalmology (medicine) has told the insurance industry it doesn't

work or simply because the insurance companies are looking for ways

to deny care and if anyone one gives them even the remotest reason

to do so they will. Educationally, a child may do speech therapy,

occupational therapy, and adaptive PE for years with little to

nothing to show for it. Go figure! Education's approach seems to

be " let's take a program that's not working and have the child do

more of it. "

4. go to www.oep.org and order a copy of the The Suddenly Successful

Student.

5. Go to www.amazon.com and order a copy of Reading Through Colour,

by Arnold Wilkins and Reading, Learning, and Behavior, by Sally

Goddard-Blythe. Also consider Smart But Feeling Dumb and the Upside

Down Kids, by Harold Levinson and Detoxify or Die and Depression

Cured at Last by Sherry , and The LCP Solution by

Stordy.

6. go to www.interactivemetronome.com to read about this aspect of

motor planning and also go to www.balametrics.com.

7. at least add fish oil to your daughter's diet. go to

www.drsears.com and order their capsules.

8. these reading issues are rarely about reading but rather the

underlying neurobiology that are the foundational skills of ANY

learning.

9. A child who can somewhat decode single words and sentences but is

lost in whole paragraph or whole page reading is screaming that

they have a visual problem which has gone undiagnosed and

unremediated. These children read sloowwlly, can't get words into

sight vocabulary so must sound out most words, have trouble with

reading comprehension, and typically spell phonetically rather than

accurately (visually), and often hate writing exercises such as

report writing.

Write to me or call to discuss any of these items.

Doug Stephey

626-332-4510

[Guest guest]

I used to work at a Sylvan Learning Center. At that time in the center I

worked at the method of tutoring was quite rigid, and as a tutor I worked

with 3 or 4 children at the same time on different subjects! So in one

hour each student was lucky to get just 20 mins of my time. For the price

I felt it was a rip-off for my students. At the time each parent would

spend $25/hr (and they paid me only $7!) I was also working privately

charging $12/hr for individual tutoring, but I was too ethical to steal

clients away from Sylvan. I worked with mostly high school and sometimes

middle school kids as my area of expertise is math and science as well as

study skills and confidence boosting (which with children at that age is

usually a big part of success.) I would help kids in other areas as well

if they had homework they needed help with as well, report writing,

etc. At Sylvan I had to follow their reading and math programs most of the

time and also did " homework support. " The system worked well for kids that

didn't have disabilities, just gaps in their learning and lack of confidence.

I'm not saying don't go to a Sylvan as with any tutor or center what

ultimately matters is the quality of the tutor and their ability to reach

your child. I just found as a tutor at Sylvan I didn't have the

flexibility in tutoring methods that I was used to having. As I said their

program (at the time, maybe it changed some?) is quite rigid, not for every

child. I also did not necessarily get the same student each session. One

session would be with me and the next with another tutor! Every

Sylvan center I have been to has also been a large room with multiple

tables and multiple tutors. For children who needed a quieter environment

it was difficult - too many soft voiced conversations going on at your

table or others tables. I would check if individual tutoring was an option

at the center you can go to.

For a child who is reading and doing math and just needs tutoring support I

will still recommend college referal programs. Parents got me and other

well trained tutors for dirt cheap when I was in college (I had four years

of training as an on campus tutor at my university.) But we weren't

trained in learning disabilities - just different learning styles and how

to find gaps in knowledge. Sounds like you need someone who will work with

your child to prevent getting these gaps in the first place!

Miche

At 10:01 PM 6/28/2006, you wrote:

>Thank you Lorraine. I would appreciate an update on how the readings

>going. I'm thinking of trying the Sylvia Learning Center, it's 2 hrs

>away but we already drive 4 hrs round trip for speech so I guess we

>could handle it. Have you ever tried Sylvia (that is how you spell it

>isn't it)?

>

>Bendette

>

>

[Guest guest]

I, too, worked at a sylvan-like place - huntington learning

centers. They all are set up much the same way: the child comes

in, is evaluated, a course schedule is established for them and then

the parents are asked to sign a contract agreeing to a certain

number of hours. I think the fees are now somewhere like $42/hr for

parents and the teachers make about $10. There is very little

flexibility - in fact, we were NOT allowed to stray from the

established curriculum, even when it was clear the kids weren't

getting it.

I was asked to assume the directorship of the one I worked at and

saw some of the innerworkings of it. I'm all for growing a

business, but they were just unethical - and it wasn't just our

franchise (and yes, they are all franchises). A child would come

in, be tested and there would be a range of hours needed to bring

them up to speed - say 100-150. We ALWAYS picked the higher number

AND the parents signed a contract agreeing to pay for that number of

hours. I work as a private tutor and I get between $20-$35 hr

depending on what I'm working on.

Don't be duped - go to craigslist and post asking for a

certified/master's degreed teacher to provide tutoring. Ask your

local school district. Don't be duped!

Marina

>

> >Thank you Lorraine. I would appreciate an update on how the

readings

> >going. I'm thinking of trying the Sylvia Learning Center, it's 2

hrs

> >away but we already drive 4 hrs round trip for speech so I guess

we

> >could handle it. Have you ever tried Sylvia (that is how you

spell it

> >isn't it)?

> >

> >Bendette

> >

> >

>

>

>