Does Anyone Have a Child with a Learning Disability?

i do not know if my kids have a learning disability but i know i do.. i was in Learning disabled classes and specal ed classes when i was in school all growing up i had problems learning i od have one thing to say. watch his report cards cause i know when i was in school i was help back in the 7th grade. but thay used to give me good grades just so thay would not have to deal with me the next year.. i had all kinds of prioblems im from connecticut and when my mom moved me to kansas when i started school thay did not like how i talked and stuff cuase i had an accent and stuff but i droped out in the 8th grade

Hi,
Well our stories sound so much alike. I have a 12 year old son that has always struggled in school. He failed the first grade and went through Sylvan's learning center for a year and has always had a tutor. About 2 years ago, he started seeing this lady who told me that he had "language processing disorder". Well, I kinda blew her off because it seemed like everyone had a diagnose for him. But after another person told me over the phone that had never met my son, told me that what I was describing to her, it sounded like a "language processing disorder" than I really thought alot about it. He has trouble in just about every subject, except spelling. He is a whiz at spelling. After the 4th grade, he failed the leap test. He did well during the year and passed all his subjects but because of the leap, he would of had to repeat 4th grade and I was determined to find someone to help him. I did not let him go to summer school because I knew he could not pass the reading part. So I found a local private school and this year he started there. He is so happy and his confidence level has gone up more than I can tell you. The teachers are awesome. He has a tutor for every subject and his teachers even oral test him. Thats something that public schools would not even consider. He always goes to speech therapy twice a week there. Thats also something I fought for in the past but because it was not on his "IEP" they would not do it. Well, even though school is still a huge struggle for him, we have come to the conclusion that its OK to be the way he is. I would never punish him for his grades. I had a meeting friday with his teachers and principal. He is passing the 5th grade but only with modified grades. In other words, if it wasn't for his teachers bending over backwords to help him with his test, then he would be failing. So what we have decided to do for 6th grade, because he will have mid term exams next year, we will try the first 9 weeks with grades, and then if we see that he has hit a wall, and can't go any further, they will put him on a "S" "N" and "U" program. He will no longer have grades. And this means that he can not fail. He will still be doing the same work, but atleast he would see a "F" on this tests. I know that he will never be able to past the leap test and being in private school, thats one less worry for him. Its so hard to see him struggle and I'm sure it is the same for you and your child. Look into this disorder: Language Processing Disorder. Our kids sound so much alike. Just know that its not his fault. I cry often but I know that he tries and at this point, its not a matter of how he gets through school, its just to get him through school.
I hope this helps, and please keep in touch with me and let me know if this helps!
N.

Hi there G.. Your problem sounds slightly similar to my 9 yr old daughters. She struggled with reading comprehension, spelling, and math. We would work with her every evening for hours only to have her fail her spelling and math tests each week. We finally had a coming to Jesus meeting with her teachers and school when they told us that she was failing the 4th grade and that she wouldn't pass the leap test(Which we are still holding our breath while waiting for the results). Her school infered that we had failed at home since she wasn't turning her class work in(She kept on forgetting it or loosing it at school even after I put it in her backpack personally every night). We wondered if she might be dislexic as well so we had her tested for that and were told that she wasn't. We also had her tested for ADD, and it was determined that she did indeed have ADD. After she started on Strattera(her smart pill as she calls it) her grades rose from D's and F's to A's B's and C's. We are hopefull that she has passed her leap test and therefore the 4th grade, but if not we will back up and regroup for next year. I am not sure if this helps at all or not, but good luck with your son and the rest of your family.

It sounds like your little boy isn't having trouble because he isn't bright, but because he is a different type of learner. If you can get your hands on a book called, "The Way They Learn" by Tobias, it may help in your understanding of what is going on with him. Sometimes, too, there is a disconnect in the way the neurotransmitters send messages to the brain. There is a company called Learning RX that deals with these types of issues all the time, and can probably help him a great deal (it is not tutoring, but actually trains the brain differently). Just because he was tested and they haven't figured out what is going on with him, don't give up! It just means they don't know. I would recommend looking into homeschooling him, because it will take the pressure off of everyone. If you are already spending 3 hrs. at night doing homework, then homeschooling would be a wonderful option. This kind of pressure on a kid his age for very long will cause him to give up, and he is way too bright for that.

ok, so i'm not the end all be all resource when it comes to kids and their learning styles, but i do have a mother in special ed. and i was in enrichment/gifted classes all my life and treated for adhd while my sister was gifted and dyslexic. soi've had experince with all kinds of leaning styles and problems in a first hand or second hand nature.

if you find that your child works better in a hands on environment or in a visual enviornment, i would go ahead and test that theory by having him take a learning styles inventory (easily found on the web). from there i would work with his teachers and resourse teachers if neccessary to build a curriculum that mirrors the one given to regular students but is presented in a way that he can grasp. it might be the only chance your child has of not being left behind in the grades to come. if you find a method that works, be it finding and conducting science experiments around concepts that he's learning in math/science classes, or having him visualize or make models/dioramas of the stories presented in reading/english. if you get a sytem down now, then he'll be more successful where it counts (in highschool, and eventually college). there are laws to help parents in every state to make your kid's teachers help them or make modifications to help them with their learning disabilities. it does take an extra effort to get them enforced, but it's worth it. good luck.

My son is 13 and he has always had problems in school.They tested him at school early on for Everything .In the end they said he was a little munipulative and there was really nothing wrong with him.But yet we struggled.The six hour homework sessions will drive you crazy.I started noticing that when he was interested in what it was there was no problems but if he thought it was boring he would try not to do the work.I had to call him out on it and get kinda rough.I stopped sitting with him the whole time.I'd stay close to make sure he keeps going but told him, you can do this, you have done this ,you will do this.Once he knew I wasn't going to hold his hand through the whole thing and he was wasting his fun time it got better.Pointing out what he could be doing instead I think helped the most.I still have to get all drill sargent with him on occasion but he does alot better now.

Have you considered homeschool? I know that homeschooling doesnt work for some families, but if your son is a visual learner, then you could teach him in that way. I know public school is notorius for teaching kids all the same thing in the same way, and if a few kids dont learn the matierial as quickly they just keep going.
Best Wishes
Manda

Hi, my son too has a learning disablility. He started K. early and we had to hold him back. He was diagnosed finally with ADHD and had to be put on Adderall. He struggles with academics, yet can too recite everything from a movie he has watched a week ago! It takes a lot of time and patients to do homework and even just explaining the easiest day to day things....all I can tell you is give it time. It will get easier as he gets older. These kind of kids just need love and patience. I'm right there with you sweetie...I'm 30, and deal with this every day with my son..he is 8, fixing to turn 9. It is a very hard road. I will pray for you!

Hello my son is 7 and having some of the same problems. We too have had him tested by the school and outside doctor . They want him to get a MRI to rule out any problems there. We held him back in Kindergarden and hopefully soon with them changing his classes to smaller groups he will do better. Not a Answer just comment

I have an 11 year old son who has many of the same problems your son has. When he was in his second year of Kindergarden we had him tested and found out he has Autism. Now that the school has all the information from the psychiatrist they are able to better help him. My son is in regular classes but with a twist...if his teachers or he notices something he is struggling with he goes to the special aide teacher who helps him in her ways and so far it is doing him WONDERS!!! Every year we go in for ARD meetings with the principle, teachers, speach therepist, behavorial specialist, and special aide dept. and we go over his scedules and things we can all do to help him and with the exception of 2 years in Kindergarden he has passed all his classes and advances w/o many problems. They also have special testing situations set up for him to help with TAS testing and other state mandated testing so he has a better chance of passing. These ladies have been wonderful with him and have helped us be able to help him with homework better so we are all less stressed out, even him! Hope this helps some. If you need any other information just contact me and I'll let you know everything I know about Autism and how to deal with and Autistic child. I say this because the way you describe your son is the way I would have described my son at that age and even would describe him today but w/o the problems at school because we now know what to do so his schooling is WAY better then it was. PS. That borderline disability thing needs to be looked at by someone other than a regular DR. try a psycologist or psychiatrist they may say different and most schools will pay for it if none of their testing does any good. A.

I have twins that are 7 and a 15 year old son that has the same problems. We had to get him a tutor that was a woman from Harding University. She really helped him in areas that we haven't even thought of. He now has all B's in school which is alot better than F's. Good Luck G.. I hope this helps you. If you are not close to Harding then maybe another college.

Does he have an IEP or a 504 plan to help him? What do you mean he's borderline learning disabled? Disabled in what way? Who made that diagnosis? What did tthey recommend that you do?

If you haven't had him evaluated by a professional whose training is in learning disabilities, I urge you to do that. A developmental pediatrician and/or child psychologist.

Work with the teacher to find ways to help him. My grandchildren are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. My grandson has oother diagnoses as well. Both childrens teachers said to spend 15-30 minutes on homework and then quit. The teacher can approve variations for your son. An IEP or 504 makes having variations easier and they can be more complete. All of my grandchildren's teachers said that spending more than the required time on homework is not productive. Time is 15 minutes in early grades and 30 starting in 3rd grade, I think.