The only word BoyTwo is supposed to know is 'the'. This was the only sight word we worked on the. entire. summer. Every. single. day. Multiple times a day. We read it. We wrote it. We spelled it out loud. We pointed it out wherever we went. 'THE'. One word. We still work on this word every. single. day. He worked on it at school last year. He has worked on it this year. After all, it is the number one sight word in the English language.
This is his reading homework. I read all the other words. He reads 'the' and sometimes wants and will sound out other words.
'The Cats and the Cart'
Tom is a farm hand.
Tom has a farm cart.
A card is on the cart.
Tom puts eggs in his cart.
Tom runs off to get a tart.
Tom is far from the cart.
The cats are at the cart.
See all the blue the's??? Those are the ones that he read. Yes, he had to think about it for a couple seconds, but he read it. Or remembered it. Or whatever he does.
See the red the? He had NO IDEA what that word was. For three minutes he tried to remember. I gave hints (it's the only word we practiced this summer, you just read it five other times, etc) until finally I just told him. People, he read the damn word three words before!
QUIT TELLING ME THAT THIS IS NORMAL AND THAT IT IS ELL RELATED.
I am about to go ape.
I totally feel your pain. Amelia did the exact same thing last year! I have no idea why or what caused it, but it was like she just spaced out or something. So very frustrating...wish I had advice for you :(
ReplyDeleteSee? I don't see why the school won't give more help? We had the same dang thing with Alex. For him it was a bit advanced compared to Boy Two - it was vowels. We went through the list of vowels -forward and backward - over and over and he would get it. For a day or two but then if you asked him a couple of days later? No idea even what a vowel was, let alone a list of them.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get any help in the schools. Even with his teachers backing me up about his retention issues.
We're doing a lot better now - still significantly delayed but so much better.
The only plausible explanation that I was given was that learning English was all his brain could handle. That he pushed everything out to grasp the English language. But your "the" story? Come on?? That is just not right.
(As much as I hate it when people ask me this) You might want to have him tested? Have you? Outside of school? I'm sure it's expensive and that I am being a hypocrite because I've never had Alex tested but maybe his mind is racing and he needs ADD meds? I hate meds too but for sanity sake, it might be worth it?
He's on ADHD meds. It has helped a little, I think? Hard to tell because I only send him to school for two hours. Im not giving him the chance to screw up/putting him in the situation that he cannot handle. After last year, it's all anybody can handle. He comes home, we eat lunch, I work with him one on one, he takes a 2-3 hour nap and still goes to bed at 8:15. I do want to have him tested. Yeah. It's way expensive. Right now I'm paying for testing for three though. Besides I can't figure out what to have him tested for!!! IMO he needs physical therapy (for drooling, holding his neck and head up, raising his arms), ot (for copying words off of board or paper for example), speech therapy (he literally cannot move his mouth. I thought it was habitual which is probably how it started but now we practice opening our mouth and moving our tongue, tracing our lips with our tongue, etc), counseling (for the ADHD and ODD), and we haven't even started on his list of academic struggles!!! I think it's all related. Is it FAS? Major developmental delays (this is quite likely but I am not trained or knowledgeable enough to coach him through all this!)? I could take him to a neurologist which our insurance would help cover. They'd run a bunch of tests and send me' to a neuropsych (I am 100% sure of this) which our insurance does NOT cover do I'd have to appeal. Does this wear you out? I know it does because I know you've gone through this! I spent four hours on the phone yesterday w/ neuropsych offices, my insurance, psychiatrists, psychologists, PCMC, U of U UNI, and finally some guy named Tom who told me to start w/ the neurologist route. He was by FAR the most helpful person. Sigh
ReplyDeleteSteph,
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing person and have invested so much of your life in the children that you have adopted and it makes me look like a slacker! We went through this problem and a million others and the only advice I can give you is to not get tripped up with the disappointment you feel when their brains aren't quite all there. Things WILL get better and I think the day will come when you will actually wonder why you wondered if they would ever make it in life. It may not be worth all the money and time to get a label for the problems when there may not be an immediate solution for the problems you get diagnosed.
We have had a lot of frustration with the word "the" First the boys couldnt pronounce it and still say THAUGh on occasion. They they overused it all the time (no wonder people say they are from "the" Ukraine) and now our oldest one leaves it out of sentences on a regular basis.
I hope your frustrations become fewer and farther between soon.
All the best
Christy
Hi Steph, my son has been here 4 and a half years and he is at college and he still can't remember THE. I work on the children's unit at the state hospital and I have seen every diagnosis that you are worried about. He might benefit more from an OT than a PT. Your school will provide some of these services, but you might want to check the resources through your mental health liason. Many of these services are covered. I agree with Christy that putting a label doesn't always help and sometimes hurts, but it can get you the funding. Sometimes they are just making a best guess and they are often wrong. Please call if there is anything I can do. The services are out there, it is just such a trick to get them.
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ReplyDeleteMy step brother had a lot of issues with food, in particular the chemicals in processed lunch meats used to really mess with him. For example he once randomly forgot how to spell his last name, and his scores on his spelling test at school were lower than his practice test he'd taken at home the day before. He also couldn't handle red food dye, his eyes would literally glaze over and it made his behavior terrible! Maybe it might be worth a try to keep a food journal?
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