vent--summer school, little progress

[RaeAnne]

UPDATE IN LAST POST! I have been summer schooling my niece, age 9, unofficial FASD. She is a year behind in math, according to her ps teacher. She also dramatically drops her reading level every single summer because she is not reading consistently (FASD kids often have retention issues). She is not worked with at home, and they refuse to get her tested to get her the help she needs. I chose to summer school her to help her get a little caught up. I have been working with her for a month and a half, five days a week, and she still doesn't have skip counting down. We've only done 3, 6, and 9!!! We still have 4, 7, and 8 for her to know 1-10. I am so frustrated! I feel like I need to prove myself, that I can work more effectively with her than they do in ps. At this rate, she will have almost NOTHING to show for an ENTIRE SUMMER of work. :( I added multiple digit multiplication, which will hopefully stick, and I hope to reinforce division. Having her read will keep those skills up, so she won't need major tutoring and pull-out classes this fall (AGAIN, when she is actually a little bit AHEAD in reading by the end of the year!). I know these things matter, but because I have no homeschooling experience (just a ton of research), I am really doubting that I've been doing the right thing. :( She must have learned more in ps than she has this summer in the same amount of time...unless her disability is worse than we thought. Sigh. I don't know what to do. I've asked what they felt was the most important, and they didn't mention a whole lot. Should I just focus on something else, maybe fractions, and only do brief review for the multiplication? I have to drive to her house every day, she doesn't like doing it, her family "feels bad for her," even though she has 12 hours a day to play even when I come. :glare:

Maybe this post should really be called "gee, it's certainly surprising, challenging, frustrating, and heart breaking to work with the child you love who has a disability." :(

Ftr, I have her skip count aloud with me, alone, writing it down in order, and practice in actual multiplication problems. Her short-term memory seems excellent to me, in that I can write the new set, have her say them a few times, erase each number one by one, and very quickly, she can say all of them perfectly! It's the next day/week/month that is the problem.

[LisaTheresa]

Since she forgets so much every summer, it seems as though you could benefit her most just by keeping her skills sharp. It sounds like you have had success with that with her reading. Maybe you should find some worksheets to do on her grade level and do that for math instead of focusing so much on skip counting? Some kids take forever to learn things like skip counting and math facts, so it's not terribly surprising that she hasn't gotten this down.

My stepdaughter is similar to your niece in that she would forget everything she learned over the summer and get further and further behind each year. Just working with her over the summer to keep things fresh was helpful for her when she started the next school year.

Lisa

[siloam]

I will let you in on a game in the Right Start game book, because I think it will help your dd a lot. Treasure Hunt: Take 3 x 5 cards and write the just the numbers of a set of fact, till you have 10 cards. (You don't need to write the whole problems out.) So for 3 you would do 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30. Then take them and put them around the house, in plain sight (you don't want ANY frustration because she can't find a card) face down, then have her find them in order. If she finds a number that isn't in order she has to leave it there till she works her way up to it.

It should be fun for her, not super involved for you (you just put them out for her), it is multi-sensory thus creating more paths in the brain to the information to encourage recall, and will just give her a break from what you have been doing.

Just because she isn't getting it quickly doesn't mean she won't. Just keep swimming.....

Heather

[Ottakee]

I know this is frustrating but sad to say, this is the nature of FASD. Math is VERY VERY tough for most of them. They "get" it one day and by the next it is "gone".

I don't think you are failing her at all. This is likely mostly FASD issues. Also, as they get older, the school work becomes more abstract and that is much harder for these kids as well.

You don't want to give up too soon on these kids but at some point you say, get out multiplication chart or a cacluator and go on. That point though varies from child to child. Time and money concepts can be hard as well.

FASD can be very hard as these kids "look" normal, often come across as normal, etc. but once you get to know them well, you see the little (or not so little) effects of the alcohol on them.

My 21ds has FAS. He looks normal, can race a dirt bike with the best of them, etc. but can't count change, figuring out time is hard, doesn't even know his basic addition facts, etc. He doesn't "get" many jokes as they are too abstract for him. Now, you give him something mechanical and he can take it apart, put it back together again, etc. He can do well with tools, etc.

[RaeAnne]

Since she forgets so much every summer, it seems as though you could benefit her most just by keeping her skills sharp. It sounds like you have had success with that with her reading. Maybe you should find some worksheets to do on her grade level and do that for math instead of focusing so much on skip counting? Some kids take forever to learn things like skip counting and math facts, so it's not terribly surprising that she hasn't gotten this down.


Thank you for this. You are right. I need to have a different set of expectations. If she doesn't drop so much over the summer, then I WILL have shown that my efforts were worthwhile. Too bad they will probably just take that as proof that she doesn't really have a problem, and therefore doesn't really need to be tested. :glare:

You don't want to give up too soon on these kids but at some point you say, get out multiplication chart or a cacluator and go on. That point though varies from child to child. Time and money concepts can be hard as well.

These are all areas she has struggled with, of course. She couldn't even tell time at the beginning of the summer. I realized after a few practice times with her that she didn't even understand WHY she was supposed to count by five for each number (i.e. didn't know each dash was one minute, with five dashes per number). I also realized she can't skip count by 2's past 20, she has to mentally add two each time. Thank you for this "permission." You are right. Her world will NOT end if she can't multiply without a calculator. You know what? I am SO proud of her that she even understands what multiplication IS, you know? She understands what she is doing, she just doesn't have a method to get there. Little victories, right? ;)

My 21ds has FAS. He looks normal, can race a dirt bike with the best of them, etc. but can't count change, figuring out time is hard, doesn't even know his basic addition facts, etc. He doesn't "get" many jokes as they are too abstract for him. Now, you give him something mechanical and he can take it apart, put it back together again, etc. He can do well with tools, etc.

YES! There are stupid little jokes on the back of this multiplication game she has, the one where you wrap the string around to make each problem line up with the answer? And there were several that she had to ask me about. She didn't understand them. I'm not around kids her age very often, so I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it just seemed like a very FASD/abstract concept thing to me.

My niece is such an excellent candidate for homeschooling, you know? Then the expectations could be adjusted to HER abilities. I could know she isn't missing something just because she is distracted by other kids, or because she needs more time to practice. Her family just doesn't admit that there is a real problem though. They won't even get her tested, so the school will have to serve her learning style better. This is the root of my frustration, really. I am the only one who is aware, who is trying to do what is necessary. One summer isn't enough time to fix it all, especially when so much of it really CAN'T be "fixed." :(

[lgm]

>> I also realized she can't skip count by 2's past 20, she has to mentally add two each time

This is fantastic. Does she know her add. facts or is she counting up?


Using multimodal, multisensory techniques are helpful in the long term as the brain seems to make lasting connections when more than one method is used. Starting with concrete, then moving to pictorial and abstract is also helpful.
so for ex. with skip counting it would be helpful to have her draw the number in the sand or on a marker board or trace it on sandpaper or to move a quantity of beads over next to a number while she's reciting.

[RaeAnne]

This is fantastic. Does she know her add. facts or is she counting up?

She is just counting two more each time. She doesn't have addition facts memorized.

Using multimodal, multisensory techniques are helpful in the long term as the brain seems to make lasting connections when more than one method is used. Starting with concrete, then moving to pictorial and abstract is also helpful.
so for ex. with skip counting it would be helpful to have her draw the number in the sand or on a marker board or trace it on sandpaper or to move a quantity of beads over next to a number while she's reciting.

This is something I need to try more. It seems very laborious to me, but that is because this is not my own learning style. I am a very direct person. I have MUS, and I don't even use the manipulatives (yes, sort of a waste in hindsight) because "telling her" is enough to make her understand the process. Unfortunately, it is not enough to also make her remember the steps.

[RaeAnne]

Thank you so much for your help, everyone! I especially taking to heart the advice that just going over what she already knows will make a big difference this fall, and that sometimes you just have to let them use a calculator because that is where they are at.

I will keep going with skip counting until we have covered all numbers (only three left!), but we will review by writing all numbers in order then erasing the one by one. She does well with this, so I'm not going to stress about trying to do things that just leave us both a little frustrated. It is better than nothing! ;) I am also going to lower my standards a little concerning what she learns in math. She is capable of learning multiple digit multiplication, so this will be my new skill taught this summer. LOL We are reviewing division, starting with the "easy" problems, and she REQUESTED a second workbook page. How refreshing! :D

I am much more optimistic now. I really wish I could homeschool her so there wouldn't be any outside absolute standards in the first place, but that is out of my hands. Oh well. :chillpill: LOL