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Post by rw on Sept 25, 2009 11:58:21 GMT -5
suej, Thanks for sharing that checklist. Very interesting!
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Post by healthy11 on Sept 25, 2009 14:30:28 GMT -5
Ditto!
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Post by onemore2go on Dec 23, 2009 20:11:45 GMT -5
OMG!!!! This is a GREAT SITE!!!! Found the 'learning toolbox' SWEET!!!!!
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Post by healthy11 on Dec 24, 2009 14:40:39 GMT -5
onemore2go, we DO think this is a GREAT site...Several of us participate in more than one forum, and try to refer people here when we can; how'd you find Millermoms?
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Post by kc4braves on Jan 26, 2010 12:18:16 GMT -5
Well, Ihad written quite a bit when all my info disappeared. Not typing it all again. Just wanted to mention that I read a good article in ATTITUDE Magazine about teen boys with ADHD. It was enlightening in some ways. Some of it I already knew but it helps to hear someone say there is hope for our kids with executive dyfunction issues.
The article talked about how our boys with ADHD ( where exec dyfuction is prevalent)often struggle even more in school that their female counterparts and often need more help in school. They often refuse it in their attemptto be independent. ( We have been seeing this this semester w our son in 8th grade.)
They gave 4 points to consider: 1. We should find soomething they are good at and/or enjoy whether it is sports or music, etc. and play it up. Brag on them even if it is to say, " I'm proud of how you stuck with that." Then try to help them carry this over in other areas. {I try to do this but would appreciate ideas in how to make this carry over to writing or math.}
2. They pointed out that many of our boys already feel they may not be able to make it in the world when they grow up. That is the message they are recieving. They suggest pointing out successful adult ADHDers or mentors who might let a teen shadow them and see how they are successful in the workforce. { I would love to know how to find a good ADHD mentor.}
**3. The author suggests that many ADHD boys just can't get the organizational skills or handle the workload pushed on them at age 13 but by 15-16 progress is often seen. They begin to learn coping skills such as breaking assignments down, etc. They stated that we need to be patient with their progress and realize that they do not have to "get" everything by graduation. {This gave hope, but also the realization of just how long this road can be. I do wish teachers could realize that our kids may not reach the goals on the schools timeline.}
4. The last point was that we should try to let our teens make as many decisions for themselves as we can...that their failures and struggles may actually better prepare them for life than many of their "normal" peers.
This article kinda shed some light on what seems like such a struggle. It helps to see the forrest...not just the trees. I do wonder if anyone here can say that they have seen progress at 15-16. My son seemd to be making progress 1st semester, though, certainly not what I would call organized. However, this semester his executive dysfunction seems to be winning. I think we have both cried in the last week out of frustration. It seems to be affecting every class, and it mean we have to get more involved, and there goes his independence. Yesterday, I reminded him as he was leaving for the bus that he had to take the note ( in his hand) and the check stratight to the counseling office when he got to school. Even with timely reminder, note in hand, etc., he forgot to take care of it. ANother teacher sawit in the folder and had him take care of it later. He redid and outline for reading, thought he turned it in 3 days ago, and found it somewhere yesterday. Thankfully, he completed his book report early becasue he failed to turn it in yesterday. In a couple of classes he has been confused about directions given and even about which paper is late and how to get it redone. Science was never affected last sem and he has already lost a set of notes and turned in a paper late. It's just so frustrating for evryone. Oddly, in math, traditionally his worst class, he has held his own with a B. Strange...but he does have a wonderful teacher.
His english teacher drives us all crazy. Same one I complained about before. She has a peculiar way of running her class and strange directions which my dh and myself can rarely understand, so we aren't much help. She doesn't answer questions, gets upset when you email and meetiing with her really changed nothing. So, after grading my son wrong, ignoring some of his 504, sending papers home to be redone and redone and redone with 70 as highest possible mark, we have about excepted that this struggle, in this class, will not be won this year. I don't think it is benefitting my son do redo work over and over that was not late or lost, for this teacher at the expense of other classes and his life. It is just more stress added to his executive functioning ability. So I guess the article really made us feel better about our decisions with this class as well. He may not do well in english since we are going to quit jumping through hoops. He will continue to show respect and do his work timely and completely but...this may not be good enough for her. It will be for us even if he fails 2nd semester. We may have to hire a tutor to help with writing so he is prepared for 9th grade as much as possible, but the English grade is irrelavent. ( WOW! I can't believe I said that. This must be amjor break through...for me! haha)
Sorry to be long and as always I keep looking at organizational ideas posted here.
Kathy
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Post by healthy11 on Jan 26, 2010 17:31:03 GMT -5
kc4braves, I honestly can't say that I thought my son made much progress by 15-16, but by 17-18, as he neared graduation, his high school counselor commented that he thought my son seemed much more responsible and he "matured" a lot from his freshman/sophomore year. Not as many papers were being forgotten, etc.
Truthfully, at 19, I still think my son still seems less mature and less organized than many of his peers, but he is now "completely on his own" when it comes to handling his schoolwork in college. While he's not getting the good grades I think he's capable of, he's avoiding academic probation. He has an off-campus apartment this year, and he's figured out some way to cook and stay close to the budget we set for him. (I make sure the credit card and utility bill gets sent to home, though, since I'm not sure he'd remember to pay them on time.) I have to keep reminding myself that he may not be accomplishing everything at once, but he is managing to take important steps towards adulthood, and he has come a long way compared to where he was. (It's not a race, but a journey!)
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Post by mykids on Jan 26, 2010 22:38:23 GMT -5
We are dealing with organizational issues right now and although we have on the iep that teachers are to check that homework is written in planner, it does not always get done. We will be going into an iep meeting in a couple weeks and revisiting the study skills goal. I asked my son if having teachers check to make sure he has everything logged in his planner is helping and he said no because it is not always done.
I am wondering what can be done to help with organizational skills so that he can eventually be organized on his own. It seems right now we are just doing for him when he forgets and we are not consistantly doing it.
So how do you get a kid to be organized? Or is this just something that will maybe come on its own in its own time?
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Post by Mayleng on Jan 27, 2010 7:32:12 GMT -5
Structure, routine and practice practice practice. Your son also needs to take ownership. I find with my ADHDer if it is important to him (as with all teens), he will remember better. If he does not care, he won't pay attention enough to get things organized. He has been getting better and better every year. I do not do it for him. I tell him what to do and I let him do it (for the things at home). If he leaves wrappers etc on the table in the kitchen, I will call him to come all the way down from upstairs and throw it away even though I can easily do it. If he leaves his homework or book out, I will tell him to put it in his backpack and watch him do it, I will not physically do it. I think this helped my son, the physical act of having to do these things. He is in 8th grade now, and have not forgotten or lost any of his homework or assignments. He gets into a routine and as long as the classes are structured ie teachers have their system of doing things like submitting homework, giving out assignments etc. he generally "gets it" after a couple of months. Beginning of the school year is always tough on him because he would just be learning and figuring out each individual teachers' system and "way of talking" so he understands them. But once he gets it he is OK for the rest of the year.
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Post by kc4braves on Jan 27, 2010 13:08:05 GMT -5
Well, I was hoping to hear that maturity would help and that great strides were seen at certain ages, but i kinda figured it is a slow process with baby steps.
Mykids, I feel like we are in similar situations. I have worked hard for years trying to help him organize. Standing over him while he loaded his folders and backpack, completed homework and put away, verbally went over expectations, wrote notes and had him write notes in agenda and on stickies to try to remind him of things, used reward charts, and so forth. We have struggle with the fact that even in elem school they used different organizational styles each year and were unbending if what they wanted didn't work for your child. Now each teacher seems to have a different way and with 6 teachers, I can't keep track of them all. He finally got the way his history teacher wanted things last year ( as long as we had him check ofr lose papers and file) but only one teacher this year uses similar system. He has done pretty well in that class until this point but has dropped the ball a few times this semester.
I don't know the answer. I often feel there isn't one. I have been trying to ask him, "What do you think will help?" His biggest complaint about everything at school is that he is too rushed to do anything right. We ask why papers are stuck here and there and we get, " I don't have time. When the bell rings I have to grab stuff and run." We ask why certain binders didn't make him home..." I would have missed the bus." We ask why he didn't make it to the counselors office to turn in permission slip or NJHS dues and it is always the same, " I don't have time." This seems to be his big problem or what he percieves as his big problem and I really do not know how to fix it. I think he may not be quite as rushed as he feels but it is pretty tight. He has a terrible feer of being tardy or missing the bus, too. Doing things at lunch is difficult becasue they get 30 mins including getting there and standing in line and he NEEDS to eat. We keep telling him that even if he sticks things away quickly, to stick them in the right binder at least.
His next issues is that if he has to bring every binder home to organize, he is loaded down. His back pack, as big as it is, holds only 2 of these huge binders they require that he rarely uses. Right now he brings everything in the folder that he has dubbed the tracking sheet/homework folder. It is hard to get the stuff back to the right binder though for binder checks. Yesterday he wanted to go with us to his sister's basketball practice. He still had things to do so I had him bring the folder. He sorted it all in the bleachers, put paper clips on each subject and organized based on what classes had something to run in. Best I have seen him do. I told him to bring home the English binder ( since we are having issues with the teacher) and one other binder ( his choice) and we will try filing that way each nite. We shall see. I also spent about 15 mins coaching him on how to ask his teacher ( the one I feel like choking) for help. I don't know if it will help but I can't talk to her so if he is to imrpove, HE will have to talk. He said that he told her he did not understand and she was sarcastic. I told him to show her that he redid the part that we finally figured out then to tell her specifically what he doesn't understand. Something like: "I understand now how to use the rubric but I do not understand the paragraph planning that you would like me to do on numbers 6-8. " If she shoots him down again, at least he will have tried.
As for the 504, we put, with advice from the 504 group of teachers, etc., our son in team taught classes for all core subjexts this year. The primary reason was to have someone at school reinforcing the organization. Well, that has been a mixed bag. Some TA's do too much FOR him others seem to do nothing. We wanted him doing everything himself physically but with reinforcement for the TA or teacher as needed until he got the routine on his own. The tracking sheet is also to be signed by the teacher. One class has never done it claiming he doesn't give it to her. She is supposed to ask for it until he remembers but....one class complies for a while if there is a problem and I remind them. He actually remembers for a couple of classes..it's all just hit and miss.
And then there is the teacher that tells him she plans to treat him like a normal student unless his parents don't like that. Actually 2 have used this terminology. I just always want to go and ask, exactly what is "normal"? And why would you imply to him that he is abnormal? They were both well meaning teachers, though, who really are trying to do right by him.
It is such a thin line to walk to get the most for your child..to make him as independent as he can be with the highest level of work he can handle but still get the accomodations needed to make him successful. One of my friends who teaches as a very good private school in twon, asked if he had much homework. She had noticed kids at the middle school bus stop that never had books and she found that odd. I told her that I don't think they have as much as we had but that Tyler has plenty. I honestly don't know if he is being prepared for college or not but I don't know that he could handle much more ( and my executive function is beiing stretched trying to help everyone). Maybe the schoo load will increase as his maturiyt level increases and he can get it. Tons of homework isn't necessarily all that in my book....especially for a kid who has a limited number of hours to focus. So while my dream would be to put him in private school next year, they are all so advanced and so built upon techniques they have taught since first grade. So I see him struggling more and more. I went to private school and really benefitted from smaller classes and would love the same opportunities for him but... The two I have considered feel that every child will learn to do all of it...no accomodating...just work work until you finally get it.... and it concerns me. I would love something between public school and that but...it's not a perfect world.
I wish there was a med that would help more with this part of ADHD but for now, I guess we are stuck. I wish you luck in finding what works for you kids. Mayleng, I am so happy tht your son is getting it. Maybe mine will too.
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Post by mykids on Jan 27, 2010 14:00:15 GMT -5
not sure if in our case it is truly an organizational problem. I'm still trying to figure this out. He usually brings home what he needs to do. Sometimes he forgets things at school I would say on average once or twice a month. Mostly he forgets to write in his planner what he is to do for homework, but he usually will remember and have what he needs to get it done. Sometimes he may not do all the problems or he may do more than what is needed because he does not remember exactly but remembers enough to be accepted by teacher.(I'm guessing because he is not getting in trouble for not doing & turning in the work) I think this will all change next year for him when he enters middle school.
He has seperate folders for each subject and a homework folder. He never uses the folders because the few times he did he forgot them at school and was unable to do his homework at home. Now he just shoves all his loose homework papers in his backpack and somehow it all gets turned in. At least I am not hearing otherwise. I wonder if I should be saying this works for him and not worry about whether or not teachers are checking for accuracy or checking to see if things are logged and legible in his planner. As long as it is getting done or close to getting done, should be good enough?
kc4braves - my son also has difficulties when he is rushed. The other day he was not bringing his planner to class with him. When teacher asked where it was he said he looked for it at school and could not find it so he must have left it at home. I personnaly put it in his backpack (as I do everynight) so I knew it was at school. I had him look for it the next day at school and he found it in his desk, the same place he looked the day before. It's like he gets so stressed about having to find it quickly, he is not seeing what is right in front of him.
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Post by mykids on Jan 27, 2010 14:01:35 GMT -5
Oh, Mayleng, I agree, structure, routine, and practice. But how to get the teacher to do this.
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Post by kc4braves on Jan 27, 2010 14:46:41 GMT -5
Yep. My son will tell his teacher he can't find it, that it must be at home. He "looks" but doesn't see. The other day he needed an $18 check for his TEch Ed class. He watched me right it and I asked him where I should put it so that 6th hr, he could find it to turn in. He wanted it in his 6th hr folder so...I sat down with him and paper clipped it to the front of the left pocket. In other words, when you open the folder, no matter for what reason, it is right there jumping out at you. He forgot to turn it in the first day and the second. So I emailed the teacher and told him the problem. My son said it was in his cubby locked up in that room. He emailed me and said that my son looked through all of his things and he does not have it. I emailed him back and told him where it had been. Guess what...it was still there, in the very spot that he helped me place it during a very focused time of the day. I just shook my head.
One day he failed to turn in a work book page in math that i knew he had done the night before. He never thought to look in the workbook. Amazing!
He has carried around his book report, completed all week but unless she asks for it, he will not think to turn it in. On Friday when it is due, if he doesn't hear her request it, he still may not turn it in and it will be late, even though he completed more than a week early. Short of me handing it in for him or asking the teacher to take it from him, though, I don't know the answer.
I almost think one large 3 ringed binder with ever class represented would be best for him. At least if he stuck the papers in it, he would know where to look and could conceivably organize it at night. However, ALL the teachers want their on 2-3" binder...that he doesn't use. lol
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Post by Mayleng on Jan 27, 2010 16:28:28 GMT -5
It sounds like they (the kids), are not taking responsibility or making the effort to try and remember because it does not cost them anything so it is not important to them. The teachers can't do much, if they ask and your child still can't find it. I know all teachers have some sort of routine or system (they are all different) but there is always a place to hand in their work, other kids are handing in their work so there are visual clues for your child. Knowing my child, he won't make the effort unless he it means something to him or cost him. If I remind him to hand in homework, forms etc, and he forgets, he gives up some privilege. It took a while, but he has not forgotten hw/projects or submiting hw/projects for 7th and 8th grade, he has taken responsibility for them and I nag less. LOL!
At some point, they have to make the effort. The occasional forgetfulness etc is acceptable but not on an ongoing basis.
kcbraves, if I had done what you did with your son with the tech check and walked him thru it, and he still could not remember etc. My son would have been grounded and privileges taken away for a while. It would cost him!! You can help your ds get organized etc all you want, but if he does not take some responsibility or make some effort himself, he won't change or improve.
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Post by kc4braves on Jan 28, 2010 0:11:29 GMT -5
He has lost alot of privleges in his life and even this year. My problem right now is that this semester is worse than ever. Today was more of the same and he is a basket case. He is spending all of his time working on things that are either late becasue he lost or turned in late or were so bad the teacher wants redone or he is using the late time allowed on the accomodations. Then on top of that he is trying to stay caught up on current work. We are just spinning our wheels this last month worse then I recall. He remebers one thing but forgets 4 others. He was proud of his efforts to organize last night then blew it all today. He is paying whether I take away anything or not. Basically it is all taken anyway becasue he gets no free time until it is all caught up so.....we finally stopped at 10 pm tonight. He still has redo work on things he doesn't understand 9 nor do i) in English and a redo of a paper in math where he made a 10% or so ( very unusual) and we had to redo todays homework completely. It was all worng...completely. I am very concerned about this downward spiral. I'm beginning to wonder if this is happening becasue of choices. My gut instinct says no.
He has been getting math...just making careless mistakes. Lately, he doesn't get it. Reminds me of before meds or days with forgotten meds. He couldn't find the area of a circle today using a calculator! His TA in math went over the paper he failed yesterday and explained it. They are doing 3D shapes and surface area, etc. Not really easy but, instead of adding he added powers to all of the numbers. So instead of 6x4 he did 6 to the 4th power. There was no order at all to anything. I felt sick looking at it knowing how long it was going to take him to learn it and redo it just to keep up.
I looked at my calandar and realized that we decreased his meds about 1 week into this semester becasue he was not eating anything or sleeping well and we had not seen any behavior changes from teh increase we had made prior to Christmas. He had gone up from Daytrana 30 to two patches equalling 40. We decreased it on our own and just told the doctor at the last visit. She was fine with it. Well, now I'm wondering if the snowball that is quickly getting bigger and bigger has something to do with it. He has never lost checks at school before, never forgotten to do something if it was in his hand as he went out the door. That is whwat has stressed me...the fact that it is worse.
There are a few things that I think he really doesn't want to do becasue he is uncomfortable. One of these is asking his English teacher for help. He says he forgot but i think he is really just nervous about it. He is very timid still and she has been mean to us so the fear is greater. I also think he may have "chosen" to not go to the counseling office to take care of NJHS stuff. Again, it is something he is still uncomfortable with. However, i do not believe he messed up all of his math on purpose, forgot papers at school, lost notes, etc.
So I went tonight and filled the script for the 10 mg patch and will add to the 30 tomorrow. I'm hoping we can get back up to his baseline organization in a few days. If not, I don't know how to stop this downward spiral. We will jsut have to be sure to get the patches off early and provide more boost and breakfast bars. I am concerned that he may have been developing a tic. We caught him pulling out his eyelashes a few times. However, he said they were bothering him and all three times we saw it, he was wearing his contacts not his glasses. So not sure if a tic or frustration or what. We will watch that.
So, i agree and am fully aware that meds don't nearly fix executive dysfunction but it does help. His counselor has told us that we really need to listen when he talkes and when he is sharing and not immediately blow everything off as excuses. So we are really trying to HEAR him. He is feeling very overwhelmed or that is what I have heard alot the last few weeks. His English teacher told them today that they will have 4 assignments per day for the forseeable future and he is in a panic....becasue he is already behind and can't do 4 in a day. ANd he said they have to be done in class. Of course, this is the teacher who won't talk to me so hard to verify anything. I am not used to HIM feeling overwhelmed. It is usually me feeling it for him while he is oblivious. Usually, there will be 3-4 days each month where "we" get overwhelmed with the volume of work or projects. Once he gets through it, he is fine. He is overwhelmed now and there are no projects, just more little stuff to remember like something in each class esch day, plus journaling for reading, book reports and vocab in reading in addition to daily assignments and bell work and now extra assignments in English and all of the work he has messed up and has to redo.
Sadly, he has put all of his hope in the new counselor. He asked when could he go back. There are so many problems to work on and we can't work on more than 1-2 with the counselor at a time and he doesn't see him again till the 4th. I'm glad he wants to go but the man is not a miracle worker.
The one thing he is excited about is the the thing some would say we should take away. He was doing well enough in school and finally wanted to join something. I have wanted him to branch out and find his niche. He is excited about his robotics club. Problem is "robot season" is now. They have to get the robots ready for the competition on MArch 6 so they are meeting after school till 5pm 3 days a week. My husband wanted to make him quit, but I don't think allowing him to quit is good for him or the team...AND...he needs to be successful or he will likely never go out for anything again. HE fears failure and isn't the most outgoing person around. He needs to be involved to meet new people, have a life besides homework and to find what he is good at. So, he is trying to do this club while falling apart in his classes. there is no home work in robotics, just the after school time. Had they done it first semester, he would have been fine.
Oh well, please say a prayer that upping his meds to previous level will help get him through this immediate problem, then we can continue with the counselor and organizing. Please also pray that the eye lash pulling doesn't continue. I appreciate you guys. I have been stressed over this and the stress makes my PMDD/perimenopausal mood swings much worse. Been trying to exercise and get more sleep but...hey...we are supposed to get hit by an ice storm followed by snow...tomorrow. So.......please, God, let the meds give some relief around here.
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Post by Mayleng on Jan 28, 2010 7:50:41 GMT -5
I would not take away his robotics club as punishment. This probably helps his math and having other interests is good for him. It could very well be that the lower dosage of medication was not helping him and he is overwhelmed. I always say, if one is not on the optimal dosage, being on a lower dose does nothing so why even bother to be on medication at all. Hopefully, raising the dose will help him.
I think you both need to take deep breath. Just remember he is in middle school, the grades counts for nothing in the bigger scheme of things. Keep working on the organization, a system and routine. Make it become habit. This skill is going to help him more in High School, college and in life than the grades.
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Post by kahkidz2 on Jan 28, 2010 8:48:36 GMT -5
Have you talked to the robotics mentor about how your son can be involved and manage homework? If they meet on weekends too perhaps he could focus on participating then rather than after school, or certain days. Our mentors are very understanding and helpful.
If this is his first year in robotics I really hope he can stick with it and encourage you to go to the competition too. It is a wonderful program and there really is nothing like it for high school kids.
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Post by kahkidz2 on Jan 28, 2010 9:59:47 GMT -5
P.S. Which regional is your son's team attending? We're heading to Kansas City for March 5-6 and Chicago for the Midwest Regional March 18-19.
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Post by healthy11 on Jan 28, 2010 10:02:35 GMT -5
kc4braves, is it Legoleague, or something else? (The elementary and middle schoolers usually do that in my area, whereas high schoolers do participate in actual large-scale robotic competitions where they build from scratch, not kits.) I was a Legoleague coach, and it really can be a good learning opportunity, depending on the experience of the other students and the adults coordinating it. I'm surprised they didn't start meeting earlier in the year, if the competition is March 6th, though...
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Post by kahkidz2 on Jan 28, 2010 10:39:59 GMT -5
For the high school competition (part of the First organization that Lego is also part of) the season begins the first or second week of Jan when "the game" is released.
Teams have just 6 weeks to build a 'bot that plays the specific game for that year--it changes significantly from year to year. At the end of the build season teams ship their robots off to the competition(s). Then there is a 6-week competition season with regionals every weekend across the US with a few in Europe, Israel, Canada. You can make some mods to the robot during competition but the rules are pretty specific.
Our team meets year-round but the actual season is Jan - April.
If you can't tell, I'm pretty geeked out on this stuff.
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Post by kc4braves on Jan 28, 2010 12:33:47 GMT -5
Wow. Lots of robot info. His school did not offer it last year ( no sponsor , I guess). I think the TSA Club, which doesn't seem very active may have done something with it, but you had to be in the sponsors class to even know about it. Some of these things aren't well publicized at the school. I mean, no link on the website or any mention except on the sponsoring teacher's page.
He says that they are building an I- Create Robot and a Lego Robot. The weekend when the robot training is done for everyone was this month. 2 students were selected to go with the sponosor to the training, then they came back with the kits, I suppose, and the instructions for the other kids. The competition is here in Oklahoma City at the Ford Center. I'm not sure if there is anything after that. The kids and the sponsor are new at this, but my son is enjoying it enough, so far, that he isn't ready to go when we come to pick him up. This is also what the middle school the next town over is doing but they have participated for a while. One of our friends from youth bowling league participates and her engineer father is a parent sponsor for that school.
They practice M, W, F from 2:30-5 until the competition. I hope to atten the competition or as much as possible. I'm sure my dd also has stuff that day. She is active in alot of things. She just made all school honor choir and is also working on a musical for church...oh and her soccer will start once the weather cooperates enough. So far the issue isn't really his homework so much as all the work he is having to redo or do late in addition to his work.
I was kinda excited that we were supposed to be out of school on Friday becasue of this winter storm. I was going to bring everything in his locker home and he was going to get caught up and organize. I do not know why, when I was at the school last night at 8pm, that I didn't think to do the same. I was trying to just get what he had to have for tomorrow and i knew we didn't have much time to wrok before he totally lost all ability to do work. At any rate, guess what. They cancelled school today. They chickened out. lol So...the school is locked up like a drum and his books are inside. And, all the work he did last night that I needed verification from the teacher that I had told him correctly, can't be verified. So not sure we should catch up in math, if we aren't sure we are teaching him correctly. I'm just so bummed tha we probably have a 4 day weekend and can't catch him up. I wanted to have him get himself out of his current hole then go back to school with higher dose and see if, with as much routine as possible, he can keep his head above water and get his grades up. Oh well..the best laid plans.....
Anybody good with math.....3d shapes and finding Surface Area ? lol
Mayleng, I have had a hard time accepting that the grades aren't so important. We are realizing it but it does mean something to him. I haven't and will not tell him, but I talked to the counselor to find out if he tanks on any of his subjects, specifically the English class that we are having issues with the teacher, if he would have to repeat or go to summer school. I learned something interesting. I think he could actually fail 4 subjects for this term and still promote. Seems strange to me but, I don't anticipate that happening. Just good to know that if we back away from some of the English demands , he can still promote out of this school. I have actually tried to contact Club Z here ( but they have not replied) to see about getting a tutor to help with math and to help work on writing and organizing essays. Maybe his teacher is not the best person for him to learn it from at this point. She is teaching English in a way I have never seen. I loved it but, my teachers didnt teach to a test. She has taken teaching to the test to new heights. He is having to grade essays with the rubric and write the rubric over and over. Funny thing, though. I asked him what "introduction egages the reader" meant ( and also question him on other statements he is having to copy over and over) and he had no idea. So I am not sure how all of this is going to help him. He misgraded all of the sample essays but got credit for copying the rubric. Amazing to me that this is considered English. I guess I am old. lol I am ready to try another approach.
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Post by healthy11 on Jan 28, 2010 17:01:36 GMT -5
kahkidz2, the public high schoolers by me participate in the B.E.S.T. Engineering competition. As far as I knew when my son was involved in First Lego League, there was an upper age limit of 14 or 15, but he participated in that during elementary/middle school, so age restrictions didn't come into play......
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Post by Mayleng on Jan 28, 2010 17:16:25 GMT -5
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Post by mykids on Jan 29, 2010 13:06:36 GMT -5
kc4braves - I wouldn't take away your sons robotics. All kids need to have something they enjoy doing. I think Mayleng brings up some good points on keep working on the organization. I always get very impatient and want things to happen overnight and always have to remind myself, baby steps. And I truly think that it's ok to fail (as long as we are trying our best ) sometimes it is a necessary step in getting to the next level to grow & learn.
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Post by kc4braves on Feb 3, 2010 9:38:40 GMT -5
Well, we have been out of school Thursday-Tuesday due to snow and icy roads. Unfortunantely, the schools closed before i could get all of his work out of his locker so we did not get as organized as I would have liked. However, we increased the meds, worked on and got caught up in math except for one paper and got caught up in history. I helped him organize the English for the the teacher we are having issues with and he is missing quite a few papers. We couldn't get completely caught up becasue some of the assignments require previous assignments which we couldn't locate. Unless the teacher has the missing papers or they are stuffed in his locker, I don't think the outlokk will be good. The papers were done and draded together with the class on time but now are missing. She already apparently thinks he has been lying, decieving and possibly cheating on these papers ( I disagree) so I don't know how all of this will work out. She won' talk to me so... I don't think you jump to these conclusions first with an ADHD kid. To me the meds and other issues would be my first guess before I started accusing but that's just me. A doctor once told me to look at the most obvious solution before jumping to other conclusions. I told all the teachers more than once what signs to look for but....
Now he is sick. I guess a bad cold but he is theone who is most sensitive to change in his life. He has no fever so I made him go to school. Hoping he will turn things in today and start digging out, but not sure with his head all plugged up and his ears hurting ( not ear infection, strep or type a flu). I'm hoping the increased meds will help but the English class falls into that period of time where the booster is wearing off and , hopefully, the patch is kicking in. Not sure how to fix that...and I don't think we can go up on anything else at this point. He already is taking 20 mg ritalin booster and 40 mg patch. I know there are studies showing that stims don't much help exec dyfunction, but I think having optimal attn helps with everything. He is a good kid and things have gone well at home even with all the ice. So say a prayer that things will somehow improve this week. We need some good things to happen! I know we all do!
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Post by swmom1 on Mar 12, 2010 19:59:22 GMT -5
Hello everyone - It's me, swmom. It's been awhile. I hope you all are doing well(or at least hanging in there!)
We've made lots of progress in the time I've been off the board. Still struggling with the social thing, but by and large, things are so much better than they were, thanks to Prozac, Tenex and now Wellbutrin. She's in a fabulous high school, a challenging one, but she's doing well(aside from chemistry).
One of dd's main issues now is staying organized. I'll have to employ some of the great suggestions you all have made. I am completely desperate at the moment and willing to try almost anything. As she is learning, organizational skills are critical now in high school with a very heavy workload andthe school's high expectations. One thing that has been hugely helpful is the use of two bookbags, one for A day classes, one for B. But, we could use a few more suggestions, especially in the area of time management.
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Post by teacherabc on Mar 12, 2010 20:59:08 GMT -5
I will be doing my thesis project on organization and time management with respect to kids with ADHD. I have become known as the go to person for help with time management, not so much because I am so good at it yet (it is still trial and error because what works with one does not necessarily work with another) but because I will do it...While of course our kids with ADHD have difficulty with it, yesterday one of our 10th grade high achievers came to me for help because she has started to slip this semester and is getting very stressed out because she can't get everything done and is coming to study hall on Monday morning to start time management lessons. I am hoping that her eagerness to get help will rub off on one of my regular study hall students who has ADHD, needs time management and resists it (well, actually, he resists pretty much everything--very nice, respectful kid but he whines about everything all the time...).
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Post by Mayleng on Mar 12, 2010 21:43:44 GMT -5
For High School kids, try the tips from Chris Dendys' book A Bird's-Eye View of Life with ADD and ADHD: Advice from Young Survivors! www.chrisdendy.com/
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Post by d on Mar 13, 2010 14:45:01 GMT -5
Hi swmom!
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Post by Mayleng on Mar 13, 2010 14:58:20 GMT -5
Hi swmom, Glad to hear dd is doing well.
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Post by healthy11 on Oct 4, 2010 9:47:46 GMT -5
I just came across this:http://tweenteacher.com/2010/08/28/middle-school-nuts-and-bolts-intro-to-time-management/
The comments that other teachers make on tweenteacher's site may also be helpful ~ I haven't looked around all the tabs, but there seems to be some useful stuff.
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