The twins have had more than a difficult time learning. I started looking for answers at the beginning of the school year. I wanted to know... are they just slow and need more time to mature, or do they truly have a learning disability which requires treatment? That is what I've been praying about and trying to uncover all year.

As yet another year slips by and they still can't identify the entire alphabet (let alone read), can't write their ABC's or numbers to 10 independently and they are nearly 7!!...I'm ready for answers. This may not be a big deal to some people and perhaps if these children had never been taught it wouldn't be as alarming, but they have done the equivalent of "Kindergarten" TWICE already!!!! And academically they are still between pre-school and mid-Kindergarten level. Call me crazy, but I do NOT want to teach Kindergarten for a third year to the same students!!! Which is pretty much the boat I'm in. By the end of the assessment the therapist understood my pain , frustration,heart-ache,dilemma. Finally I've started shifting my focus from my teaching and teaching methods to their learning abilities/disabilities/difficulties/impairments/etc.Even under the worst teacher they should do better than they are doing now. In fact, I personally know more than a dozen children whose only teacher has been Sesame Street and Leap Frog and do exceedingly better academically. This realization; the fact that they cannot do simple, basic processes that come easily and naturally to most children has propelled me to really get help for them before another year slips away.

My initial fear about having them tested was the labeling trap; and how happy doctors are to label, diagnose, and medicate little children. I didn't want that to happen to my kids. I must say the people that I have been working with have been overwhelmingly supportive, encouraging, objective, knowledgeable, professional, and sympathetic to our wants, needs, faith, and individuality. I couldn't ask for better support given the circumstances. No one has suggested public school, special ed, pills, or the like. (smile)

Her findings: First, this is slightly incomplete b/c she hasn't officially scored the entire assessment. I was there for the entire 4 hour assessment, which was broken up into 2 days. The 2nd part went like the first. The standard score is 100 which is the mean or average score. At the standard score 100 represents the 50th percentile. For example, Peyton's standard score for reading readiness is 70 placing her in the 2 percentile ranking. This means that she is more ready than 2% of her peers and less ready than 98% of children her age who were administered this same test. Not Dyslexia? The therapist(Ms. A) said Peyton is probably not a case of dyslexia b/c dyslexic children have average to above average intelligence, yet their performance/academics doesn't match their intelligence level. Peyton on the other hand demonstrates below-average to well-below-average intelligence in all areas and is a performing at her intelligence level. Coupled with the fact that she processes information slowly, has a language delay, poor short term memory, and weak comprehension.

The Good News: (Ms. A) said Peyton is learning(albeit, very slowly) therefore she can learn. She said our reading curriculum (The Writing Road to Reading) is very strong and she can see how Peyton is using the skills that she has learned to help her read and write. She has good skills. She said that homeschooling is the best option and that Peyton is lucky to have her mom teach her. What Now? Try to get her into therapy. (Ms. A) uses The Wilson Method, which is similar to the Spalding method that we are already using. She is willing to mesh the two together and create a program that works for us. Keep working on her memory and comprehension. Do a lot of phonemic awareness exercises. A lot of repetition, and by a lot I really mean a MAMMOTH/UNCALCULATED amount of repetition. Break tasks into the smallest of steps and DEMONSTRATE everything. Integrate gross motor skills into learning and different fingering techniques for reading. She suspects that learning will always be very slow and very difficult for her, but encouraged me to keep praying for her education and her little brain. She said I'm going to need a lot of patience and grace. (more than I feel like I have most days)

The Goal: Help her to learn and absorb info.

Attitude: Peyton has a surprisingly great attitude about school work. Her favorite subject is reading.(smile) She doesn't even know that she struggles, she doesn't know...that she doesn't know. She has no idea that she has a hard time learning. She doesn't feel stressed or overworked. That is so key!!! I pray continually for patience and joy while teaching her, and when I feel exasperated I won't teach her. I NEVER want to reinforce failure. I want her to walk away from each day feeling victorious and positive about learning. If I fail with patience...she'll just plain fail.
But guess what, FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!!!


BY PERSEVERANCE THE SNAIL REACHED THE ARK-Amish Proverb
I might write this proverbs on our walls (smile)