A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

[mookie1995]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

My wife's lung cancer started growing again and they found a second (new) tumor. They changed her chemo and mow she'll lose her hair. As promised to her, I shaved my head. I wish it was May!

we're with you two!

(give that gal a kiss! god knows she deserves it)
*****http://i470.***********.com/albums/rr63/1995mookie/cf7e2095.jpg******

[theprofromdover]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

we're with you two!

(give that gal a kiss! god knows she deserves it)
*****http://i470.***********.com/albums/rr63/1995mookie/cf7e2095.jpg******

You must spead...

[leswp1]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

You must spead...

I got it

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I never thought that I would use the thread, but here goes.

My fiance's six year old daughter is struggling in school. She's in 1st grade and brought home a bunch of schoolwork (mostly math). I asked her why she had so much and she said that she was having a hard time with it. She said she never gets to do anything fun or creative because she has to do all the work. She's been reduced to sneaking work into her cubby to take home so she won't get in trouble.

I help her with her math and spelling and I've been noticing that she switches hands when she writes and writes letters and numbers backwards. She can read really well, but she can't remember it two minutes later. She can't sit still to do a task. Her writing goes all over the place. She does art and music really well. Anything non math or spelling she can do really well.

My fiance and I did some research and she has a lot of the signs of dyslexia. My fiance has been crying all night because she feels like no one is helping out little one. We sent a letter to the school psychologist to get some help. I feel for the two most special women in my life. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or kind words for me. I sure could use either or both. Thanks.

[leswp1]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

First prayers in your direction! Who ever says you can't feel physical pain from emotion hasn't gone through something like this! Lil struggled mightily in 3rd grade and had a similar scenario. it was awful. I have more than a few thoughts

-check with the teacher- in 1st grade I think it is a little weird the teacher hasn't figured this out and isn't calling you. Maybe your area is different but here work was something that got passed out and handed in after you finished it.

-Make a CALL to the school asking for a MEETING. It is only Nov and struggling already is something that needs to be addressed. It could be a combo of a child struggling and a bad fit as far as teaching style. (Lil had a pathologic - the school counselor's words, not mine- teacher and we were very chastened to find out we were blaming everything on him.) Ask what the school routine is and then what they would suggest at home.

-Formally ask for an evaluation. Not sure what state you are in so don't know the rules but here you have to ask for an evaluation in writing. It used to be that they then had to do a CORE eval but now they just go in and evaluate things and make suggestions which then are applied to the classroom setting. You then have to ask formally, in writing for an evaluation again. The school is required to eval fully and give you results at a meeting within 30 days. If the little one has some sort of thing like dyslexia or graphomotor disorder getting help early is very important. Kids that struggle and aren't addressed early get a massive dislike of anything academic even tho they are very smart!

-Great book as a resource- The Out of Sync Child. May not fit exactly what is going on but has absolutely great strategies for dealing with school stuff.

-Some tips to help with focus at home-
~make sure the belly is full before starting homework. Huge difference in concentration!
~Make a plan with her before sitting to do work. We used to write everything that needed to get done and then he crossed it off when he finished it.
~ Kids that are feeling overwhelmed don't focus well so talk about what has to get done and then how she can 'batch it'. Some kids do better sitting to homework right away when they are in school mode, others need to blow off steam. Don't assume. Try both ways and then talk with her about which one you think works better.
~Plan breaks 10-15 minutes of work 5 minutes of break. Set a timer. Make sure the 10-15 minutes is working not dawdling. Do something PHYSICAL in the break. NO watching TV. That is immensely stimulating and makes the brain very disorganized.
~Heavy physical activity helps organize the body and focus the brain. Stuff like swinging, crab walking, bear walking, wheel barrow walking all work. Silly putty to pull on when she needs to listen to things can help focus and decrease distraction.
~if she like artistic stuff when she is studying have her draw while she recites her spelling back to you. Some kids do very well with association- when I was spelling 'boat' I was coloring that piece of my picture. (worth a try). Or try having her make up a song with the spelling words.
~Sit on an exercise ball while doing homework. Sometimes helps with focus as it is heavy activity for core muscles to balance.
~ we made a board game to work on math that we played every night at dinner. Ours was earning supplies to lay siege to a castle. Roll the dice and add, subtract, etc to get how many weapons. He loved it but hated math!
~ spelling- go around the dinner table and spell the word. the others get to tell if it is correct. If she has trouble writing then when the person spells they have to do it on the piece of paper and pass to the next person. Parents screw up once in awhile so she can correct you.
~Talk with her about not being able to do the work well. She is probably more than aware that she isn't able to do what others do well. We put it something like--every child has things they struggle with and things that come easy. You are very good at "____" and can do it without much work or thinking. Josie can't do that at all but she is good at math. If Josie tried to do "___" she would need extra help to work it out, it doesn't come naturally to her like it does to you. It just happens that you need help in math and spelling.
~DO NOT attach everything at home to school. We were told by a very wise person not to attach punishment/rewrd to things that did not go well academically at school (bad behavior- the hammer comes down). You can attach reward to working hard on homework and working through frustration. If it goes badly sit down and discuss with the little one a better strategy or what she thinks isn't working. She is young but don't underestimate what she could come up with. Acknowledge frustration but make sure the message is you need to find a way to make it work as it has to get done.
~ make sure to assign her tasks/chores that she can do successfully at home so she feels a sense of success at something required. Don't make the mistake of trying to give her stuff or let her off the hook because of a particularly bad day. Instead set her up to do something task oriented at home that she will succeed at. Then let her know she did.
~Routine is very important with kids like this. Sit down as a couple and figure out a routine that is as predictable as you can make it and then let her know what it is . Try to keep with it. When kids get overwhelmed predictabilty can save them a lot of stress.

Hang in there. A wise soul told me that I would remember the angst way more than my kid ever would. If you think of life like a big movie reel then you are on only one frame. Each day it changes. Try not to get stuck in anticipating all the awful stuff that might happen because things are like this now. It makes you, as parents, feel more pressured and the kid is focused on the immediate moment.

You do come out the other end. Lil' had a horrifyingly bad elementary school experience. I was as traumatized as he was. I would get sick to my stomach waiting for him to get home because it was always something else that happened. He now is in honors classes and altho he still struggles in math class he got an advance rating on the state standard test (no one gets why). We talk about the elementary thing once in a awhile. I remember all the stuff we did to make sure he came out OK and it must have worked. What is still vividly painful to me he either can't remember or vaguely remembers as not being that bad !

[thebrain]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I'm going in tonight to have a 6 mm kidney stone removed. First time I haven't passed one or had lithotripsy.

[leswp1]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I'm going in tonight to have a 6 mm kidney stone removed. First time I haven't passed one or had lithotripsy.

Ow- hope all goes well.

[goldy_331]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I'm going in tonight to have a 6 mm kidney stone removed. First time I haven't passed one or had lithotripsy.

Surgically, or with the basket? Not fun either way, I bet. Good luck! And drink more water!

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

Good luck, thebrain.

[Timothy A]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I never thought that I would use the thread, but here goes.

My fiance's six year old daughter is struggling in school. She's in 1st grade and brought home a bunch of schoolwork (mostly math). I asked her why she had so much and she said that she was having a hard time with it. She said she never gets to do anything fun or creative because she has to do all the work. She's been reduced to sneaking work into her cubby to take home so she won't get in trouble.

I help her with her math and spelling and I've been noticing that she switches hands when she writes and writes letters and numbers backwards. She can read really well, but she can't remember it two minutes later. She can't sit still to do a task. Her writing goes all over the place. She does art and music really well. Anything non math or spelling she can do really well.

My fiance and I did some research and she has a lot of the signs of dyslexia. My fiance has been crying all night because she feels like no one is helping out little one. We sent a letter to the school psychologist to get some help. I feel for the two most special women in my life. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or kind words for me. I sure could use either or both. Thanks.

I have a daughter with special needs. Here's what I would reccomend based on my experiences. First off, contact your child's Dr. and meet with him/her. They can help medically diagnos what her problem is. Once you have indentified what the problem is, then you can meet with her teacher and put together a plan on how your little family unit and the teacher are going to deal with it as a team. I'm 100% sure the school itself already has programs and special educators in place that will also know what techniques work best to help you deal with your child's problem as well. So in the end you should have a specific plan in place on how the school is going to educate your child based on what the problem(s) is. Our daughter is integrated into a regular classroom, but she gets extra assistance on her physical challanges and she has a team of 3 additional teachers who help her with the scholastis basics as well. All of us are communicating quite often. It's a team approach. And lastly, accept Jesus as your Savior and pray to God, and ask Him to provide you with the strength and courage to deal with whatever challanges come your way in life. Every little victory Maddy (my daughter) has I attribute to God's Grace. Thank you Lord, for blessing my Maddy and our little family in so many ways.

[gmann]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice or kind words for me. I sure could use either or both. Thanks.

I have a daughter with special needs. Here's what I would reccomend based on my experiences. First off, contact your child's Dr. and meet with him/her. They can help medically diagnos what her problem is. Once you have indentified what the problem is, then you can meet with her teacher and put together a plan on how your little family unit and the teacher are going to deal with it as a team. I'm 100% sure the school itself already has programs and special educators in place that will also know what techniques work best to help you deal with your child's problem as well. So in the end you should have a specific plan in place on how the school is going to educate your child based on what the problem(s) is. Our daughter is integrated into a regular classroom, but she gets extra assistance on her physical challanges and she has a team of 3 additional teachers who help her with the scholastis basics as well. All of us are communicating quite often. It's a team approach.

I have a four year old son who has special needs. The challenges that my son faces on a daily basis has
enlightened me on many fronts. One thing for sure it that you need to become an advocate. You need to become educated on the topic and you need to be aware of all the resources that are available in your community. You will find that there are numerous resources available to you and using a team approach and surrounding yourself and your family with good people who are genuinely interestred in your well being is very important. Lastly, you need to become a coach in that nobody is going to do this for you. You and your family must take the initiaitive as the more involved you are the more opportunities you will have to orchestrate and create an environment that gets the best results.

It is not easy but I guarantee you that it will be worth it.

[thebrain]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

Ow- hope all goes well.

Surgically, or with the basket? Not fun either way, I bet. Good luck! And drink more water!

Good luck, thebrain.

Thanks! The stone's out! They put me out, and went up with a scope to get it. I have a stent in right now for a week. They said it took about 15 minutes. I'm not sure anymore how many stones I've had. Looks like I may have more developing. And if there are any doctors on here that want to invent something to break stones up by drinking it or can invent something that prevents them for good, you won't be able to count how much money you'll make!

[Proud2baLaker]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

I want to extend a request for prayers, good thoughts and good vibes for a friend of mine. He graduated from LSSU a year before me and is a big hockey fan. He may have a username on here but I dont think he posts much if at all really.

He and his wife are expecting their first child (a boy...Kollin) and recently went in for some checkups. After a few tests they found some stuff out. Here is the status update they posted on facebook:

"1. Kollin has a cleft lip and possibly a cleft palate. 2. He has a congenital heart issue where the left ventricle is not as big as it is supposed to be. 3. He has a small omphalocele."

An omphalocele is a type of abdominal wall defect in which the intestines, liver, and occasionally other organs remain outside of the abdomen in a sac because of a defect in the development of the muscles of the abdominal wall.

Its been rough on them. Hopefully things will work out and Kollin will be ok and live a long healthy life.

So anyone who feels so inclined say a prayer or think good thoughts for Andrew and Jenica and their soon to be born baby boy Kollin. I know they would appreciate it as would I.

[leswp1]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

Prayers sent up for them and for you too. That is always such a scary time for everyone. No one knows what to do or say.

[leswp1]

Re: A Thread for prayers, good vibes and what have you

Prayer of thanksgiving. I had surgery last month and went for my post-op appt today. Happy visit. I am doing great and it seems for now as if things are fixed. Yay!