Homeschool Question of the Week

Question:

Sara Stinson Knaus I have a 6 year old son with severe learning disabilities. Any suggestions for teaching adding? He cant seem to grasp anything past the sum of 10 yet he can count out objects up to 100. I am at a loss as to how to explain it to him. What do you use for your autistic children?

Answers:

Carey Brooks Clark I’m not speaking from particular experience with learning disabilities, except ADHD, but Right Start Math has great techniques for getting kids to “see” math in their minds. Dreambox Math (an internet-based computer program) works with the …same principles. They have a two-week free trial to see how it works for your child. My kids love it! My four-year-old is using the program. She progressed slowly for a long time (which was fine with me), but suddenly, things seem to have “clicked.”

A further thought…Right Start Math has some free downloads, one of which is a song that teaches number concepts from 6 to ten in a way that helps kids build a foundation for thinking beyond ten. They also suggest you teach numbers beyond …ten the Asian way: onety-one, onety-two, since our numbering system in the teens can be confusing for kids.
April Davis I do not have a clue about autistic children, but my 6 & 8 year old boys both really grasp the concept much better through games. Use everything from dice to Hershey kisses!Here’s the link for the song: http://www.alabacus.com/pageView.cfm?pageID=309

Wilmary Nazario I would use his favorite toys or fruits to help him visualize the concept. Something that gets his attention and the move on from there.

Tara Renee Sumner A boy in my class was struggling with understanding division, so I got Hershey kisses and we actually divided the kisses to find the answer. Visuals are a teacher’s best friend!

Polly Morris Have you tried Touch Math? It worked well for my son with classic ASD

April Williams I use beans with my daughter, or cheerios if its subtraction! Seems to have worked wonders!

Sheri L Halverson Hoskins Not a clue. Mine cannot do it without number line.

Kimberly ‘Bookwalter’ Terrill my boys were diagnosed “moderate autism-Asperger’s- SPD”, etc. I found that unschooling works really well. Not TOTAL unschooling, but very child-interest led with enough structure to meet their ASP need for structure. 2 of my boys didn’t re…ad until 5th grade. one of them (the one with moderate autism) read when he was 4.- They learn when they are ready. My son with SPD is 14 and has just not seemed to finally grasp math. Though he read and did math late-he has always been thoughtful, loving, generous, and loves God- which – to me – are more important than reading by 6 or memorizing times tables in 4th gradeSee More

Kathy Foster he may be too young – but maybe not… a “calculator” was suggested to us, too… on the bigger math problems – not worrying so much about the long hand of it.. and the many steps – agreed with that they may just not be “ready”… and bring math into your daily life – even w/o making any big deal of it. All the best!

Tammy Watts

Autism Smiles might be a good resource…but for my autistic daughter, we have been told to allow her to learn to use a calculator. Adding 2 numbers together or subtracting is ok for her, but anything for that is too confusing for her. Our school days are much easier now, and she is even caught up to her grade level in learning the steps when she does not have to compute on her own. Just lots and lots of patience. Also, I have found the curriculum that works for HER…which is Horizons Math. Creative writing is also really hard for her because there is no clear cut right answer, do we do Easy Grammar instead. She is an awesome speller and is really great at grammar, but is pretty much all she is good at. Everything else is really hard for her, and because of her memory processing problems, she can read on her grade level, but cannot remember a thing about what she has read.

Autism Smiles might be a good resource…but for my autistic daughter, we have been told to allow her to learn to use a calculator. Adding 2 numbers together or subtracting is ok for her, but anything for that is too confusing for her. Ou…r school days are much easier now, and she is even caught up to her grade level in learning the steps when she does not have to compute on her own. Just lots and lots of patience. Also, I have found the curriculum that works for HER…which is Horizons Math. Creative writing is also really hard for her because there is no clear cut right answer, do we do Easy Grammar instead. She is an awesome speller and is really great at grammar, but is pretty much all she is good at. Everything else is really hard for her, and because of her memory processing problems, she can read on her grade level, but cannot remember a thing about what she has read.

 

Gretchen Purnell my son, as well as several other ASD kids I know, have also

Tiffany Thomas Ellman I have a SN kid that can’t grasp Math after the #7. She knows 8 is ’round and close the gate’ but doesn’t know what it is called. FORGET counting by 2′s or 5′s. She can’t keep + & – straight and can’t remember how to SAY a problem. She goes ‘plus 2 equals’ and has no concept that it doesn’t mean anything. I’ve resorted to repetition hoping it’ll eventually click…

Paula Sue Wallace math u see is a good one for children with special needs. My son has used it for 3 years at a slow pace. They also have free worksheets online.

Sabrina Smith Carter If his mind is not ready for it there is no way you can teach it to him. I have a 12yr. old with medical problems and because of that sometimes we have to take things at a slower pace. Last year I was working with her on long division and… fractions, she just could not grasp it. So I decided to skip it and wait till this school year. She now blows long-division out of the water and fractions too. In public school they have a set pace and if your kid does not get it…it is too bad. Us homeschooling parents can develop our lesson plans to meet our childrens needs. Just focus on what he can do now and work with that. In the fall you can re-aproach it and see if he is ready. He is only 6 yrs. old you have lots of time. For now just enjoy teaching him what is mind is ready to learn.See More

Sharlyn Salazar-Remrey I have an autistic 13 yr old, and nothing taught him to grasp math concept more than Math U See.

Founders Academy There is a page called Special Needs Homeschooling which you may want to check out. I’ll bet they can advise as well:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Special-Needs-Homeschooling/169944623642

Tanya Reed Has your son been tested by a good educational psychologist – not the one through the school district. A good educational psychologist will do a full battery of educational testing, and will have great suggestions for helping YOUR child learn based on their specific learning disabilities. The same LD can affect 3 different kids 3 different ways.

Sara Stinson Knaus Thank you everyone for your suggestions! It is amazing the support we homeschooling parents offer each other. If only the public education system cared so much!