Talk is all over the Fetal Alcohol Support Groups at Yahoogroups about the positive effects of Choline on the brain. It is especially powerful on the developing brain. The researchers say that when taking during pregnancy it builds an excess memory capacity that seems to endure throughout life. As far as its effects on the older child and adult brain, they say it seems to have the most effect on those tagged as slow learners. This led researcher to question whether the slow learning was actually the result of a Choline deficiency, which the supplement corrected.... more

Our daughter just finished the eighth grade, well sort of; she is making up three classes over summer school. She has been attending homeschool for the past four years. We didn’t feel that she was challenged enough in special education. That was part of our decision to homeschool our learning disabled daughter. However, she struggled with stealing, forgery, cheating, and lying at public school as well. I understand these are common problems among children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. However, now we are considering reintroducing her to public school for high school. Public... more

We have a teenage daughter who has FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) whom we adopted at the age of six. Conversations with her can be difficult. Sometimes she misinterprets our words and sometimes she acts before we finish talking. There are even times when we tell her very clearly what she should do, but she does something else. She seems to have preconceived ideas about what she is going to do and doesn't really listen to our instructions. The older she gets the worse these habits seem to be getting. Life with her at home can be quite challenging. I find myself being frustrated... more

A note from a friend about her internationally adopted son reminded me that even when we think all things are going well emotionally, socially and behaviorally, our children adopted from less-than-desirable conditions can still have negative impacts from their early childhood.

Her son is finding it increasingly hard to keep up with his schoolwork as he heads toward middle school. And he’s becoming increasingly resistant to anything she tries to convince him to try harder. The school is reacting in a laid back fashion, and the boy is now about a year behind... more

Does your child have dyslexia? How do you know? Dyslexia is defined as:

a neurologically-based, often inherited, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic. Dyslexia is not the result of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, inadequate instructional or environmental opportunities, or other limiting conditions,... more

Ok, after a day full of word problems, all I want to know is…when is it? When is LuLu's Age of Reasoning? UGH! Word problems are the bane of my daughter’s existence. Just like writing a whole composition, word problems require her to use logic and organizational skills she doesn’t have. Even though she’s extremely good at math calculation and understanding how to work the actual math problems, she just can not pick the details out of the word problem to save her soul.

Yes, I understand that this is truly a reading comprehension problem, and that LuLu... more

In my last blog I noted that writing may be the most important of all early subjects for children in today’s world. I’m sure others would argue differently. But as someone who sits at my computer for several hours daily, I realize that the vast majority of my time is spent communicating with anyone other than LuLu is done in text. Either I’m reading it, or I’m writing it. Now I know that the internet and the computer world are going more and more graphic and visual every... more

It’s one of the “three Rs”…reading, writing & ‘rithmetic. In my opinion, it’s the most challenging of the three. And also, in today’s society, it may be the most important.

LuLu, like most children with challenges that affect their learning, struggles with writing. While there are distinct learning disabilities that affect a child’s ability to read (like dyslexia) and do math (like dyscalculia ), writing requires so many different skills used at once, that many children have problems with writing. These problems... more

Ever the enigma, LuLu’s behaviors have been very positive since her explosion on Wednesday. Yesterday we accomplished more during our school time than we usually do. While she is still struggling mightily with long division, she whipped right through the language arts lesson (commas), jumped head first into learning 12 more states and capitols, and started a new biography on Ben Franklin.

Usually it’s the book reading that brings us to a screeching halt, so I had decided, based on the way we’ve been successful in the past, to co-read with her (taking turns reading aloud).... more

This article from Educationnews.org summarizes a survey done, showing that children who are both gifted and have learning disabilities, are perhaps the most “left behind” of all. These children, sometimes referred to as “2e” or twice-exceptional kids, are those of giftedly high intelligence but also have learning differences/disabilities.

The survey, conducted by 2eNewletter.com, asked parents, educators... more