Intellectualy Disablity and or Learning Disabled Teaching at home...

The educational goal for every child is Learning, whether this be through the public school or home school. To loose focus on the primary goal with the worries of being behind or staying on schedule is the greatest distraction from the goal.
Praise, Praise, Praise... Not enough can be said about the wonderful effects of praise. Zigler made a profound discovery in handicapped students. They have to be allowed to feel success! This process of praise will not just make the child feel good, it also helps the child to depend on cues based on self-reliance, motivate them to success and also produce the desire to do better than expected.
Time... Simply put, more time has to be allowed for a Learning Disabled child to not only perform but also test and retain information taught.
Rules... Most handicapped children perform best when they know the rules, what will and will not be tolerated.
Mills suggested an informal procedure to find the teaching method that works best for the child. Basically in this model you teach the child ten words three different ways. Using the Kinesthetic, Phonic & Auditory and Visual Methods. This is effective in finding the best method in which to teach any child. It makes sense that since Brynnon scored well in verbal comprehension that he is best taught using the Phonic & Auditory method. He is doing well using this method along with the AVKO Sequential Spelling program, which is actually used with Dyslexics. Linguistics is also working with Brynnon. From the start I found that the old 1960's Merrill Linguistic Readers worked with Brynnon. I had no idea why, until I found that the new Merrill Reading Program, also linguistic is highly recommended for Learning Disabled children. We will be starting the Dig In book next week and I am excited about the skills book!
After all the lost sleep, worry, stress, searching and begging for answers... I found the answer was in me all along. To meet Brynnon where he is, being intellectually behind, that means to meet Brynnon at his level, in hopes to bring him forward. To bring out the best in him and encourage confidence in his own ability so that he can begin to rely on himself or the clues around him to get the answers he seeks. I am his Mom, and he is a wonderful gift on loan to me by the Father. It is after all the greatest gift I could ever be given, a child in which the Father has blessed me with that will require me to think outside the norm, which is what I do best!

Teaching My Learning Disabled Son

Brynnon is almost 10 years old, very active and has a few "behavior issues" which we deal with on a daily basis. Brynnon received two years of Speech Therapy starting at age 5 before he could communicate effectively with non-members of the family. I worked with Brynnon independently as part of our home school program to finish up his speech, using phonics in hopes to encourage Reading. It was evident quickly that something was very wrong as he still could not read any book besides his Merrill Linguistic Readers we were working in. His handwriting suggested Dyslexia, being backwards and very disorganized. I continued struggling to find ways to teach Brynnon, who could take things apart with great passion, yet could not decode a word no matter what I tried. We went through 2 phonics programs and purchased so many "programs" that did not do anything but frustrate us both! Finally, at the beginning of this year in frustration I brought Brynnon to an Educational Psychologist who did an IQ exam. I was shocked to learn that his IQ is not normal, but rather borderline mildly retarded. For the past several months I have done so much research, only to find that there is no middle ground. He is simply not intellectually capable enough to be diagnosed with many Learning Disorders such as Dyslexia, yet he is also not intellectually low enough to qualify for help for "retarded people." I hit so many roadblocks when trying to find answers to a simple enough question... How exactly do you REACH and TEACH a borderline mildly, let's put it politically correct here, Intellectually Disabled child? So, with all the internet at my fingertips and the several books I have been reading, I will tell you the answers that no one seemed able to give me. As there is not information available for that borderline shady area, I proceeded with caution to the down side, there I found my Son and am learning the process of finally REACHING him!