Gordon.Mccraw@p0.f19.n233.z1.fidonet.org (Gordon Mccraw) (02/22/90)
Index Number: 6892
Greetings Pat,
Thank you for your reply. I'm very interested in information that you
may have that may help us with our daughter Whitne. For the past seven
years she has been classified as having moderate to severe speech
handicap. After much testing and data collecting it has been
determined that she is Educatibly Mentally Handicapped. She is
functioning at approx. a 4 yr level mentally and emotionally but is 7 yrs
old. The authorities have not given us much to go on and all information
we have obtained has been collected on our own. It is quite frustrating
at this point. We are new to this area and will only be here another 4
months ( military family). The support groups are in another area but
near the University of Illinois. I'm sure they offer excellent
information and support if we were able to obtain it. All of this is new
to us, up until a few weeks ago we thought Whitney was going to "snap out
of this speech problem" and everything would be fine. Needless to say we
are devastated and not finding many sympathetic ears. Thank you again
Pat for your reply. Could you suggest any reading material for us. We
started checking out every book in the library on the subject and have
found many to be out dated and archaic. Any assistance would be
appreciated. Wonderful to meet you on (Dis) Abled BBS.
Gordon and Heidi McCraw
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Internet: Gordon.Mccraw@p0.f19.n233.z1.fidonet.orgera@ncar.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold) (02/23/90)
Index Number: 6919 In article <10323@bunker.UUCP> Gordon.Mccraw@p0.f19.n233.z1.fidonet.org writes: |Index Number: 6892 | |I'm very interested in information that you |may have that may help us with our daughter Whitne. For the past seven |years she has been classified as having moderate to severe speech |handicap. After much testing and data collecting it has been |determined that she is Educatibly Mentally Handicapped. I know many parents don't like the name of the organization, but have you tried the ARC (Association for Retarded Citizens)? [Caveat: some chapters have already changed their name to avoid the "R-word", but they may still retain a phone listing under ARC.] The more progressive chapters can provide you with a lot of information and, more important, direct help such as going to your daughter's IEP to make sure the school district is doing the right thing. Don't let the local school segregate her, and make sure they are taking positive steps to form a circle of friends for her, etc. There should be a state office for ARC in your state, which can direct you to a local chapter. If not, call ARC/National at 800-433-5255 or 817-640-0204; ask for information on how to find your local office. -- ---------- Ed Arnold * NCAR * POB 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 * 303-497-1253(w) era@ncar.ucar.edu [128.117.64.4] * era@ncario.bitnet * era@ncar.uucp "See, the human mind is kind of like ... a pinata. When it breaks open,
Pat.Goltz@f3.n300.z1.fidonet.org (Pat Goltz) (02/24/90)
Index Number: 6925
Hi. I am going to make a more detailed reply to you later, after I think
about it some more, but here are some suggestions for now. You say your
daughter is having difficulty with speech. Is her UNDERSTANDING also not
average? Regardless of the answer to this question, I think that probably
the most educationally advantagious thing you can do is to give your
daughter education through the Montessori method. If you have access to a
local Montessori school, look for European trained teachers and European
philosophy; the American is not very true to form. Regardless, read up on
Montessori (the books are readily available, if not through the original
publisher of them, Schocken, through a used bookstore). Read the books
she "wrote" (most of them were taken down from lectures) and apply the
same methodology at home. Much of Montessori skirts the need for language
development, because it is a highly sensorial approach. I will give you a
bibliography next time, because some of her books are of marginal
usefulness. (In particular the ones published in India)
I would also recommend that you try to teach your daughter to read
yourself. Try phonics, and if that seems to be of limited usefulness,
then a combination of that and look-say; she may be very good at
memorizing things. The fact that her language development is that of a 4
year old does not make her insufficiently developed for this, and it may
take awhile and a lot of effort, and the sooner you do it, the better.
The best approach to phonics for my money for such a situation is the
Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spaulding. I don't know offhand how to
tell you to get this book, but there is a book out by Mary Pride which is
kinda like a whole earth catalog for homeschoolers that will contain the
information. (It is undoubtedly in the first volume of two) Come to think
of it, the two volumes would be an excellent resource for you. They are
called "The Big Book of Home Learning" or some such. I will see if I can
come up with a source for that book if you cannot find it.
In my next message, which I will prepare offline, I will describe the
method I used for teaching my LD child to read. It is different in
approach to Spaulding, and it may be necessary to use both in order to
achieve some other results I would be after.
Pat
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Internet: Pat.Goltz@f3.n300.z1.fidonet.orgPANDORA.NIGH@f532.n157.z1.fidonet.org (PANDORA NIGH) (02/24/90)
Index Number: 6930
Hi Gordon, I hope you don't mind my cutting in on yours and Pat's
discussion. I came across a magazine that is for parents of disabled
children. They cover a wide range of disabilities and subjects and general
support and info for parents. The magazine is called EXCEPTIONAL PARENT.
You can get a sample issue by writing them at Exceptional Parent
P.O.Box 3000, dept EP
Denville, NJ 07834
The subscription rates are: One year 8 issues- $18, three years 24
issues- $42. The magazine also offers forums for people to write and contact
others and experts about the problems they and the children are having. It
is one of the best resources also that I have found for rare disorders.
Pandora
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