Maybe it's in the DNA??

Well, it's no secret that have struggled with Brandon's inability to pay attention in school. It started in grade 1 when he had to participate in the reading recovery program because he was not capable of sitting and learning to read. In grade 3, a teacher put a desk with 3 sides (like blinders) in the back corner of her classroom and Brandon was forced to sit at it. Parent/teacher conferences, interventions, meetings, oh my! By the time he reached grade 8, Eric and I were pulling our hair out!!!!

Bad news for us- looks like Kristen has a similar problem.

Her teacher has mentioned that she's often "in her own little world, because she's so smart!" (anchoring the negative with a positive) and that she does have a hard time sitting in circle-time without fidgeting. We weren't surprised....after all, we have suffered through movies, concerts, long drives with her... but last night something different happened- In her agenda was a note from her teacher,

"Kristen is having a hard time with subtraction. Please practice at home."

WTF?!!? KRISTEN? KRISTEN is having a hard time at school?????!!!!!???? Kristen is our free-spirited, confident, outspoken, over-achieving one....how could she be having a hard time at anything?

So, after my initial shock at the note, we sat down and did some subtraction. An entire page, actually. Sometimes she needed her fingers, sometimes she tried to visualize it...but she got every question right. So, I asked her...."Kristen, are you having a hard time with subtraction?" to which she replied, "Well.....sometimes I have a hard time seeing the numbers in my head because of the noise. Even when I wear the headphones I can still hear the noise." Now I'm confused. So I asked her...."What headphones?"and she said, "The headphones that Mrs. Lee gave me to cut out the noise." Hmmmm.....I suddenly had a wicked case of deja vu....it's grade 1 and it's a different kid, but the similarities are frightening!

"Well," I said to her, "sometimes it's easier to see the numbers if you close your eyes." So she closed her eyes tight and said, "Yeah! That IS easier!"

Crisis averted- for now. I hate to sound dramatic but I really don't want to go down this road again! I guess the good news for Kristen is that Brandon has FORCED us to explore new techniques and find patience when there didn't seem to be any available. Hopefully that will help us guide her down this path with love and understanding.