How does someone scribe for him? How does that work? How does someone scribe for her? Plus, I'm a little confused about how your daughter and my son could be visual-spatial learners when they're verbal scores are so high and their scores on block design and spatial stuff were so low. I'm experiencing a learning curve here, I think. I've taken the Visualspacial.org's "Is your child a visual/spatial learner? quiz. My score suggests he might be. Although in the areas where he doesn't fit...he really doesn't fit. For example, he's a very good speller and always has been. His great spelling is so natural and easy for him. He can't do puzzles and hates Legos, K'Nex, blocks, etc. He remembers both visual and audio. Hears it once and he can memorize it and recall it.

I don't necessarily think that my DD is a VS learner. She has some of the characteristics (different ones from you son) but not all. Even if a person is good at thinking visually or processing visual input they can still have a problem with motor output of visual info. From my understanding of the Eide's book, you can think of the brain as having various inputs (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) and various outputs (motor, speech, etc.) If there is a bottleneck in one these the person has trouble processing incoming information or producing certain kinds of output. So it is possible, for instance, to have great vocabulary, comprehension, writing and reading skills but be unable to express oneself verbally on a comparable level to one's understanding. Producing written output is such a complex task that a bottleneck in just one area can affect performance. Things become even more complicated when somebody has more than one bottleneck!

I don't think that you have to have an affinity for puzzles or building things to be a VS learner. From how you describe your son's thinking style, it sounds like he is a big-picture person who sees something as a whole concept and then looks at the details. A more sequential learner would look at how the details go together and then see the big picture. At least, that's how I understand it . I think that visual/spatial vs. auditory/sequential is a very broad distinction and not very useful in a lot of situations.

My DD doesn't have a scribe at school although I sometimes scribe for her on homework. She tells me what to write or how to do a math problem and I just write what she says. If it's an actual handwriting practice assignment she does that herself. Lately, she has preferred typing her homework because she recently increased her keyboarding speed to where typing is faster than writing.

What if you initial his homework yourself and add a note that you have checked it and it is complete per his IEP? Often, teachers have other people grading the homework and even recording the scores. His accommodation is just slipping through the cracks!

Since no one has addressed your homeschooling question, I'll just chime in to say that because of the completely individualized nature of a HS education, HSing can be a GREAT option for a kid with 2E issues!

We're HSing, and it's been a good choice for us. DS6 does not have 2E issues, though he has some "bottlenecks," in that he tests with significantly lower scores in processing speed and working memory than he tests on the other areas. HSing means I can allow for those areas of relative weakness while still challenging DS6 in those areas where he's far ahead of most kids his age. It works very well for us.

If you have any specific questions about HSing, just ask! I'll be happy to help, as will others, I know.

K-

Idahomom, there is a fabulous book on visual-spatial learners, which is unfortunately out of print, though every now and then a reasonably-priced used copy appears on amazon (today they're all ridiculously priced). It's Upside Down Brilliance, by Linda Silverman. I got a copy when my dd was tested at the Gifted Development Center, which she runs. Anyway, I remember her book discussing the problem of vision processing issues (visual motor being one kind) in visual-spatial learners - she said it's like being handicapped in your strong suit, or some such thing. In my dd's case, dd very much fit the VSL profile, except that when it came to the block design portion of the WISC, the tester could tell by the way she did the harder problems (she skewed them or something) that there might be a vision problem. They believed she would otherwise have scored better on that section, and they encouraged us to test her again after doing vision therapy. They also noted that the fact that dd wasn't more adept at puzzles was another sign of a vision issue, in light of how strongly they believed her to be a VSL. At the time, it all seemed rather irritating, since not three weeks before dd had had a full checkup with a pediatric opthamologist who had not found any problems (but it was the wrong doc/wrong testing). She has made considerable progress due to the vision therapy; she just finished a 6-month program last week.

Other people are more balanced when it comes to visual-spatial (right brain) vs auditory-sequential (left brain), it's not an all-or-nothing proposition, and where there are weaknesses on one side, the person tends to rely on a comparative strength of the other side to compensate. Ironically, in DD7's case, in spite of the fact that she had great difficulty learning to read phonetically, she is now an excellent speller (according to the teacher, anyway), and I think it's because she has built such a large sight-word vocabulary due to this visual-spatial learning style (combined with the fact that there are so many english words that are exceptions-to-the-rule in terms of phonetics).

Also, on the writing issue, here are a couple articles I happened to come across, in case they might be helpful:
http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/nov7no2_cc.html
http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/poorhand.pdf

hope this helps; it seems like you may be getting closer to the bottom of the mystery of your son.

Hi Idahomom.

We cannot home school. My son is in a private Jewish school which has resources devoted to what they call diverse learning. I work very closely with the principal and the teachers to meet his needs. It is still a struggle - they do not always "get it", but it works reasonabley well, although I often complain that he is like a round peg in a square hole. He is too advanced intellectually for the classwork, but cannot keep up with the assignments.

He has a great work ethic, but we have instituted a very effective reward system for him. This is considered critical for ADHD kids.

I do scribe for him at home sometimes - he will talk to me about a project and I will write down his ideas. He then has to write up the final report himself. it is still a struggle - he can look at a blank piece of paper for hours and not write a word.

I anticipate that middle school will be much more difficult for him next year.

P.S. I realized my earlier post might sound like I'm evangelical about homeschooling. Let me assure you that I'm not. I'm a big believer in doing whatever works for your specific situation. Sometimes that might be HSing; often it's not.

I just didn't want you to worry that if you asked a question, you'd get the hard-sell. I'm not here to push.

eema, could you please tell me about your reward system? DS7 also responds to rewards, and our OT said that it's good incentive for him, too. Quite frankly, I don't know whether he's ADD, inattentive variety, or is simply the GT Grinity alluded to. But nevertheless, some things are hard for him and he needs incentive. Thanks!

idahomom:
has your child been assessed at all by an OT? Does he have dyspraxia? I'm finding that a lot of GT kids with dyspraxia are soooo smart they learn how to compensate and work extra hard to "hide" it. There's something about your description of him and his task performance that makes me wonder.

I am currently homeschooling my 2E dd. I was very unhappy with how her school was dealing with her. I've spent this year not teaching her (because she's ahead anyway) but teaching her "systems"-- how to get work done, how to organize, etc. We've explored ways that she can deal with her issues; for example, typing and writing practice, reading for comprehension, etc.
She has made great progress, but I will say that her (and my) goal is for her to be able to be back in school again. She really, really loves school and so my homeschooling is merely training to get her back into what she really wants. So she will go to a new school next year, and if that doesn't work out, I know I can take over again. One thing I have heard time and time again about educating 2E kids is one year at a time, or one semester at a time even! I completely agree that the plan is always changing, and one must take one step at a time!

There are many great reward systems out there.

I have tied our system solely to homework. For every night he is diligent he gets a dollar towards an Ipod.

I would not try to cover all behaviours with the system and I would also individualize it for the child. My son is willing to wait for the Ipod - other kids might need more frequent rewards. Some kids also seem to respond more readily to rewards in general.