New to T4L

[Mom2Alexis]

Hello. Is anyone using T4L with a child who has Down syndrome? My daughter is 12 and I just signed her up Sunday. My plan is to use T4L as a summer bridge although she will attend tutoring sessions at her school two days a week. My prediction is that getting her to actually listen to me and do what I ask is going to be the biggest challenge. It's amazing how cooperative she is with others!!! I'm hoping the nature of the program being on computer and coupled with lots of visuals will keep her attention. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

[lovehmschlg]

Hello. I'm sorry to be late in answering your post. I'm new to the forums.
We have a DD with Down syndrome and have been using T4L for several years. She really enjoys T4L...sometimes I have to tell her she's been on it too long! lol
I really love that we can work at our own pace, and that we can work at different levels for each subject. For example, while Language Arts is easier for her because she loves reading, math is a challenge for her. So we work at a lower grade level in math than in Language Arts. Our DD learns best with lots of repetition, so it's great that we can repeat lessons as often as needed...especially if we've been on vacation and/or skipped a few days of school.
I don't know if you've subscribed to this or any other forum, but if you go to Thread Tools at the tool bar above, you can subscribe to the forum. You may also want to subscribe to your State Forum.
I hope you're doing well. Please know you are not alone and we are here to help with any questions you may have...even if you only need encouragement.

Janet

[debogodfrey]

Hi! I'm new to the homeschooling community. I have an 11 year old son diagnosed with autism and adhd. I like this program as he can work on the lower level and work at his own pace. If anyone has any advice as far as keeping him focused and excited, I am certainly open to suggestions! Tahnks

[lovehmschlg]

Hello, Debogodfrey. Welcome T4L and to homeschooling.
As I commented above in my reply to Mom2Alexis, we haven't had a problem with our dd keeping focused with T4L. She really loves it. My friend, who also uses T4L says that her dd is motivated to do her lessons because she gets to play in the "playground" if she finishes her lessons. You can find some hints and tips to using the site at this link.
I don't think you'll have trouble keeping him focused and excited. That's been my experience. I do find that when her brother and sister are doing school at the table and we get to talking, she may tend to get distracted. So what we've been doing is she uses headphones. This way she can do her work without distraction and she is completely focused on the interactive learning.
I hope that helps.
Feel free to stop in and ask questions any time.

Janet
Homeschooling 3 (2 high school and 1 elementary who loves learning with T4L)

[Brook Simmons]

Well I am not that optimistic. My child is head strong and there is a time when she just does not want to do time4learning anymore. We just take a break and do something else. Vacations are good.

[pistolannie]

Hi Ladies,

This is my second year of homeschooling. My son has ASD and we are really struggling!! I am really hoping that T4L is going to open a new door for us. He has come so far and we accomplished that using several different homeschooling tools. I ordered Sonlight curriculum last year but it moved much to quickly for him. I had to back track and some what build my own curriculum. We are using Hooked on Phonics and that seems to be working well. However I feel he is memorizing the words and not sounding them out. This worries me. Then I was researching online about teaching an autistic child to read and it recommended site reading at first and the phonics will come later. As you know, we parents can research until our eyes cross!! Any tips on helping on the "reading" and "math" front would be greatly appreciated! Good luck to you all!

[lovehmschlg]

Hi! I can tell you that 2 things helped my daughter. I purchased a book called Reading Reflex. You can get it at Amazon. It uses a method called Phono-Graphix. You can probably Google Phono-Graphix to learn more about it. My daughter has Down syndrome and this is the only program that worked in teaching her to read. I had been told that she would be limited to learning only sight reading. Well, today she is an avid reader and can read at a 6th grade level. The other thing that has helped her tremendously is Time4Learning. She LOVES T4L!! You know if a child loves a particular curriculum or program, they're going to learn! She actually asks to do Time4Learning. I taught her to read using Phono-Graphix, and shortly afterward, we found Time4Learning. Time4Learning has helped her reading fluency and her reading comprehension. I cannot say enough great things about both.