Homeschooling mentally retarded children.

[Dunkopf]

She might want to consider getting her one of those capsules they inject under her skin for birth control. Unless she want's to put her in a cell. She will be seeking attention and that's a sure way to get it from a lot of boys. Better safe than sorry. Just don't tell her what it's for so she doesn't think it's some form of permission on her Moms part.

One of our adopted daughters is at around 79. She's on an IEP. We live in a small town though and not too much is happening here. She will be getting the under skin BC though. She doesn't have FAS as far as we can tell. Amazing, considering her bio mother. The woman did everything under the sun. No clue who the father was.

If this girl has FAS she will be very prone to impulsive behavior. No BC or a strict imprisonment will guarantee an extra baby to take care of.

 

[big brown horse]

Interesting info on FAS. The neighbor girl (older teenager) down the street [says she] has FAS and she is very impulsive.

 

[me&thegals]

P.S give that friend a big hug. I know first hand how hard of a job this has been for her. Fortunately for me, I've only had to deal with it for the last 5 months.

BBH--I'm so, so sorry to hear about your daughter

 

[MsPony]

Interesting info on FAS. The neighbor girl (older teenager) down the street [says she] has FAS and she is very impulsive.

My godson and his siblings are HIGHLY impulsive, to the point of being dangerous. Except the girl isn't as much becuase of her retardation

 

[big brown horse]

P.S give that friend a big hug. I know first hand how hard of a job this has been for her. Fortunately for me, I've only had to deal with it for the last 5 months.

BBH--I'm so, so sorry to hear about your daughter

Hey, thanks. I feel very fortunate that her brain injury is just an injury, not brain damage. So she will be fine. The neurologist says that her brain is like a computer that got unplugged, it just takes time for everything to start back up.

 

[big brown horse]

Interesting info on FAS. The neighbor girl (older teenager) down the street [says she] has FAS and she is very impulsive.

My godson and his siblings are HIGHLY impulsive, to the point of being dangerous. Except the girl isn't as much becuase of her retardation

Kudos to folks that give loving homes to these children.

 

[Wannabefree]

Thanks for all the info ad links folks!! You guys are great! I will forward a link to her so she can read this thread when she gets time. They do have internet, paid for by a very dear friend of hers I believe she said. I hope these things help her and show her a way to get the child some help and out of a bad environment at school.

 

[MsPony]

Interesting info on FAS. The neighbor girl (older teenager) down the street [says she] has FAS and she is very impulsive.

My godson and his siblings are HIGHLY impulsive, to the point of being dangerous. Except the girl isn't as much becuase of her retardation

Kudos to folks that give loving homes to these children.

I'd say! Last friday I went to dinner with a family with kids...def upped my birth control lol!

The poor mother now has her sisters daughter (year and a half old) because the mom admitted to wanting to shake the baby to shut it up.

I think the kids behavior would change a little for the better w/ diff parenting and nutrition, but that kind of resource and knowledge doesn't exist in Nevada.

 

[lwheelr]

K12 would NOT be appropriate for a delayed child. They don't have the resources to handle it. When it is state funded, kids have to meet minimum performance milestones, and if they get behind, the program does not have alternative courses available - the curriculum is too limited. The curriculum also relies HEAVILY on computer skills in grades past elementary, and only a certain percentage of "normal" kids can cope with it and learn effectively from it.

FAS presents similarly to autism, but the kids do not connect cause an effect, do not connect concepts and applications easily, and often can't determine right from wrong. The "rules" of life are whatever the people around them are requiring of them at the time. There are no absolute rules to them - nothing sticks. The incidents you mention about her not knowing something was wrong suggest this is possibly an issue.

I have a nephew with moderate FAS, and a daughter with moderate FDE (due to necessary life saving surgery while pregnant with her).

It is more common for FAS to be misdiagnosed as autism than for autism to be misdiagnosed as FAS. Usually a doctor won't even LOOK for FAS unless they are a specialist and know the more subtle indications. Psych evals only help if they are done by someone with a lot of experience with FAS, because otherwise the professionals will misinterpret and diagnose with everything BUT, when FAS may be a factor, and a major one (it makes the long term treatability prognosis much different, and greatly affects possible outcomes from medications).

Either way, homeschool would be a much better environment in which to teach her. It takes WAY too many repetitions of a concept to teach a child with those issues for the schools to be able to handle it.

 

[curly_kate]

As a special ed teacher, I would say that homeschooling would be the best bet for a child with those needs. She is not low enough for the sped classes. Because "full inclusion" is the buzzword these days, kids are all shoved into the gen ed classes, and the assumption is that they will just "pick up" what they need to learn by being exposed to it. And the sped teacher will be charged with helping this kid learn algebra, physics, Spanish, etc, instead of life skills that she will actually need to function in society. This is just another reminder that education policy is dictated by POLITICIANS and not TEACHERS!!! What will happen is that she will just muddle through, and the teachers will pass her along because she will get points for just making an effort. And then she will be dumped out after graduation with no skills to speak of.

I second the idea of using library resources, as well as the internet. But I think some of the things they can do are pretty easy and cheap. Drill and repetition are going to be very valuable. Making their own flashcards is cheap. Reading books around the house. Also, get that child out in the community to teach her things like shopping, interacting with others, any kind of skills that will help her be able to get and hold a job in the future.