Our Family’s Story in Dealing with Learning Disorders

We had some really terrible days which affected our whole family. There were many times that I just gave up and her dad had to take over the teaching. He is much more patient than I. I prayed and prayed, and the Lord kept telling me to hang on and rely on him.

When she was nine we took her to our pediatrician, a great doctor, whom we trust completely. We had her evaluated and he diagnosed her with ADD. He wanted to put her on medicine, but we didn’t feel the need to do that. Her behavior was not bad, she was not hyper, and we didn’t want her to experience any side effects of the medicine. We would just have to adapt.

We felt the best thing to do was continue to keep her home and tailor school to meet her needs. I feel like this was, and still is, the best thing we can do for her. We are blessed to have the ability and the freedom to home school. I don’t think she would do as well in a school setting.

I stayed up many late nights doing endless hours of reading and research, as well as talking with other families in the same situations. I was looking for answers. We found out by trying many different types of curriculum that she learns best by doing the Unit Study approach.

We used the Five In A Row program for several years, and now use My Father’s World. Both of these programs use living books. I’ve also discovered that she is an audio learner. She uses Teaching Textbooks for math now because she can watch and hear the lessons on our computer. She is doing so much better. She has developed a greater sense of accomplishment because she can do this on her own. She has accepted that learning just doesn’t come as easily for her and that it’s okay because she’s good at so many other things.

She is now twelve and growing up beautifully. She has great character and a very caring personality. She has started her own pet service business, loves to babysit, and is learning to play the guitar. She has so many gifts that outshine academics. She is creative, caring, she loves to talk to anyone, has good friends, and has a heart for God. What else could a parent ask for in a child??