would you be concerned if

[minkin03]

your 8 yo dd (just turned 8) still can't accurately put the months of the year in order?

[skreader]

Like so many things, it would depend. Has the child been explicitly taught the names of the  months of the year and their order?

If so, yes I might worry. If not, I might embark on some home-learning and discuss my concerns with his or her teacher.

[karne]

I would have some concern if there were other developmental concerns.  One issue, presented alone, isn't really enough to answer otherwise.

[Linda on the move]

Yes. It's a flag.

Is this your child or someone else's? How are they being educated?

[minkin03]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

Yes. It's a flag.

Is this your child or someone else's? How are they being educated?

My child. She's been in public school (since kindy) just finished 2nd grade. We're currently working on the Summer Bridge workbook for grades 1-2 and she had the months written out that she had to put in order and she missed April, and got confused after August. Even though she had a list of the months to go off of and I kept telling her to say the months out loud. She never did get it figured out and my 5 yo ended up telling her the answers. :(

I'm just really frustrated and at my wit's end with her b/c it's not just the months of the year. It's math and reading too. I've been complaining about this for over a year I'm sure and I'm certain it is caused by dyslexia (she doesn't have a diagnosis). I just don't know how to help her anymore and I think I'm hurting her self-esteem with my frustration. :(

[Linda on the move]

Has she had an evaluation? You might double post in special needs are read through some of the old threads there. Some of the moms are experts at getting accommodations for kids.

[Lisa1970]

Did you teach her the months personally? Because if not, it is something the school may have skipped over. Try teaching her it and see if she learns them. If not, then worry.

[beachcomber]

Seconding the suggestion to get her evaluated. I'd also pursue a meeting with her teacher and the school's occupational therapist If you don't get what you want there, take it to the Board meeting. Your child sounds like she's in need of assessment. Also go through her doctor to get a referral to an agency or organization that can do an assessment for a LD (learning disability) such as Dyslexia. For her self-esteem, it's important to find out the source of the problem and not be frustrated by her lack of progress. Remember that she's trying to learn.

[DariusMom]

 DS is 8 and he confuses the months sometimes. Part of that is, I think, because he's being raised bilingually. However, part of it comes from mild dyslexia. He just has trouble with months, days of the week, etc. It sometimes frustrates me because he really never has much of a clue of what day or month it is! Anyway, we work on it with his own wall calendar and then just remind him. He'll eventually get it and, at his age, he doesn't really *need* to know. However, it can be a sign of dyslexia so I do think you might want to get your DD evaluated.

[minkin03]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move 

Has she had an evaluation? You might double post in special needs are read through some of the old threads there. Some of the moms are experts at getting accommodations for kids.

We had her evaluated by an OT late last year who diagnosed her with dyspraxia. The OT is unable to diagnose dyslexia but she did say that my dd had similar results as children she evaluates who have dyslexia. Particularly the presence of reflexes that should no longer be present past he age of 1. We just moved to a new state for better schools so I'm hoping her new school will be more helpful in getting a diagnosis of dyslexia and treatment/accomodations. 

[minkin03]

Originally Posted by beachcomber 

Also go through her doctor to get a referral to an agency or organization that can do an assessment for a LD (learning disability) such as Dyslexia. For her self-esteem, it's important to find out the source of the problem and not be frustrated by her lack of progress. Remember that she's trying to learn.

The problem for me is that b/c she's extremely bright and mature I just *assume* she should get these things. I *assume* she's doing it to be lazy or difficult. At the end of the day, in my heart I realize that it's not her fault.... especially after moments like last night when she can't correctly order the months of the year and her 5 yo sister helps her. But in the moment, whether it's reading or math, it's hard for me to realize or remember that she's not doing it to be obstinate or difficult. Her long term memory is astonishing. She can remember history facts from a year ago. But she can't remember math facts from 2 months ago. She regresses horribly over the summer in reading, writing, spelling, and math. Already in the 2 months she's been out of school I'm guessing she's probably regressed to a 1st grade level in these subjects. This is why I'm trying to do the Summer Bridge workbook with her and hence my frustration begins. :(

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by minkin03 

We just moved to a new state for better schools so I'm hoping her new school will be more helpful in getting a diagnosis of dyslexia and treatment/accomodations. 

Be sure to request an evaluation in writing, in a real letter with a date and a signature. Don't expect the school to just know what you think needs to be done.
 

Originally Posted by minkin03 
But in the moment, whether it's reading or math, it's hard for me to realize or remember that she's not doing it to be obstinate or difficult. Her long term memory is astonishing. She can remember history facts from a year ago. But she can't remember math facts from 2 months ago. She regresses horribly over the summer in reading, writing, spelling, and math. Already in the 2 months she's been out of school I'm guessing she's probably regressed to a 1st grade level in these subjects. This is why I'm trying to do the Summer Bridge workbook with her and hence my frustration begins. :(

Being honest with ourselves that our children have special needs, even very mild ones, can be quite difficult (I have a DD with high functioning autism). It's easier to stay in denial and just get annoyed with them!

Would it be possible to have a tutor work with her this summer? That way she could get the help she needs and you wouldn't get frustrated with her?

[Guinevere]

I agree that having her evaluated is your best next step; you've already received good advice about writing a letter to the district ASAP to get the ball rolling; these things always take longer than you expect (in our experience.)

My almost 7 yo DD, who was recently dx with dyslexia, has these same problems. Telling time, the order of the months of the year, even the order of the alphabet and higher numbers are all extremely difficult for her. But she is also extremely bright in other areas. These are not incompatible ideas: there are actually many gifted individuals who are dyslexic.

But it's still difficult; I hate watching her struggle so hard and feeling like she isn't "smart." :-( As both her mom and her other primary teacher (she attends a charter school where I homeschool half the curriculum), her memory and learning issues have been extremely challenging and frustrating for me, because they don't respond to any of my usual teaching methods. It really doesn't matter how much time I spend working one-on-one with her -- without specific techniques targeted at her deficits, she is unable to make meaningful progress. She will be starting a specific tutoring program for dyslexia in the fall, thank goodness; until then, we're basically treading water working on our own this summer, trying to keep concepts somewhat fresh in her mind (with varying degrees of success.)

Our road to a dx has been a bit long and bumpy (I spent the entire last school year working on getting her tested), but even so, DD is actually quite young to have been identified.  It can be difficult to dx learning disabilities in younger elementary children b/c there is still such a wide range of "acceptable" in K/1/2. In our case, I've known since DD was around 3 that her brain processed things quite differently from my other children. And while she struggled a bit in K, her problems didn't really become glaringly obvious until 1st grade, when she was asked to do more complex work and make substantive progress in reading. That's when everything pretty much fell apart. :-(

I have a great deal of sympathy for your situation and hope that you can find some answers and help for your DD soon.

Kind regards,

Guin

[MJB]

I'd be surprised if my 8 yr. old knows the months of the year in order, and he gets all "satisfactory" grades in school and is a great reader. He's not good at memorization.