<p>
</p>
<p>Maybe she met some nice, normal girls just like herself who happened to be in a sorority. When I was in school, all the sorority girls lived up (or down) to the image I had in my head. If people I liked had pledged, I probably would have changed my mind.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This cracked me up. Wasn’t in a sorority and school didn’t have them. Went to Penn State for a weekend as a senior for a football game and that was my only fraternity party. I have to admit it was a lot of fun (what I recall of it that is). Sister was in a sorority and I was completely jealous of how much “sisterhood” she had in college.</p>
<p>I have nothing to wear. Of the weight I’ve gained, at least 10 pounds have been in my chest and back so nothing fits. I am not lying to say I have a closet full of clothes and nothing fits. I have exactly 3 “outfits” because I refuse to spend the money on clothes I don’t want to fit in 3 months. However, doing this for almost a year is causing real issue. I have everything in my closet from a size 6 to a size 12 (14 in shirts). It’s borderline absurd. I’ve lost a few pounds, but when you have a lot to lose, this is all most likely water. Jenny Craig is looking better and better, but I have a feeling my H would still want me to make dinner for him and D16 or at the least, do all the grocery shopping.</p>
<p>woody, D was very much the same way in high school- didn’t think she’d want to rush. But now being at school and seeing that there all are types of sororities for all types of women has piqued her interest. I think it will be a rewarding experience for her.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh, Stacy and Clinton love to get ahold of people like you. “Dress the body you have now.” (And of course, if they’d give all of us $5000, we could, thank you very much.)</p>
<p>As for cooking for the 16 year old and H: Sometimes I feel like I need to just spend the 4/12 years until the 8th grader goes to college in maintence mode, just making sure the weight doesn’t get out of hand. Then when its just H and me, I’d cook whatever the heck I want to eat…if I want only roasted brussels sprouts and a sweet potato one night, that is what I’ll make. </p>
<p>And there won’t be Cheetos in the house.</p>
<p>OMG #tm - my S’s assessment results are almost identical to your son’s. Most results in the very high 90’s, with the exception of the “astoundingly low” (in the words of the nuero-psychologist) processing speed. Back when he first took the tests (spring of 9th grade), his processing speed was 2nd percentile :eek: (one sub-test was 0.4% !).</p>
<p>He retook the tests in November, and got a processing speed of 23%. We joked that he is now 11 times faster than he used to be, and still very slow!</p>
<p>The reason he retook the processing speed tests was so that he could take a reduced course load (needed more recent test results). He already has several accommodations: extra time on tests, note taker (he is dysgraphic), etc. Now, starting with C term, he is taking 2 courses per term. I don’t know if he’ll do it just for C/D, or continue with it.</p>
<p>There are no easy courses at WPI for kids like ours. The humanities classes may be easy for kids who can churn out the papers, but not for our guys. And, for my son anyway, all of his homework takes him much longer (2 to 3 times, according to the neuro-psych report) than one would expect. We knew all of this going in, but he really wanted to go there (and still does). We are hopeful that the reduced course load will be the magic bullet.</p>
<p>About losing 10% merit aid: The policy is that the student is “allowed” 1 NR per year (A-D). For each extra NR, they lose 5%. But, they can use E term to make up some NRs. So, if your son has no more NRs, and he takes (and passes) 2 courses in E term, he would lose no merit aid. (I think this only applies for courses taken at WPI in E term, not for courses taken at a CC, but I’m not sure.)</p>
<p>They also have a special deal where if the student NRed some of the “foundation” courses, they can re-take them in E term for 50% tuition. The foundation courses are Calc 1-4, Diff EQ, Stat 1 & 2, Ph 1 & 2, Chem 1 & 2). Unfortunately, I don’t think that does you any good :(.</p>
<p>How frustrating that your son won’t take the help that is being offered to him. Would you like for me to go over there and smack him 
?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Don’t you wish Harry Potter style howlers really existed?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>sabaray: I have started the diet and am TRYING to exercise more. I’m really trying. Haven’t looked at the wellness thread yet. On my list to do. Have trouble lately just keeping up with here 
I’m not a negative person but am not a cheerleader type either. I’m in for the LONG haul and know that inorder to loose what I need to loose this is months/years away. That’s okay (at least for today).</p>
<p>Good for you, RM! Maybe I should have started a “fatties” thread (referring only to myself of course)!</p>
<p>I am always concerned when we don’t hear from Downtoearth. I hope she is plugging along.
DTE - Please check in!</p>
<p>Fatties thread applies to me!! I don’t mind. Been like this forever. Well for a brief period of time I was thin but that was after being in Central America for 3 months and getting disentary. Not something that I would recommend as a diet…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sort of like my sister’s “longtime boyfriend left me for a much younger woman diet.” You do lose weight when you’re too depressed to eat, but not recommended.</p>
<p>My son also is diagnosed with Disorder of Written Expression. He has all the levels of symptoms: difficulty physically forming letters on the page, difficulty with spelling and punctuation, difficulty organizing his thoughts to write a coherent paper. The only thing that has helped him is writing, and a lot of it. He still struggles, but has made enormous strides in the last four or five years, from barely being able to write one sentence to being able to churn out (not that good) prose in a few hours.</p>
<p>Hi all. Just checking in. First off, TheAnalyst, though I suspect it wasn’t funny at the time I enjoyed the (extrapolated) mental image of you getting out on some wayward mountain pass in Spain and forging it alone by foot – sounds like it <em>could</em> have been a great plot for a romantic comedy involving Antonio Banderas ; ) Secondly, #TM, my own s. has not received his assessment yet (just went down there with him on Tues.) re similar issues plus auditory processing however thought I’d let you know about an experiment he and I are plotting for next month. He takes FOREVER writing his essays (always has) and his handwriting is completely psycho (the irony was that AT the neuropsych dept. the tester had to come out and finally ask ME to complete a form for him ; ) so I have suggested he get Dragon Naturally Speaking software to attempt to draft his essay structures VERBALLY for at least the rough draft and get used to dictating. That way, he can concentrate on the “thinking” without the motorskill issue exacerbating same. I am also guessing that wherever he ends up in life, he may need to “verbalize” his organizational functions, so this should be a good training. He was always most successful in school when able to verbalize his plan – less so when it came to writing it down.</p>
<p>That software is also available for the iphone as a free download, and iphones also have external mics you can buy to increase range and clarity of pickup. It is not exactly perfect for recording lectures (often has a word discrimination issue, which McSon and I find funny, since so does HE : ) but McSon is going to try it next month when it’s time to renew his cell phone contract, to see if the extra lecture reinforcement can save him some time re: studying/note management. The capture notes can be sent off by email, etc.</p>
<p>So I am thinking if #TMSon has that kind of processing speed ratio, he might be struggling to both “listen to” lecture and get it written down simultaneously. And while I expect the LD office would/should supply notetaking services etc., having that kind of system might still be helpful or be less intrusive in some occasions, and possibly even “freeing” for your son.</p>
<p>Last but not least, also glad we can candidly share trials and tribulations around here, Cardinal Fang, of course you’re in good company! I had mentioned earlier that McSon was failing music theory but that his dept. head was trying to help him work something out with the other dept. head. However, after meeting with all parties on his own last week, McSon realized he just really shouldn’t pass theory, and that he really needed remedial support before taking it again. So instead of fighting it to stay in sequence, he’s enlisted the help of a prof/tutor, is auditing the second sequence of the class (since he’s not been allowed to proceed with it) and then retaking the sequence next year, after he’s spent some self-study time over the summer. I am reasonably impressed at his determination and capacity to self-identify what was necessary and why special or circumstantial accommodation in this case would not actually assist him long term. (Because even if the processing speed issue had allowed him to finish the exam that he failed, he felt he still just didn’t know the material well enough to proceed…)
During our neuropsych meeting the other day, the Dr. commented to me that having McSon fail music theory may have been the best thing that ever happened to him, because it’s defined the limitations for which he requires assistance to overcome, and has motivated him accordingly.</p>
<p>So, may all our children’s challenges bear future fruit!
Cheers, K</p>
<p>Giving myself kudos today for getting myself to a yoga/pilates class yesterday. Definately the oldest and chubiest there, but have to start somewhere, right?</p>
<p>Also happy to note that S scheduled his own orthodontist appt. yesterday without being prompted. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but for someone who lets mom remind him about everything, it is a milestone.</p>
<p>I have also not looked at the Wellness thread. I think we are spoiled here! I leave for Florida at the end of the month…Yikes! Oh well, still plugging away! </p>
<p>D2 got her stitches out this morning. She is very crabby again. Her mouth is really hurting and still can’t eat much. She did get clearance to work out so she left for the gym…so not her mother! She is touring a possible transfer college tomorrow and I am not going. She looked at this school previously so will be interested in her
(re)assessment. In some ways I think she just wants to be done with the whole thing, almost like college is not for fun/entertainment/friends but just strictly education/work. Not sure if she can find the middle ground and that makes me sad. 
Her BF just found out yesterday that he was accepted to the college she is most interested in transferring to. hmmmm…</p>
<p>Well, NM, we can add your D’s surgery to the list of effective but not recommended diet plans. Oh, I feel so sorry for her!</p>
<p>Although this is by far my favorite thread on CC (where else are we traveling to such fun places?), I also hang out on the wellness thread from time to time. I’ve noticed the last couple of days some posts have been rather “preachy.” My attitude is, to borrow from my kids, “Whatever…” I’m of a mind that some people have things to say that I can learn from, and some people don’t. What works for one person may, or may not, work for me. Not all that different from the entire college process – lots of people out there telling me my D & S absolutely HAD to do x, y, & z to get in to any sort of decent school. Again, “Whatever …” There’s lots of advice here on CC on almost every topic imaginable – doesn’t mean I have to follow it. Other posters are certainly entitled to their opinions and I’m entitled to mine.</p>
<p>I guess this is me mellowing out in my old age. :)</p>
<p>Much easier to embrace that “whatever…” attitude when I can merely refresh the page or go to a different one.</p>
<p>I only wish when I went on the clinical depression diet, it had stuck. I don’t think I want that diet again, but damn, it was effective.</p>
<p>And I would LOVE that harry potter message system!! Not to get one, of course. :)</p>
<p>The “horrible flu that left me flat on my back with a high fever for a week” diet is another that was effective but not recommended. Who knew you could lose five pounds in a week?</p>
<p>I much prefer the “ride my bike in the French Alps and stop at every single bakery for a few pastries” diet. Mmm, that was good, and effective too. I still, twenty five years later, remember the award-winning bakery in Grenoble, in a country where the hundredth runner up bakery would be fabulous.</p>
<p>Cardinal Fang, #TM, and DragonLady,</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I feel like the world’s expert in this as my wife and son have it (and much more – reading, speech delay for son, organization) plus ADD/anxiety in daughter and anxiety in wife. With respect to writing, we worked on this with my son for years. On difficulty in forming letters and sentences, I recall an assignment in 4th grade to hand copy a paragraph. Should be easy, huh? No. It took him at least an hour to hand copy a paragraph (not that long, either). At the end, he had a headache that last for the rest of the day and he was too exhausted to do anything else. Spelling was random and punctuation was nearly non-existent. The good news is that he has improved a lot.</p>
<p>It really helps him to dictate, though he prefers a person to a computer. With a computer, he has Dragon (per kmcrindle), but the Professional version, which enables one to play back what one has recorded. IIRC, the lower, cheaper version didn’t let you do that. Otherwise, Dragon uses a predictive algorithm so if it misses on a couple of words, it can go off the deep end and produce some hilariously off target prose. For my son, this matters a lot as reading along is tiring. That may not be the case for your kids.</p>
<p>What really helped him was a combination of two things (likely other effects as well): 1) I junked his high school English classes (with lots of emphasis on reading and literary analysis) and focused on rewriting – just keep revising the paper until every sentence is clear and does something and there is a logical flow; and 2) he signed up for Moot Court and competitive bugger that he is, he wanted to win, and he had 10 minutes to deliver the opening (and X minutes for the closing). He needed to strip down the argument to its essentials and write it really clearly. He used to write fluff sentences. No room for them. Every sentence had to do something. And, he rewrote and revised. What was fun was that I used to look at his papers and say, “ShawSon, your argument is not crisp and compelling. The second paragraph doesn’t follow as clearly from the first as it ought to. Let’s trace out the logic and clean up the fluff sentences.” He’d say, “No. I’m going to get an A and I’m tired.” But for Moot Court, he heard the team that would ultimately win in his first year make their argument (he’d prepared his) and saw how strong it was compared to his (on the other side of the case). He came to me and said, “Dad. I listened to this other team argue the other side and I realize that my brief is not crisp and compelling. The argument isn’t as clean as it should be. Can I get your help in improving it?” I worked with him on every brief that year and by the end of the year, he could do it himself. He can write. It is tiring, but he can do it. And, if he chooses to attend to it, he can spell (mostly) and punctuate, although doing so takes significant energy. In this case, his intensely competitive streak overcame his desire to do the easy thing and he asked for help and learned to write. This was a significant part of his life (and mine) in the last two or three years of high school.</p>
<p>The other piece of good news is that the neuropsychologist said that his brain is actually rewiring itself. The speech delay is much reduced. Reading and writing are no longer physically painful, although they still tire him out.</p>
<p>So, my experience is that improvement is possible, with lots of desire and lots of effort. Good luck.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to figure out for him is something that your kids find easy. He doesn’t easily surf the web to find information because scanning many websites to find the one paper or reference that will be relevant is hard work for him. How does he learn to scan for information so that he can incorporate them into a research paper? At the moment, he looks for books that cover a subject and then uses their footnotes to point to sources. Not sure how to help him make that leap.</p>