Having a VSL child

I have recently discovered the visual-spatial learning style. I was introduced to the concept through another homeschool mom on one of the yahoo groups I’m on. She was describing her 9yo son and she could just as easily been describing my 8 yo ds!

…forgetting all the phonics he’s learned...drills accomplishing nothing…low confidence in reading and spelling…visually distracted…understanding complicated concepts without knowing the basics first…having a wild imagination…love to build and create things…daydreaming…

These are all signs of VSL. My ds fit the bill on each and everyone.

I’m working my way through Upside Down Brilliance by Dr. Linda K. Silverman. I admit when I first received it in the mail – I devoured it – I’ve since slowed down and only pick it up once in a while. There was so much information to process and techniques to try that I got started right away with my ds and I also needed to just let some of the information assimilate in my mind.

The first thing I did was to develop a bit more patience. I confess I got very frustrated with him not remembering things “we JUST did yesterday!!!” I learned through her book that he will need more “input” in a different manner than what I had been doing. I learned that he needed to see the big picture FIRST (i.e. whole to parts) instead of a step-by-step process (i.e. parts to whole). Phonics was the first thing to go. I ordered Dick and Jane in a Flash from Little Giant Steps and checked out the Dick and Jane Storybook from our local library. He read that whole book in a couple of weeks reading a short lesson everyday! Talk about a confidence booster! Now he is re-reading it just for fun. Can a mother ask for more than that?