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Post a message or simply read what others have written and answered. Rachel, a RightStart™ Math user and one of our customer care people, will be monitoring this forum. She will respond to your questions as needed.

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Is Right Start math a good fit for kids with processing and attention issues?

Looking for a math program for a 10 yr old girl child who struggles with visual motor speed, processing speed, attention and flexible thinking. diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. We tried teaching textbooks but it wasn't a good fit. She was previously in public school and common core math was a nightmare. She is currently working on multiplication.

Re: Is Right Start math a good fit for kids with processing and attention issues?

Hi, Danielle. My name is Rachel and I am glad you posted!

I have four children. Two of my four children have learning struggles - INCLUDING - ADHD. My son, Logan, also has dyslexia, memory deficiency and ADHD (auditory processing disorder) so he is very slow at processing information. As a result, he stutters because his mind can't provide information fast enough for his mouth.

RightStart Math has been FABULOUS for us! I happened upon the program when I started homeschooling my older child. Of course, because I already had it, I started Logan in the program when he started school. For math, things were a little slower, but he did well. Reading, on the other hand, was horrible....let alone spelling. When my son got into third grade and still could not read, I tried a program designed for dyslexic children. That seemed to break through his reading struggles.

I eventually had him tested in 5th grade because he was still struggling. As he was tested, she said that he was between moderate to severe dyslexic and had significant memory deficiency and, of course, ADHD. All of these come under the auditory processing disorder umbrella.

However, she did say this, 'I don't know what you are using for math, but keep using it. Students who struggle this much should be much further behind in math. Your son is almost right on grade level.'

I believe RightStart does a fabulous job in helping these students for several reasons.

1. It does not require much writing. Many of these children take so long to process the answers then have to start again to remember how to write the numbers. RightStart Math, while it does have worksheets, they are not for 'drilling' math facts, but are designed to be sure the student knows how to articulate math in writing. Practice comes by playing math card games, which I will expound upon later.

2. Students do not need to rote memorize their math facts. Yes. Math facts are learned and memorized, but not by reciting random numbers, memorizing the order and remembering which symbol to use. Instead, they learn to understand how math works and can visualize the quantities by viewing the AL abacus. The AL Abacus is a fabulous tool that my struggling learners used physically and then eventually mentally to see the quantities.

In addition, they learned how to manipulative the math facts to make it work for them. For example, when I asked my daughter what 8 x 7 was, she broke it down like this (and these are her words): 'Well, I know 8 x 5 is 40 and I need two more 8's, which is 16. 40 + 16 is 56. 8 x 7 is 56.' Because my daughter knows how multiplication works, she knew how to piece together multiples without having to memorize each and every multiple!

3. Each math lesson is full of activities - not worksheets and lectures. In fact, when I taught math, we sat on the floor, gathered the manipulatives for the day around us and 'played' math. That way, my child could roll around in the floor if they needed to. However, the need to 'squirm' was lessened because of the activities with the manipulatives.

4. One of the best elements in RightStart Math is the fact that they use math card games instead of numerous worksheets to practice their math facts and review math concepts. My kids LOVED the games and would not want to stop. In fact, for one of my kids, I had to set a timer on how long he could play the math card games. Otherwise, he would never get to his science studies! Ha! There are more than 300 math card games included in the program that cover various topics: basic numeration, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, time, money, fractions/percents/decimals. if there is a concept your child struggles with, there is likely a game or two that covers it!

For more information about how RightStart Math works for the struggling learner, you may want to view a two-part pre-recorded webinar series on RightStart Math and Teaching Children with Learning Difficulties. Here is the link: https://rightstartmath.com/resources/pre-recorded-webinars/ Scroll down until you see, 'Teaching Children with Learning Difficulties'. I gave that webinar a couple of years ago and I think it might be helpful to you.

I hope this information has given you some things to think about. Of course, if you have any further questions about the program, please do not hesitate post them here or contact us directly at info@rightstartmath.com.

Have a fabulous day!
Rachel