benefits for students w/o disabilities

i hope you get lots of replies! i can say right off the top of my head that typically developing students will have a chance to learn altruistic behaviors, that they perhaps someday could become my child’s employer, co-worker, doctor, neighbor, etc. - or perhaps the parent of a child with special needs themselves. of course, they can learn compassion, patience, and understanding as well.

Interesting question. From my 20+ years of experience in sped I have seen all forms of services and I feel that inclusion is the most ridiculous and unnecessary of all. However, with that said - I can state that the general education population has benefited greatly. This is particularly true for what we used to refer to as the “cracker” kids. Those students whose IQ and achievement scores don’t have a discrepancy so they don’t qualify for services. They generally have low IQs but not low enough for MR. Parents and regular education teachers often feel if this child struggles academically they should receive special education services. The real truth is that some kids aren’t very smart and don’t qualify. Slow learners is sometimes the reference and it is these kids who end up with some adjusted curriculum and opportunites to have tests read and another adult to assist with their questions. The few times I was in an inclusion class, I know these students were getting the help they needed but did not qualify for. My experience is the inclusion staff member should not differenciate between the general ed and special ed student.

My daughter had students who were diagnosed as having Learning Disabilities, mild MR, and severe MR in her HS classes. She gained very positive feelings toward the efforts of the first two but became resentful and frustrated with the severe MR students. I would often ask her if she would like to trade places but over time (this is a very small school so the occurance of this student in her classes was high) that line became mute. The student, in the name of inclusion, was disruptive with excessive noises, would ask questions which were completely not relevant to the subject and monoplized class. The students as a whole did not gain these touchy feely feelings - instead it was quite the opposite. High school students are preparing for the next level of education and I respect this - even if I am a sped teacher - The placement of sped students at the expense of the learning of reg. ed students is not appropriate and should be evaluated when determining the LRE. I will not place a disruptive, high maintenance student in a general education class - their rights do not supercede the general population. However, if the student is appropriate for the class - in they go. Inclusion should not be an across the board dumping ground - it should be for those students who would truly benefit and not at the expense of anyone else.

In a perfect world, inclusion would result in better teaching for all students. The teachers who truly believe in inclusion and are able to get the training and support they need are simply better at teaching. They learn not to teach with a “one size fits all” mentality and this creates a better environment for all learners, not just those who have IEPs. Of course this doesn’t happen overnight and takes the support of everyone— keeping class size smaller, co-teaching and remediation from sped. staff, a district that can see beyond standardized test scores. I can dream, can’t I?

did you get the impression i felt otherwise?

so what are you saying? retards in one room, all others can sit together?

what type of classroom/school do you currently teach in? i imagine it is hard for you to support parents who want their child educated in an inclusive setting. does this make IEP meetings difficult?

> Interesting question. From my 20+ years of experience in
> sped I have seen all forms of services and I feel that
> inclusion is the most ridiculous and unnecessary of all.

Yes, you can dream! I can’t believe that I have asked such a sensitive question. It seems to me that with the NCLB initiative that schools will finally see the light and start to place more students with disabilities into general education classes. Of course that placement needs to include the necessary supports from special education teachers, school psychologists, behavioral specialists, and instructional assistants. If the government expects all students to meet the state mandated standards, then instruction for students with disabilities needs to take place within the curriculum which is measured by the high stakes tests. Students with disabilities (especially those with less than average levels of intelligence) have little chance of meeting those standards unless they are exposed to the standards. I have worked with special education teachers who previously taught in the “pull-out” model and then shifted to the inclusion model. It was tough at first, but all quickly realized that their presence and support in the general education class had an impact on all learners in the classroom. A study conducted in Indiana a couple of years ago (Cassandra Cole at I.U.) yielded interesting results concerning the benefits for all learners. In fact, all learners in the inclusive classrooms scored better on pre and post tests in reading and math than students taught in traditional classrooms. I would think that all educators would want the best for all learners! I need to add the I am strongly opposed to many of the requirements of NCLB, but until parent advocacy groups for students with disabilities and teacher groups STAND UP, we have to live with it.

While you’re dreaming, kids who need specialized instruction are getting passed along through the “regular ed” classroom without learning to read and write, getting daily ridicule and abuse instead of all those wonderful warm fuzzies that you read about in ivory towers. I fully agree wiht the dream, don’t get me wrong, and I have even seen it work. However, I’ve also seen what passes for “inclusion.” Bottom line — for every great idea, there’s a bureaucracy that can make it not work.
Go to LD In Depth and the “Inclusion and answers” section, and read Kate Garnett’s well-researched and balanced article on inclusion.

I test people with disabilities for a living - this includes physical, mental and emotional disabilities…there is a separate agency for the visually impaired.

I won’t bash the majority of teachers, but I don’t have a lot of good things to say about the ‘systems’ from what I’ve seen around the state. A lot of the graduates are in a world of trouble when it comes to employment with so many of the jobs requiring decent reading, writing and math. And don’t forget computer skills.

I believe that inclusion would be the best thing for all involved…in a perfect world.As it is, the children do get passed through the system. The ones with good social skills and support at home seem to survive it pretty well emotionally, but many come out hating school and never wanting to set foot in a class again. I know, I know, this isn’t anything new. I had classmates like that 35 years ago.

When I hear the word inclusion I think of one long, long year - 3rd grade - when this one kid whose name I’ve long since forgotten would jump up every 20 to 30 minutes and run screaming around the room 2 or 3 times and then jump up and down for awhile and scream some more. It was hard to get much done sometimes. Kept the slackers awake though :)

John

> When I hear the word inclusion I think of one long, long year
> - 3rd grade - when this one kid whose name I’ve long since
> forgotten would jump up every 20 to 30 minutes and run
> screaming around the room 2 or 3 times and then jump up and
> down for awhile and scream some more. It was hard to get much
> done sometimes. Kept the slackers awake though :)

too bad no one had the insight to build this into the student’s day - he might have benefitted from a break every half hour to get some needed sensory input. would have been less disturbing for everyone, don’t you think!! : - )

Sorry slow to respond - doing IEPs! I never implied that students are to be separated by MR non-MR, the point is that all students have the right to a free and appropriate education. That isn’t just for students on IEPs. If it is appropriate for a student, regardless of label, to gain/benefit from the placement then it should be considered. And no I do not have problems with parents wanting inclusion placements as long as they understand it is not a modification of curriculum or alternative curriculum. That is the function of a resource room. I have some very successful students in inclusion settings but the criteria for placement is rather strict. Some of the needed skills are work ethic, ability to organize materials, willingness to do work outside of class - this is just a few and doesn’t begin to address the child/student whose academic skills are not nearly high enough to be considered for an inclusion class. Another major indicator for successful performance in an inclusion class is involved parents realizing that there will be additional stress on the academic setting if they are in an inclusion class. Many parents want the appearance of normallacy but aren’t willing to do the necessary work with their child to create success. One additional point, many sped students receive high grades in resource settings and think they should earn those same type of grades in inclusion settings. (so do the parents) If my students earn Cs and Ds in an inclusive setting - that is success! (I teach HS)

been there done that - ran out of money - good bye to collaborative teaching!

I am always doing research on Inclusion and don’t know how to access the article you referenced. Please explain where I can find it.
Thanks!

How would envision this happening - take the student with a para out for a walk every 20- 30 minutes? Seems like a waste of services to me

> How would envision this happening - take the student with a
> para out for a walk every 20- 30 minutes? Seems like a waste
> of services to me.

do OT, PT, speech services, etc. sound like a waste of time, too? students should have their needs met - and if that means he needs sensory input, and going for a walk, deep pressure, etc. (a sensory diet) can help in this area - then this should be provided to a child. i’m disappointed to read that you would view it as a waste of an aides time.

Oh my God… Yes , that is exactly what I would expect them to do! It is called a Sensory Diet and there are many children who benefit from the ability to move during the day. A waste of sevice … how can anything that supports a child be a waste?

>And no I do not have problems with parents
> wanting inclusion placements as long as they understand it is
> not a modification of curriculum or alternative curriculum.
> That is the function of a resource room.

samantha - i am concerned! are you saying that a student who needs modifications of curriculum or an alternative curriculum should not be taught in an inclusive setting?? why is that? special ed is not a placement - its a service. and if a student needs a change or modification that can be handled in a regular classroom, why not? the law provides for this, it should not be up to the sped teacher to shoot it down.

>I have some very
> successful students in inclusion settings but the criteria
> for placement is rather strict.

is this only for your high school level? do you feel differently about students at lower levels?

>this is just a few and doesn’t
> begin to address the child/student whose academic skills are
> not nearly high enough to be considered for an inclusion
> class.

many students are successful in an inclusive setting even those whose academic skills are not nearly as high as their non-disabled peers. in fact, many students who are successfully educated in an inclusive setting gain benefit from the appropriate social interactions of non-disabled peers. no amount of time spent in a resource room will “remediate” some children’s issues - some will never read at grade level or do math at grade level - so why keep them in a resource room?

also, how do you handle the “behavior problem” kids who are not allowed in the regular classroom but (as you have noted) “belong” in a resource room?? is the behavior any different when in the resource room or do they continue to act out - thereby disturbing the other students in resource? why is it any better to allow the behavior problem student to act out in resource room - is it ok to let them disturb the kids in resource who are NOT behavior problems??

>Many parents want the appearance of
> normallacy but aren’t willing to do the necessary work with
> their child to create success.

and many parents know that no matter what their child will not be “normal” - and heck, they already know how to be retarded, so why put them in the “retard” room??? they need to learn how to function appropriately in life, not in a small resource room.

>One additional point, many
> sped students receive high grades in resource settings and
> think they should earn those same type of grades in inclusion
> settings. (so do the parents) If my students earn Cs and Ds
> in an inclusive setting - that is success! (I teach HS)

no way should grades be a reflection of the placement. if a child earns a high grade in a resource setting, they should be granted that same grade if taught in an inclusive setting. perhaps the grading system that is being used is not appropriate if their grades are lowered - they should not be compared to other students, their grades should reflect what is on their iep (goals and objectives).

how do you then define a resource room? What happened to remediation as a part of closing the gap between IQ and Achievement which is what got the LD placement in the first place. Is the decision to develop social skills a priority? Many students who act out can not be isolated in a general education classroom nor can their behavior be directly addressed without disrupting the rest of the class, however, the same behavior does not always present itself in the resource setting - they have lost their audience. I have experienced this frequently. I would agree that gaining social skills from the general education students is sometimes good but they are not always the role model I would want for my children. I will continue to disagree that curriculum should be modified in an inclusive classroom. What is created at that point is a resource classroom under the impression of being a general education class.
Finally, are you the one who wants to tell parents - “hey, your kids reading at the 3rd grade level and he is a Junior and well, I think it is better that they go into a class using materials 8 grades above their level so they can see how regular education students behave” Then further explain that you feel it is more important that they are with their peers and after all they aren’t going to read on grade level anyway so why not get those social skills.
I’m not going to go into an IEP meeting and tell parents this. I still think remediation is what should happen and if there is only 3 grade level gain - it’s better then none at all and that’s what happens in the inclusion classroom. It could be possible what you consider modifications to curriculum in the inclusion class, I would refer to as being accomodations. We make accomodations frequently but we do not alter the curriculum. I was trained by Floyd Hudson who is responsible for the concept of Class within a Class and it does not support a change in curriculum but more importantly a possible change of delivery. This method of instruction was awesome and effective.

samantha - do you feel any differently when it comes to educating students at the elementary level? do you feel this way only for LD kids, or any student who is classified, ie., cognitive impairment as well.

i’m giving your reply more time to sink in…

Absolutely I feel differently about the lower grades. Particularly where the skills of reading are being taught. That is why I have emphasized that I am at the HS level. There is a great deal of skill development that mild LD students can gain while in the gen. ed room and then have reinforced in the LD program. They can complement each other. At the high school level there isn’t that initial instruction for reading, writing, math etc. it is a perfecting of those skills and if are still at the learning to read level - you’ve got a huge mountain to climb. That is the issue I deal with. Third grade readers in classes covering material written at the 11th grade level. Even wonder woman the educator can’t make that happen! I don’t think some people realize how much of a discrepancy some kids in inclusion classes actually have - I frustrate with them when they are barely making Ds and spend hours on homework that has been reduced.
Thanks for at least considering my comments. I often tell my friends that I don’t take people not agreeing with me personally, I realize I don’t always get my way but I always keep trying.

> Thanks for at least considering my comments. I often tell my
> friends that I don’t take people not agreeing with me
> personally, I realize I don’t always get my way but I always
> keep trying.

i’m laughing - cause i feel the same way! i will always consider what others have to say, and will often dig deeper until i understand their point of view better. (and i don’t worry that you will convince me to change my mind…)

p.s. its not that i am so “pro-inclusion” - its more the impression i had from your posts regarding who should be included and who shouldn’t. and you know how many different opinions we can get on that topic.

i’ll go back to thinking mode for now-

I have been reading these post with great interest and I hope you will not mind my adding my two cents. Samantha, I really understand your frustration… but my experience is very different, and I can’t help but wonder why. In my US 1 & 2 History in-class support classes, we have students with a very varied level of abilities and disabilities. However, the only students earning D’s or less are the students who do not do work. As a team, my co-teacher and I plan our lessons so that everyone can get it. We too have been trained in the Hudson method. This model was designed for use with “students with mild to moderate handicaps”. Emphasis is on equalizing learning opportunities through effective teaching strategies and not curriculum adaptations (Hudson, 1989). In a ‘true’ Hudson classroom the curriculum is presented so that all students can understand and use the concepts presented. We include all modalities, even in our testing. Our poorest readers do not do well on their homework, but they pull their grades up in the other areas. By the time a student is in high school, they have been, in many but not all cases, saturated with remediation. I do think there comes a time when we have to help them move on. In my classes, the classified kids are usually the very best behaved; they desperately do not want their peers to ‘pick them out of the crowd’. They may be the poorest readers, but they are now able to use their other intelligences, (we utilize Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences in our lesson planning) My experience, our students and that of my co-teachers has been so positive. I am very pro-inclusive education. It is a necessary and beneficial placement for many students. It is also not, and I repeat NOT for every student or for every teacher. There will always be those students whose needs will be better met along the continuum of placement. There will always be those teachers who do not ‘work well with others’, (I say that with a smile because we teachers know how territorial we can be) and those who take the ‘not in my classroom’ approach. What my experience tells me is that in so many ways, inclusion is still in its infancy… even though my first team teaching experience was in the 1992-93 school year. The best we can all do is keep supporting each other and forcing the powers that be to recognize that the I in IEP means individualized, not inclusive!

thank you for a very thought provoking post. i hope you continue to share your teacher-perspective thoughts.

do you have any experiences in the younger grade levels?

I have not posted on the BB’s before, so this is a bit of a stretch for me. Since I was under the impression that this is a ‘supportive & positive forum’ I thought I would take a chance. I believe that more students would be afforded the opportunity to succeed in an inclusive environment if we educators could find ways in which to be supportive of each other. (Like they say, if you don’t want to be pulled down to the negative, stay out of teachers’ room) My experience also includes co-teaching on the preschool, middle school and elementary level. The most negative experience for me was on the middle school level. That was due to the fact the co-teacher was very very anti-in-class support. She would not ‘permit’ me to implement the accommodations in the IEP… Many of you are familiar with the infamous “that’s not fair”. You asked about the lower grades, so I will address preschool first. My opinion is that there are very few children who would not benefit from being in an inclusive preschool setting, as long as the preschool setting is developmentally appropriate. Related services blend themselves so well to the natural learning that occurs in s good preschool program. OT, PT and Speech/Language delivered in this environment benefit all the students. Additionally individual therapy can also be provided when the child’s needs require it. The benefits of this type of placement are enormous. The child is surrounded by age appropriate language and behavior. But please bear in mind; the situation can be horrible if the preschool doe not utilize developmentally appropriate practices. The positive experience can translate to grades k-1. Support in the classroom, small group activities, remediation when necessary. For example, in most elementary schools, reading is taught in small groups. In our first grade class, the Bluebirds did their thing, the Robins did theirs and in the Sparrows we worked in the Wilson Program. Since the children do not work independently in science or social studies, the classified students have the same experience in these subjects as their peers. For handwriting, we utilized Handwriting with Out Tears for the entire group… everyone benefited. I feel that in many cases it is the younger grades, where the ability discrepancy is of less importance, where the content is presented in a variety of modalities, where inclusion is the most successful. It does become more difficult as the demands and the discrepancy increase. My feeling is that it is better for the student if they have had experience in the regular ed setting in the beginning rather then if they have never been included then bingo in 7th grade someone just throws them to the wolves. Sorry I wrote so much, but good inclusion, and excellent special education, is my passion.

Thanks to everyone for the incredible response that my original post created. Obviously, we are an opinionated group. The reason for my question was to generate discussion regarding the benefits for students without disabilities when their classroom includes students with disabilities. A future teacher (later in life student) posed the question to me because of my background as special education teacher, school psychologist, and administrator. My opinion, if anyone cares, is that inclusion should be a goal and falls on a continuum of services. Some students are more likely to be successful than others. Their success is a function of their skill levels, motivation, willingness of the general education teacher to accommodate/modify, and the supports provided by special education teachers/paraprofessionals. Inclusion without support is intrusion! When the support is available and the administration provides the time for collaboration/consultation, then all students benefit. The research in this area indicates the all students in the inclusive classrooms benefit from this model. If students are expected to meet state standards, then they must be exposed to the curriculum being used to build the appropriate skills. I have my doubts about special education teachers using the expected curriculum in a traditional “pull out” model. Historically, special education teachers have focused their efforts on helping the student build skills from their “present level”, rather than focus on grade level standards. Please don’t misunderstand, I am not an advocate of the standards movement foe students wth disabilities. However, we have little choice when with No Child Left Behind, Geore Bush, and the Chamber of Commerce calling the shots. Not everyone is interested in or capable of post secondary education. This movement was created by and supported by the business community. Its very much like local elected school board members … just because they attended public schools does not make them an expert on education. Believe me, NCLB is leaving more students behind when they drop out because they can meet the unrealistic expectations.

> Absolutely I feel differently about the lower grades.
> Particularly where the skills of reading are being taught.

samantha - i have thought more about your words…and i’d like to know more about how you feel about educating kids at the elementary grades in an inclusive setting, if you care to share!

> Thanks for at least considering my comments. I often tell my
> friends that I don’t take people not agreeing with me
> personally, I realize I don’t always get my way but I always
> keep trying.

also, you mentioned in a different post that having a para take a student out for a walk to get some needed sensory input sounded like a waste of services. could you elaborate on why you feel this way? like i said, i am willing to consider your thoughts - are you willing to consider mine?

Ah you have hit the nail on the head! I too could echo what you are currently experiencing with Hudson’s model. Unfortunately, inclusion doesn’t work this way in many situations. There is no team teaching - and at the high school level there is such territorial issues it is almost impossible, in addition these people are teaching with far more knowledge then we have that we are not qualified. With that said, I taught for years at the middle level and experienced exactly what you said. Good for you and hopefully $$$$ will not cut into an effective method of instruction for MILD TO MODERATELY disabled kiddos.

Sure! The reason I criticized the taking of a student for a walk is what if that is a classroom of 5 additional sped students. Does serving one with supervised time-out justify leaving 5 without support. Back to that perfect world, if there were a para for each child - what a great idea that would be, but there isn’t. It is that issue of reality- not providing of services that I must deal with. The reality is - we don’t have enough people to provide everything so we must assess what is the best way (educationally) to provide the best services with what we have. I read frequently on this BB parents who are so adament that this or that must be provided to their child or they will take care of the school but I don’t think they realize how difficult that is. We aren’t trying to be difficult we are just realistic. If you want a dose of the latest reality try evaluating the ridiculous new legislation called “leave no child behind” - make miracles happen for a dollar twenty five or we’ll just take your money away. Now wouldn’t that solve the problem!

> Sure! The reason I criticized the taking of a student for a
> walk is what if that is a classroom of 5 additional sped
> students.

what if? doesn’t mean that the 5 speds will need SI input, etc.
also, in the younger grades, there (at least in my area) is a classroom aide in addition to the teacher. (has to be when there are so many kids in the class)

in my specific situation, there is the reg ed teacher, sped teacher, classroom aide and my child’s personal aide. it makes perfect sense for my son’s aide to provide the additional support he needs - this includes breaks when needed for SI input or otherwise, and therapeutic listening 2x a day. (no, this doesn’t mean he can’t do any other work, headphones are used when work is being done…) - in addition to that, he receives OT and speech services in the classroom.

>Does serving one with supervised time-out justify
> leaving 5 without support.

i would hope not. again, meet the needs of the child - but be realistic. don’t expect the teacher to be the one taking the student out of the classroom leaving any student unsupported. also, how about thinking outside the box. also, the child might not even have to leave the classroom in all cases. we’ve built in supports in our classroom - there is a listening corner which is carpeted, has books, a rocking chair, and a beanbag chair. its a great place for sensory input or just a little breather if a student is overwhelmed.

>Back to that perfect world, if
> there were a para for each child - what a great idea that
> would be, but there isn’t.

not every child would/should need a para. but those who do should have one. its much cheaper to educate my child in district with a para than it is to send him out of district. our district finds many ways to save even on paras - they frown upon full-time para’s and rather expect that a student work with one aide in the morning and another in the afternoon - helps their budget. doesn’t always help the child. most parents don’t complain even tho consistency in an aide would be better for their child.

>It is that issue of reality- not
> providing of services that I must deal with. The reality is
> - we don’t have enough people to provide everything so we
> must assess what is the best way (educationally) to provide
> the best services with what we have.

i’m not unreasonable. and i find that *most* parents are not, either. i find that if the district and the parents and teachers worked together to best meet the needs of the student, we’d all be better off. discuss the needs, identify obstacles, and see if there is a way to work around them. unfortunately, sometimes the district and teachers dig their heals in just as much as some parents do and no one benefits. i get the impression that you have pretty firm convictions and if a parent wanted to do something other than what you had in mind that there would be a standoff. i’m hoping i’m wrong - that’s why i asked if you would consider other’s thoughts…

>I read frequently on
> this BB parents who are so adament that this or that must be
> provided to their child or they will take care of the school
> but I don’t think they realize how difficult that is.

don’t lump me in with this crowd…the last thing i want to do is battle with the school, etc. but it is my job as a parent to have my son’s needs met.

>We
> aren’t trying to be difficult we are just realistic

so am i!

Most of the difficulties I have had with the school involved my wish that they take my son out of ineffective programs that do more harm than good.

Teachers should take the same oath as physicians. First do no harm.

linda - care to elaborate?

You have probably opened a huge can of worms with this one…. but I agree with you! Teachers and CST’s have to stop looking at the parents as the enemy! Every parent of a classified child that I know, including myself… my three children are classified, has at one time or another had to stand in front of their CST and teachers and plead for help for their child. This BB is intended for us to offer ideas and suggestions on how to SUPPORT inclusive education. As a teacher, I continually put myself on the line by fighting with the powers that be to get the correct services and supports for the children in my care… I feel that my energy is much better spent fighting for my students than complaining about everything.

Jane,

I taught my child to read with the program phonographix after the school failed with daily intensive whole language.

Interactive metronome and some visual spatial exercises have improved his attention and gotten him up to being a regular ed math student after being the lowest in the class. We also practice math facts as often as we can.

We are currently undergoing vision therapy to address an underlying vision issue.

I have the audiblox program and started it with great success before we started vision therapy but have put it on hold until the summer. Stretching my son out too thin just doesn’t help.
I buddy read with him every night, get him books on tape and do language wise exercises so that he doesn’t lose his comprehension and vocabulary strengths while we remediate his deficits.

I have researched every possible aspect of his disability and have worked incredibly hard to find ways to remediate his deficit. I don’t fight for programs at the school, I have found it easier to provide things myself.

I have fought to get him out of a two teacher, so called inclusion sped class where the teacher was very rigid and unneccesarily dumbed down the curriculum. He is doing well in a regular ed classroom with no accomodations and no sped.

I commend you for all your efforts. You are a very supportive parent and your child will benefit forever for the time you are spending. I wish I had encountered more parents willing to put in this kind of time. They expect the school to do all the work. I too had many hours of “work” with my son and he is so much the better for it. I also realized that he wasn’t going to get the same quality time in a classroom of 23 kids so I had to compliment what was happening at school. I realize many parents lack the skills to help their kids or their kids resist but the key is to get information and start early! Kuddos to you!

The flip side of that is what happened to us when my NLD son was in 3rd grade. He had been cored in kindergarten at the request of his perceptive K teacher, and put on an IEP for 1st and 2nd grade. He did great with the minimal support they gave him (1/2 hour daily with the SPED teacher in an inclusion classroom, and 1/2 hour 2x weekly OT) and at the end of 2nd grade they pulled his IEP. (I didn’t know enough at that point to know I could refuse, nor did we know that he had NLD, or what that was)

Third grade was a horror show with me spending 3 hours or more a night on school work with him, while the teacher was reporting that he he was totally shut down and had quietly sat at his desk doing “nothing” all day. Because he was not disruptive in the classroom, they were unwilling to reinstate his ed plan or do more testing to figure out what was going on. I was clearly doing my part, the classroom teacher is a wonderful person and was trying, but was clearly in over her head with this kid. The SPED dept., IMO, wasn’t doing its job.

If a parent has to spend 3 hours a day teaching a 3rd grader what he DIDN’T learn in school, at the end of the day when he’s tired, burned out and shut down, IMO, they’d be MUCH better off not sending him to school at all.

The silver lining was that this traumatic year made me realize that I needed to learn more about SPED law myself, and also pay for a good outside neuropsych, since the school wasn’t doing its job. Back at school in September with a thorough neuropsych report and the neuropsychologist and an advocate at my side, funny thing, he was back on a reasonable ed plan.

Unfortunately, as is typical for NLD kids, he is needing more support as he progresses through the grades, not less. But because I am a better educated parent and _I_ took the initiative to figure out what was going on, he is now doing solid grade level work on an inclusion team in middle school. I suspect that if I hadn’t, he would now be considered a serious “behavior problem”, and be well below grade level with possibly irreparable emotional damage.

Fortuantely, when faced with the facts, my school system has risen to the occasion and is adequately meeting his needs in school. But they have done almost NONE of the work of remediating his underlying deficits where that is possible. That has fallen almost completely to us to handle outside of school. But because I’m not spending hours forcing school work down his throat outside of school time, we are able to work on those deficits.

Realistically, he will need help all the way through high school. If he goes to college, it is likely that we will have to start him off at a community college, or a 4 year school within commuting distance so that we can still provide support from home. (we are fortunate to live in an area that there are several such schools, with good LD support, within commuting distance)

This is a kid with a high average IQ, and a tremendous work ethic. Once he knows something, he knows it for good. But his processing speed when faced with novel material goes down to a level that it is not functional in a general ed classroom without help. And school, by nature, is filled with more novel material than we EVER face in the rest of our lives.

I am quite convinced that my son will be able to find a fulfilling career in the adult world. But he will probably take a longer time than the average kid to get there. And he will ONLY get there if we can slow down the pace and pressure at school so that he doesn’t fall apart emotionally as a result of the stress. My school system knows the track record of NLD kids in high school who don’t receive the proper supports when they are younger. They have a couple in outside placements after suicide attempts. They are realistic enough to know that money spent on proper support of my kid now could mean huge savings in outside placement costs later if they DON’T provide that support.

Karen

Karen, what’s NLD stand for and what kind of accomodations are indicated?

great that you are getting such good support - also kuddos to you for all your efforts and realizing that the system isn’t perfect and the shareholders are human

Hi Rita,

NLD is Nonverbal Learning Disorder. It is a complicated developmental disability that is characterized by poor visual/spatial skills, poor fine and/or gross motor skills, problems with social skills, and higher order reasoning/problem solving. Many NLD’ers (but not all) have a marked split between their VIQ and PIQ, with the VIQ higher. They are extremely literal, and have problems with inferential comprehension. They don’t generalize their knowledge experiences from one situation to another. Because of this, they are often very rigid, and don’t adjust to changes well.

Typically (although again not always, because there can be other, complicating factors) they have early strong language skills, (Robbie spoke in phrases at 9 months and spoke the way he does today by 18 months) and are early readers. They have strong rote memory skills and are very capable with linear processes.

Because the things they are good at are valued strongly in early elementary school, few are dx’d until late elementary school unless they have really severe social skills issues. Even then they are more likely to be incorrectly dx’d with an emotional problem or ADHD.

Typically, they hit the wall somewhere between 3rd grade and middle school when the demands change from learning the basics to putting those basics into practice.

I’m pretty sure there are several articles about NLD on this web site. Hope that helps,

Karen

Oh, the system taught me early that it wasn’t perfect. I had to learn to advocate for my son… his life depended on it.

Karen

Thanks, Karen — I appreciate the information. I’m still learning.