Need ideas from teachers

What’s his IQ or cognitive ability level? Could he do a modified assignment? Could he use books on tape, and an Alphasmart to key in the answers? If he has average IQ, with severe ld, modifications and accomodations should help. If his IQ is commenserate with his achievement, maybe a resource room setting would be more helpful.

His testing shows he has a normal IQ, I ask about books on tape and was told “they were to hard to follow along” What sort of modifications would you suggest. I don’t expect my son to have special treatment, I just want him to have the same advantages as other kids, with taking his LD into consideration.

Books on tape *are* hard to follow along with for lots of kids with dyslexia. Since the root of the dyslexia is often auditory, no real surprise that listening to language is tiring. It is a *really* good idea to do it — but not to the point past the frustration level or even to the point where he’s really not listening any more. (It’s *great* practice for listening to college lectures.)

This situation with the science teacher sounds like a no-win deal. It really sounds like you will get minimal return for your time and emotional investment. I would put into writing a very explicit grading plan that involved your “50%” — or I would figure out my own 50% and to eternal roasting go her idea of grades and evaluation. What “science” is he (supposedly) learning this year anyway?

… what kind of science?

I would ask for copies of notes and study guides. How about having the test read to him in the special ed classroom and more time for tests. Does he have a tutoring class? I am a special ed teacher and we have a class to help the kids study for reg ed classes. The teacher works with the regular ed teachers to modify assignments and to provide the same content at a lower reading level. Look for or ask for books that cover the concepts but are easier to read. Focus on the main cocept of the chapters.
Nan

I agree its a no-win situation with this teacher, but we’ve got 9 weeks left this year and all of next year with the same teacher, no way around it. The types of things he’s learning this year are varied, the only thing he’s done well with is simple machines, and that’s because I could use things to show him, i.e. can opener, screw. he’s a very visual learner. The last assignment was elements in the human body. He had to find 20 elements in the body and list what each of their jobs were and what food source they came from. There were only five listed in the book and the kids had to research and find the other 15. Now how was he suppose to do that. So anyway, I ended up doing it and it was a hard assignment, I had a hard time finding 15 and their jobs and food source. He didn’t do well at all on that test, how do you show someone an element. At the last meeting the special ed director asked her how he does on hands on things, such as experiments, she said oh very well, and I said couldn’t you grade him on that then. Her response, do you want me to give him a good grade because he shows up and has fun?
I don’t know what to ask for or how to help him. This class is going to keep him from playing sports, the one thing he excels out and he needs sports for his self esteem.

Great question. I don’t like the current approach much but it would be good to have some more information.

What kind of homework is it? Is it basically answering questions? Is it projects? Written assignments?

And what are her tests like? Fill in the blank? Multiple choice?

And what are the tests based on? The homework? The textbook? Her lecturues in class?

I’d do the 50% of the homework that would help him most on the tests but I need a little more information to figure out which 50% that is. Are his tests modified to 50% of the covered material or does the modification not apply to tests?

Off the top of my head, I’d want those tests modified. If he’s reading at a 3rd grade level, he’s going to have trouble reading a Middle School science test. It’s hard to pass a test that you can’t read well.

No his tests are modified, that’s the problem, we do half the homework adn then he is tested on all of it. The tests are read to him in the LD classroom, But honestly, I don’t know what kind of tests he’s given, he has to keep them all in a notebook to turn in again at the end of the nine weeks, for another grade. Which is another problem, do you realize how hard it is for an ADD kid to keep track of nine week worth of assigments for 9 weeks. Impossible! I talked to her about this and she said well, he’ll just have to do it.
The homework is everything. worksheets, written assignments, which I send a note saying will not be completed, there is no way he can do that, writing on a 1st grade level.

I think that if your son has made little or no progress in reading and writing in several years and is functioning on an early elementary level in middle school, this is the time to junp up and down and demand another full evaluation; maybe something else is interferring with his learning, but I don’t know how a middle school class could be modified for someone reading and writing 5-6 years below grade level. Does he understand the material if it is read to him? Can he type his answers into an Alphasmart? Or use a fellow student as a study-buddy, and borrow that student’s notes? Instead of trying to change this particular teacher, I would concentrate on finding out why he is learning so slowly.

Is it possible for a push in program or a CWC science class?

I have made several attempts to find out why he isn’t learning to read. I even called a local university that has a program for dyslexic’s, they advised me to try the Wilson Reading Program.
I went to the school and they agreeded to buy it, but then it sat in a box for months, I finally called everyday until they started using it, this was last year. I could see a big improvement. But then this year, once again they didn’t use it. The LD teacher said he didn’t need me to tell him how to teach, well apparently he did, he has had my son for 3 years now, and this Wilson Reading System was the only progress I’ve ever seen.
But then this year started and once again, no progress and they weren’t using the WRS again, So in Jan, I started jumping up and down and they started using it again, even though the super. of schools told me “experts have said this isn’t that great of program, but if that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll use” And for about a month they were, and my son even came home one day and said he thought he was learning to read. But then the other day, he said they hadn’t been using the WRS for awhile, the teacher has been to busy. So now what?

Also, Olivia, what is CWC Science Class?

I think if you have documented recent IQ testing(WISC III) that shows an IQ of 90+, and your son(grade 7) has had 6+ years of reading and writing special ed. teaching and he’s still at an early elementary level, you have a great case to demand an outside eval. and get to the bottom of things. I think you need to find out WHY he’s not learning and not assume it’s the lack of a specific program or a certain teacher.

I’d decide where my efforts were going to go — I’d sit and make a list of the most important things and figure out what’s worth jumping up and down about.

Kathy,

I’m sorry but I agree with the person above that said his delays are too severe to expect him to do the work in a regular 7th grade science class. I would strongly suggest that you do one of two things. Either hire an outside tutor who is trained in a multi-sensory structured language program like Wilson and who also can teach him writing, or pull him out of school and go to a Lindamood-Bell intensive for several weeks (very expensive choice), or get the training yourself and teach him at home. (Another option is to part-time homeschool and go the the regular school for electives). With those delays, he will probably not make it through the required high school curriculum. Very few schools offer the combination of the right remedial methods and intensive therapy time. Often resource rooms have 10 or 12 kids in them who have very different needs. Even the resource teacher can’t give the attention that is needed to make significant progress. You can modify, but I see no way a child with 1st grade writing skills and 3rd or fourth grade reading level will make it through high school English. It sounds like you’re already homeschooling him, as a matter of fact, but the problem is that he surely gets tired at school and then has to repeat it all at home with you. I know I have strong opinions and certainly do not know your child, but I do not believe inclusion is the best placement for children with significant delays. I’ve just seen too many kids in this exact same boat who finally get to age 16 and drop out after years of failure in regular classrooms.

Janis

I should add that a private LD school would be another valid option for delays this severe, but again, the good ones are very expensive. You might have a pretty good case to get the school district to pay for it, though, since they haven’t remediated his skills to any meaningful degree…IF you get the right lawyer and have the fortitude for the fight.

Janis

Janis,
Thanks for the advice, but none of the things you mentioned are options. We live in a very rural area, I have tried to locate a tutor and there are none available, as well as no private LD schools. As for the home schooling, he is very social and would really miss the interaction with other kids. Plus, I work full time, so the part time home schooling isn’t an option either, due to transportation problems.
I’m really at a loss, but I do know he deserves a FAPE, but getting it is another thing.

Kathy,

Okay, how about demanding that he have all academics in the resource room and electives in regular class? I know, they probably don’t “offer” science in resource. However, they legally can’t tell you that! If that is what he needs, then they surely will have to provide it even if he is the only one in the class! (Which might give him some of the intensive, individualized instruction he needs).

I would absolutely do one thing since none of the other suggestions are an option. I would have the IEP include that he will receive instruction in a multi-sensory structured language program for at least one hour a day (or whatever one or two periods is). You can’t really force them to use a particular one, but any on the list from the article on this site under LD In depth would be good. He also will need a complimentary writing program. One that is based on Spalding and combines reading and writing can be found at this site. It is relatively inexpensive and I have been told it is not too hard to use:

http://www.riggsinst.org/index.shtml

You could even try teaching him with it over the summer…or else find a teacher who would be willing to learn to tutor him.

You know Kathy, the frustrating thing is that as a special ed. teacher, I have researched and am finding out the methods that work best. But for example, all the Lindamood-Bell workshops will be offered 35 minutes from my home this summer and my school system will not pay a penny for me to go…and it’s on MY time! I am already going to Phono-Graphix training in April…I just can’t afford to do them all without some support form the school.

Janis

Ok, last year at the IEP meeting, I ask for one hour per day, with the Wilson Reading System, and the LD teacher said, flat out, no way, I don’t have time. But, you’re saying if I don’t specify and just state one hour of multi-sensory structured language program daily, they have to provide? What if the teacher says the same thing, no way, no time?
2nd, I ask about having him take science in the LD classroom and the LD teacher said they aren’t allowed to provide science in there, they have to main stream them for that. He said my only other choice was to put him in the DH class for science. I ask my son what he would think of that, he says I’ll quit school first, the kids in DH are all very much different than my son.
Since, this class is an option, can they use that as an excuse not to place him in LD for science. And, if I say that placing him in the DH class would not be the LRE, can they use that against me?
I really appreciate your suggestions, I’m so frustrated, I just want him to learn to read and write. I really don’t care if he ever learns to build a rocket, or knows all the symbols for the elements. I want him to have the basic’s to get through life.

Kathy,

I promise, if I lived closer to you I’d come to that meeting with you!

“What if the teacher says the same thing, no way, no time?”

The answer is: that is illegal to base the child’s program on the teacher’s schedule. The IEP is based on this ONE CHILD’S NEEDS. They can hire another teacher if necessary.

Regarding science in the resource room…I’d ask WHO says he can’t have it in there? The federal law does not say he can’t have it in there. Every state uses different initials for things, so I’m not sure what DH stands for…is it developmentally handicapped? (as in mild mental retardation?). If so, you are correct that it would be an inappropriate placement. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it if your son hates it. I’ll get back to the science in a minute.

“But, you’re saying if I don’t specify and just state one hour of multi-sensory structured language program daily, they have to provide?”

Well, the team would have to agree to this. Listen, I am one who HIGHLY suggests that people try to stay on good terms with the school. In the long run it is best. BUT in your case where they clearly have let your child down…I think you have some power that you need to start using. I would calmly and nicely explain that you have been reading about children whose parents sued the school district when the child was shown to make little progress with the services provided…just like YOUR SON (who is still on first grade level in writing and spelling, in case they have forgotten their failure to teach). And that if appropriate services including a MSSL program for reading and writing are not consistently initiated on a daily basis, then you hope they are prepared to pay for private LD school tuition and transportation. In one respect, you could just radically modify the science so that he is basically not graded on most of the material just to have him in there for social reasons. Or, you could fight for him to have it in resource. Although, I agree with you, he needs intensive work on basic skills and I’d really be willing to sacrifice things like science and social studies to get the essentials remediated. I think if it were me, I’d go for getting the reading and writing and further modify the science (and social studies?). Those tests definitely need to be modified to the point that he is not failing. Since he can’t do the reading and writing required for that class, it is really unfair to grade him. I would absolutely get that stupid notebook grade dropped! Write it in the IEP! I think for the tests, I would request that he be tested on a certain number of main points of the chapter, and that you be given those points at the beginning of each new chapter. The test material needs to be narrowed down, not just the homework.

A parent is at a real disadvantage when going into a meeting alone with 4 or five people from the school. When you make a point and then you have 5 people disagreeing, it is very tough to get what you want. That’s why words like “lawyer” and “due process” are very powerful and effective. Parents with that kind of knowledge (especially when they are asking for reasonable services) often get what they want. But stay calm. They know they have you if you lose your composure.

Janis

If the resource teacher was actually foolish enough to say that- you have cause for legal action. Districts are not allowed to use lack of time or resources as an excuse for not providing appropriate programming. It is - I think - specifically written into the law that way.

Kathy- you need support in these meetings and someone with a good, clear sense of what your rights are as a parent as well as your son’s rights as a student- like an advocate. You know a lot but sometimes that is not enough. I would also suggest that you skate over to Wrightslaw and see what you can find out about how to deal with this procedurally in a way that gets you some results and preserve some measure of your sanity. Good luck.

Then I’d ask for modification of the curriculum and tests designed to reflect that modification. The current method he’s working under isn’t a good one.

Logic demands he’ll do poorly on tests when he’s only done 50% of the material covered by the test.

If nothing else can be done, I’d take the homework from him and do it myself. Use a word processer and type up the work so it’s in nobody’s handwriting. If you can do that, then I’d ask that only his homework count and he not be given tests. Treat the homework as a test.

Whose idea was it to modify his homework to 50% but not his tests?

Janis can you go to the PTA and get any support??? Will the parents of the kids who’d benefit from the LB go to the district and say we want this paid for?? Do you have a coalition of local churches you could challenge to sponser a local kid to learn to read instead of one in South America??? I just can’t stand that you’re in that position.

PK,

The problem in our district is that it is semi-rural and we just don’t have many educated parents who understand their rights, much less know how to research whether a program is good or not. If we had a good LD parent support group, I think we could see some push toward change. It just doesn’t exist.

Honestly, I can see myself eventually pulling my youngest out of charter school, homeschooling her, while starting a consulting service to help homeschoolers with their special needs children. I could see churches supporting that even more. I could also do the materials lending thing. There are reasons I don’t think now is the time, but my increasing disappointment with the overall government school system (combined with other reasons) may push me in that direction.

Thank you for your concern and suggestions, though.

Janis

I guess I’m the stupid one who suggested the 50% of his homework only be required. But when I made this suggestion, I was assuming the teacher would mark the most important 50%, but of course, she refused to do that. So, then I decided, ok I’ll just do it all, but then I had problems with completing some of it, and when I ask for help, such as where to find the answers, she just ignored my requests. None of the kids, even non-LD ones, are doing well in her class, but is it any wonder. I think I’m fairly intellegent (although, that’s just my opinion), and I can’t complete the 7th grade assignments. I have kept all this stuff and plan on taking it to the meeting with me, to show the principal, but that will be about worthless, but I’m going to try and make the effort. Here is an example, she sent a homework page home with 30 definitions, there were 10 I couldn’t locate, in the
glossary, or index or even after re-reading the entire chapter, oh and they weren’t listed in any of her notes either. I faxed her a note asking where I could find these definitons…..and I got no response. Another time, I couldn’t figure out an assingment, I faxed a note asking for help. She said look on page so and so. I looked, it still didn’t explain what I needed to know, so I sent another note, saying that didn’t help, could you please go over this with him, so he’ll understand. She sent a note back, asking if I just wanted him exempt from this assignment. I faxed a note back…..saying no, I want him to learn, but if you don’t have the time to do that, then yes exempt him. Doesn’t she sound like a caring teacher?
I’ve kept copies of all this, don’t know if it ever comes to a due process hearing if this will carry any weight or not, but I’ve not learned to save EVERYTHING.

Living in a rural area, I know what you mean about not enough parents educated on their rights. I bet…out of the 26 kids in my son’s LD class…I am the only parent who complains. I don’t think most of the kids in his class have problems as severe as mine, so they don’t really have the issues that I do. I’m not even sure how some of them qualify for LD services, he has one little girl in his LD class, that is on top enough of things, that she helps him do his homework in class. Which, is a god send lots of times, but how does she qualify, and isn’t she taking time away from other kids who really need more help.
Anyway, because I’m the only one complaining, I look like the butt. As a matter of fact, the parent advocate in our district, told me her self, she gets tired of fighting and just more or less goes with the flow. She has a hearing impaired daughter, and she let them put her in the DH class, just so she wouldn’t have to fight them so much. Well, I’m not ready to cave in yet.
I’ve went to the principal, the superindent, I’m just wondering if it would do any good to go to the school board. I just think someone needs to know there is a problem. What do you think?

In my experience, the school board will always back the principal unless you can prove something illegal has happened. What does DH stand for?

Janis

DH stands for devoplementally handicapped

In other words—to use the less politically correct term—children with mental retardation. I don’t blame you for refusing to let your son be placed there!

Yours truly,
Kathy G.

Kathytoo wrote:
>
> DH stands for devoplementally handicapped

That’s what I assumed, but you never know. As I said last night, I agree that that is not appropriate. I could go for a cross-categorical class with something like hearing impaired and LD, but not a class with all DH.

Kathytoo, the people at your school need a little education in that the continuum of placement with any disability goes from regular class with consultation all the way to self contained and then special private school placement on the other end. Our district does not offer everything in resource either, but we just haven’t had a parent challege it. The move toward inclusion was supported with research that said kids in special classes were not making enough progress. Well, duh! You think that just MIGHT have had something to do with not using effective methods???? Kids in inclusion who are not getting remediation or instruction at their level certainly aren’t going to progress either!

Janis

Hi, my daughter is one who is also tasked to help others in her resource room. She has a mental illness called Bipolar Disorder which makes attending regular mainstream classes so intensely stressful that it destabilizes her and can send her to another hospitalization. The problem as I understand it from the reading I’ve been doing is that the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to special education doesn’t work. She’s in a class with basically ‘slow’ learners, and she does have a deficit particularly in spelling, but in all other ways, academically she could qualify as gifted. Her main problem is her neurological condition which manifests itself as emotionally disabled, SED to be exact, severely emotionally disabled. I wish there could be a meeting of parents to have some control and focus on the actual implementation of the school’s particular special education program, but I can only advocate for my daughter and have no rights to advocate for any other child, although they impact her ability to learn as well and vice-versa. I understand your frustration.

Bonita

Kathy, I also live in a small rural area. I can really sympathize with you because the school does want to help my daughter, but the reality is that they are limited in what they can provide her. The thing is though that if it’s proven a disabled child needs ‘whatever’ to progress in his education, then legally the school can’t deny him. You don’t have to accept what is handed out…you can bargain for other accomodations. It get tiring and old to have to keep up the good fight when legally you shouldn’t have to push for the modifications. Ask for the moon with full documentation to back you up, and if denied, go for a hearing.

Bonita

Why not start a parents advocacy group yourself? After I get through all my researching, cussing and discussing, I plan to begin a group myself, three counties wide since we have a cooperative special education district encompassing those counties and all school districts within. I know that if there was a group for me, I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much to learn the process. That I did is neither here nor there…what matters now is getting my daughter what she needs, and then passing along the information I’ve learned to save some other parent this frustration.

Bonita

Your son should play sports if he excells at them. Do not let the school stand in his way. This is one area my son excells in and I would never dream of not letting him play. In fact, when he is playing his grades have improved.

Wilson is a good program, insist they use it. Or call your local International Dyslexia Association and ask for a list of tutors who use any Orton-Gillingham method and get him reading.

I live in a very rural area. I can understand the frustrations of you parents. What I see in my district is that yes, services are provided that fit the disability. I don’t know of any mandates on length of services. For example, it can be stated that OT services are needed for a student. The district has an OT that visits the school once a month. The OT has an aide that does the exercises needed by a student 3 times a week for 20 minutes. Are services provided? Yes, but not to the extent that would be most beneficial. I don’t know if it is stated how much is to be provided to be a “provided” service. I hope you can follow this. Specific mandates as to length of service need to be written and not just stated who qualifies to be serviced. Someone help me out if there are specifics as to time requirements and with whom.

Why don’t send your son to a boarding LD school. I am in a similar situation and I can tell you there is no way your son will catch up and things are going to get worse if you leave them alone. Hire a lawyer and if you win and you probably will, the school district will have to pay your laywers fees.

Good luck!

robin

I don’t want to let the school stand in his way of playing sports, but how do I get past it? They say if he doesn’t have the grades he can’t play, if they won’t help with modifications, he won’t make the grades. I can’t make them understand that he needs to play sports as much as he needs to learn to read. He excels at sports, it makes him feel good about himself.
I’d appreicate any ideas on how to make this happen for him.

I hate to think I have to hire a lawyer, I keep thinking with help, I can handle this. As for the boarding school, this kid won’t even spend the night with a friend. Plus, I don’t want to have to send him away to school. Why should I have to give up the joy of watching my son grow up? The school is required to give him a FAPE. I just can’t imagne sending him away to a school, yes he’s 13, but he’s still my baby. I want him here with me, not somewhere letting strangers raise him.

Good for you Bonita. I started one here in my hometown where I moved (rural) to be close to a tutour for my son and I’m going to start a coop when I go back home. If parents ban together they can afford a lot more different programs and as I’ve seen sometimes it just takes trying a combination of programs to reach that critical mass where everything falls into place and my child learns. If parents can rent or borrow these programs and try for awhile and then try something else if it doesn’t work it would make so much easier. I know in local schools available to us asking for the services that would help my son is just beating a dead horse. The state is broke. You could sue until the next millenium and nothing would improve. That’s why I decided to try to organize parents and the community to get the school and the area what it needs.

Good point! It sounds like you’re on the teaching end of this spectrum. My daughter’s special ed teacher is fantastic, very capable, very qualified, but she too is hampered by bureaucracy and red tape. She’s kind of stuck in the middle…not really on the side of denial of services, but not quite there in the parents’ demands either. Anything I can do to help her, I will, even if it means volunteering in the classroom to grade papers or something so she can use her time with the kids.

I’m learning that I have to be ‘visible’, that the modifications written even if completely spelled out, have a chance of sitting somewhere collecting dust if there’s not someone actively involved in soliciting feedback…i.e. the parent. As to detailed information on the IEP…I’m laughing because all previous IEP’s for my daughter were so generic as to be ridiculous. Yes, I’m definitely going to have to insist things are completely filled out.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Bonita

Kathy,

You either have to be sure they are going to modify the grading for him (after all, the class is inappropriate for his level to begin with), or else write it into the IEP that because he is LD, grades cannot prohibit him form playing sports. I think it would be easier to write in modified testing and grading. That way, it doesn’t cause complications with the sports rules (heaven forbid we would interfere with that!).

Janis

Kathy,

You just cannot count on the school remediating LD this severe at this age. If he is 13 and still on first grade writing and spelling level, please do not think that they will work a miracle and have him caught up in the next five years. I think that is what the earlier poster is trying to say. He is going to need intervention outside the schools if you want him to get a diploma. If not private school, then maybe something like a Lindamood-Bell Clinic for several weeks. I have known another mother who took her child to another city for several weeks while the husband stayed home with the other children. They may have had to borrow money to do this, I don’t know. If you are a single mother, then I can see how this might be impossible. But you could try paying someone to get the training to tutor him privately.

I was just at the high school level the past four years, and there is NO emphasis on remediation. The entire emphasis is course content which must be mastered to pass the tests. That’s just the way it is in most places.

Janis

I too notice a strong emphasis on just getting through the classes/tests with little time spent on remediation, especially at the jr/sr high level. It is frustrating for me as a teacher to watch too.

I agree boarding school seems like an extreme but what happens when your son cannot even fill out a job application? It is only 4-5 years away. The longer you wait, it gets exponentially worse . My son is 11 and I am in the process of trying to get him in a private school for LD kids. I have spent $14,000 in the past 1.5 years outside the school system, without that he would be easily 4 years behind. He was only 2 years behind when he started RSP in 2nd grade and he regessed. He is now in 5th grade and he is having a really hard time and feeling overwhelmed and starting to slide into a depression. The older they get the worse it is. He needs remediation ASAP before emotional/self esteem problems become the primary issue. 75% of thse kids end up dropping out without proper intervention. A lawyer is a neccesary evil.

Good luck to you…
r

Hi Kathy,

Here’s another suggestion that I don’t think anyone has come up with yet, but it just might light a fire under them to at least implement the IEP you have… why don’t you try making a complaint to the State Department of Education? That is the agency responsible for the implementation of IDEA in each state, and if they don’t do a good job, the whole state can lose federal funding. Many, or perhaps I should say most, states are now under review by the feds for just this reason, so this would be a good time to make your case. It sounds like there are multiple violations of your son’s IEP going on right now, like the refusal (or neglect) in addressing his educational needs, which can be clearly documented by his lack of progress. Just tell them they are denying your son a FAPE, and believe me, they are! You can find the phone number for your State Department of Education in the front of your phone book, or call information in your state capital…

After that, or simultaneously if you wish, you can file a case with the Office of Civil Rights, that is a federal office, and they should be interested in this case also. Your son deserves better, he’s not getting an education that is appropriate or even meaningful to him, and you are doing most of the work! The comments here about high school are dead on, it’s only going to get worse…

I know parents don’t like to be seen as complainers, but sometimes it’s the only way to get action, to get everyone’s attention, and to get your child’s needs met. I have a son who is now twenty, who was just like your son at that age, and I can tell you there is big trouble ahead if something isn’t done, and soon. You can either act now in your son’s best interest, or wait until the meltdown, as I did, and try to pick up the pieces later. I was lucky, and things have turned out okay for my son, but I was really scared to death for awhile there, that I was going to lose him to either a mental institution or incarceration in jail, and that’s no joke! And I’m a special education teacher who should have had the knowledge and experience to help him!

It always hurts me to see parents in a fight with schools like yours, and basically getting nowhere year after year. Schools like this are badly failing our LD kids, and the laws are written to keep this from happening, but it will only work if we the parents are willing to HOLD THEM TO THOSE LAWS! You’ve been trying to be reasonable long enough, it’s time to demand action, or take action yourself, that’s my advice!

Sharon
www.angelfire.com/on2/thepuzzle