Now that a have calmed down and taken a closer look at their proposed IEP it is even crazier then I thought. There is only 1 IEP goal that is to pass his classes with 80 percent accuracy. Now does that mean his only has to pass 80 percent of his classes? Here is how they propose to do it—He is to ask for assignments missed while absent, turn in his assignments, use a planner, and study for tests–-what does he need an IEP for then????? No where does it mention where they the school are going to do anything to get him there other then to provide resource room. How does this ensure he uses his planner, studies for tests (from notes he’s taken), and gets the appropriate supplies home? Am I missing something? What about the fact his reading is more then 2 years behind, he can’t spell well, has difficulty listening and taking notes at same time, and has difficulty copying? Maybe he just needs to grow up is that it?
Re: More to does this sound right
Yup,again,your instincts are right. It is even crazier then you first thought.
I think I would ask the very specific questions you have regarding the IEP in the form of a registered letter. Send it to the whole IEP team. You might add a few IDEA sections to them,the ones that state they must have measurable goals and objectives,they must have goals that adequately show how he will progress through the general ed curriculum,and the one that states they must address all areas of need.
at the end of your very nice,polite,and legally binding letter,I would purpose that you all remeet and make a decent IEP. If they don’t want to do this,then you might want to consider sending a copy to your state ed agency so they can see how amazing this IEP is. Of course if your gonna send a copy,you might as well file a complaint along with it.
Re: More to does this sound right
On his achievement testing he scored 2.5 years below grade level in reading, I think this has a lot to do with why he does not always pay “attention”. His listening skills also have this same delay as does his oral speech. His teachers feel his inattention is the result of his weak areas. They find that if his weak areas are not being tapped and they teach to his strengths—visual and hands on he is one of the top performers in the class and the most on task. Although one of his dx’s is ADHD, inattentive type his teachers feel this is caused by his cluster of weaknesses. They have also found he does not fit the “typical” LD or ADHD profile in that he LIKES to read and write and has not given up, he is VERY persistant. His current teachers like him because he is one of the politest, quietest most respectful students. He does not believe that anyone person is better then the other that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. He is able to make friends with any type of student even those that others choose not too. Yes he is sensative. What a profile to have for a teenage boy going into high school.
2.5 years... on a group test
I have to wonder whether he does better or worse in actual reading situations (could be either way — if he’s got good background knowledge, he’ll do better than he would on the purposely obscure and arcane reading passages those tests provide. If he’s got good general verbal intuition then he’ll have been able to answer lots of questions because of how they were worded, without really comprehending them - and that doesn’t work for understanding content.)
Anitya’s right; you’ve got a typical ‘Monitor’ IEP that’s pretty much a wish list. IF the student does all this stuff, we hope he can pass.
Question - is his oral vocab. lots better than reading vocab? Would it help him to have texts on tape? You can also spring a few hundred bucks for software that you could scan & read with, and now would be a great time for him to get practice with it — the quantities he’s got to read won’t be so overwhelming. YOu could also jump up & down and try to get the school to acknowledge the need for assistive technology and get them to spring for it but he might have varicose veins by the time you won the fight. OTOH — because this is a kiddo with a good attitude, they, too, might actually be looking for ways to help him.
Re: 2.5 years... on a group test
Sue just got the results of his individual reading test from the tutor we hired. She tested him out to be at the 5th grade level-post test, his pre-test was 3rd grade. She said he has many skill gaps that interfere with his ability to achieve reading at the higher level. She tutored him for about 3 months but had to quit for a while because she teaches reading at the school and had many meetings and things that interfered with the time. I will be looking at picking the tutoring back up over the summer. She says he appeared to do better on the group test because he has “tons” of backround knowledge. He loves to watch documentries and movies about history so has a great deal of backround knowledge in several areas. Thanks for your valuable insight. His case manager gave this to the case manager who will have him next year. They added on his IEP that he is to receive SRA reading recovery instruction during resource hour. They have added an IEP reading goal of improving reading to grade level to be monitored by formal testing.
Re: More to does this sound right
I have an 11 year old son that sounds just like your child. He is polite, respectful, works hard, is not disruptive, but has learning disabilites. If he does not get the material taught, he just sits there. Teachers feel he is inattentive. I thought he had ADD issues in addition to LD. After testing and consulting, the professionals have concluded that he has LD and that his inattetiveness is due to the fact he does not grasp what is being taught. It took me a while to realize why would you pay attention when you don’t get it!
One thing I have found to be VERY helpful is books on tape. I have been able to get all of my son’s class room test books on tape. We have a copy of each text book at home (required by the IEP) along with the tapes for him to use at home. I hope some day he will be OK with using the tapes at school during study hall, but in middle school we have that IMAGE IS EVERTHING issue to deal with. He also has to read 3 books each quarter for accelerated reading class. The books on tape have been very helpful there. They have enabled him to listen and follow along in books that are at and above his reading level. I think this has helped his reading by him seeing and hearing written words as well as exposing him to a lot of vocabulary. I think the text books on tape will become more helpful to him as he gets older and the independent reading requirements become more.
As far as IEP’s go, I have come to the conclusion that they really do not do a whole lot to better his education. I do request that he be seated front and center in all of his classes so if he does start to stair off into space, hopefully the teacher will get his attention and bring him back to earth.
The help of this web site has been wonderful.
Re: More to does this sound right
Pam I don’t know when they grow out of that image is everything stage my son who will be going into 9th says “I don’t ask for my accomodations because I don’t what people to think I am stupid.” Now when it comes to physical appearance and what he wears, his likes and dislikes he does not care what they think. So maybe it is more they don’t want to feel put down I know I wouldn’t.
I believe this means he is to achieve an average score of 80% or better in all classes. This sounds like an IEP for an ADHD child who tests pretty much on grade level in academic skills, but who has organization and production difficulties that negatively impact his grades. There is not a whole heck of a lot you can do in a resource room about those issues, but maybe pull him in once a week to do a binder check, etc. Try to get constant communication with teachers to get assignments……….mostly this kind of situation is a communication issue: from resource teacher to general ed. teacher to parent. Some kind of accountbility system needs to be in place. Something that will work. If this is high school, then good luck, they are often a parents nightmare, even when your child is not special education eligible.