family trend

“The right to request an evaluation of your child if you think your child may need special education and/or related services. It is best that you put this request in writing.” This is from the site linked below which has examples of letters. If you don’t put your request in writing the school district can easily dismiss you but once it is in writing they are libel. Include in your letter your concerns and state that since your child has a sibling with an LD and LD’s can run in families you feel it is important that your daughter be tested as early as possible.

http://www.autism-pdd.net/guidep.html#letter6

Helen
(mom to two LD sons)

Yes dyslexia has been found to run in families. It has been linked to differences on the 6th or the 15th chromosome in some dyslexic families.

As Helen said, the school has the responsibility to test your child under the “child find” provision of IEDA. And since she is 7, she is not technically a first grader. Research shows that children are remediated easier and more quickly when intervention is began early. Early intervention is particularly important for a dyslexic.

Thaks for the info. A second question…how do you deal with having two children with this. I have a hard with one. Is there an approach you found helpful with your children. I feel so very lost in this sea.

The second time through was easier then the first. My boys are three years apart to the day and both quailfied in Dec. of 2nd grade. Their disabilities are not the same. What I’ve done is read, read about Learning Disabilities. Many parents on this board do the same thing. I also am fortunate to work at a place that helps parents with special needs children. A high percentage of the staff are parents of children with special needs so we support each other and problem solve together.

I will agree that parents of children with LD’s end up spending much more time with their children on homework and school related matters. It does get easier as they get older. Mine are now in 9th and 12th grade and my older sin handles school on his own which is a relief since college is nine months away. This is not to say that 9th and 10th grade were not rocky but we have survived and I feel that he is academically and emotionally ready for the college we have selected.

Words of advice: if the homework is too hard or too much modifiy it rather then helping too much. Too much help can lead to learned helplessness and habits that are hard to break. It is better to shorten an assignment or change it and send a note to school explaining why then to help too much and give the child the notion that they can’t do it themselves. I made that mistake with my first one but haven’t with my second.

Helen

MB, I have 3 children, 2 with special needs. What has worked for us though is each child has their own strengths and weaknesses and this works out so they can help each other out. My oldest son is a poor reader and speller but is good at math and computers. My youngest son has global issues but does excell at computers and hand eye type stuff. My daughter does well in most subjects but on occassion needs help with math. So she helps her brothers with reading and they help her with math. The youngest one helps his sister beat video games and setting up the computer. When the youngest has to read out loud he will read the story to his brother or sister and they help him with the words he don’t know. This works because youngest reads at 3rd grade level and although the oldest is behind grade level he is at a 6th/7th grade level so knows how to help his brother. The oldest son and his sister read together so she can help him. He helps her with her math. I do this because I want them to see that they can do things and help others. I have been doing this for a year now and have noticed a significant increase in all of their self esteems. The extra reading really helps even if it is not on grade level. Another thing that helps with the reading is playing board games such as monoply, scrable and the like. For math “practice” we play games such as yahtzee and naval war. The kids love the attention they are getting from mom and dad and are learning at the same time. We also use game night as a chance to talk. Each child also gets 20 minutes or so of uninterupted time 1 on 1 to talk to mom or dad about whatever they want. The oldest son has also started sharing his experience with his younger brother and encouraging him which is very nice.

Lisa,

I am very impressed by how well your family works together. I only have one LD child (the middle one) but he gets upset if his siblings are even in the room when he reads!! At one point, he would read to the younger one but now the younger is learning to read. The younger one, who is quickly picking up reading at age 5, will make snide remarks about his LD brother. It is tough because he usually loses out being youngest so to him it is fair.

Beth

Thanks Beth, I am lucky in that my parents were good teachers. I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters and 3 of them have special needs. In a day and age when parents were told to put children like my brother and sister in an istitution my parents took them home and taught them best they could. They never gave up.