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meeting with school about sons LD need advice

Submitted by an LD OnLine user on

I have a meeting on Thursday Aug 8 at 9am with the assiant superintendent to discuss my son.I have been told that the school needs to do more for himand do ammore indepth IQ test.They did a Woodcock Johnson 1 1/2 years ago.he is still having trouble but is bright and just getting by.The school has said he has aIQ of around 150 but he reads at abeginnng 2nd grade level at 10 years old.he still reverses letter in his own name cant remember how to writ and spell his last name.he prints large and is veru slow at this.I have askes for a asssitive tech eval what does that really include?He has a hard time putting togetherhe needs certain books to do his homework ex. he will bring home his list of voc. words but not his book.stuff like this all the time.He has trouble how to make a bowl of cereal but he knows all other facts of stuff that nterests him.He confueses similar looking words and since his verbal voc is so large he does this more and more.What should i ask for for him gen eral stuff.he has alread for the past 2 years been dx SLD by the school and gets some help but not enough.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/06/2002 - 11:01 PM

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I’m not sure about all of the specifics that you might request but I do know one thing that helped us.

We struggled with the not bringing home the book he needed to complete an assignment. The sped teacher was supposed to be making sure he had everything he needed but it never happened.

So we requested a second set of text books for home. Now he has everything he needs to complete assignments as long as he remembers to bring home the homework folder that has all of the papers given out in class.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/06/2002 - 11:52 PM

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Does he have an IEP?

Whether he has one or not certainly let them do further tests to see where he has areas of difficulty. Also, I would make it your number one priority to get him reading at grade level.
You can insist that your school offer a program that involves developing phonemic awareness or even phonics instruction. Programs well thought of here and supported by research include phongraphix or lindamood bell. Many schools don’t offer such programs, . If they are using a mish mash of whole language techniques it could explain why he is reading so poorly for his IQ and age level.
If you can’t get the school to remediate his reading I would advise getting him help for reading as many here have had to do either through tutors or by buying the book reading reflex which explains phonographix. Reading reflex can help you teach him to read yourself.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/07/2002 - 10:17 AM

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Raelyn,

You need to do some things quickly.

1) You need to request an assistive technology evaluation for your son. AT is my daughter’s avenue to success in the classroom. She is a gifted/LD student who b/c of the use of AT and early remediation, has been able to attend the gifted resource and write a research paper (!) in 3rd grade. (I was shocked). She used laser index cards on the computer for her bibliography cards ($20/box in lieu of .50 for a pkg) but she had a product she could be proud of and her success has dramatically increased her self esteem. An AT evaluation will determine what kind of tech will best benefit your child. Send and/or hand deliver (at the meeting) a written request for this eval. Be careful, follow up, b/c they will drag their feet. If you have a good AT specialist they will be able to put together some things that could aid your son greatly. There are many, many software programs, Write OutLoud, Co-writer, Draft Builder, etc., that can really simplify the writing process for LD students. She now is able to “show her knowledge” without being exhausted at the end of the day. If you have an opportunity, read LD Online’s First Person Essay (archives) by Richard Wanderman, “How Computers Help the Writing Process for People with Learning Disabilities”.

2) While my daughter was just beginning remediation, we had on her IEP that her writing was to be limited to knowlege of required concept. In other words, she didn’t have to do 35 math problems to prove she knew the information. She could do 17 as long as they were representative of the whole. (and b/c it took her as long to do 17 as it did everyone else to do 35).I don’t want to diagnose your son, but it sounds like he has motor planning problems,i.e., not being able to make a bowl of cereal, and some other things you mentioned. My daughter when to Sensory integration OT and it did wonders in this area. She is now in the high average range for motor planning (she wasn’t even on the chart before)

3) If the school does not provide it (and reality is not many do not)you need to get your son some really good tutoring for reading. I am a strong advocate of Lindamood Bell b/c it made a reader out of my daughter. She began in 2nd grade. I know there are some excellent spec ed teachers on this board, who can point you to some good reading helps, but know that these teachers are real commodities and are not found in your average public school.

We are still working on the organizational areas. And we are having some success - it is a continuous learning experience.

There is help, hope and success out there if you find the right solutions. My daughter knows that she can do the same work as everyone else, she just has to find a different way to do it.

Good luck.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/07/2002 - 12:17 PM

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Yes my son has a IEP and has since 4 years old for speech and the past 2 years for SLD.I already asked for a AT eval in my letter asking for the more indepth tests asked by his doctors.The superintentent said they will have the AT done and try to get things in motion before school starts in 2 weeks.I am planning to ask for a secaond set of text books but think I will have a fight about that I know they will say he forgets as much as others do.He does get OT for his writing and fine motor issues and balancing issues.Speech therapyhe has been in for 5 years he is working on the sounds of /k/,/g/./l/ still but she thinks it is time to go on to some blends due to his reading problems as well.He did get Saxon phonics for special ed last year which I think has helped some and he is soppose to continue them this year I think.he confuses similar lokking words is there anything to do for this?It seems to be gotten worse as he gets older.We have done vision thetrapy with no results really.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/07/2002 - 2:00 PM

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Raelyn,

The research says that reading is largely an auditory skill. I would look into lindamood bell or reading reflex. Mixing up similar looking words is something children do when they are guessing. Guessing is a notorious whole language strategy. Teach him to look at the word and look the sounds in the word.

Linda

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 08/08/2002 - 3:20 AM

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Yes! I agree with Linda. Please do not count on the school remediating your child. There is a sure sign that they don’t know how since he is 10 and reading on second grade level. You need to have him evaluated at a reading clinic like Lindamood Bell or the language-reading department of a university and begin private tutoring right away. If he truly has an IQ of 150, he has tremendous potential that is wasting away. You will need accommodations at school. But focus on getting remediation immediately.

Janis

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/09/2002 - 2:59 AM

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Linda F and Janis have hit the nail on the head: he needs to *really* learn to read, right now. Get a good oral phonics program for him. Many have been discussed on this board: Reading Reflex/Phonographix, Lindamood-Bell, many versions of Orton-Gillingham, and others. The brand name is not important; what is important is that the teacher relates sounds and symbols in a systematic way and works with him until he can decode independently without guessing. What he has had in school, part-time Saxon Phonics, has apparently done some good but has not been enough; get him a tutor and get this straightened out as soon as you can. You won’t regret it.

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