As most of you know I have a son in 9th grade who is on a “resource IEP”. His dx listed on his IEP is APD, ADD-inattentive type, and mixed expressive/receptive language d/o. This year he is taking Social Issues/Citizenship, Intergrated Science, band, resource, Algebra IA, and Lit/Language. Over the summer he completed his PE/health requirement with an A in PE and a B in health. His accomodations according to his IEP are-tests read, study guides, notes provided, no points off for spelling, extended time on tests, tests in quiet area. To date the only accomodation he has asked his teachers to honor is the points off for spelling. He has not received study quides, notes, had tests read or use extended time. To date he has been able to hold his own in his classes without these accomodations. But last night I noticed when he was doing an assignment where he had to answer questions on a hand out from his notes he was unable to do it because his notes were not complete. YES!, he did have notes (a first for him) but they were incomplete. When I asked him about it he said he had great difficulty keeping up with the pace of note taking and listening. After reading him the questions helping him look through his notes and talking things through he was able to score a 36 of 45 points. He has been able to read his tests and other assignments with half descent understanding (another first for him) but does do much better when given the opportunity to respond orally and have things read. His teachers comment on what a determined student he is and that they wished they had more like him. My concern is that they may not realize he is doing well because of all the support he receives. He receives help at home, in the resource room, and has gone in before and after school to work with his teachers when he got “lost”. Last year when we did his IEP some members wanted to remove him from special ed altogether and others did not. Luckily his case manager was one who felt he still needed some support. My fear is they will again make this recommendation since he is doing well using very few of his accomodations. It is not that I don’t want him to be seen as doing well just I feel there needs to be something in place. Do you think a 504 would be good enough? What about when he take the PSAT/SAT, ACT and prarie state games. He has not had a complete evaluation since the 4th grade. In 6th and 7th grade they did do some language testing which showed moderate difficulties. Should I insist on IQ and achievement testing this time? What are your thoughts? His current averages are: Social Issues 88, Intergrated Science 89, Algebra IA 88, and I have no clue for his Lit class. His Lit teacher does not return assignments, he has not returned my calls or responded to e-mail. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Don’t forget his averages are currently with support from home, resource, and his teachers who provide extra instruction. What if next year there is no resource and his teachers arent as accomodating. It though I do assist him at home best I can I do have two other children one of which has PDD-NOS and also needs help with homework, studying, ect. Thanks for any thoughts you may have.
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My thoughts are that the support process is working so why change it. I think he is doing great and if he needs the support system he should have it. Does he partcipate in the IEP process? If hes has not done so in the past he should be included. No one else is in a position to know what support he needs or is ready to do without. Let him be a full member of the team and help make all decisions from now on.
Nan
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I agree with you Nan but since he is doing well feel the school may try to change the program. I spoke with my son about his accomodations and what his thoughts on them were. He said the ones that would be helpful would be: a copy of the notes (to fill the gaps in his), he said he would still take notes best he could since he finds that writing the information down helps him retain it better. Extended time on tests because sometimes I just don’t get to finish them (this happened to him on the ISAT on one he scored below standards and barely met standards on the other). He says reading the tests himself helps improve his reading and he don’t mind the extra work of trying to figure it out himself. The spelling accomodation he says he definetly needs to keep because even using spell check he gets spelling wrong because spell check can not come up with a suggestion for what he is trying to spell. He has been to an IEP before but not the last one (he still had horrible memories from this and decided not to go). I told him when his next IEP is due that I would like for him to attend and he agreed. I let him know that I felt this IEP would be different because no one on this team felt he needed to be put on meds and sent for extensive counseling. He left this IEP feeling like something was seriously wrong with him, even his dad and I
were caught off guard from the attitude. The other interesting thing I have found out since my orginal post is that his Lit teacher is the hardest teacher in his department, he really expects alot from “his kids”, including those on IEP’s. I think this is actually going to be a good thing because the harder he is pushed and challenged the harder he fights. He related to me and it was confirmed by others that even parents of “regular ed” kids have them removed from the class because it is too hard. I think it is just he wants them to have solid skills. My son says that so far besides the standard lit stuff he has gone over note taking, listening skills, study skills,organization and the like. His assignments appear to be making sure the kids understand the concepts. For example last night they read a short story then had to answer question like what is the setting (explain how you
know this and where you found it) what is the time frame (again explain how you know this and where you found it) who is the antogonist/protagonist (what action or thing said lead you to this conclusion) who is the dynamic character (what action lead you to this conclusion). To me these seem like questions ensuring does not only the child know the definition but they can apply it. They also partner read (a great plus for my son), play games to enforce facts (kind of like a jeopardy game), and practice basic writing skills such as writing a sentence or paragraph for accuracy. I am very pleased with this years placement and support as is my son, he feels and I agree that it is this combination that is helping him to do well. Thanks for your thoughts Nan.
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Lisa,
I’d just insist that he would not make it without the accommodations and you absolutely want him to continue on the consultation caseload through high school. He could begin having trouble tomorrow. No, I would not recommend re-testing. Sometimes kids do not meet the qualifications for special education when they are retested (if they are functioning near grade level and may be exited from the program). Keeping him on consultation is minimal work for the teachers but still provides funding for the special ed. program. So hopefully they won’t push hard to exit him.
Janis
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Thanks Janis I did not know there was a consultation type program you could leave a kiddo on. Right now he is serviced as a “resouce” student, he has a resource room 55 minutes a day 5 days a week. It is basically turning out to be a “study hall” where he can get assistance with his homework. Ideally the teacher is suppose to work on the students weak area but my son says there are 4 kids in the class who are disruptive and take up a lot of time. I don’t think he should be removed yet either seeing he is using his support offered just not neccissarily all his accomodations (I am sure they will be used more as the school year goes on). I found out today that the one class I did not know how he was doing in he is getting a D he has a 64 average. Of course this class is Lit which taps all his weak areas. He says he does not want to change classes because he would rather struggle and pass this class then get an easy A. The reason I ask about testing is because I have read in numerous places that a student must of been tested in the last 3 years to receive accomodations on the PSAT/SAT or the new high stakes testing given in 11th grade. I realize my son is only a freshman but he must start preparing now. Thanks for the bit of info.
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Hmmm…not sure about that testing question. All students on an IEP would have a third year re-evaluation come due sometime during high school, but usually there is no compelling reason to do formal re-testing if the parent wants the services to continue and the school agrees. I will be very interested to know what is required to have the SAT accommodations.
Many parents do not know to ask for consultation services when their kids come out of resource. It’s the least restrictive of all the placements (self-contained on the other end) and still allows the child to have accommodations. My child is just labelled speech/language right now, and I hope to keep her on consultation later just to keep the testing modifications! (She has APD and HAS to have the test given in a quiet room).
Janis
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My daughter has ALWAYS been on 15 min consult only and gets OT services. I provided private reading remediation. She’s still covered under an IEP and gets the necessary accommodations.
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Lisa,
Your son shows great maturity for his age. He realizes that getting a poor grade from a teacher that he has a chance to improve his skills then getting a good grade from a teacher that he might not learn anything from. If this is not one of the teachers that he his seeking help from outside of class then he should start now. He could take assignments he did not do well on and find out what the teacher was looking for. If it is test scores he could ask the teacher who he thought he should study test.
I already expressed my view that you should go for a re-evaluation. Since the state exam is looming before him it is important to see where he currently stands and to see what can be done to insure that he passes the test.
Helen
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Thanks Helen, that is exactly what he is going to do go seek help from this teacher. He plans on going into school early Monday and ask the teacher what the two of them can do together to help him do better in the class. One thing we are doing at home is partner reading a book he will have to read later in the semester. If we read it ahead of time together and discuss it (trying to use that socratic questioning I learned about on the parenting board) maybe when it comes time to discuss the book and take the test in class he will get a good grade. The book is To Kill a Mockingbird, he saw the movie last year in his lit class so hopefully this will give him some back round on it and an advantage on this section of class. On Friday he had a “high” followed by this low of getting a 50 on his lit test. In the class proir to Lit, Algebra, he got a 100! I think this has helped him to keep going and not be completely devestated. I do agree with you that he has spots of great maturity and this has also really helped him. Thanks again for all your concern and support.
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Stick with that literature teacher!! You have someone who is actually *teaching*.
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I work in a private school for high-functioning kids with LD, and many districts try to pull their funding as soon as the child begins to succeed. PLEASE do not de-classify your son. It sounds as if he has what it takes to succeed, but the reason he has done so well is because of the supports he has had. If they remove those supports before he is ready, it may undo so much of what he has achieved. The pressure it creates on the student when supports are removed may make it even more difficult for him to function. So don’t let them mess with success.
OOPS! I did not mean Prarie state games meant Praire state exam given in 11th grade. I do believe this test along with what courses were taken determine standard dipolma verses completed.