Test results... IEP or 504???

Label and IEP or 504 unimportant right now. Figuring out what/how will best help him is (e.g., learning about teaching methods or remediation that may work best for him). Then figure out how to get that.

We’ve been through similar type questions such as:

Should we sell our house and move to another district where someone might be better able to handle/address dd’s issues? Answer: No, b/c while school doesn’t have great experience with her issues, it is a fabulous school predicated on positive support and great teachers in almost every classroom and award-winning academically (just don’t have an LD kid here).

Should we put dd in private school that specializes in dyslexia/ADHD for 2nd grade? Answer: No, b/c while the private school was K-8, the majority of the population was 4th and 5th graders who by that age had slipped through the cracks in public school. DD might be remediated early enough to prevent her being in such a position. Give early remediation a chance first - 50/50 risk on this one.

Should we count on the school to remediate? Answer: Maybe, but be hyper-vigilant about monitoring programs and progress. We did private specialized tutoring ‘just in case’ and in retrospect it probably saved her. We did postpone the expensive home renovation for two years until we felt confident we were staying here.

Do we have the fortitude to keep on having hand-banging conversations with the school: Answer, ultimately yes despite feeling tired from time to time. Do you know if your son’s score meet special ed requirements in your state?

Am I scarred from the experience? Answer: You betcha.

Do I regret any action/decisions so far? Answer: Not one single thing (ok, except crying at IEP meetings).

Anyway, some things to consider…. GL

I also have the gifted/LD daughter whose IQ was in the 98% and whose letter word identification was 34%, dictation was 18% and math flluency was 42%. We are up to a 62% for L-W ID after 2 years of LMB and beginning OG.

My daughter is on an IEP. That is the avenue I would shoot for. I would also look into “vision therapy”. Some use developmental optometrist; I used a sensory integration OT. At the age of 7, she couldn’t identify the word “cat” 3 times, even if you told her the word the 1st time. Public school will provide OT, but don’t call it “sensory integration/visual processing, b/c they will tell you they “don’t remediate that”. I have known of very good advocates/attorneys getting Vision therapy paid for, but it’s an expensive proposition.

How’s the handwriting and organizational skills? I would ask for an evaluation for those - usually visual processing problems cause inability to copy from the board, etc., so that would be the “drum to beat” in order to get what you need.

Welcome to my world. Assistive technology made all the difference for my daughter. She attends gifted pullout 1 day a week in public school and likes school. I will say we did NOT allow the school to remediate, we paid for it all privately out of pocket which is probably the reason she is doing so well. There are very few public schools who can actually do the job of remediation a significantly LD student.

Are these percentile ranks you are speaking of? What are the standard scores? Standard scores are the most useful for interpretation purposes.

Ot definitely made a difference but my son really needed VT to go all the way.

You might be able to find a developmental optometrist that addresses all the issues. This is definitely the way to go if you can find someone good. These optometrists (like the one I found) really are LD experts that take all the deficits into consideration.

If you already know the problem is visual you definitely need to rule out issues like farsightedness, ocular motor issues, and focusing issues as well.
The school’s testing does not even come close to looking at these issues.

I had an IEP for my son but like d’s experience, you just don’t want to have a sped child in my highly rated district. They just don’t know what they are doing especially with visual issues. They looked at me like I had two heads when I told them he should get tests with less written on the page and larger print.

It was just easier to remediate the deficits than rely on any accomodations from them.

Why would you want an IEP or 504 if your child isn’t even classified yet by the public schools? Testing for admission to private school is very different than testing for special ed. classification; if you are paying the tuition, why bother with the stress of trying for special ed. classification? On this site, under LD in Depth, look at Legal/Legislative and look at the difference between IEP and 504. What services are you looking for, and are they available in your local public school, or in the private school? In many public schools, there are very bright kids with a range of academic skills in the K-first grade who are not LD, but have uneven development. Do you have a diagnosis of LD from the neuropsych? Start with a diagnosis, decide on public or private, and then if public, go through the process if you want public special ed.

I’m fortunate enough to be able to provide private remediation if need be… LMB or whatever. I’m not looking for services from the school as much as understanding from my son’s teachers. I want us to have a forum to communicate about things. I don’t want them to see him as a smart kid who is just being lazy because he doesn’t live up to their expectations. He is very sensitive and having them accuse him of not trying hard enough could be very damaging. I know because I suffered through school with no DX until I finally quit my freshman year of high school. It was years and many academic failures later before I was DX and graduated from university in the top 10% of my class. Understanding of my disabilty and getting accommodations made all the difference between failure and success. I want my son to have the understanding and accomodations, not the years of pain I went through.

I totally agree with SAR. Being labeled does not mean that he will improve in fact, the label will probably make sure that he doesn’t. Unfortunately special education means accommodations not remediation in most schools. Very few teachers both regular education and sped know how to teach reading, do it privately. I would recommend that you get him checked to see if he needs vision therapy and use Phono-Graphix to remediate his decoding deficiency. After you have accomplished that, then reevaluate.

You’ve also go the 15 min consult which is our mode of operation. We provide all the private remediation, the school provides OT, and accommodations and consult 1x wkly.

Generally what these bright kids need is specific remediation — a special program, not modifying what’s there. They learn differently… so they need to be taught differently. That’s IEP territory.
However, most schools don’t begin to be able to offer such a program, so the IEP would, instead, be a ticket to a free inappropriate public education.
It’s a real art form to figure out your best bet, but sometimes getting an IEP that specifically spells out accommodtaions that perhaps could ahve been written as a 504 is the best bet. Reason being that further down the line you have a stronger place to stand on should other needs arise. OTOH — much depends on your school’s personnel/personality. If the IEP would brand the kiddo as not gifted, then the shadow of those lowered expectations can have a profoundly debilitating effect on him. IT’s simply *amazing* the difference when a teacher believes that there’s a smart kiddo sitting there (there’s an awful lot of research to back this up). So it could be taht “genius with a 504” is the way to go.
I know, not much help! But you’re right, realism is the key here…. and that attitude towards the sped label is realistically and really important.

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Thank you all for your ideas. Two or more heads are better than one. The good news when it comes to reading is that he understands the concepts regarding phonetics just fine and his “sound blending” ability is amazing. Unfortunately, phonics has limited reign in the written world of english. He is one of those kids who dutifully sounds out t-h-e every time. It’s defininately a visual processing issue. Same with math… he understands things conceptually but seeing it on paper just confuses him so he avoids it. I understand, I was the same way. We also have difficulty recognizing faces.

About the 15 minute consult idea… does that have to be done with an IEP or will a 504 do??? I should probably have that added to my autistic son’s IEP. OTOH I do so much volunteer work at the school, it’s difficult for the teachers to avoid me if I need to talk to them.

Hi Rose,
Did your school use the WJ or did you get this testing done through an outside source? One thing to keep in mind is some schools do not “accept” outside test results.

I personally think this is a real shame because sometimes that’s the only way to get accurate testing (at least that’s the case at my son’s school!).

I have the gifted/LDer with the IEP and it CAN work. of course, it also depends on the parents, the kid, the teachers, etc. Personally, I believe the IEP carries more weight, though I do have a friend who got everything I have on “just” a 504.