Reading Program

Does he want to learn to read better(although a total reading score of 82 is in the ball park with a FSIQ of 84)? Is he willing to make BIG sacrifices after school to learn to read? You may be able to find an adult literacy volunteer who would work with your brother in the afternoon and evening. The schedule of vocational school is such that it will never be enough to teach him to read, especially with the two weeks on and off routine. I would ask at the IEP how he will pass the MCAS; very, very,very few kids at vocational schools pass(check the DOE website for your brother’s school scores), how will he get a high school diploma? At his age, help with APD is preferential seating, FM trainor(not too helpful in vocational setting)…certainly kids who are hearing impaired and deaf learn to read and write, so with your brother it’s probably a multifactor problem. I would NOT rely on the school to solve this problem, and fuming about the wasted years won’t help him read(unless you win a court case). It really depends on your brother. In 2-5th grade my son had Wilson, private tutoring, and spent 2hrs nightly on reading and it made a difference..but every family is individual, and only your brother can gauge his own motivation.

He does want to learn to read better but he is also fed up with the entire special ed system, he has been “in it” since he was three years old! I would not allow only reading assistance during his academic weeks, I would expect and require that he receive it during his shop week also. He could receive it at home or the library or after school because he will not have homework during those weeks.

I know the school also offers an MCAS program and he is currently enrolled in MCAS math, we received his MCAS scores and although he didn’t pass, he only missed by passing by a few points and on top of that we learned that most of the school failed with these same exact scores. I know some of his scoring was LD related but also know some of it was school related.

So far we have been very lucky with classes because most of his teachers are not roamers, meaning they stay in one place when they are speaking. He has said that when the teacher roams the room he has trouble. I also feel that a sound field system, where the teacher where a microphone connected to a speaker system, he would never wear the kind where he wears headphones or an earpiece, not because they are bad but because he doesn’t want to feel stigmatized (spelling?) He is still in classrooms for two weeks a month 6 hours a day. The audiologist also recommended it. The school just doesn’t want to spend the money.

I think it is also necessary to put the years of wasted schooling behind us but it is also necessary for us to remember them. This is a new school; they need to understand why my brother might not be so receptive to their ideas. It is in part because he feels he has been there done that and because he has been burned so many times but his educators. I think fuming is sometimes important; at least it is for me.

I think that too throw the entire process into my brothers lap is a bit much, he is motivated but it is hard to keep a child motivated when they realize that they are going to have to do it all themselves. I am not sure I can adequately describe the ways in which he has been treated. He is a sweet caring boy who works his *ss, for lack of a better word! I expect that the school will due their part and if they don’t then I guess it will be necessary to go to due process or court! I really am frustrated by the child made to feel wrong, my brother is due a free and appropriate education, and if the system is flawed then I will fix it or I will at least fix my little part of it!!

K.

Let me say I can share in your pain! Having a child with learning difficulties and ADD is no ball of fun. My son, who is in the 3rd grade, is in learning support and has been in it since last year. Last year he learned NOTHING. We enrolled him in Sylvan and he was a bit successful and can now read and comprehend on grade level; however, he still has severe problems with spelling. He can read the words no problem, but getting thoughts from head to the paper is apparently a common problem among ADD children. I also learned last year that you definitely cannot leave it up to the school system. I had an IEP and I thought I was protected, only to find that yes, he was in Learning Support, but that didn’t mean she had to teach him anything and nothing was ever readdressed to try to make things better. So, he does have a different learning support teacher this year. For Spelling and Reading they are now using the Orton-Gillingham Approach to learning, which is a multisensory way to learn to spell. It helps with those words that can’t be spelt phonetically and those that can. Check it out on the internet. I think you can get a home program for about $100 and maybe you could help him learn yourself. Hey, it’s only the cost of three Sylvan tutoring hours!! I have seen a big difference with Christopher in using this approach. They incorporate finger tapping, arm tapping, etc., to get these kids in with the multisensory learning. When I first looked up Orton-Gillingham, I was a bit discouraged as they only talked about Pre-K up to third grade and then I contacted an instructor at Harvard and he has been using the program for 10 years. He said that if he had his way everyone would be learning this way! He said that it should be taught Pre-K, K to 3, and a refresher course in 7th grade. That made me feel a lot better about it and seeing the progress it has made with Christopher has been tremendous!

Also, I know a lot of people don’t believe in medicating children, but it sounds like your brother is still very easily distracted (I know I was in school in the same situation and now am an addult diagnosed with ADD). Christopher tried Adderall and it worked for 1 year and now we have him on Concerta and that has made the world of difference in him. Christopher’s inattention was bad, but it was mainly because of his impulsivity that we decided to medicate. He would really put himself in situations where he could get hurt without thinking (walking into the middle of the road without looking, taking a chair over a two-story entry way to get a balloon filled with helium). So, it’s not too late to think the medication route if it has not been tried.

Good luck and if you need any more advice, let me know. Don’t know if it will help, but sometimes just knowing you aren’t alone helps tremendously!!

I am not sure how I could even consider medication when no one has clearly tried any remediation for his APD or reading isssues. He stops paying attention when he is forced to do something he is uncapable of. If someone through a book down in front of you, in German and said, “Spend the next twenty minutes reading this and in that time make sure you read twenty pages of it” Wouldn’t you get frustrated, and you would be doing this every day, there would be no one there to tell you what it meant or how to decode it, just read it and learn what it says!! How would medication make that any different??

He doesn’t have attentional issues other than when he is forced to read silently or listen to reading. He sits quietly and does his homework, he sits quietly in Math class, both math classes as a matter of fact. He works hard in science, it is reading class that he has trouble, they aren’t teaching him to read they are asking him to call on skills he doesn’t have!

This is part of what frustrates me with the school, they try to focus on a problem that doesn’t really exist because it prevents them from having to actually remediated him or provide h im with services!!

K.

Hi K,

I couldn’t agree with you more about the schools not actually “remediating” for the disability. I have been asking for actual remediation for my son for over a year now, and it still hasn’t happened. So I am working on the actual remediation myself.

However, I did put my son on medication for his inattentiveness and anxiety. The meds allow him to concentrate on what WE do for remediation, and allow him to focus in school so he “gets” the learning through other coping mechanisms. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better than it used to be, and my son is a lot happier. I think being happier goes a long way toward learning things …

The decision is yours (or your brother’s and parents’), I am just providing a different parental perspective. Good luck with whatever you all decide.

Lil

I understand that medication is an option but he really doesn’t have trouble focusing or paying attention. I can’t see medicating him simply because he can’t read. He had three years of Wilson tutoring and not once was attention every an issue. The reading specialist always commented on how attentive he was and that he was the most focused student.

I want actual remediation, Wilson, O-G, phonographix, LindaMood Bell, something that will help improve his reading.

K.

How is your brother classified for special ed. purposes? I assume he and your parents attended a mtg to switch him to voc. school, and he has an IEP. One thing to keep in mind is that under special ed. he may be allowed to stay in school until he’s 22, instead of graduating in 3yrs. Reading remediation of a young adult with other special needs takes a long time, and he may need that extra time.

I believe he is classified as specific learning disability and communication, but the communication I would have to check on.

There was no meeting to switch him to vocational school, the children make the choice in 8th grade on whether or not they want to attend the regular high school or the vocational school. If they want to attend the vocational school, they must apply and visit the school three times to see if they like it and the school likes them.

I am not sure how he would handle being in school for say five years instead of four, I haven’t even discussed that with him. The school has suggested that over the summer he could take a distance education English course or Math to help alleviate some anxieties over the summer.

I have an IEP meeting there tomorrow, so I am going to discuss it with them.

K.

Hi K,

You are absolutely right, he needs reading instruction and unfortunately you are going to have to make sure privately that he gets it. Where do you live? If you contact Read America, they will tell you who in your area is trained in PG. I feel that you are also right in not medicating your son. Not being able to read is not a reason to put him on meds, even though 85% of those that are diagnosed ADHD can’t read on grade level. My daughter couldn’t read and had the exact symptoms that would have diagnosed her as ADHD if she were in school today. She as well only had those symptoms in school, nowhere else. You can teach your son how to read yourself with Reading Reflex, if you want help, email me directly and I will help.