Someone mentioned something in one of my posts

In theory, an IQ test rates general ability without reference to previous schooling, and an achievement test measures what was learned in school. (In practice, the two are closely interrelated, so the decision is a little muddier than testers would like.)

If you can find a good IQ test that rates the child on various types of intelligence, verbal, logical, numerical, non-verbal reasoning, and so on and so forth, then you can get a good picture of her strengths and weaknesses.

If she scores high or average on a couple of these tests, and if her achievement tests showing progress in school are very much behind, this gap in performance is considered to be a sign of a learning disability, so you have not only useful information but also legal proof that you can use to get services.

Tests of verbal ability can point up the cause of certain school difficulties — for example, if a child is not hearing sounds well and can’t separate different sounds in the environment, the it is clear that reading class is going to be a real problem, and it makes sense to sort out the hearing and language difficulties before wasting time teaching over and over lessons that the child cannot take in.

Victoria:

You sound very knowledgeable (did I spell that right?!). What do you do to know so much?

If you don’t mind I would like to e-mail you, explain the situation that we are in, and ask for some advice, but I don’t want to bother you with too much if you aren’t familiar with CSE’s and IEP’s and so on and so forth.

Thank you.

Have you been to the “LD in Depth” section of this website? There is some good information under “assessments” and “IEP” that you may be able to use.

A child is considered learning disabled when there is a large discrepancy between intelligence (as measured by an IQ test such as the WISCIII) and achievement (as measured by performance tests). A child who scores low on achievement tests but also scores low on IQ tests is not considered learning disabled — because the child is performing up to IQ.

The reason I mentioned achievement testing in an earlier post — before you start afterschooling your daughter — is so that you can show “before” and “after” proof that your afterschooling has a positive impact on your daughter’s achievement. If her scores on achievement tests over a period of 4 years in school have remained static, and you can show that with your homeschooling her scores have gone up dramatically, you will have documentation to show in court that homeschooling is the best approach for your daughter. You may not win in court, but at least you would have some evidence to support your request to homeschool. (You would also need to document your afterschooling — perhaps with a daily journal of work done, and a portfolio of work your daughter does for you. This is quite simple to do, and provides additional evidence to support your case.)

A complete speech and language evaluation is one thing that a school district typically can provide that is free and worthwhile getting. It is generally conducted by a speech pathologist. You don’t mention your daughter’s specific problems, so maybe it isn’t something that she needs. A typical speech and language eval includes an assessment of receptive language skills (oral comprehension, vocabulary, concepts, hearing, reading level — including grade level, rate, accuracy and comprehension, etc.) and expressive language skills (speech articulation, grammar, vocabulary, etc.). Not all LD children have language-related problems, but many do. For example, if your daughter has difficulty with reading, a speech and language eval should determine the level of her phonological processing skills and the level of her decoding skills. These help determine exactly what areas of special help she needs in order to learn to read.

Typically, when a child is stuck at a 2nd/3rd grade level in reading, it is because they have not acquired decoding skills. Acquisition of decoding skills may have been delayed because of poor phonological processing skills. For example, my daughter at age 9 tested as reading at a 2nd grade level. However, her rate and accuracy were 2 standard deviations below normal (sufficient to qualify her as LD). Tests such as the LAC and CTOPP determined that her phonological processing skills were at a Kindergarten level. This information helped determine that she needed explicit instruction in phonological processing and decoding skills. Another child might have failed the SCAN, a test of auditory processing, which would have indicated the child should be taken to a specially trained audiologist for CAPD (central auditory processing disorders) testing.

Mary

Mary MN has given more details and specific guidance on what you need to do — follow this excellent advice.

Thanks for the positive comments.

How do I know a lot? Basically, reading everything I can get my hands on about the subject for thirty years and more. I got an MA in Education, too, just to get myself credentials, but I learned very very little there, mostly that faculties of education are from some other planet.

I’ve been interested in reading and the teaching of reading since my brother was six and I was four and my mother had to teach him to read because the school (locked into word-memorization at the time) attempted to destroy my brother; I decided to learn too, and did, ever since which time I’ve been an excellent and fast reader and completely out of step with the educational system. Mom used basic oral phonics as learned from her mother, my grandmother, who was born in 1880 and taught during the 1910’s and 1920’s (thus my irritation at those here who claim to have invented the subject).

I am also a sometimes writer and try very hard to make my writing clear and understandable — seems to be working, thanks.

Many of the very intelligent and competent and knowledgeable (yes, spelled correctly) people on this board are parents too; a number of them started out trying to work with their own kids, took classes, and became teachers themselves. I believe Shay and Mary MN and Momo MO are somewhere in this category. Listen to them — they know what they are talking about.

depending on where your reader puts it, I am referring to Mary MN’s reply. Sorry.