I am a fifth grade teacher and I have 4 mainstreamed special ed. kids in my room all day. One particular child, is severly dyslexic - she leaves 1/2 day and goes to another school for reading/spelling/language/math. Therefore, she is with me for Science and SS only.
The problem, I guess, is more with her parents. They are both VERY aware of her rights and her abilities. They claim that everything that she does is gives her a headache - this child is very soft spoken… barely says a word to me ever. The mom doesnt want her writing in class, wants all notes to be given to her on a handout. My #1 goal this year is to prepare all my students for middle school - this, unfortunately, is not a good preparation for her. She CAN write, yes she struggles, and yes she is slow - but she can do it. What are your suggestions for working with this child in the classroom. If she doesnt have to copy notes, she tends to tune out of the lesson.
Also, she has very poor social skills. She will walk right by me and not say hello and her mom claims that she really likes me. She doesnt really interact with the other kids - she speaks so quietly that no one, including me, can hear her so she is often overlooked…
I dont have a background in LD’s and need all the help/input I can get. It seems to me that she has been passed along, passed along and teachers just lost hope. I want to be the teacher that makes the difference - I want her to work to her potential - but I have a long road ahead of me.
Thank you
Alison
Re: dyslexia
Could you please contact me. I’m desperately looking for a parent of a dyslexic child to speak to.
Re: dyslexia
Tracey, There are many of us here. Try the Parenting a child with LD board. You’ll find lots of support about dyslexia and the many other issues that come up.
Karen
I have a 4th grade dyslexicdaughter. I am also “one of those parents” who knows my child’srights in the public school.
First of all as “See” said, the headaches are real. Reading can cause headaches, copying from the board can cause headaches and the stress from the academic overload can cause headaches. My daughter comes home from school with a headache almost every day.
It’s wonderful that you are trying to prepare this child for middle school; however, a 504/IEP provides the same accommodations in MS and HS as in elementary school. Use of a note taker, word processor/alphasmart, writing software, scanner and text to speech software could change this student’s life. If the barrier of spending all this energy on copying and writing could be removed, the headaches might lessen and the academics would become less stressful. My daughter uses a computer for long written assignments, beginning with an AlphaSmart in 2nd grade.She also uses Draftbuilder, which has an auditory spellcheck.
Perhaps you could suggest the parents request an assistive technology evaluation for this child?
Sorry in advance if I come across too harsh. I do think it’s wonderful that you are on the BB trying to find out ways to help.