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
Hi Allison:
The girl you’re discerning sounds like me.
Headaches
I think I have had headaches every day since third grade.
Headaches can be a sign of Dyslexia if the mother says she’s having headaches probably is so. You need to take the time to sit down with her(the student) and talk about the headaches.
Has the student been test for Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome(SSS) sometimes called Irlen syndrome ?
The headaches would be my biggest concern. Because you do not want to put student in a more pain than she is already in.
OK, taking note haven’t done it since 9 grade. I am in graduate school now. The parents may be being reasonable asking for a copy of note they maybe being unreasonable to.
Could you try compromising with her parents? What about taking notes on a computer? And enlarge the fonts to about 20.
I can tell you personally I cannot go back and forth; From looking at a piece of paper to looking at the board. It gives me extreme headaches.
The way I take notes now is I get a notetaker.
I personally could give you a ton of ways to modify taking notes. I don’t know if that would be the answer. But if you want more suggestions on modifying notes let me know and I’ll write a list. I can think of a few ways with no writing. For your student.
I guess I’m worried that you are not taking her seriously about the headaches.
Try talking to her individually alone like on your lunch hour sit down in the classroom or outside under a tree have Lunch together. If you can not hear tell her that you can hear tell her to speak up.
I hope this does not come across badly. I’m just concern.
Sincerely,
See
Please feel free to e-mail me.
Re: dyslexia
Hello! I’m wondering if you are dyslexic. I wasn’t certain if that was the case or not after reading your e-mail. I’m asking because it seems that my elementary age son may be dyslexic or atleast that is what things are leaning to at this point. I’d love to talk to an adult who could give me some insight. I’m a teacher myself and really feel somewhat helpless at this point. Anything I could do to help him would be great!!
Please e-mail me!!
Re: dyslexia
Hi Tracey:
Yes ,I am severely dyslexic. I am in grad school working on my masters/teaching credential.
I would be more than willing to give you insight .I will e-mail you.
Sincerely,
See
TRACEY
Hi Tracy:
I tried e-mail you it came back to me could you please e-mail me. Thank you.
My e-mail [email protected] .
Thanks ,
See
Talk to the parents
Try not to jump to conclusions about this girl’s parents. Chances are that they are very aware of their daughter’s problems and are trying to find the best solution. They know their daughter best, and I am sure that they see the whole child, not just the part you see for half a day. Many of us parents of dyslexic children have read every book on the subject that we can get a hold of, have discussed our child’s problems with every specialist (OT, Speech pathologists, Vision therapists, Psychologists, remedial specialists, etc.), sat through hundreds of hours of therapy, attended conferences on LD, etc. We are trying to find the solutions and are in this for the long haul, not just one year as the class room teacher is.
My son also has problems writing and I have asked his teacher to back off a little. I don’t want him coming home and vomiting or crying for 2 hours because his teacher is on his case about his hand writing problems. We are addressing this privately, but it takes time, Rome wasn’t built in a day, so let us keep these kids emotionally intact until the remediation is complete.
You sound like a caring teacher who wants to make a difference. Start by setting up an interview with the parents, let them explain and offer suggestions. Maybe you can look into an Alphasmart personal keyboard for her if she feels comfortable with typing.
Ask her parents what her strengths are, my son’s 1st grade teacher really helped him by calling him the science expert and referring other student’s questions to him. Helped his self esteem incredibly. You said you can’t hear her because she talks so low, I bet her self-esteem is so low that she figures if she talks that low, she will just disappear like her voice.
I will let others answer this better than I can, but two things come to mind. One is, keep close contact with these parents and try to work together (in other words, keep them on your good side). The other is, just love this child and she will know it. You won’t be able to challenge her without her parents’ cooperation, but it sounds like she has other issues and it would be very good for her to have a positive role model in you. By the way, I am very impressed that you cared enough to come to this site to ask for help. I’ll bet you are a wonderful teacher! (Read all you can on this site, and you will know LOTS about LD’s!)
Janis