Welcome to Misunderstood Minds

How can we get the school to terminate special education services?

Janet,
I live in Minnesota and all we have to do is request it to stop. Are you sure you want this to happen? maybe you could stop having your child pulled out of class, yet keep the security of an IEP if there should comes a time it is needed………
Good Luck
Patty

the realities of what is going on in my child’s school is the following: for the most part he has teachers/educators that want to help him. But he cannot fully participate in class. He wears an FM receiver to hear the teacher over the noise of his 100 student open space first grade classroom. This is a child with auditory figure/ground problems and auditory processing problems. He receives special ed services in a pull out, but before implementing any new strategies they begin with what was tried and failed in the class. The thinking is that he never had small group with the strategies and maybe it would work. Our child has short term memory problems and word retrieval problems, but the school indicates this is just the way his brain is and little can be done. We find it so frustrating. Why can’t something be done to assist in these areas? He has decoding issues and cannot read people well. He is overwhelmed and the behavior modification is punitive for all children, but for him it has devastating results. I am not certain that in reality mainstream can work. I am not at all certain that regular classroom teachers have the training to work with these children. It is painful to send him each day knowing that he will usually return worse off emotionally then when he left and this is only the first grade.

In response to your question of misunderstood minds, I have not
seen this happening in my son’s school system. My son is eight
years old in regular 3rd grade with monitoring on his IEP.
“Modifications in his class are being made” which include skipping some questions and lessoning his homework and medication. However, when watching misunderstood minds I now think he is not getting the services he needs. If you have any suggestions or further input into these kinds of interventions being done in the New Jersey area please write back. Thanks.

Complicated answer to a simple question. You can either wait until the annual review and reject the IEP or ask for a re-evaluation and then deny service upon completion. There are other ways, but these two are the “simplest.”
The school district can push the issue, but most don’t as it is costly….

In my commmunity, the public school uses total inclusion for K-5, without any resource room support; this means a regular ed. teacher must meet the needs of my bright ld son, slow learners, students with autism etc. The reality is that we have him privately tutored, and yes, he is doing well. Any school-based ld services are too expensive for this Massachusetts community bound by a state law that caps property taxes, and puts a ceiling on tax revenues for education; add to that the million dollars the community pays for residential placements for a handful of very involved students, and there is no money left for ld programs.

To LD Online:

Thanks for this revamped (or new?) forum. It’s title reminds me a the book by Dr. Mel Levine, “One Mind At A Time” which deals with children’s learning styles. When he was on TV last week, I got calls from friends and relatives all over the country ( I missed the show) telling me to GET THIS BOOK. I have and am reading it and wish I’d had it long ago. Thanks LD Online for bringing us the latest “stuff”.

Susan

Surely I have” misunderstood’ your post. Did you say there were 100 students in your son’s 1st grade? That is unbelievable!…not to mention criminal for the children involved. I guess there’s no such thing there like individual attention. Gee, I’d get him out of there fast if I were you - anyway I could!

As I read about your child and his classroom environment, might heart went out to you and your son. It sounds as if you definitely are looking at your son’s classroom situation fairly and objectively.

I have been a teacher for the last 30 years and the last 10 have been in a resource classroom with LD students and also as the director of a learning center in a private k-12 institution.

I know the pain and frustration as a parent and as a teacher that no matter how hard you try it isn’t the right help or the lack of it in certain situations for a child to be successful.

Right now YOU MUST, and I emphasis this because YOU are his only full-time advocate, either insist because of the law that your child get the help he needs in order to be successful in the classroom, or the school, under the law must provide monetarily for him to go to a school (LRE) where he can receive the proper help he deserves.

I know it won’t be easy, but some ways to go about this is to:
Be honest with the special services at your son’s school, and see if they are willing to do more to help your son.

Try and find an expert in this field that will help you. It might have to be someone outside of the school system.

Go on line and ask advice from some of the experts that are truly advocates for individuals with special needs. Many have their own web sites and would gladly answer an email.

Ask the school to find a personal helper that would be hired in the classroom to help with your son. I have seen this implemented in a classroom. If this doesn’t work, would it be possible for you to go into the classroom several days a week and help your son, or possibly a relative or neighbor.

I know in my heart that there is an answer to this problem. Don’t give up. Love and encourage your child, and learn with your child as much as you can about his disability so one day his self-awareness will turn in to self-advocacy.

Success Breeds Success
I’ve seen this over and over again in my own students. It won’t necessarily happen over night, but when it comes, it is like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar that turns into a butterfly and soars.

I hope this is helpful.
From a person who continually is studying and learning to try and make a difference in this world-

yes hard to believe but there are 100 first graders. the kids are grouped in 25 and are each in a corner of a large room. It is loud and chaotic for a non-learning disabled person.

thanks for your posting. The words are encouraging and you are absolutely right, as his parents we are his advocates. We must insist that he gets what he needs. I will turn to his school and ask for additional help. A class aid in necessary, a smaller class setting if necessary. We know he needs it. My husband is especially reluctant to ask for the smaller class and so am I because we know 2 things. First he will have to change schools. And second his placement would be to a resource room where the grouping will be quite mixed. I cannot imagine how he will deal with emotionally disturbed children and other children’s learning differences while trying to learn not only new things but also a new way of learning. We will push on, however.

you are an inspiration. My son is special ed and I am going to
become a better advocate for him.
thanks
Joan

I work with adults (and children of these adults) in a community-based literacy center where volunteers tutor adults whose minds were misunderstood while in school and whose deepest desire is to learn to read. One of our adult learners, a 52 year-old woman said she wept while watching Misunderstood Minds because she saw herself in each one of the 5 children.

Children who have decoding, word attack and attention problems need instruction which gives them hands-on, multisensory, interactive experiences with letters and sounds, processing those sounds into words (both for reading and spelling). We use the Wilson Reading System, and there are many other methods which give reading basic skill building. Children MUST receive this if they are failing to learn to read. It’s successful with adults who have never learned to read (albeit slowly successful). It can be just the jumpstart to learning for children.

If your childr is struggling with reading and is not receiving direct instruction in phonemic awareness and phonological processing, then insist that they.

If Adam (in Misunderstood Minds) had been taught in this way in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade, he would have learned to read and probably would not have ended up in the corrections system. $$ spent early are $$ saved later, and more importantly, lives saved!

Anne Murr
Drake University Literacy Center
[email protected]

Hi Lisa,
I have a son with CAPD also. He is ten years old. He also wears the FM system. This helps alittle. He doesn’t understand what is going on with his classmates all of the time. He is upset alot of the time from not understanding what is going on. I know he is smart. It is really hard and I am constantly searching for help. My son is not a behavior problem. He is well-behaved.
He gets frustrated easily. What helped him was a tutoring him with a multisensory program. He learned some of the Wilson Language Training Program. They have a website I think it is www.wilsonlanguage.com.
I really think the Lindamood Bell program would help even more but it is more expensive. The Wilson program helped him to read alittle better. My son is in a learning support class for reading, language arts, spelling and math. I do not believe an open classroom is good for him. I wish they would come up with a class for these children. It is so difficult for them. They do not belong in regular class. I believe they should be considered hearing impaired and should be in special classes for intense language therapy and the teachers should focus on teaching them to even read lips alittle to help them understand. THis is really tough and I hope someone reaches out to help these wonderful children.
Helene

hi i think you should not pull children with disabilities because when they are in school with other kids at least they feel apart of something.Tonite i was watching this show called Tru Confessions and it is about a twin brother and sister and her brother is slow it taught me things
bye,Brandon

Dear Group:
I am a mother of a 11 year old son who has a non-verbal learning disability. He is assisted in class with a teacher asssistant for some individual and some group work for about 30 minutes a day. The T.A. is absolutely wonderful, but we had to have Matthew tested by a psychologist and have a meweting to fight for this. I would like to say tyo anyone out there with kids with L.D. just try to follow your intuition for your child and fight for what they need. Hope this helps someone else.

Doris

I have been a special ed teacher for 21 years in NY. It is my understanding that inclusion means there are 2 teachers - a regular ed and a special ed teacher in the classroom. Every child on the “special” side of the inclusion class should be receiving services. If not, talk to the school based team. If that doesn’t help, write to the Committee of Special Education for your school district. As a teacher, I tell parents to fight for their children all the time! Good luck.

I am looking for information regarding the PACE & BRAINSKILLS programs based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Any info that you might have would be helpful.
Jay

Do you have a child with a disability? You couldn’t possibly if you want to see special education abolished.
Have you seen a child cry because they can’t do their work and have the other kids call them “dumb?” Do you have any idea of the emotional impact?
You certainly better do research and perhaps go to a school and watch these children struggle.
Trust me, if you had a child that needed help you would be in there with the rest of us fighting for our children to have services they need to have a “normal” education…..just like all the other kids!

Is he on an IEP? If he is and the program is not working and the school is not making changes, CONTACT AN ADVOCATE….they will help you obtain what your child needs.
You can usually contact a parent support group and locate one that way. I have had the same problem and with the support of an advocate, I am getting changes made. What many parents do not realize is we do have the POWER to get what our children need….guaranteed by federal law. On the net, go to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. These are the laws to help our children and us to fight for them…yes, I do mean fight with the school districts to get what your child is entitled to. Also, a wonderful resource is Wrights Law.com
Good luck!

I’m not sure the term “refuse service” is exactly the way you should state it. I am in the middle of this process. I have just completed the 3 yr reevaluation yesterday. I now must write a letter to his special education coordinator, casemanager (they are usually the same), the person who makes the decision on services who is always one of the IEP team.
When all is completed, you write to this person (include a copy to the principal and school district coordinator) stating you do not agree with their evaluations and are requesting an “outside evaluation at school expense (state it exactly this way or the school district will not pay for it).’
Contact a local parent support group. They will help you…they saved my sanity. Educate yourself as quickly as possible. LEARN YOUR RIGHTS. You have more power than you realize.

Good luck!

The federal regulations on special education IDEA states the school district must provide the services you need. If they state they do not have the funds, federal laws says “You will find it and provide services….period”
Millions of parents do not realize this…we trust the schools. Right? Wrong. Put on your armor and start fighting. You are the only one to help your child. The only one.
Contact a local parent support group and get in touch with an advocate. Parents are fighting all over the US to get what their children are guaranteed by law…..

Have you contacted your school or school district to see if there are available classes? Here in Salem, we have several. They are located on the school grounds and offer different programs. One is for severely disabled children, one is for emotional/behavior problems, and a couple of others.
Get on the net and start researching….you will be amazed what you can get for your child….but you will have to fight for it.
Wrights Law.com
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.com

Let these become your bible. You have many rights that allow you to fight for your child….so…go get “em!
Good luck!

that’s rights let’s not forget:
a) like any good citizen, your school is obliged to follow the laws of the land
B)your school district does have a contractual financial agreement with the state you live in to follow these laws,
and, most importantly
C) the school has a moral obligation to teach kids they way they learn, this is called a Free and Appropriate Public Education- not a costly(to the parents) and convenient (for the provider) public education

if you want a crash course in what your child’s rights are: visit wrightslaw.com and reedmartin.com

good luck and strength for all of us, and do remember-
if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you strong.

First find out if your school district offers what is called an “inclusion program”. This is a program whereby a Special Ed Teacher who is assigned 12 special ed students is in the classroom with the regular ed teacher. This program seems to work well. The Special Ed teacher is in charge of modifiying the curiculum so that the child can suceed and feel part of the mainstream. If it is not offer it might be something that your district would want to look into.

Also, for the auditory processing problem — look into a program called “Fastforward” which is offer privately through Speech Pathologists. This seems to help with the processing, recall and decoding.

Hope this helps.

Is there another school in your school system that doesn’t have this “open” format? In our school system, I have know children to transfer to other schools within our system where there needs can better be met. I’m so sorry your child is put in this situation. Keep trying and remember the 3 P’s……… Be polite…..Be Persistant….. and Be Prepared. Check out the other schools in your system before you make a request if you find one you like and then go for it.

Melissa

In most states your child will need to “Test Out” of SPED. If he/she continues to meet qualification standards and services are not provided it becomes a neglect issue.

I think the parent was referring to an open classroom setting where the walls are opened between several rooms and students are taught by a team of teachers. There might be 5 first grade classrooms in this area and 5 teachers teaming to meet their needs. I agree with you, though, this is not the environment that a child with auditory processing problems should be educated in. Maybe she could request a more traditional setting at another school within the same district or, if none is available, request another district.

I think the parent was referring to an open classroom setting where the walls are opened between several rooms and students are taught by a team of teachers. There might be 5 first grade classrooms in this area and 5 teachers teaming to meet their needs. I agree with you, though, this is not the environment that a child with auditory processing problems should be educated in. Maybe she could request a more traditional setting at another school within the same district or, if none is available, request another district.

My 9 year old son is in third grade. He has been diagnosed ADD and LD, with visual processing problems. He is in public school and has been receiving 45 minutes of resource help for the past two years. I also spend countless hours working with him at home. All attempts to help him have failed. He still doesn’t read and struggles to do his modified third grade work. My heart breaks for him. He is a very smart child and is becoming increasingly discouraged because he can’t read or write well. I feel the window of time to help him through “early intervention” is closing. I also feel that the help he is getting is not the right kind of help for him. The school is unwilling to do more and the resource teacher does’nt seem to know what she is doing. I want to help him but have no idea were to turn next.