I am looking for some feedback from teachers. :idea: I have a 4th grader with a 504 Plan. He has dysgraphia, and only because we pushed for testing and have been very involved, did he not qualify for SpEd.
In 3rd grade there were many problems. We weren’t sure the teach read the Plan, or understood what dysgraphia is or how it affects my son until well into the school year. Even then, the Plan was not followed with any consistency. :( This made our son feel as though he wasn’t important or that she cared about him.
This year I put together a Notebook. It has 6 sections. The first is a letter from us about our son and how he feels about having Dysgraphia. 2nd - copies of previous letters to teachers and administration. This shows how we have corresponded with teachers in the past and how we followed-up when needed to the principal. It also gives copies of letters requesting eval and why we felt he needed the eval. 3rd - Testing & Results. A copy of what tests work best for identifying Dysgraphia and a copy of the results from testings. 4th - Definitions. I went to all the different sites and copied (giving credit to each site) the various definitions for what is involved with Dysgraphia. 5th - Articles. These are basically articles on Accomodations & Modifications and the whyfores for each. 6th - Online Resources. All of the different websites I use when looking up and trying to get more info and experience and knowledge about Learning Disabilities in general as well as Dysgraphia specific.
I kept the website links in all applicable pages and plan to put a CD copy with the notebook. A couple of people think I’m going a little over-board. It ended up about 100 pages. It’s not all sit down and have to read through material, but a bench guide to help the teacher know where my son and we are coming from.
What do you think? Should I give the whole thing to her? or will she be offended because she will believe I am placing a continuation of the problems of previous teachers with her?
We will be having a 504 Meeting with her, principal, my son and us in mid-September. She also sent letters out to all of her students asking for letters on the first day of school from parents, telling her about their child. I plan to take this Notebook in later this week and the letter on the first day will be more of the typical - this is my kid his likes, dislikes in the general terms of the world - not just the school stuff.
Thanks,
A Mom Who Wants to Work With Teachers
I'd shelve the notebook and write the letter
What do you think?
I think you’re likely right and last year’s teacher probably knew little about dysgraphia and did not read the Plan. Teachers get little training if any about dysgraphia. Many teachers have never even heard the word.
It’s also true that many teachers don’t really read their students’ “Plans”. The Plans are often very long and to be fair to teachers, no one could remember all the things written in the Plans.
Ideally what you want is a teacher who can think outside the box and is not judgmental in their approach but you can’t write that into a Plan. And you can’t force a teacher to be that way. It just doesn’t work like that.
Giving a teacher a thick notebook filled with your journey of understanding into your son and dysgraphia will not become the teacher’s journey of understanding. You risk alienating this teacher or at best overwhelming her.
No teacher can be everything to every child. Being a teacher for over 20 years now, I learn my students as the year goes along. I like to know up front which of my students are struggling with learning differences and the like but if bombarded with lots of information, it doesn’t stick. Just like we need faces to put names to, I need the students to put their information to.
My advice to you as a teacher and as a parent of children with learning differences and as a teacher would be to keep your ear to the ground on next year’s teachers every year. Request the teacher who hears the beat of a different drummer and likes children who do the same. Request the teacher with a reputation for warmth. Let that teacher know up front your son has dysgraphia - never just say the word - always add “the cognitive inability to translate thought into writing” or something like that (many teachers think it just means sloppy handwriting) Tell the teacher your son has a Plan and then keep an eye out for good news or bad.
As this teacher is asking for a letter, I’d shelve the notebook and tell her in the letter that “Johnny likes school but his dysgraphia makes it hard for him.” She’ll read those letters and wonder why later if all you told her in it was that his favorite food is pizza.
My own son has severe dysgraphia. It was a great challenge to get him successfully through school. Good luck to you and your son.
Should I give the whole thing to her? or will she be offended because she will believe I am placing a continuation of the problems of previous teachers with her?
We will be having a 504 Meeting with her, principal, my son and us in mid-September. She also sent letters out to all of her students asking for letters on the first day of school from parents, telling her about their child. I plan to take this Notebook in later this week and the letter on the first day will be more of the typical - this is my kid his likes, dislikes in the general terms of the world - not just the school stuff.
Thanks,
A Mom Who Wants to Work With Teachers[/quote]
Agree...
I agree that giving her the whole notebook is going overboard. Teachers are so extremely busy, especially at the start of a new school year. Mention the dysgraphia when you write that introductory letter, focusing on how it might affect your child’s experiences in a new classroom. This will help the teacher form an accurate impression of your child, instead of possibly misinterpreting behavior that is really related to being dysgraphic. She absolutely is responsible for reading and following the 504 or IEP, but you might help out by mentioning how hard the team worked on coming up with a “working” document that will help her work with him. Choose one or two brief articles on dysgraphia that really describe your son and tell her that you feel they will be helpful to her- ask if she’d like a copy. True, she may never have heard of dysgraphia, but you want to serve as a “consultant”, have her come to you for information rather than forcing it on her.
another mom
I have a 4th grader with dysgraphia who is into his 3rd week of public school. Wow is it a challenge. I thought your notebook sounds great, and would even pay you to make a copy for me. (please contact me by email privately if you might be willing to do this). I guess what the teachers are saying is true, but i think i would share a little more than “my son has dysgraphia” in the introductory letter.
Also because he can not keep up this year, his teachers are allowing (and I’m officially requesting a new IEP plan) an assistive device—Alphasmart3000, which is helping a lot.
Good luck and I look forward to hearing from you.
Lisa
Re: Will a Teacher appreciate
Truthfully, as a teacher and mother of a child with special needs, a notebook is too much. I went to school yesterday and gave my child’s teacher the summary page only from her APD testing, reading testing results, and a short article on suggestions on how to help a child with APD in the classroom. Brief and to the point is best.
I keep the notebook at home for my own reference.
Janis
Re: Will a Teacher appreciate
Janis is right I think. *I* would read a notebook or even a book. But a lot of teachers will glance at it. My nephew is high functioning autistic, his mom started really “dumbing down” the materials. Started off loaning out books, giving them long things to read and they didn’t read them, so she began givign them little one page articles, real easy stuff. It worked MUCH better.
—des
Re: Will a Teacher appreciate
I think a big book is a bit heavy but probably contains some very useful information. I am a learning support teacher in Australia and usually give the teachers any relative information about students with special needs or learning difficulties before the end of the year. This gives them an opportunity to spend some time if they wish, learning more. i would start with an introductory letter and include in the letter the book you have put together. I would offer for the teacher to use the book when he/she is ready for it. The new teacher may like to build a relationship with your child before going into the nitty gritty, or the teacher may request to see the book straight away. If you empower the teacher to want to find out more, you will have more success throughout the year.
I believe that the first priority is the child’s happiness and willingness to come to school. If the teacher spends time building a rapport with the student and yourself, then this will lead to more successful learning.
Bridget
What do you think?
I think you’re likely right and last year’s teacher probably knew little about dysgraphia and did not read the Plan. Teachers get little training if any about dysgraphia. Many teachers have never even heard the word.
It’s also true that many teachers don’t really read their students’ “Plans”. The Plans are often very long and to be fair to teachers, no one could remember all the things written in the Plans.
Ideally what you want is a teacher who can think outside the box and is not judgmental in their approach but you can’t write that into a Plan. And you can’t force a teacher to be that way. It just doesn’t work like that.
Giving a teacher a thick notebook filled with your journey of understanding into your son and dysgraphia will not become the teacher’s journey of understanding. You risk alienating this teacher or at best overwhelming her.
No teacher can be everything to every child. Being a teacher for over 20 years now, I learn my students as the year goes along. I like to know up front which of my students are struggling with learning differences and the like but if bombarded with lots of information, it doesn’t stick. Just like we need faces to put names to, I need the students to put their information to.
My advice to you as a teacher and as a parent of children with learning differences and as a teacher would be to keep your ear to the ground on next year’s teachers every year. Request the teacher who hears the beat of a different drummer and likes children who do the same. Request the teacher with a reputation for warmth. Let that teacher know up front your son has dysgraphia - never just say the word - always add “the cognitive inability to translate thought into writing” or something like that (many teachers think it just means sloppy handwriting) Tell the teacher your son has a Plan and then keep an eye out for good news or bad.
As this teacher is asking for a letter, I’d shelve the notebook and tell her in the letter that “Johnny likes school but his dysgraphia makes it hard for him.” She’ll read those letters and wonder why later if all you told her in it was that his favorite food is pizza.
My own son has severe dysgraphia. It was a great challenge to get him successfully through school. Good luck to you and your son.
Should I give the whole thing to her? or will she be offended because she will believe I am placing a continuation of the problems of previous teachers with her?
We will be having a 504 Meeting with her, principal, my son and us in mid-September. She also sent letters out to all of her students asking for letters on the first day of school from parents, telling her about their child. I plan to take this Notebook in later this week and the letter on the first day will be more of the typical - this is my kid his likes, dislikes in the general terms of the world - not just the school stuff.
Thanks,
A Mom Who Wants to Work With Teachers[/quote]