Even though I have known from kindergarten that my child had difficulties and he has received many therapies, I am concerned that he is still in sp ed. and would like to ask what else we can do to get him on track and out of self contained classroom at school.
Quick history - speech from the age of 2.5 - 3 years of age until he was 10; at first for articulation and sentence formation, continuing with articulation and receptive / expressive language & auditory processing. Occupational therapy for 3 years, for sensory integration and handwriting / small motor skills. Orton Gillingham for two years for reading (wasn’t very productive). Vision therapy. Finally Lindamood Bell last year where he went from a 2nd grade reading level to grade level. He did LIPS, SS and V & V. I would love for him to continue with LMB probably during the summer if finances allow.
I had hoped he would test out of self contained but didn’t. I am worried because I hear the teachers always saying they want to get the kids out of self contained and back into reg. ed. but I see the same kids in the classroom. It’s like once they go in; they don’t come out. Another concern is my son’s motivation. It is almost non existent.
Re: sp. ed in middle school
If he is reading on grade level, I do not understand why the school thinks he belongs in a self contained classroom. Even if he isn’t quite on grade level, he doesn’t belong there. There is normal variation in a regular classroom.
In our school system, there are self contained classrooms for middle school and then inclusion classrooms which are co-taught as well as regular and honors classes. I have a hard time believing that a self contained classroom is the least restrictive environment for your son.
I wouldn’t be too motivated either if I had done all that work and haven’t moved out of sp. ed classroom. My son did SS last summer so I know that what you have done is very intensive and demanding for a child (and finanacially for the poor parents!_
Beth
Re: sp. ed in middle school
I agree with the others-he certainly sounds like he is past a self contained classroom. Can you be more specific about what the teachers are feeling and seeing in his test scores? Is he disruptive?
Here, my son is in a team taught language arts class. There are 5/6 kids in there with IEPs and the rest are neurotypical. The 2nd teacher is there mostly for the IEP kids although they work together and its not obvious. She is the one who makes word banks, etc as their IEP demands
This option is also available in other core classes
There ARE selfcontained classes but those kids are VERY impaired.
Also, my friend just began in another middle school in this district, and she swears the IEP kids do better than the regular kids in her team taught classes. She says it speaks volumes for parental involvement
Obviously, you are an involved parent. Considering there are many low average kids out there along with IEP kids worse off than yours, I think you do indeed have a situation
I homeschooled my son last year for 6th grade. We worked intensely on his reading and, frankly, I think more than anything we built his self confidence
Homeschooling showed me what he CAN do-school is notorious for telling us what they CAN’T do. I suspect it had the same effect on him
His midterms came home with As in everything except reading and that was a B. Because we were considered a transfer with the homeschooling year, they had some difficulties with his records. They were SHOCKED to find out several weeks in that he even had an IEP!!!! He is doing that well!
If there is any way you can swing it, drastic as it sounds, Id pull him and homeschool for a year. It appears to have done wonders for us and you guys seem to REALLY need to break the pattern with your district
homeschooling
:?: Hi, I’m new here… How do you go about homeschooling your child without a teaching degree? Pls. help, because my son is having an extremely hard time attending, and I think he’d be better off homeschooled for a while. Thanks!
Re: sp. ed in middle school
pjmama-
every state has different requirements. Im in Illinois, which is pretty liberal. But from what I have read even the most stringent states dont require a teaching degree
They might require you use a certain curriculum or take attendance or do some type of yearly testing
Its best to check out your local guidelines. There was a site that had each state’s requirements, but I didnt bookmark it-hopefully you can search it out
I do think it is a worthwhile consideration if it will work with your family.
You can accomplish a lot with the one on one. I also learned so much about my child’s strengths-he is quite talented in math. It helped me worry about the future less(OK, a little less ;))
lifers in spec. ed
Is he motivated to anything? things outside of school? It’s not uncommon to feel unmotivated towards school - school seems so distant and unrelated to real life. But I’d like to hear he shows motivation to do things and accomplish things outside of school.
Until he can show some motivation in school, a reg. ed classroom might be hard for him but you could have that discussion with him. If his face brightens and his ears perk up at the idea that he could get out of spec. ed, you have your answer and then you have to go to school to ask the question - how do you get him out?
Good luck.
I always tell kids my swimming pool story. When they were young, people that care about them noticed they were having trouble swimming (school). They took them into the shallow end (special ed) and taught them to swim. Now it is time to have fun in the deep end of the pool. Of course, they can hold on to the edge, or use a float as they get used to the bigger pool. So, pick one class- good teacher, interesting subject, where your child can be successful ( not an A, but successful). And move him out of self-contained one period at a time. Special ed is not a one way gate where no one gets out - push and plan for the beginning of his return to mainstream.