APD not accepted as an actual learning disability? WHAT?????

I live in Florida and they are right about APD not being recognized as a disability. But APD seldom exists in isolation and it is often the root cause of a lot of other recognized disabilities. My son, for example, was classified because he was behind in reading. How is your child’s academics? I would have him tested in all areas—reading, math, and writing—and see if he qualifies on some basis. Once a child is qualified, they are obligated to accomadate all disabilities. So my son tested a FM system for the classroom. I was told at first that APD is not a recognized disability. I told them I know but that he is classified on another basis. Then came the “oh yeah” and they did a classroom trial (which turned out to not help.)”

Florida’s special ed system is nothing compared to up north and you will have to figure out what will work best for your child. We basically did all private remediation and now have him in a parochial school. We had him repeat fourth grade when he moved (public school is behind and he wasn’t a strong student anyway) but it has worked well. More structured classrooms and better discipline works for him. They were actually more accomodating than public school—offerred to read tests to him, for example. But he really doesn’t need that level of accomodation anymore.

What kinds of accomodations does your son need to be successful? Would he be better off without the ESE teacher in the room, if the room was quieter? The help they are giving him clearly isn’t the right help.
If you post what he had before that worked for him, maybe we can help brainstorm other ways that might help him.

Beth

Beth,
Thanks for your reply! I think I have talked to you before, or maybe socks, it was a few years ago, but I remember your and socks’ posts being very helpful (I love this board!)
The accomidations he had in PA were as follows: reading and math-he was pulled out and put into a smaller class w/ others that were behind. He was actually doing late 3rd grade level work(in 4th grade). Also, shorter assignments, and more time on tests with the oppotunity to be retested if his grade was below a 70. All other subjects were taught at grade level, but also w/ the option for shorter assignments and retesting. He also had preferential seating, and tests and schoolwork could be read to him. They didn’t have access to a fm system, so we did w/out that, but I would definetly be interested in trying that here. At the IEP meeting this year, (which was completely unorganized to say the least) They said that it is important to get him on grade level asap. I agree, but made sure they would not just jump from where he is now-to where they say he needs to be. They agreed that it would be a faster pace to get him there, but that they wouldn’t just jump there. He also received speach/language, and he also had hearing impaired support, because he has a mild loss in one ear-high frequency range, doesn’t effect spoken words, but helps w/ memory retention and stuff like that. Also, at the end of last year he had OT for his writing, which has improved considerably. Now, they don’t think he needs OT, but the OT at this school will moniter him, and see him once a week to work on anything that needs improvement.There is no hearing impaired support at this school like he had in PA, so they dropped that. Also, they are no longer going to shorten his assignments in school or for homework because he needs to be prepared for the workload increase in his future years at school. Im not too sure about that one yet, presently homework takes about an hour+ and Jake doesn’t seem overwhelmed yet.
Jake was also sort of diagnosed w/ add in the latter part of 1st grade. I don’t know if you are familiar w/ the Dr. Rada case here in Plant City, but he was diagnosed by him-he was on adderall for about a year with 3 increases. He was showing signs of paying attention, but the info still was not getting though to produce any favorable output (reading,writing+math)so we collectively pursued APD. And went through all the audiology testing and got the proper diagnosis. While he was being tested (lasted about 5 hrs.) the audiologist said he demonstrated absolutely no signs of add. So she suggested that it wasn’t that he wasn’t paying attention in class-but that he was just shutting down from being overloaded with information and couldn’t process it all. Anywho- that’s all in his record and this school is suggesting to me that we design an IEP around the add diagnosis since that is an acceptable LD. No gaurantees that what they can do for him will help w/ the APD. Hmmmm….
Thank you again for your reply, if I left out any answers to your?’s please let me know. I greatly appreciate your help with this!!!!!!!!!!
Heather

1. Hearing impaired is a recognized disability. I don’t know to what extent you have to be impaired to be classified but that would be something to look at. Also, they can’t just “drop” appropriate support because they don’t have it at the school. Does he get speech and language therapy now? Unless he is very severe (my son was classified as speech impaired in K and received services on that basis), speech won’t get him the classification for other services. But if he has speech and language issues, he ought to qualify on that basis for speech therapy and not be excluded because he has apd. If the apd affects recognized areas of functioning, then you give therapy for those areas.

2. Strictly speaking APD only influences the perception/processing of auditory information. It doesn’t necessitate shorter assignments and more time. Thus, I wonder if you have more going on here. Is it an output issue? You mention that he needed OT. One thing we’ve done is have me act as scribe. My son has not had shorter/reduced assignments but the scribe part has been critical in the past. (with lots of therapy it is no longer necessary) Also, if he is doing all his homework in an hour, I don’t think he needs reduced assignments. My son has always spent far more time than that on homework.

3. Is he in fifth grade now? It doesn’t seem like he is that behind. In other words, is he really outside the normal range of a classroom. If the pull out is not helping him, would he be better off staying in the classroom?

4. My son still requires reteaching of some material—mostly English and math. I do it and he no longer goes to a resource room. There is one in his parochial school but he prefers to stay in the classroom. So one alternative might be to put him back in the regular classroom and have you or a tutor reteach material that he doesn’t get the first time.

5. ADHD typically only gets you a 504 plan not an IEP.

6. There are individual FM systems which might help him, if you can’t get a Soundfield system. My son’s issues are primarily integration so louder did not help him. However, if your son is also hearing impaired a FM system may be key.

Beth

P.S.

Is he in an inclusion class with both a regular teacher and an ESE teacher? They don’t use that model here so I missed that the first time.

If the room is too noisy and distracting for him and sound in noise is his most significant problem, I would ask to have him transferred to another classroom. I would ask for a teacher who is very structured, writes on the board (so doesn’t have to rely just on hearing), and maintains a quiet classroom.

You may have nothing more than a bad match for his weaknesses and the class they put him in.

Beth

Hi again!
As far as his hearing impaired diagnosis goes-since it is in the high frequency range, they say that he is not qualified for the services that they do provide(for severely impaired) I had talked to them about the possibility of switching to a more suitable classroom, and the ese teacher team teaches with just that teacher and no other in the 5th grade. So if he were to leave that classroom, he could not benefit from her all day, instead- she would only see him for a short time. I’m not sure if that would be better or not? But I’m open to try it!
As for speech/language, he isn’t getting that as of now, but he did in PA,
they say it wont help him here. I think because they might not think the way we do, like you said in your post,”if the APD effects recognized areas of functioning, give therape for those areas” It’s like they are saying, since APD is not recognized, he won’t qualify for any services. Which you and I both know is a bunch of garbage!
He really isn’t that far behind anymore-but the concern is that he will get further behind and eventually fail. That’s what they basically told me.
The teacher really doesn’t give them a whole lot of homework, so I guess an hour isnt all that bad. With alot of help from me, like you said with your child. But to answer a question you had that I’m not sure if I answered- He is in an inclusive class w/ the regular ed. teacher who team teaches w/ the ese teacher. This is the first experience I’ve had w/ this kind of tecnique, not sure if it works, or if there are other possibilities like you suggested? We’ll see!
Heather

1. Well, I would insist they give him a comprehensive speech and language evaluation or use results you have from PA to qualify him. You probably have to request it in writing to make it legally binding.

2. Consider whether he would be better off in a noninclusion classroom. One of the reasons I moved my child to a parochial school was that was the only model available in my middle school. I talked to a lot of people and thought it was a bad fit.

3. I think he’d be better off seeing her for a short time in a less hectic environment than as he is.

4. I think it a whole bunch of garbage that they are worried about him falling more and more behind and so are considering retaining him in November. They are telling you that what they are doing is not working.
Personally, I’d advocate for a classroom switch and make lots of noise about the speech and language therapy.

Beth

APD isn’t on the official list of disabilities but it doesn’t mean they can’t provide services for your child. It does mean changing the terms used in the IEP.

I’d work really hard to get away from the distracting conversation about what words you’re using. Does he, indeed, qualify for special ed? It sure sounds like it, that they would acknowledge that he has a “specific learning disability.”

Because of that specific learning disability (or whatever category they use), he needs accommodations.

Oh, guess what, one of the symptoms of that specific learning disability is that he has difficulty processing what he hears. Therefore, he needs the accommodatoin of being seated in the front of the class, FM transmitter, assignments written for him instead of just orally stated, or whatever.

Their hands are not tied unless they’re just into kinky stuff, and that’s their problem. Ahem, pretend I didn’t say that…

But… before you even go this route, what’s the real problem? Do they not know how to grant those accommodations? Are they unwilling? Unable?

For the legal end of it, I would try very hard to get into writing something wherein they do acknowledge that yes, indeed, he needs those accommodations. (Sounds like they admitted it orally.) At least, say, a letter of understanding to them thanking them for meeting with you, and saying that you understand that while they acknowledge that he would benefit from accommodations x, y, and z, that because ‘apd’ is not a qulaifying disability, that they cannot provide it.

I’d lay the paper trail no matter where things end up going… but I’d also be looking at alternatives. A year at home would prbably be better than another year in fifth grade, learning for a whole other year how “stupid” he is.

Beth,

I’ll be at the school tomorrow morning with a request IN WRITING to have a complete speech/language eval. done, and make sure they follow through with it! Also, I will see about the classroom change too. It can’t hurt to try!
Thanks for all your help…I’ll keep ya posted
Heather

Sue,
Thanks for your reply. I am a little confused by what you meant by the words I use and the distracting conversation? Could you clarify please?
Thanks, Heather

Heather,

Legally, there are 7 areas of learning disabilities: basic reading, reading comprehension, math calculation, math reasoning, written expression, listening comprehension, and oral expression.

The particular processing disorder is not the issue. The issue is whether the child is sufficiently behind in an academic area to qualify for services. The definition of learning disabilities means that there is an underlying processing disorder.

As far as speech-language goes, I have little confidence in school therapy. My own child had 4 years worth and her standard scores on the language tests stayed the same year after year. No one will remediate a language disorder (if there is one) in twice a week, 30 minute group therapy sessions. (And from what I have heard, don’t FL school SLP’s have very heavy caseloads, Beth?)

The LD label as I said before requires a certain level of academic delay. Technically, ADHD with an academic delay can qualify a child as OHI (other health impaired). Otherwise, you can get a 504 plan for the ADHD for modifications, and sometimes if you have a good current APD report, you can get a 504 in some places, too.

The key issue for direct services is to understand whether the child qualifies for classification under the laws of the state you are currently in. There are plenty of children who have problems and function below average who do not qualify for special education. It is extremely important when considering an out of state move to understand the laws of the new state in respect to special education. My state, for example, qualifies a child (currently) with a 15 point discrepancy between IQ and achievement. Some states require at least 22. So I could definitely move to a state where my child would no longer be classified LD. (And she happens to have APD….but again, it is the LD classification that gets services, not what the underlying processing problem is).

I definitely agree with Beth that often regular class with outside tutoring can be the best option. Pull-out special ed. language arts and math may doom a child to staying behind forever. Beth has really done the best job of anyone I know of seeking the outside resources plus home tutoring to make her son be as successful as he is today. That will always be your best bet.

Janis

Heather,

Janis is right that speech and language case loads in FL are extremely high. It is group therapy. Still, I kept my son in speech therapy as long as he was in the public schools. My philosophy was that I couldn’t rely on it to remediate his difficulties but it couldn’t hurt and it provided me with some testing free of charge.

I think one of the harsh realities of being in Florida is that you really have to take control of your child’s education. One of my college friends from Nebraska now was simply shocked at the case loads here. We had a very bad situation after we moved here from western NY which almost went to due process. The special ed teacher was extremely incompetent. My battles got rid of her but in the meantime I had to figure out my strategy. In the end, I decided to put my energy and money into my son. My basic attitude about public school in FL was is to figure out what will allow me to do what needs to be done to help my child.

Beth

As far as the schools are concerned they don’t acknowledge medical or quasimedical names for learning disabilities. Very few states will even recognize the term “dyslexia” which has been around a lot longer than APD. So don’t get caught up with the exact terms. I think to get away from the term and deal with what are the child’s specific needs and are the schools meeting them (right off I’d say the answer is “no”). Individual teachers might be interested in learning more on APD if presented to them in a positive way (after all many have prob. not heard of it). But as far as getting services for your child, stay away from it and deal with what he has trouble with. I think the advise given here is excellent. More or less wanted to point out that they will not use any such terms. In private practice I talked about dysexia every day, since I have worked in the public schools I have not mentioned the term but maybe once to higher up.

—des

Beth, Sue, Janis, and Des,

I thank you all very much for your time and suggestions. I now realize that I may have been focusing too much on the diagnosis-and lack of help for that specifically. I think why I went so gung-ho w/ that is because the first time we lived in Fl. when Jake was in Kindergarden-half of 3rd grade, all of his teachers every year, had either came to me, or I came to them about him struggling, and every time he was tested, he would miss the percentage discrepancy by 1 or 2 points to qualify for any services. He did however get a 504 early on in 3rd grade in Fl. Which we took to PA,
and they gave him an iep instead, based on the fact that it was recognized. Upon our move back here(due to financial issues) when I went to this iep meeting, they said that they needed to re-test him since it was a different state and the guidelines are different here(his iep was written in PA in Oct.2004) So I did tell them that allthough I was aware that apd is not considered a specific ld, Could he still receive some accomidations based on the areas of need? They said that it all came down to the numbers (percentage discrepency), and that if he didn’t meet that criteria-then there’s not much they can do, especially since they are so overloaded(sad but very true, I agree) Which I totally understand! But where my frustration comes from is that year after year I am told by his teachers”we need to get him tested so he can receive some help” it seems like it is very obvious he is in need, but because he missed the discrepancy amount by a very small margin- proving he is definitely below average, there’s just nothing they can do. And I do get that- however I am left with a struggling child who is one of the unfortunate one’s who will fall through the cracks, and his self esteem is deteriorating, because he knows he needs help, and no one will help him but me. This year he is in a failing school, those of you from Fl. know about the school choice program. Which I am in the process of getting him into another school. I am also considering private school as well. (gathering info now) Also, tutoring looks like a very good option. Again thank you all- I know Im not the only one frustrated with all of this, and that does help! I am so glad I have this board to turn to!
P.S. Beth- You mentioned you were from Western NY? Me too! I grew up in Andover NY, ever heard of it? (its a teeny tiny town about 90 miles south of Rochester)

Heather,

We moved to S. Florida from Buffalo NY—about six years ago. Traded blizzards for hurricanes.

I think I understand your situation now. Basically, you have a child who has apd which impacts his academics but not enough for him to be classified on that basis. That is a tough situation. But, I also know, that many parents have opted to not have their kids in special ed programs in school, even though they qualified. So some thoughts at maximizing things for your son.

1. You need to think very carefully about what about school is problematic for your son. If it is processing language, then try to set up as optimal situation as possible for him. Move him, as we’ve discussed, out of the inclusion class to a quieter more structured setting. The school may have put him there to help you. He could get ESE help without being qualified for it. But the noise level may make that help useless.

2. Also, I think you can get some accomodations without an IEP. For example, most teachers will give a child preferential setting if you ask. Explain to them he does much better when up close to the teacher—depending on the teacher, you can explain why or not.

3. Look into remediating his apd. Earobics is a pretty inexpensive computer program that can help. It seems to be most helpful when used at least 1/2 hour a day. I also familiar with about every other program around (and have done most of them) but most, except Earobics cost $$. So EArobics, if you haven’t done it, is a good place to start.

4. Is your son a really slow worker? Does he master the material without significant repetition? Think about “helping” your son once he has reached his saturation point, if homework is too heavy and you can’t get accomodations. Do this even if he really needs the repetition but is exhausted. An exhausted child can’t learn. The important thing here is that your goal is to help your son learn and get through school. Sometimes those two goals are not compatible. Sometimes schools do not give what is reasonable for a particular child. As I said, I have also acted as scribe—which allowed my child to do the “learning” part without the output exhaustion.

5. Think about “tutoring” your child yourself. Reading Reflex is one such program that is easy for a parent to use. I spent most of my money on therapy to address underlining causes of my son’s disabilities and did most of the tutoring myself. Janis has some good posts on what materials to use with Reading Reflex. Figure out why your son is behind in math…does he not know his math facts, for example. Does he just take repetition to “get” material? ARe there areas he can’t master? Fractions used to be one such area for my son.

6. Forget about summer being time off. I figure that is our catch up time. My son does as well as he does because he has to work every summer. Your son isn’t that far behind. A summer might be all he needs.

7. Look into school resources that aren’t ESE based. FCATS put the fear of God into FL schools and many have after school classes available. If the school is a F school, then there may be special resources available. Take advantage of them. Your child is exactly the type of kid they target—weak but not ESE. I dont know if title 1 funds are available in your school but I know others whose children got help that way.

8. I think it is important for you to acknowledge to your son that school isn’t set up right for every kid but that you are there to support him. Does he understand what learning disabilities are? My son and I have had many discussions about what that means and how it is different from being “stupid” or “retarded”. He has a down’s syndrom cousin so he has actively asked about the latter. It will make a big difference for your son’s self esteem if he understands that he learns differently and it may be more work (and why) but that he isn’t stupid.

9. I always figure my most important goal is to get my child through school emotionally intact and that overides all other goals. I have a friend who helped her son all the way through high school, much to her exhusband’s consternation. They then worked on him becoming independent—did three years of community college instead of two. Then he transferred to a regional state university where he had a B average. He got a master’s degree in history and is now teaching at the same Community college where he was a student. All I am saying is that your support and knowledge matter a whole lot more than what the school does or does not do for him.

9. If all else fails, read him articles about kids who are LD are more likely to end up as millionaires (in jail too but I skip that part!) My son just loved that and told his siblings that he was more likely to rich than they!!

Beth