The parent-teacher conference can be a stressful time for both parents and teachers — even more so if your child possibly has a problem. This article offers strategies for getting the most out of the conference, and also includes stories from veteran teachers of successful (and not-so-successful) parent-teacher conferences.
Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Kathryn Perkinson, Lance Ferderer
When a child is having a language or reading problem, the reason could be simple to understand and deal with or it could be complicated. Often, children may just need more time to learn their language skills. On the other hand, some children might have trouble seeing, hearing, or speaking. Others may have a learning disability. If you think your child may have some kind of physical or learning problem, it is important to get help quickly.
This digest discusses the identification of students who are gifted, the difficulties in the identification process, appropriate identification practices, and procedures that can help with identification.
Parent-teacher conferences are a great opportunity for families to sit down one-on-one with your child’s teacher and talk about school progress. Here are some tips to make the most of this time.
Karen J. Foli’s memoir, Like Sound Through Water: A Mother’s Journey Through Auditory Processing Disorder, describes her three-year process of discovery. During these years, she searched for the answers to her son’s severe delays in speech and comprehension.
A look at three pivotal longitudinal studies that clearly show: Late bloomers are rare; skill deficits are almost always what prevent children from blooming as readers.
More schools are using a process called Response to Intervention (RTI) to see if a child might have a learning disability. Response to Intervention provides specially designed instruction for children who have scored low on general tests. The students are tested — sometimes as often as every week — to measure progress. Those who improve after the instructional intervention go back to their normal classroom activities. Those who do not improve receive additional testing to confirm the presence of a disability.
