Dyslexic 14YO Philadelphia

She’d probably benefit greatly from a Phono-Graphix tutor and/or the PACE program.If you go to the PG website (http://www.readamerica.com), you can phone or email them for information about certified PG tutors in your area. Typically this kind of tutoring doesn’t take more than 18 hours total — often only 12 hours.You can find PACE providers by phoning or emailing the company. Visit their website at http://www.learninginfo.comYou might also want to have her evaluated by a developmental optometrist. You can find certified developmental optometrists at http://www.covd.org. This is a specialty area, and the exam is much more extensive than a regular vision exam.Your dd sounds like mine (except I can’t say mine’s exactly brilliant). She benefited greatly from vision therapy, PACE, and Phono-Graphix.Mary: Does anyone know of a good program/tutor in the Philadelphia, PA
: area? My daughter is 14 years old, in 8th grade, and reads/writes
: on about a 4th grade level, if that. She’s verbally very
: expressive and has a large vocabulary, and is brilliant in math
: and science (until she has to write about it!). She has atrocious
: handwriting, also, if that means anything. The school won’t have
: her tested or tutored because they say she’s not doing badly
: enough (!!!???), which I find astonishing. But then, that’s the
: Phila. School District, I suppose …: I’m so afraid that if she continues like this, high school is going
: to be a complete disaster for her. Is there anyone out there in
: the Phila. area who has any advice? It would be greatly
: appreciated!: Sincerely, Eileen Kerrigan

:
: Hi Eileen. I know a great psychologist by the name of Dr.David Young. He specializes in learning disabilities. You could pursue private testing through him and take that back to the school district. The private testing got my gifted/ld son the help he needs. Dr. Young is located in Rosemont, right near Bryn Mawr Hospital. Is that too far? Let me know if you would like a phone number. He is probably in the phone book too. Good luck. Jean PS I live outside philly. Also know an optometrist that specializes in visual perceptual difficulties in Broomall (suburb). My kid had neuropsych exam with a Dr. Glen Greenberg at Riddle Memorial Hospital healt care center and a full scale IQ at Widener University. You probably should have her identified if the school hasn’t done that already.

: I don’t know if a school can refuse to do testing if a parent requests it. Maybe consider posting again with that exact heading… Can A School Refuse to Do Testing?In any case, the testing might show you what you already know… that your dear daughter has issues with reading. Some tutoring might help her and there are many programs available nation wide that could be considered. There are schools near Philadelphia called the Woodlynde School and the Crossroads School that are schools in part for kids with reading issues. Maybe you could call them and ask if they ever refer to tutors. There’s also Stratford Friends - a school for kids with some learning issues.I think Philadelphia is a big city though and you might not be near any of those schools.In the meantime, let your daughter read for pleasure - encourage 1/2 hour a day in books she can easily read and this can only help to continue to build her skills. As for her handwriting, let her type.Good luck.for aDoes anyone know of a good program/tutor in the Philadelphia, PA
: area? My daughter is 14 years old, in 8th grade, and reads/writes
: on about a 4th grade level, if that. She’s verbally very
: expressive and has a large vocabulary, and is brilliant in math
: and science (until she has to write about it!). She has atrocious
: handwriting, also, if that means anything. The school won’t have
: her tested or tutored because they say she’s not doing badly
: enough (!!!???), which I find astonishing. But then, that’s the
: Phila. School District, I suppose …: I’m so afraid that if she continues like this, high school is going
: to be a complete disaster for her. Is there anyone out there in
: the Phila. area who has any advice? It would be greatly
: appreciated!: Sincerely, Eileen Kerrigan

:Eileen, Sounds like you are talking about my dyslexic/CAPD daughter, who is an honor roll student every marking period. She was identified by me in 4th grade. I have had to fight every year for services and the appropriate ones. School doesn’t seem to get “gifted but LD. But then again, they cannot get even LD. We are in New Jersey, so either the same ranking as Philly or maybe worse! Tell the school they must not compare your daughter to her classroom peers. Your daughter must be compared to herself and only testing can do this. Everytime I meet with the IEP “team” I hear this at least 100 times. “Your daughter is doing as well as or better then those in her class”! Even with the dx the teachers claim not to see what I see. We started with remediation of receptive language Fastforword, did wonders. School district had to pay for this at a private learning center, after I took them to mediation and due process. Now she is working on the written expression with a tutor at the learning center. In all standardized testing the district did, without accomodations of “extra time” she was always in the bottom 10%. With extra time, she shoots up to average to above average on the scoring. The district can try not to test. But you can take them to due process and/or mediation as I recently did with my younger daughter, if you feel that strongly about the need for testing. Judge ruled again, in my favor without attorney. Judge also ordered independent testing. At due process, he asked the Board’s attorney if the child study team was all the experts she had. Insight into what NJ teams are all about and I am sure compare to Philly. Remember, squeaky wheel gets the oil. It is always a long hard fight to get an appropriate education for our special needs children, especially when the districts here do not know what appropriate means for regular kids! In school, if you get your daughter what she needs, you still must monitor, question and research always. Do not trust that once you get her where you think she needs to be that you can rest. The rest comes when she is totally out of high school. Good Luck Cindy M.

Eileen, I live outside of Philadelphia. For reading, I just heard Lindamood-Bell opened a clinic in the western suburbs - around Bryn Mawr. They are costly, but have a good reputation. It may be worth it just to consult with them to find out if they have a program that could help your child. Jean, who is the optometrist you’ve used in Broomall? I have a 12 year old who is in public middle school and getting by, but he has major visual-perceptual difficulties and I would like to consult a good optometrist. Thanks.

: Diane- He hasn’t seen her yet but have heard great things about her through Delaware County Early Intervention. Her name is Elise Ciner at 2805 West Chester Pike, 356-3933. Let me know what you think. Also, when I called, couldn’t get an appointment till Mid April for after school. Sorry, it took so long to post. Had the info at work.Good luck. Jean

Thanks, I really appreciate it. At my son’s annual check-up today they recommended an eye doctor appointment because he had trouble on the eye chart. So your timing is perfect - thanks again.