My son is 9 years old and in 3rd grade.
He scored really low on his SAT9 last year and in Oct. his teacher called and said Billy was struggling and would like to have him tested.
I started looking into it and thought he had dyslexia.
I told them to do their tests but PLEASE test for dylexia.
Well they did not.
And then it was January before they did finally give him the test.
Guess what??? He had Dsylexia!! Duh!!
Anyway they would not provide services for him since he has not met the criteria. Dsylexia is not “enough” of a learning disability.
They gave him a 504 plan instead.The problem is the 504 is not worth the paper it is printed on.
Any help would be great.
Thanks
Jen
Re: Hi I am new here and have a question
The problem is not that dyslexia isn’t enough of a disability, because it surely is. It may be that he did not have enough discrepency between his achievement and his ability scores to meet the state definition of specific learning disability by demonstrating adverse effect. That is sort of unfortunate- it means that he is working really hard and doing some pretty good learning on his own- but it isn’t enough- so he needs some help- maybe some instruction (this can happen in 504) and certainly some accommodations and modifications. Why do you say his 504 is worthless? It is a legal document, and sevices can be provided under it’s umbrella.
Robin
Re: Hi I am new here and have a question
Hi Jen,
Over the summer you might try using some of the ideas from “50 Fun Ways to Improve Reading” which you can download for free from the schwablearning.org website. These suggestions encourage reading and writing, which he needs to practice, regardless of his dyslexia. It is not going to go away. Good luck and here’s to a fun summer for both of you. JJ
RE: Question
Dear Jan:
Get a copy of “The Dyslexic Scholar: Helping Your Child Succedd in the School System” it has particularly on page 44-46 about how to respond when the school gives you a hard time. Specifically: “according to PL 94-142 (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act - IDEA) and Section 504 dyslexia is specifically mentioned as a handicapping condition to be remediated by the school.” Also, good to have is “Better IEP’s” by Barbara D. Bateman, Ph.D., J.D it discusses IEP’s for 504 Students among other things. Hope this is helpful.
L. Starr
RE: Question
Dear Jan:
Get a copy of “The Dyslexic Scholar: Helping Your Child Succedd in the School System” it has particularly on page 44-46 about how to respond when the school gives you a hard time. Specifically: “according to PL 94-142 (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act - IDEA) and Section 504 dyslexia is specifically mentioned as a handicapping condition to be remediated by the school.” Also, good to have is “Better IEP’s” by Barbara D. Bateman, Ph.D., J.D it discusses IEP’s for 504 Students among other things. Hope this is helpful.
L. Starr
The DyslexiaSupport list at http://www.groups.yahoo.com has a lot of information in its archived messages, and its bookmarks section has a lot of websites worth exploring.
Most dyslexics have a visual processing problem and/or an auditory processing problem and/or a phonological processing problem. Some have all three.
If your son has a lot of reversals when writing, it’s a good idea to get a developmental vision evaluation. This is usually fully or partially covered by medical insurance, same as a regular eye exam (except this one includes about 20 additional tests of visual function). You can find certified developmental optometrists at http://www.covd.org.
A lot of parents have used the book, “Reading Reflex”, available for $16 at most bookstores, to successfully tutor their children in reading at home. The methodology is excellent and easy to use.
Many dyslexics also benefit from cognitive training. An inexpensive home-based program is Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com). You can get the book, video and starter kit of manipulatives for about $80.
An involved parent can usually do more for a child than a school. My advice is to spend time and energy directly on remediating your child, rather than on trying to get the school to do something for him.
Mary