Now I have results...but no understanding

I will try to help by giving you both my experience as a teacher and a parent of an LD child. First, as a special ed teacher, I think that at this young age you do not have enough of a discrepancy to qualify for special ed. Although, psychologists do some point spread, to laymen it breaks down to two years below grade level. Since your daughter is in 2nd grade, but performing at 1st grade level you don’t have the two year delay. So, basically have her retested next year or the following so you finally have enough of a discrepancy.
Now, as a parent, you are right to do something now and if you can at your own expense if necessary. I’m a special ed teacher and I did not know what to do about my son’s poor reading and writing. I did know that the usual things had not worked. I found a very competent learning disabilities specialist with her own learning center to test my son and help me decide what to do. With that knowledge I was able to advocate for appropriate programs from his school. Perhaps through this site or referral from others in your area you can find a specialist (I’m talking about a teacher with experience diagnosing and remediating learning difficulties). There are programs for your daughter’s memory and visual perception.

Ask for the results in standard scores, not grade equivalents; then you can compare her WISC III scores to the WoodcockJohnson.

It depends on your state and school system. Not all areas require a child to fall dramatically below grade level to receive SPED services. How, then could ANY kindergarten or 1st graders qualify for services?

School systems that are doing their job will also look for discrepancies between VIQ and PIQ, and discrepancies between IQ and performance to determine eligibility. My son has been on an IEP for most of the time he has been in school, and has never been below grade level.

Karen

Karen, virtually all states have a discrepancy formula that is adhered to. Most of the time the discrepancy is defined as 1.5 standard deviations between intelligence and achievement, or 22.5 points. Depending upon where a child’s IQ is, they will or won’t qualify in first and second grade. I know Ohio, for instance, requires 2 standard deviations or 30 points (no kidding) and a small, very small, few states call for only one standard deviation or 15 points. It is almost unheard of for a K child to be placed as LD, for instance. A K child can be LSH (language) or perhaps something else, but it is almost a statistical impossibility to have a child that far below in academic skills at that age, before many skills have even been taught. This is why as the child moves into first grade, again qualifying is challenging unless they have a 110 or greater IQ because if they know a word or two and can add two numbers on their fingers, etc. they get a standard score of 86 or 90 or so and with an IQ around 100, there is no eligbility.

Granted that the school isn’t going to help, here are a few suggestions.

First, get a developmental vision evaluation. You can find out more about functional vision problems (which are not checked in regular eye exams) at http://www.childrensvision.com.

Second, plan on doing either Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com) or PACE (Processing and Cognitive Enhancement, http://www.learninginfo.com). Both are cognitive training programs that work on developing visual processing and short-term memory skills — among others. Audiblox is an inexpensive, home-based program. PACE is more intense, but also much more expensive. PACE is best saved until after all sensory/motor level developmental problems have been addressed (such as developmental vision delays via vision therapy, etc.).

We took our daughter out of a private school for 3rd grade in order to homeschool and provide her with the therapies we thought would be likely to benefit her. We did vision therapy, PACE, and a Phono-Graphix intensive (http://www.readamerica.net). Now, in 5th grade, she attends a public charter school for 2 hours a day and we continue to homeschool all academic subjects. She went from reading at a preschool level at age 8 to reading on a 7th grade level now, at age 11 in 5th grade. We started Singapore Math at home a year ago (http://www.singaporemath.com), and her math has improved dramatically also (currently almost at grade level, and we expect her to be ahead by next year).

Schools are not equipped to provide many of the therapies that benefit children. Your best bet is to use the internet as a research tool, and provide those therapies and curriculums which you think are likely to benefit your child.

Mary

My goodness! TWO standard deviations! That is unreal!!! We have one (15 points) in NC where I live. It is still hard to get a first grader to qualify.

Janis

Mary, I would just add that the home version of PACE (Brainskills) might be good to try before investing in PACE while the child is young and is not extremely delayed.

http://www.brainskills.com/

Janis

If you could have her tested the first month of third grade, she might qualify then. If her math remains at the beginning first grade level, her scores at the beginning of third might do it. But I really agree with all the others…I don’t see many school LD programs using the therapies that will correct these problems. You are really better off seeking outside help anyway. And the sooner, the better.

Janis

The grade equivalents are those of the group the test was normed on and may have NOTHING to do with the standards of your school system; ask for the standard scores of all the tests given and ask for help plotting them out so you can see the deviation, if any.

I think that people who live in states with these really large discrepancy formulas need to work to get them changed. But the local district must also have some discretionary powers too. I went back and looked at my son’s original core eval done, at school request, when he was in kindergarten. We didn’t know anything about LD’s anything about special education, anything about the law or our rights.

My son’s VIQ was 112, and his PIQ at that point was 105. They still put him on an IEP. And it was their decision, not ours, because we didn’t know what any of it meant. His split is now 112/90, so I can see what you mean about it getting worse as they get a little older. He did not have any speech problems, and was, according to his kindergarten teacher, doing grade appropriate work. The teacher refered him for testing because she saw signs of stress in the classroom, and saw him getting “stuck” and unable to move on without prompting. It turns out that she was right, but these are pretty subtle signs compared to other people I hear on these boards.

If the district doesn’t have some discretionary powers, why would they have put him on an IEP? If our district can do it, why can’t (won’t?) others?

Karen

We need to be able to make a good case for the child having a processing deficit (LD) that significantly negatively impacts academic achievement. The latter is the reason for the discrepancy. I do believe a person can have a processing deficit (not 2-3) and never actually fall significantly below level if given good teaching in general ed. I have never, in 10 years at current job, taught a K child in my resourse program under LD. It is impossible to get a significant discrepancy. If there is a large difference between P.I.Q. and V.I.Q., then we can find language impairment.

Z

“She had a tendency to not attempt to answerquestions that she was not 100% sure of…and she was often unsure of her answers…She rarely made guesses or took risks. Even when the examiner encouraged her to respond, she refused to answer. When questions were presented that she perceived as difficult, she appeared to become scared and anxious. Overall, she worked hard and the results of this assessment should be an accurate estimate of her abilities.”

That last sentence about working hard and the assessment being an “accurate assessment” is one that is often just stuck into every report without thinking (or it may even be one that the school system tells the tester they have to put in). You’re supposed to say whether or not you think the testing is valid — but it takes confidence and courage to actually make a judgement about it and *say* that the testing may not have really tapped her skills. At the IEP meeting I might have ever so gently but firmly state that the statements about refusing to answer, etc. seemed in direct contradiction to teh statement that the scores were “accurate estimates.”

I’d be tempted to yank this kiddo home and work gently on skills and confidence. I mihgt even forget to send her to school a few times. WHat were her reading scores like, and if you have subtest scores for the WISC, what were the high and low points?

Get on Wrightslaw.com and look up tests and measurements. There is an article that tells you what the scores mean. I would strongly encourage you to get a second opinion. Many times schools give the same “one size fits all” tests to every kid. Your child may need a specific kind of test to show the gap that is required. Don’t put much weight on anything the school tells you about anything - your child or your rights. You need to educate yourself in all areas because the school is not looking out for the best interests of your child. Only you can do that.