Christy McGuire

On 2/14/2023 at 9:30 AM, Smiley74 said:

What educational impact would/could be seen/linked to LPT3 subtest scores indicating difficulties in the areas of categorization and generating attributes of common nouns?  Also demonstrated slow processing speed throughout the assessment for formal and informal activities. 

Hi! 

Some things I would look for are trouble with reading comprehension, trouble with writing at grade level, difficulty in math class. To be more specific, I would need to know what grade level you are looking at.

One thing I would be doing right now is investing what is available at the school. Will they need to contract an outside professional to meet these goals?

Hi!  

I am an Associate member of the Orton Gillingham Academy and have experience as a high school Physics teacher. I have trained specifically in the Concrete, Representational, Abstract math approach, and other methods appropriate for students with specific learning disabilities.  I offer one to one tutoring in both reading and math (on-line and in person), and mentoring for parents who wish to teach their own child math in a systematic, multi-sensory way.  More information at www.ThrivingSTEM.com

Related services. Educational placement is literally where is the child? A regular ed classroom? The resource room? A specialized classroom?

IEP and 504 fall under two different laws. IDEA and ADA respectively. Practically, a 504 gives a student accomodations and an IEP gives a student both accomodations and individualized instruction. That's a very simplified view. But, if he has an IEP, he generally wouldn't need a 504. If he finishes his IEP, then he might move to a 504.

Hope that helps.

I don't know if you've found anyone yet. I don't know of anyone in CA, but you can check out Lisa's new coaching course. It will give you some good guidance on what to do.

Hi! 

So sorry he is dealing with this. High school football is closer to business and you can't regulate through an IEP.

I think it was a mistake to say, "I can play varsity, but we'll see about JV."  That wasn't his call and probably got some animosity from the coach before this even happened. It was a privelege to be pulled up when he is still JV eligible, and it looks like he didn't recognize that.

At this point, I would go with him and ask to have a sit down with a principal and the coach. You need to be there along with his other parent if possible, and your son needs to appologize (I know, but if wants back on the football squad, he needs to get back on the coach's good side.) Then, he may able to ask to please be put back on the JV squad. Say, "Varsity is too much with academics."  

Sorry, I know that's not what feels fair, but if he wants to play, I think that's his path.

Hi!

This is not the sort of thing that goes in a state complaint. I would leave it out in order to not distract from your main complaints. While this is definitely unprofessional, it is not breaking any laws. 

Hi! Frankly, it is unusual for a Dyslexic to be in this type of situation. Typically, they are in the general education classroom for most of the day, and pulled out just for language arts instruction and math. The pullout is typically 1-1 or small group, not an alternative classroom.  I would start with an email to his case manager. Request a meeting to discuss change of placement. Your reasesons are 1) The current placement is causing emotional distress 2) The current placement is not providing appropriate academics 3) The current placement is causing difficulty in studying.  Make a statement like, " I do not believe that the current situation is the least restrictive environment of rmy child"   You have all the evidence you need. If you feel you need further support, look at getting an Advocate. I am not sure if Lisa works in NJ, but I am sure there is an advocate who could help you with this.

On 11/14/2022 at 12:56 PM, JSD24 said:

I would send another email.  Address it to the principal with a copy to the sp ed director for the district.  Schools should be responding 'within a reasonable period of time' which in my state (PA) is 10 days.  I don't want this discussed at a meeting as there is no paper trail of the ask for a sp ed eval.  (If your state has calendar days & not school days as how they count to 60, I can see why they want to push off starting when to count.  The winter holidays mean a lot of days that aren't school days where an eval can be done.)

This parent might also want to follow up with the state DOE as they might want to be aware of the parent requesting an eval & the school sitting on it.  The teacher should have known who to forward the email to.  I feel the state would want the teachers in this district trained on what to do when they get a request like this.  The parent went to their contact at the school - the teacher.  Teachers should be trained on who they need to escalate this to.

I agree, email the special education director and ask for the evaluation. List specific concerns such as anxiety, family history of dyslexia, related disability (speech) as reasons. 

On-line does work for some students, but it sounds like you have some valid specific concerns. I would put your concerns in writing, specifically that the evaluater was not able to see him, and that you are concerned with his social language. I would ask for an additional evaluation of his social language.

On 11/6/2022 at 9:47 PM, Smiley74 said:

In a test environment, what would those strategies look like?  Current accommodations are pretty standard -additional time, keep extraneous sounds to minimum, use planner (but not all tests are written in it, most days are blank), make sure question is being read versus guessing/check for comprehension 

Well, this is where a good diagnosis will help you narrow it down. Requiring testing to be on paper that the student can write on, or requiring to be electronic might help. Having tests read alloud might help.  

This mismatch often goes with Dyslexia, but there is no way to know based in this information if you need that DX. I agree that a thorough eval may be really helpful.   

Based on the infromation given, "forcing slow down" is not a good accomodation for this.  "Just slow down" is a misunderstanding of the complexity of what is happening in the child's brain. Working memory issues call for appropriate strategies like using bullet points or graphic organizers.  There should be scaffolding questions that help the child orient. I would double check the accomodation list and make sure it's appropriate and researched based. 

On 10/26/2022 at 1:05 PM, EmilyM said:

Couldn't the training be required for the teachers in question? I understand it may push out the implementation further.

Yes. You absolutely can go that route. And yes, that is the risk. But, it's something you could do.

Hi!

We found that the teachers in our district were severely undersupported. We were able to work with the existing PTA to just lighten the load and provide some resources. That helped in the moment, and bought us the trust of the teachers, which is really valuable.  Frankly, it shouldn't have been necessary, but it was an opportunity to show we were there to help.

I have found in our district that if you can get the ear of school board members or members of administration, they really appreciate keeping feedback private. So, as long as I feel that they are taking issues seriously, I try to respect that.  I have walked up to an admin at a public meeting (on the side) and said, "What can we do about x?"  She knew that I was there to help not to criticize, and she told me what was actually needed, which I could then go work on. 

Also though, we communicate, communicate, communicate as parents. That has helped the leadership understand that we are  not "just that mom" and that they need to take any of us seriously when we bring up issues that we see.  

Finally, you have to separate advocacy to change the district from advacocy for your child. It might be the legal aspect, I'm not sure, but administration will always clam up if it's about your child. You need to make it abstract in order for them to engage, at least that's very consistently been my experience.

Best wishes on your meeting!

Hi!

My first question is, how qualified is the last OG tutor that she worked with? I would want my child evaluated by a Fellow of the Orton-Gillinhgam Academy or a fully certified CALT before I settled that we had done everything there was to do. OG should take 4 years at max to get the child to an appropriate level. Frankly, I am suspicious of the school's story there.

That said, yes, a student can learn to read and still have low oral fluency. A good SLP may be able to help with this.  EF is part of Dyslexia, so I'm not sure what where they are going with that particular argument.   

As for the Anxiety, I would go with your mom gut. For our family, Polyvagaal or Demartini based therapy has been much more effective than the more commonly available Cognitive Behaivor Therapy. The CBT amounted to "try harder" which clearly wasn't the issue. But again, you and she know more about her feelings than they do. If she doesn't think she's anxious, and you don't that's it, it probably isn't.

I hope that helps.

On 10/24/2022 at 1:09 PM, Dew5077 said:

You didn't. As long as they do what they say they are going to do, this week, and moving forward, he will only miss 1 day of recess! Yay! It's an improvement! 

Awesome!! Glad to hear that.

Hi! In my state, public school does not help with Dyslexia for homeschoolers. I would verify that your state is different before I put too much more effort into testing.  There are several good programs that are available that you could use in your homeschooling. Heggerty, Logic of English, All about Reading, Sunday are some that are popular in the Homeschool community and often work well.

Hi!

This sounds frustrating. I think I would try to go a lower profile route first, though. If the district isn't set up for coteaching, you won't really be able to get it. They might fake it, but if the teachers aren't trained, it won't really happen. How would you feel about push in services were the special education teacher came in to the regular education classroom? That could get a similar effect to coteaching, and would be alot lower threshhold for the district implement. 

On 10/17/2022 at 9:52 PM, Dew5077 said:

They didn't come to me at all. At the beginning of the school year, we start after Labor Day, I was told he would miss 1 day a week of recess. Then I find out he's only getting 1 day a week of recess. I guess I missed making that clear in my initial rant.... I guess this isn't a "safe place" to vent? I don't know... 

Since I posted, they figured out 3 times the SLP can "push in" to classes where she is confident that she can work with him in those settings. So he will only miss recess 1 day a week now for his group session. 

I was more flabbergasted that they thought I would be OK with him not going to recess. I was a Physical Education teacher before we moved here. They knew that. I think I had 1 of his teachers in my class even..... 

Hi, I am so sorry. It was not my intention to attack you in any way. My intention was to be proactive. Glad to hear what you are getting what he needs.

Honestly, some of this depends on the age of your child. Also, what is the nature of the specialized instruction? If she is dealing with SLD (which seems possible from your post) and they are giving her instruction geared toward modified standards, that is not a good thing.

2 hours ago, JSD24 said:

I don't feel that parents really want 'the best for their child' (#6 in the article).  When a student is the best in their class, that can come with another set of issues like boredom.  A student who isn't being taught anything new doesn't learn how to learn.  When things get harder and they lack this ability, self-esteem tends to take a hit.  The end result is a gifted child not reaching their full potential as well as the mental health issues that come with low self-esteem.  They may end up setting a low bar for themself because they feel they don't know how to get to a higher bar.

What I've said about middle school is students want to fit in yet stand out at the same time.  IMO, parents want this too.  They want their child to have a 'just right' education.  There needs to be a bit of struggle for growth to happen and a student with the need for special ed needs to be identified early so they don't stand out..like being the only one who hasn't finished the chapter when the discussion starts.

Yeah, I agree, I didn't want my child to "be the best". I will admit to wanting them to have the best, which in my mind was eauivalent to happy.

I haven't met many Dyslexic families who feel the dyslexics faced only "some" struggle though.

On 10/9/2022 at 12:32 PM, EmilyM said:

So this is Teacher Me talking. I don't know if anyone here has the legal know-how to advise me, but I'll happily take anything.

I teach at a virtual school and have a student who could possibly qualify for an IEP. She's not my lowest performer by our beginning of year assessment by any means, but is on the low due to some observed attention struggles. Her mother has been talking about the struggles since before school started and keeps talking about how the kid needs an IEP.

Except... Mom is making it so hard and I'm not sure what else I can do.

So far, Mom has stated (only by voice) that she thinks Kid needs an IEP and possibly a modified curriculum.

Our special education department has called her multiple times, left voicemails and texts and emails about this, but no response from Mom.

I've told Mom flat-out to send a request to start the process in writing. 

I'm trying to keep data, but the family doesn't do enough schoolwork to give me much to look at (chicken or egg?)

I'm not sure what else is my duty here. Everytime I speak with Mom, she asks about the IEP and modified (not accommodated) work, but it's almost like she doesn't want to do anything on her end.

That probably sounds judgmental, but is there any point where I can jump in to speed up the process without Mom? I've passed on the concerns to the special education department per our state policy, but without Mom helping us more and Kid giving me more data I'm worried we will just be stuck in RTI hell.

Lisa, I see it from my desktop, but not my phone. That was the issue.

Yes! There is so much more to it than just basic reading, isn't there?

And, yes, it can be emotionally taxing. Society just doesn't make room for these kids like it should.