Does your high schooler have an IEP that allows use of an Ipad or laptop?

[mom2boys]

Trying to get use of an Ipad or laptop for a high school student with dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. As you can imagine, executive functioning skills are an issue for this child. Everything is still done manually at his school. He hopes to make a case for permission to use an Ipad or laptop in class. The parents know that they will likely have to provide the Ipad/laptop and are willing to make the investment. Any suggestions for enhancing his argument?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I've heard of this before, yes.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Any suggestions for enhancing his argument?

Supporting documentation from therapists or doctors?

To me--it would seem professional directives would carry more weight.

(I have heard of typing as a solution for those with dysgraphia--so I would think that would be an easy thing to get documentation to support the use of a typing device.)

 

[mom2boys]

He has independent testing which recommends the ability to do work using a word processor.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

My son's High School actually gave all the students lap tops to use throughout the school year. Many if their assignments had to be emailed to their teachers...It was nice seeing them being treated like adults and prepping for college. The school gets a lot of funding from the local military community. I think IEP or not, that if it's a great learning tool for your child, it should be allowed

 

[Cindy B]

High School and yes, I even saw the use of it in middle schools.

Perhaps if a note or recommendation from the doctor or therapist may help.

Here are a few questions for you:

Would you be supplying the laptop/Ipad?
Would the equipment be coming out of the schools budget? If out of the school budget, that may be a difficult request. My school can't even buy paper for copiers, let alone a large request like that.

Are they safety concerns- ie- where would it be stored? Will the equipment come home with him? Would it get stolen? In my school, the computer room got vandalized and all laptops got stolen and sold on the street for drugs.

Also, is there an option for the teacher to provide typed notes for him vs. written notes. My son has an IEP and that was an accomodation he had in high school.

My son is a junior and most of his homework is typed and emailed or sent via a blog. All students complete their work that way.

 

[snowy76]

Our kids get access to word processing (in a computer lab) for tasks of longer than one paragraph (essays, etc.) but not for general work like notes, etc... though the IEP can be written to provide copies of class notes from the teacher, or modified notes that the student can fill in.

The big issue is the cost/liability. There is also the issue of inappropriate use (the kid who will play games online while they're supposed to be working, etc.) - even more of an issue when the device comes from home. '

This year our administration told us we can't let kids use their own laptops from home 1) because they're not filtered to the degree that school computers are and 2) we had a fistfight after a kid jokingly grabbed another kid's backpack and tossed it w/o realizing there was a netbook inside (guess what broke?).

 

[fimac]

Is it the student that is planning to make the request ? The parents can call an IEP meeting so that the assistive technology can be added to his IEP. A letter of recommendation and examples of the difference in written output should be enough. Can the laptop be stored securely when he is not using it ?

There is a dysgraphic yahoo board which has lots of informed people they might be able to suggest other ways to get him support.

With my kids school you just had to ask and have never had a problem with it.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My son attends a specialized school for kids with Asperger's. Most of the kids have accommodations in their IEPs to use the computers at school to do longer assignments. They also provide AlphaSmarts (portable keyboards with small screens that can be hooked up to printers) to use in the classroom while taking notes and doing shorter assignments. Kids are allowed to have laptops or notebook computers, although they have to supply their own. At his last IEP meeting, the rep. from the public high school district to which my son will eventually transition said most kids use laptops in the classroom to take notes. His IEP has always included an accommodation for him to use some sort of keyboard in the classroom, whether it be an AlphaSmart, laptop, or computer. Although it sounds like it will be unnecessary to spell it out in the future since most kids at the high school (both special ed. and mainstream) already use laptops.

If the OP's case, I don't see how it would be a problem if the parents purchase and maintain the laptop. As others have said, it probably wouldn't hurt to have a note from a professional who recommends he be allowed it use it.

 

[jama]

My son is a Junior in public school. He has Dysgraphia and ADD. He started using a laptop in 8th grade..had an IEP...went to a 504 plan before high school..
We have provided the laptop..the one he uses is this..less than $300 and battery lasts all day..http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1015PX/
The only issue he has had was teachers wanted to make sure he didn't use spell check when spelling counted..(mainly 8th grade)..and he's had to show some teachers how to use a flash drive..
Is this your son or a friends? I don't know why he would be the one making the case for an IEP...it should be the parents..they need all the testing and recommendations from the professionals..
I'll try to answer any more questions you have..

 

[stm61]

I teach special ed and I've seen laptops provided by the school in 2 districts I've worked in. In one district it was middle school level, the laptops stayed in the classroom, they never went home with the kids. They had to be specially adapted to the 2 kids who used them since both had physical limitations. I can't remember what exactly was done, but I think it was something that made the keyboard easier to use. The laptops were not wireless, the teacher downloaded what they needed for the day and the kids used flash drives for homework. The elementary school I'm at now has a child with a writing disability. Last year the laptop lived in the classroom (actually he never touched it after the first couple months, when the novelty wore off). This year, the teacher says she's not going to be responsible for it and makes him carry it home every day (when he bothers to bring it in). The first school, it was a neccessity for the students involved, the 2nd school, it's something the mother requested that the student doesn't really need (so he only uses it when he feels like it). Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that the district provided the laptops at no cost to the parents because the IEP team decided it was needed/appropriate for the student.

 

[angwill]

Trying to get use of an Ipad or laptop for a high school student with dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. As you can imagine, executive functioning skills are an issue for this child. Everything is still done manually at his school. He hopes to make a case for permission to use an Ipad or laptop in class. The parents know that they will likely have to provide the Ipad/laptop and are willing to make the investment. Any suggestions for enhancing his argument?

It is going to depend on the school. My son has all of the above minus the dyslexia throw in verbal processing disorder. Our school said no way even with me buying the laptop because they do not want him going online through their wifi with it and they will not put passwords on the service. I could get an educational advocate and push it or call the state BOE if I want to fight it but so far things are working without it. They give copies of notes for classes and give him use of the classroom computer for writing assignments.

Another option would be an alphasmart which is a small word processor but that doesn't work for my DS because it only shows a line or two of text and he gets lost because of that.

I have heard lots of schools have no problem with allowing the teens laptops and especially if parents pay for them. All you can do is ask for their needs to be met. Unfortunatly, our school system is awful all the way around and have no desire to help any child in need unless an advocate comes in and fights for their needs including copies of notes etc. Been fighting the fight for 12 years now and am so glad that we have less than 2 years to fight left.

 

[princessmom29]

From a high school teacher, for me to be willing to allow it in my classroom it would have to be a stripped down version with just a word processor and NO internet capabilities. Even without internet access there is so much that can be put on a laptop or ipad to give a child an unfiar advantage that I just cannot see allowing it in any sort of assessment situation without careful and frequent scrutiny of what is actually loaded on the machine, and NO access to the internet.

 

[deegack]

My nephew has use of a laptop at school that the school provides also he has special speak to type software that helps him complete assignments. He has a laptop at home with the same software and uses a flash drive to transfer files and prints out the final project. He is in middle school

 

[descovy]

I dunno, but maybe you want to consider a move to Katy, TX?

Our school district is oh-so-proud of themselves to have wifi in every school, K-12. They brag "it's like starbucks." Kids are *strongly* encouraged to bring in their own laptops, tablets, smartphones, and use them in class

Shoot, even my 2nd grader was asked to bring in a laptop for an art project...

Sorry, I am of no help... just crazy how school districts can be so one way or the other.

 

[IDoDis]

An iPad would be less useful. It's good for web surfing, but not for much else. There's no way to hook an iPad up to a printer, no way to save Word documents, and the typing on it is much slower due to it not being a true keyboard.

Get your DS a laptop. It should be allowed if deemed useful for him. Hopefully he has keyboarding skills, otherwise it will be tedious and slow for him to take notes.

 

[livndisney]

From a high school teacher, for me to be willing to allow it in my classroom it would have to be a stripped down version with just a word processor and NO internet capabilities. Even without internet access there is so much that can be put on a laptop or ipad to give a child an unfiar advantage that I just cannot see allowing it in any sort of assessment situation without careful and frequent scrutiny of what is actually loaded on the machine, and NO access to the internet.

In my experience laptop use is NOT dictated by one teacher.

If the IEP includes "technology", then the IEP "team" is responsible for determining what the student needs. One teacher can not refuse to allow the student to use the device.

To the OP- Assistive techology is becoming more common in the classroom and can be helpful to assist various students with needs.

You can google "Laptops and IEPS" and find some good resources for helping your argument.

 

[torinsmom]

My son has dysgraphia and it is in his IEP that he have the option to use a word processor for writing assignments. It wasn't a problem through middle school, but in high school, they were less willing to follow the IEP accommodations. I did not want him to take one of our personal laptops to school, as there would be the possibility of losing it, damaging it, or it being stolen. I finally had to let the school know that I was aware of my rights. When there is an accommodation in the IEP, the school is required to provide whatever is necessary to fulfill that accommodation. I posted here about it, and of course got flamed, because people thought I was trying to get the school to buy my son a laptop. The truth is that there are desktop computers in every class that he could use when it was necessary, and I didn't want or need the school to spend a cent. All that had to happen was for the case manager to let the teachers know about the accommodation. It is sad that you have to be a witch with a b to get some people to follow a child's IEP that is backed up by test results and professional recommendations.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

From a high school teacher, for me to be willing to allow it in my classroom it would have to be a stripped down version with just a word processor and NO internet capabilities. Even without internet access there is so much that can be put on a laptop or ipad to give a child an unfiar advantage that I just cannot see allowing it in any sort of assessment situation without careful and frequent scrutiny of what is actually loaded on the machine, and NO access to the internet.

Guess you wouldn't be a good fit for the school my son just graduated from (fountain-fort Carson), as every high-schooler had a lap top assigned to them, had Internet access, and were allowed to bring them home every day. Maybe since everyone had the same capabilities, there wasn't any unfair advantage? even being smart enough to look something up on the Internet shows some type of initiative. We chose carefully which school district we wanted to live in, and loved the progressive thinking of the High School. Actually his junior and senior year he spent 1/2 day at the college, and graduated HS with 17 college credits. . ( we found out this particular HS had more ACP slots available than any other school district too.) When we moved the end of his Sophmore year, we decided that we could move anywhere in the city after he graduated, but those 2 1/2 years were all about him....it was the least we could do after uprooting him in the middle of HS. The only thing he asked for when we moved was to have a good Internet connection, so he could still play x-box with all his buddies from home.

 

[kimberlym322]

Trying to get use of an Ipad or laptop for a high school student with dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. As you can imagine, executive functioning skills are an issue for this child. Everything is still done manually at his school. He hopes to make a case for permission to use an Ipad or laptop in class. The parents know that they will likely have to provide the Ipad/laptop and are willing to make the investment. Any suggestions for enhancing his argument?

I don't know much about dysgraphia, but I know about IEP's. I don't think that he will be able to get it. The state has it that if the IEP paper work says that he needs it then yes one should be given. HOWEVER if they have someone there to help with his writing in the classies and to help with testing then no they will not do it.

As someone said there is programs out there that will type out the spoken work on the computer where you can print it out. He could get that on a computer for home and at school along with the help of the IEP aid could take notes or get a recorder and when he gets home put it into his computer and print out.

But like I said if they give him an aid that writes for him then no I don't think they will. As someone else said if the laptop ONLY had a word program on it then the school MAY go for it, but because the school is still done manually I an with that person that said giving him a laptop with internet and such would not be right. It is some what unfair to the other students to give one child a computer with everything on it and no one else in the class has a laptop. And yes that child could go on the internet and do what ever and get distracted from his education.

He has independent testing which recommends the ability to do work using a word processor.

That is the key word...RECOMMENDS. It does not have required on it so it is the schools call. Like I said as long as they give him the extra testing time and someone to write for him then they are meeting the IEP's recommendations.

It sucks that that is how it is, but they are already following the IEP's recommendations, so there is not much that can be done. It is worth a try to ask for a word program computer only, and hopefully they would go for it, but with everything on it I don't think so. Maryland is still a little in the '90's when it comes to tech in the schools like computers for every child. But as a Marylander and kids in the school system you just deal with it. Both of my nephews have been going to MD blue ribbon schools/National blue ribbon school (some of the best in the state) from the time they started Pre-K and even those 4 schools do not have computers for every child. And both of them have IEP recommendations.

Good Luck helping the child.