Help Me with a Teacher E-mail/ CAPD info

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by Dancind
I never use her ADD as an excuse, honest. But this class has a lot of group work situations, and she gets very excited, and LOUD! I don't know what to do about it.

Is there any way you can work with the guidance counselor and teacher to come up with a behavior plan? That may be a better alternative to being sent out of the classroom.

 

[pokiemomo181]

What the teacher did to your daughter is abuse. You need to stop it before it gets out of hand. She has no reguard for her safety and it could get worse. I know from expierience. We ended up in the States Attorney's office. We ended up charging her with two counts of child abuse. Stop it now before it gets to that point. Our inident started out even milder than yours, it finally escalated to the point that we had to charge her ,to wake up her, and the school. Needless to say she ended up taken out of the school in our state. The last I heard she went to Brooklyn N.Y. Don't let it go any farther, Please. We kept talking to the school and the teacher, when it finally came to physical abuse, we went to the law. You are already there. Almost all teachers are the greatest thing in the world, but sometimes you get a bad apple and you have to be strong enough to handle them.JMHO

Flame me if you wish, but no one will physically abuse my children and not get taken care of in return.


Pokie

 

[Dancind]

Pokie, I hope things don't get worse! My DH is ready to fight right now, I'm trying to keep him calm. Yes, we are keeping an eye on this. Bojangles, I think you have an excellent idea. Obviously, what the teacher is currently doing is not working. I do know that my kid responds to rewards about ten times faster than punishment, if I can convince the teacher of that. I'll see if I can set up an appointment to talk to her about it.

Kallison, she has an IEP, for Gifted. She has never been a behavior problem, so I didn't put in anything for that. I did include some accomodations for ADD and APD, but since she is not considered eligible for Special Ed I have no legal right to enforcement. She is not eligible for Special Ed (in spite of ADD and testing at the 5% level for Auditory comprehension), because she still gets A's and B's in her classes. Diana

 

[Kallison]

hmmmm in our school district an IEP is a legally binding document, it has nothing to do with being eligible for special ed. A lot of my students are totally mainstreamed. If they need accomodations for tests, labs etc. it must be provided. I think you might want to review exactly what your rights are in your school district. I have a friend who met with all her sons teachers every year to discuss his add, he was also gifted. She met with them as a group so later in the year she would not hear - oh I didn't know. The s.d. doesn't always tell you what your rights are. I hope you can solve your dd's problems by working with the teacher. I personally wouldn't get worked up over an Oh my Gaw, but I don't know the teachers side of the story. Sometimes the two are very different. Good Luck. I think your plan of coming up with a reward system is excellent.

 

[Bojangles]

Several teachers I know have rubber stamps (quarters, dimes, nickels). For each positive behavior, the student gets a stamp on a card. Once they have so much "money" built up they get to buy a prize. It has really worked wonders with some of the older students.

 

[lindamg]

I'm with kallison on this one . . . Look into your rights and the procedures in your district. If your child is identified as LD, she has to have an IEP for that. It doesn't matter what her grades are. My handy-dandy classroom teacher's definition of LD is - a demonstrated discrepancy between ability and performance level on specified testing measures. That measurable discrepancy that labels a child LD has nothing to do with their classroom performance. Also, I'm a little confused by the use of the pronoun "I" when you refer to writing accomodations. Wasn't this done by the team of people who tested and identified your child?

Although there is nothing you can do about it, I'm just curious if this teacher is a trained Gifted teacher. One of the things I've learned as I've gained my Gifted endorsement is that MANY times Gifted students are also LD. It seems like a contradiction to most people, but the "gifted" part of the student can mask the "LD" part, and visa versa. Also, many of the highly gifted students also have ADD type characteristics. They fidget, they call out, they can't stay seated, they have to play with things, they need to be the center of attention, they can't focus on one thing. They have so much going on in their brains, it's hard for them to focus it. Anyway, it just sounds like this teacher isn't really trained to deal with Gifted students. I've learned those kids who sit still in their seats, are always polite, do all their homework, and never give the teacher a moment's trouble, usually aren't the truly gifted ones! Parents, many teachers, and the public in general think that's what gifted kids are like, but many of them aren't! Trust me! I've got a class full of third graders who are Gifted - and quiet, motivated children is the last thing I've got in that room!!! (got to love 'em!)

 

[Dancind]

Lindamg, what a great job you have! They are fascinating, aren't they? They can also make you pull your hair out. Thank you so much for sharing this, as I do wonder sometimes if the others are all perfect. This teacher seems to understand Gifted students, and have said that her own kids are gifted. I think she's just very proper and very religious, and has decided to take this route with my daughter to keep her in control. It just doesn't seem to be working.
The school system would not test my DD for auditory processing, even though I requested it, because she wasn't failing. Never mind that she was completely falling apart, and I had to pull her out of school to homeschool in 5th grade (long story). I paid for private testing and took the report to the mid-school. They had a meeting about it, and same story. She wasn't failing, therefore not eligible for services. I put her through the FastForward program at my own expense, and she can now carry on a conversation for the first time in her life, as long as there are no distractions. I can't imagine that she will get through her entire school career without this becoming a problem for her, but so far it hasn't shown on her report card. Great compensater, this one. You all must live in more enlightened school districts than mine. Diana

 

[Kallison]

Don't mean to nag but it should have nothing to do with being in an enlightened school district. An IEP in a public school in the USA is a legally binding document that must be followed:

An individualized education program (IEP) is a written statement of the educational
program designed to meet your child's special needs. The program should include
statements of your child's strengths as well as weaknesses and should describe the
instructional program developed specifically for your child.
The IEP has two purposes: 1) to establish the learning goals for your child;
and 2) to state the services that the school district is required to provide.
Their parents have the right to receive their own copy of this document. It is
important that you keep a copy of your child's IEP in order to check on your child's progress
and treatment.

It has nothing to do with whether or not she is failing. If she has been diagnosed with ADD and needs extra test time, spell checker, modified tests etc. the school must provide it. I would also make sure that this particular teacher has a copy of the IEP in her desk, this is also required. All teachers including her specials, gym, art, music should have a copy of her IEP.

 

[clh2]

Quote from Dacind's original post:

The thing that's really bothering me is that it was about 25 degrees outside yesterday where she had to sit.

This is absurd! If your school has a policy of zero tolerance for profanity, wouldn't they also have an escalating scale of consequences, which are not determined by the teacher...I'm thinking on the 1st occurance, they do a detention...the 2nd occurance earns them a tougher consequence - maybe missing a field trip or assembly...the 3rd occurance would maybe be a suspension.

I don't know if that was worded that well or not. I guess in adult terms the similar thing is traffic tickets. The penalties escalate to the point of losing your liscense if you get too many of them.

The teacher should be reported for abuse. Period. Does she treat all her students like that? The problem with letting the teacher decide the consequence, is that there might not be consistency, which then allows her to give different penalties to different students. In my daughter's school, if there is a major infraction of any of the really big rules drugs, weapons, alcohol etc- the principal is always involved, as are the parents and the teacher.

Does your school have any sort of "code of conduct"? If you do, it should state if your student uses any sort of profanity, the penalty is __________________________. The students should know up front what is going to happen to them if they violate the rule. The penalties should be consistant for all students across the whole school.

Sorry for going on and on. This really struck a nerve, as I have a nephew who is learning disabled, although after going through numerous tests, it hasn't been exactly figured out yet. He was verbally abused by his 2nd grade teacher last year, as that teacher often screamed at him when "someone" needed to be blamed for a problem in the class. Eventhough, in that particular school, there was a specific policy on "breaking the rules." Unfortunately, my sister's hands were somewhat tied on this, since the teacher was sleeping with the principal. In all fairness, yes, they were married.

Good luck!

 

[tw1nsmom]

If anything I think you were too gentle when it comes to your reaction to the punishment that the teacher gave. I would be livid. The rest of your original letter is fine in my opinion. You really need to think about having her IEP ammended. As for them not recognizing her capd and making accomodations for it is completely rediculous. If she was deaf, but was passing due to an extreme effort, would they refuse any interpreters or allow the teacher to talk with her back to her? I am fairly certain that the laws in regards to an IEP are federal and not state or school district based. I am also fairly certain that they have to provide a mediator/lawyer if you contest their findings.

My son Spencer is suspected of having capd. He also receives other services (speech, ot, pt) in an integrated preschool setting. He tests a little low cognitively, but has skills equal or in excess of his sister who tests high cognitively. As you know, unfortunately, there aren't any difinative tests for capd until the child is seven. I guess what my point is, is that Spencer's teachers are already making accomodations to his potential capd and he is beginning to really come into his own. How do they know how much they're holding your daughter back by not recognizing her processing issues?

Also, while ADD is not an excuse for poor behavior, IEP's usually include allowable consequences/procedures that need to be followed.

Lastly, your daughter does go to a public school doesn't she? If so, the teacher has no right to impose her religious beliefs on your daughter. The average, not very religious person would not find "Oh my gaw" offensive. Parameters for the schools profanity rules really need to be defined.

This situation really got my blood boiling.

BTW I would love to know more about FastForword. I've been researching this for my DS. They have a program that begins at 4 that we are interested in pursuing this summer. But I would love to get some first hand accounts before we invest in this program.

 

[Dancind]

Thanks for all of your input. I actually know all of the above about IEP's, and I spent several years butting my head up against the wall that is our school system. Yes, I have considered getting a lawyer. For now, our daughter is doing OK, she is learning, and she isn't being bullied. I thought we were having a really, really good year. If we can get past this, if DD can learn a little more self control, it will be a sterling year. She just got straight A's on her report card, and she's made some real friends this year.

I know that things could get worse, and if they do, I am ready to don my armor again. I might be able to force the school into providing her with the hearing system that some other CAPD students have, but I wouldn't be able to get her to wear it (she REALLY doesn't want to be different). Maybe when she's older, she will be willing to try something like that.

I did talk to the Principal yesterday. The handbook definition of profanity is so broad, you could include this incident. The words "disrespectful or irreverant" pretty much cover it. The Principal agreed that this was a little intolerant on the teacher's part, and said that if it happens again, he will get involved. He will hopefully be involved because I told DD to go directly to the office and ask to call me. Of course, she asked Why? I told her don't worry, you won't get in trouble, I just want to know. I also mentioned that the punishment given was abusive (no comment from the Principal), and that I planned to meet with the teacher about DD's behavior. DD said she is the only one in the class being punished. I asked if any other kids are loud during group sessions, and she said "not really". Is this a weird group of gifted kids, or what? I know if some of the kids that were in Lang/Lit with my daughter last year get this Science teacher next year, she's in for a major shock.
Diana

 

[Dancind]

For those that are wondering if their kids may have CAPD, here's something I just found on a web site. Check out no. 1, something I didn't realize.

Does Your Child Have CAPD?
Is your child struggling in school? Does he have poor listening skills and difficulty following directions or understanding speech? Is he inattentive? Perhaps he has a central auditory processing disorder. Answer these questions to determine if you should have him evaluated. But remember, kids naturally exhibit many of these characteristics some of the time. It's when they consistently exhibit these signs that you need to take action.

1: Does your child talk louder than normal?
Yes.
No.


2: Does your child like the TV louder than normal?
Yes.
No.


3: Does your child say "Huh" or "What" frequently?
Yes.
No.


4: Does your child frequently need requests, directions, or information repeated?
Yes.
No.


5: Does your child confuse similar-sounding words?
Yes.
No.


6: Does your child have a greater tendency to ignore you when he is engrossed in something?
Yes.
No.


7: Does your child have difficulty telling which direction you are calling from?
Yes.
No.


8: Does your child confuse or forget directions if several are given in one sentence?
Yes.
No.


9: Does your child have unusual sensitivity to or complaints about noise?
Yes.
No.


10: Does your child delay before responding to questions or instructions?
Yes.
No.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I can see this from both sides. I'm a teacher (although not actively teaching right now). It's a difficult job.

I also have two wonderful children that Sensory Integration Disorder and have really struggled. They both compensate well and make good grades so they are not school identified. The schools do admit they have some problems, just not serious enough for special services. DD is also in the gifted program. She is one of the super quiet ones that is bored out of her mind, but just sticks her nose in a book and checks out instead of being disruptive.

Having said that, I think the teacher is in the wrong. There is no excuse for sending a child out into the cold. That is abusive. She is obviously clueless when it comes to dealing with gifted kids. I wish you much luck in straightening out this situation. It's a hard balance between supporting the school and standing up for your child. Just don't stop being an advocate for her!

 

[sharbear]

Sorry but I just had to chuckle when you were describing the CAPD disorder. It doesn't fit either one of my kids. But you are describing my DH to a T! And here I thought that he was ignoring me!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

She is obviously clueless when it comes to dealing with gifted kids.

Well ok - I just have to ask.
Why is the fact that this is the Gifted Class even coming into play here? Just because a child is "Gifted" really doesn't give them the right to interrupt a classroom with unruly behavior.

Or perhaps I'm just clueless also.

The way I read this, we are talking a 7th grade classroom here. That is more than old enough in my book, to understand sometimes you sit quietly in your seat when asked to do so - even if you're bored. I don't know whether the teacher's punishment was abusive or not. I guess first I would want to know whether or not she was allowed to take her coat and gloves along and how long she was outside.

No, I don't think "Oh My Gawwwww" or even "Oh My God" is profanity, but I have a feeling that behavior leading up to that outburst also comes into play with the teacher asking her to leave the room.

 

[Dancind]

Sorry if the G word offended you, Toby's friend. I was making the point that I really want her to stay in this class, as it is a special class for her.

My daughter isn't having any difficulty with "sit still and be quiet" times in class. She has had lots of practice at that, and at being bored. This occurs during group work, which is much less structured. I know there are lots of Moms out there that have wonderful, well-behaved kids with no LD's or special needs. You are very lucky to be one of them.

Diana

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Well no Dancind - I was asking in regards to the previous post which said obviously this teacher has no clue in regards to Gifted Kids.


and btw - you would be completely wrong in that regards. I have 10 yo who hearing impaired and also has an Auditory Processing disorder which has developed from years of not being able to comprehend what anybody is saying to him.

I also have a 13yo who is more than capable of deciding today is his day to push the teacher (or his Mother) to the edge.

 

[Dancind]

Editing to delete my reply. Not worth it.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I guess my wording was unfortunate. I never meant to imply that giftedness was an excuse for poor behavior. But I do know that gifted teachers are dealing with a broad spectrum of behavior. Many of these kids have been very bored for a long time and yes some have learned to act out. Does that make it okay? No. But it takes a special, talented teacher to find what works. Gifted children also sometimes have learning disabilities. All of this must be weighed and dealt with in an appropriate manner. It is my opinion that sending a child out into the cold as punishment (even if dressed appropriately) is NOT the answer. Neither of my employers would have accepted me doing such a thing.

Do I think the teacher should have done something? I don't know. I wasn't there. It's hard to say. I just think that she chose the wrong path. Maybe I just should have said that this teacher sounds clueless when it comes to discipline in her classroom?

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by Kallison
If she has all three of those things she should have an IEP and have accomodations made.

I agree with Kallison, that the LD, and ADD should have accomodations in the IEP.
I work with 22 IEP students everyday in a school setting. Many of them are gifted, ADD and LD. If the ADD and LD are not in the IEP, they will not get services for it.


It is a requirement by LAW that the district needs to adhere to the IEP and the parental input plays heavily into the IEP. There are proper legal channels you, as a parent, need to be willing to take.

As an "almost" educator (in school for teaching and cureently a teaching assistant/sub for 22 special education children), and also a parent, it is a hard role to be in. But you need to be an advocate for your child, and get him/her what they rightly deserve in way of accomodations. Sometimes its "parental pride" (I know, I've been there as well) that does not want to have the "bad" stuff in the IEP. I have seen many parent refuse the IEP for disabilities because they only want the "good" services.

Yes, it is entirely possible for gifted childr to have learning disabilities as well. I see it every day, and even in my own home.
The gifted teacher, needs to see this and recognize this. As for the cold, I don't think the OP is saying that the child is in the snow.. It sounds like a colder, not well heated hallway. -- and is it truly 25 degrees? Some of my students do tend to "add details" when the story comes home to their parents. I carefully document EVERYTHING, every infraction, every discipline, every assignment, so my butt is covered in every instance. I have had parents say to me after hearing such "evidence" that thier son/daughter is embellishing. I personally would never do that, but I am not in the classroom, not in the situation, so its hard to say.