How do schools handle slow learners?

[BeccaGrace]

My youngest dd is in public preschool for her second year of Integrated Preschool (special needs 3 and 4 year olds learn with regularly developing 4 year olds). She makes the cutoff for Kindergarten next year but she hasn't met most of her IEP goals that cover the Kindergarten screening items. For instance, she cannot say her ABCs, can only recognize 3-4 letters, only counts to 3, only shape she knows is a circle. She has made significant progress over the last two years but it has been slow--in 1 1/2 years she has only met about six of the 20-something goals in her IEP. She is capable of learning and her child study team has done a lot to help--summer school, help with an aide in class, etc; it just takes her longer.

As we get close to the Kindergarten screening and her next IEP evaluation I am getting concerned about whether they are going to suggest keeping her back for a 3rd year of preschool or allow her to go to Kindergarten.

All of the other special needs kids I know from school have some sort of behaviorial/emotional issue rather than a strictly academic one. Becca is developing normally in terms of social skills and classroom behavior, her difficulties are all academic.

I do know that two Kindergarteners this year go to the regular K class in the morning and receive special education instruction in the afternoon. However, I also know both these children are capable of writing their own names and are more advanced academically than Becca is at this point.

I'm trying to look at the merits of both options (staying back or going to K) and thought maybe there might be some resources online but I haven't been able to find much to help. So I'm wondering if anyone is aware of any website or message board for special needs kids and school issues.

Mostly I'm trying to figure out how the school will handle it if Becca continues on a similar pace for learning--do they just keep leaving them back or push them through even if they aren't ready?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I prefer going into these things with a bit of knowledge on my side and right now I just feel pretty unsure of things.

 

[CEDmom]

We're in NJ and while I don't know the specific of the programs our district offers I do know our elementary school has remedial, physical and occupational therapy for students. I'd think if your DD has issues in certain areas but is on target in others they'd try to promote her and have her in remedial programs to help her catch up. I don't know much about IEPs but I think a call to your principal would be a good place to start. Good luck.

 

[bevtoy]

Those are good questions. I held both of my DD back because they were so close to cut off (Kindergarten) that I felt they would have to struggle with being the youngest in their classes. Turns out to be a good decision. One of them is in the bottom 10 percentile for size, meaning she is the smallest in her class physically even though she is one of the oldest. The specialists say she is just going to be a tiny person.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I'm not sure how they handle things in your state, but in NY, a child would have to move on to kindergarten to continue to receive classroom services (they would no longer pay for special preschool, but maybe your state is different). The only way around this in NY would be to declare that you're homeschooling for kindergarten and then you would receive the support services while you homeschooled. At the end of the home kindergarten year you could talk to the school and possibly enroll her for "regular" kindergaten.

However, this isn't the path I would personally take. If your DD is a slow learner, she will most likely continue to learn at a similar pace for a while (although kids do seem to have spurts in development). She can't be held back indefinitely. The school can provide her with an aide if she needs one and with either a full-time special education teacher in an integrated setting, or time in a resource room. They can also provide modifications/accomodations of the work so that your DD can hopefully reach her goals.

A lot of research has been done on retention, and it rarely has positive outcomes. Because IDEA 2004 requires that the schools use research based/verified instruction for children with IEP's, and the research shows that retention isn't an effective learning tool, more and more schools will promote special needs children whether or not they've reached the general curriculum goals. Now, having said that, they also have to provide additional remediation to make sure that the goals are eventually reached. One thing that I would be worried about in your DD's case is that she isn't reaching the goals that her teachers are setting for her. Either the goals are unrealistic, or they need to change their teaching methods and provide more services.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Wishing on a star]

TwinsMom makes some good points.
There are probably procedures to go by that will determine how long your child can stay in PreK.

In our State, while Kindergarten begins at around age 5, as most do, the law says that children do not have to be enrolled in school until age 6. I am not sure of your child's exact age. You may have the option of one more year of services in PreK????

Also, you have described your child as a 'slow learner'. Have you had any thorough evaluations recently? How the school will proceed and how the school will handle the situation will probably depend on what specific diagnosis that your child has. Learning Disabilities will require services and will require different actions than low cognitive ability, pervasive developmental delay, etc...

My advice would be two-fold.
1. Talk to somebody who you feel will 'listen' to you at your schools. Perhaps call a meeting with the School Principal, School Psychologist, SPED director, etc... Note: Once your child is enrolled, then you have the right to request such a meeting and to ask for evaluation and services, under IDEA. In many states this is called an IEP meeting. When requested in writing, the school cannot deny your request. My blanket advice to any parent with the means/insurance is to go to a respected objective clinic for evaluation, and not just the school.

2. Secondly, the services and accomodations your child receives may possibly only be as good as the diagnosis that your child receives. In many cases, the diagnosis is everything. This will allow services to be identified and directed towards your childs needs. Also importantly, without a bona-fide diagnosis that shows that your child requires specific services, you may find that the school will simply refuse services. (and sometimes even with a diagnosis)

You are your child's advocate.
You know what is best for your child.
Be pro-active and involved.

Hope this helps!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Mostly I'm trying to figure out how the school will handle it if Becca continues on a similar pace for learning--do they just keep leaving them back or push them through even if they aren't ready?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I prefer going into these things with a bit of knowledge on my side and right now I just feel pretty unsure of things.

Okay, now I am re-reading your original post. And There is a specific answer to your question. It may be slightly different in your State. But, I am thinking that where I live, that they CANNOT hold a child back more than twice. In other words. you shouldn't see a 10 year old in first Grade with 7 year olds... Or a 14 year old in 4th grade. So, no they can't just hold kids back forever. IMHO, if a child is being held back the second time, then there is a reason for this, and the school system should be pro-active in evaluating the child and determining the appropriate services and accomodations.

Special Needs Children are placed on an IEP. And they should be advanced, with special services and accomodations as required by the written IEP.

A call to the SPED department of your School System should get you an answer to this.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Thanks everyone!
Becca already has an IEP for pre-K and is classified as preschool disabled. I understand that the classifications change when they are re-tested at age 5...at this point I don't know what her classification will be. For the pre-K tests she was testing 18 months to 2 years behind for the cognitive and academic tests.

I plan on discussing the issue with her neurologist at her next visit (she also has epilepsy) to see his thoughts on further testing for a diagnosis for her delays.

Thanks again!

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

I live in VA, and 3 years ago I sturggled with the issue of do I send her or not. My youngest DD is also very close to the cutoff date of 9/30 for entry to Kindergarden when she was going from PreK to K. I was very unsure as to whether I should send her to school or not. She appeared to have a few social issues but not anything that was extreme. She appeared to be exceling in academic areas but I was still unsure. Then 6 weeks into Kindergarden DD was diagnosed with having gran mal seizures and multiple petit mal seizures during the day and most likely at night as well. All unknown to me. She was put on Depakote. This medication wreaked havoc on my child. Her progress academically declined, her behavior problems exaserbated. Her K teacher asked me if I wanted to have her retained in K for another year, but DH was afraid of how it would affect her, so I let her go up. I have regretted that decision every day ever since. Now we are in 2nd grade, her seizures have stopped and she is off all her meds but, she is sooooo far behind her classmates academically, it is a struggle everyday to try to catch up anywhere we can. Homework is a struggle, she can't stand to come home from being in school all day and then have to go right into homework.

My suggestion is this: you know your child better than anyone else, and you know what her abilities are, they only know what they'd like to see, based on what statistics tell them she should be able to accomplish. You have a beautiful little girl there, please remember that her self esteem is always going to come into play. I have done damage to my DD whether I want to admit it or not, by sending her before she was ready and I let DH pressure me into the decision. The older she gets the harder the decision will be to retain her if you need to. I wish I had kept Emily back in Preschool or retained her in Kindergarden for another year. Good Luck, I'll keep you and your family in my prayers as you make your decision.

 

[Karel]

I work in a special ed preschool and in my school, she would not be permitted to stay another year. She would be moved up to the special ed kindergarten - which has a fancy name but I can't think of it. I know of one child who stayed in that class all day and other children who did a split with a regular k (morning for one, afternoon in the other class)

I have a son with a LD. He was in EI and two years in a DD preschool. He did spend one year in regular K but went back into self contained the next year. My son has never been held back and has graduated 6th and 8th grades with other kids his age. But he was in self contained and resource room classes with teachers who knew how to teach him the way he needs to be taught.

As others have said, if it's a LD etc. etc., it's not suddenly going to go away in a year. Holding her back is not going to cure her. It sounds like your CST is doing a lot.

 

[challada]

I'm a specialist in the school setting and can say from my perspective, without knowing your child personally, I would highly recommend a kindergarten placement with special education support (IEP) rather than remaining in preschool.

For one thing, an individual with a cognitive delay only means that this person will struggle with learning compared to our traditional education model. They may need different modes of instruction or different information presented. Cognitive levels should not fluctuate much for individuals and therefore, would not be dependent on age. That said, it also depends on when your child was tested for cognitive delays as earlier testing is less reliable (more fluctuation) than later testing.

Also, the IEP would need to continue into kindergarten. I would be HIGHLY concerned with an IEP that involved TWENTY goals that are consistently not reached by the student. Who is this IEP for...the teacher or the student??? You've said she consistently reaches six...that should be the more managable and realistic level of goals.

As others have mentioned, many states require an IEP student of kinder age to move on to kinder, so you might check your local requirements.

Good luck!

 

[wdwdancerwannabe]

A district cannot hold a child back from Kindergarten due to lack of prereadiness skills. If the child is eligible by age, the district must allow the child to enter into K.

But you as a parent can request that your child not continue on to K.

As others have pointed out, many districts will not provide special education services to K eligible students in a pk setting.

it is VERY rare for a district to retain ANY child on an IEP. If your child could do all of the things that you're concerned about, she wouldn't need the IEP. The IEP was written to meet her unique/individual needs - which can be met while she is in Kindergarten.

If your child is on an IEP, you need to find out what her diagnosis is. The dx comes before the IEP. You should have a copy of the evaluation report. The IEP is done annualy, but the eval report is good for 3 years.

 

[Aidensmom]

My son has not been diagnosed with any type of disability, but his birthday is very close to the cut off date and I had some doubts about sending him to kindergarten because he seemed to be "behind" some of the other kids in his pre-k. He could count to 10, could say his ABC's but really did not recognize any letters but A (because that is what his name starts with), but he did know his shapes and colors. However, it seemed everyone in his pre-k class could count much higher and could write their names and some of them could even do basic reading. People here on this board told me that I should hold him back, but I know my child better than anyone else and in my gut knew he could do it. He struggled the first couple of months, but is now on the same level as everyone else in his class.

What I am trying to say is, there will be other kids in kindergarten who haven't mastered all of the skills you are supposed to magically know at age 5. If you think your child is capable of learning them, even if a little slower than some of the other children, IMO you should give her the chance.

 

[Forevryoung]

I agree with the above poster who suggested that 20 goals was excessive. I would suggest calling a meeting NOW with the IEP team and discussing what is going to happen during the rest of the school year.

Pick a few goals that will make a major impact on her success for next year (ie counting to 10, learning the letters in her name...) and also to discuss her future placement.

I too have a feeling that after two years in a preschool program, the district will move her to an "appropriate" kindergarten placement. You are going to have to fight for that though.

I'm sure other dis'ers and I have suggestions for helping your daughter to succeed in school- she might just need resource room, a one on one in regular classroom or possibly a self contained classroom... there are tons of options to fight for. Listen to the "professionals" but always remember that you know your daughter best.

P.S. Speech-language pathology services cover reading comprehension and writing and stuff too (it's part of their specialized training) but that isn't advertised because it's easier (aka cheaper) to stick a student in a resource room "instead".

 

[wdwdancerwannabe]

Aidensmom brings a good point.

I have a 5 month old - born July 20.

Our Kinder cut off is Aug. 1.

I made the decision before I even delivered that I would not send him to K when he's 5 years, 10 days old.

I've seen too many little ones(especially boys) come through and really struggle. He will be more successful if I give him an extra year to grow, mature, and get ready.

 

[BeccaGrace]

I knew I could count on DISers to raise such good points and give me the info I need

I feel like I need to mention that the school, her teacher and her Child Study Team have all been wonderful. She receives speech therapy three times a week and OT once a week.

I'm looking at her most recent IEP from October and while I was told she would be retested in the spring to reclassify her since before age 5 they give a blanket diagnosis of preschool disabled.

As I mentioned, she doesn't have a diagnosis through her doctors other than the epilepsy. I am going to ask neuro about this next month.

From what I've reviewed for dx for IEP purposes there seems to be categories: autism, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, learning disabilities (broken down by issue) and other disability. It seems the next round of tests in the spring would be used to gauge where she falls among those diagnoses.

I'm looking at her IEP and it's broken down into 5 main sections (Behavior, Pre-Reading, Math, Fine/Gross Motor skills and Communication. Each of these has separate goals. For instance:

*Items she can do are marked with an asterisk*

Behavior--all are to respond to these requests on 3-4 of 5 trials
--say first name*
--say last name
--say full name (has done this but can't when asked)
--say age
--say phone number (has done this but can't when asked)
--say address
--say birthday* (with prompting)
(All of these are on the Pre-K screening)

Pre-Reading
--imitate rhythmic clapping*
--sing a simple song (can sing the first line of many songs, but not entire songs)
--point to own name in a group of other names
--identify and name colors*
--produce letter sounds when shown visually
--count 10 objects
--reproduce--circle, square, cross, triangle
--name 10 body parts
--name capital letters
--recite the alphabet

Math
--match groups of objects*
--count to 5
--respond how many of an item when asked

Fine/Gross Motor
--cut paper*
--cut a zig-zag
--cut a C-curve

Communication
--sort pictures in categories*
--identify objects by function*
--comprehend spatial concepts: front, back, on, under
--comprehend polar concepts: long, short
--comprehend same/different
--answer yes/no appropriately*
--use words to show non-existence (gone, no more)
--4+ word utterances to encode action (does this at home but not at school)
--4+ word utterances to encode location (does this at home but not at school)

So she can actually do 9 of about 30 items. And I believe they seem to have covered all of the pre-screening items that my older dd was asked to do for K last year--so it's possible that they just base the pre-K one on the defiicits observed for the required K screening.

Thanks again for all of the advice--I appreciate it!

 

[Sherri]

The kindergarteners would get help from the IST department. It's a great department, I work in that department and the teachers are wonderful. I am an aide and not a teacher, I can tell you that I see such progress in kids that were off to a very slow start. It is a very rewarding thing to see.

 

[challada]

While those IEP goals are all very admirable, the truth is that the goals should fit the CHILD not the child the goals. It doesn't matter what the "readiness" skills are for your district, the IEP needs to be made to set goals for your child's current abilities and learning.

I do the initial testing w/preschoolers and can tell you that yes, preschool IEPs cover probably the most areas compared to school age IEPs. Yes, each area needs individual goals, but two reasonable goals per area is plenty sufficient for any child. Frankly, from a teacher management standpoint, I can't think of a teacher who wants to data on 20 points per child.

I am glad the team is good and that you can feel confident in their work with your child. I would definitely start asking the specialists about your daughter's kinder placement next year and which specialists she would work with at the elementary level. A transition meeting can be called as well for you to meet the team and relay your concerns.

 

[stm61]

Thanks everyone!
Becca already has an IEP for pre-K and is classified as preschool disabled. I understand that the classifications change when they are re-tested at age 5...at this point I don't know what her classification will be. For the pre-K tests she was testing 18 months to 2 years behind for the cognitive and academic tests.

I plan on discussing the issue with her neurologist at her next visit (she also has epilepsy) to see his thoughts on further testing for a diagnosis for her delays.

Thanks again!

My twins did 3 yrs in the preschool special ed classes in NJ. When they turned 5 they were moved to a 5K special ed class. One of them needed to be there, the other could of gone to a regular ed class, but has severe speech issues. I wanted her to have one last yr where she's not teased by other kids, plus the special ed was whole day vrs the regular ed half day 5K. Their label changed to specific learning disabled, but the "specific" was never named. It's just the wording they use. They both moved to first gr the following yr. Both started in resource classes for both reading and math. One was able to move out of math resource halfway thru, remaining in the homeroom since it was an inclusion class. Their IEP's for 2nd gr called for inclusion math and reading for one, resource for the other. We moved to SC in Aug and discovered individual states have different definitions of who's eligible for special ed services. They retested and disqualified both of them. My oldest, ds13, has much more severe LD ADHD problems and continues with resource, tho they have no pull-out programs once the kids move out of elementary school.

 

[RangerPooh]

Have you contacted the Special Education teacher for the elementary school to see what their thoughts are on this? They will have some of the best information as to how they will approach the needs of your DD, as they are accustomed to this. They would also be attending an IEP meeting at the school that you choose for her to attend, so it would only make sense that you seek their imput in this. You would also be able to ask the K teacher how they usually apporach students with Learning Disorders. Do they spend the extra time with them or do they attend the resource room for the bulk of the day?

You might also consider enrolling her in K if she begins to make progress prior to the end of the spring, but if the progress is not there then keep her in preK for another year.