Learning disabilities and Gifted testing- school will not modify

[HaleyB]

My son is very dislexic, and also has learning disabilities or differences. He is also ADD. He has an IEP that calls for tests to be modified- he is allowed extra time, and to have questions read to him, and to give oral answers and have someone else record them. His teacher told me she thinks he is gifted and that he would thrive in the gifted program. Reading over the materials the school hands out he fits the discribtion they give very well. The problem is the only way the school will let him in the program is if he tests in, and they will not modify the test in any way. I feel like this is discriminatory. I don't have any idea what to do or where to go with my concerns. Can you point me in the right direction?

I know you can have an IQ test given privatly and if the score is high enough they will let the child in. However we have been told many times that with his learning disabilities we should expect IQ scores to be lower than his "real" IQ or ability...

 

[taximomfor4]

I'm in the same boat, really. I can only offer advice from my own experience as a mom, not as a professional. We ended up finding someone to do the testing privately. YOu really have to search, for psychoeducational counseling specialist, ideally. And someone reputable. IQ tests can be verbal...how old is your child? If he is younger, the gifted testing isn't usually a fill-in test at all, but a verbal one. My oldest dd has had several different IQ tests done. I do know that on certain tests, they give an overall score but also subscores. These can actually help identify learning disabilities. You definitely want the test done right the first time,because the same test should not be repeated (for a lonnnnngggg time)...otherwise the results can become innacurate.

If you would like more info, PM me.

Beth

 

[roseprincess]

HaleyB and taximomfor4-
I feel bad what you have to go thru to get your children tested for the gifted program.
My ds, who is high-functioning autistic, got tested last school yr. Our school district determines from the Terra Nova state testing if a child might qualify for the gifted program. If a child scores high in the cognitive and\ or math part of the Terra Novas, they do further cognitive testing with a gifted resource teacher at each school. My ds was able to have modifications done for the further cognitive testing, more of a one-on- one with the gifted resource teacher or with the SST(special service teacher).
My ds did get in the gifted program!
I didn't have to fight for anything, everything fell into place as of the modifications for testing,etc.

I do hope it works out for your children, to get the modifications done for the testing.


Rosemarie

 

[SueM in MN]

I found some things that might be helpful:
http://www.ncpamd.com/Gifted_ADD.htm

http://www.ldonline.org/article.php?max=20&special_grouping=1&id=376&loc=9

http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/pages/ed.gifted.html

Good luck. I don't know if they have to allow modifications for the test for "giftedness". From what I have read, they may not have to for what is called "high stakes" testing (like those "No child Left behind" tests that schools are required to do. Doesn't make sense to me, but that's how it can be.

 

[HaleyB]

Thanks for the replies and info/links.

Sometimes I feel like I am banging my head against the wall with my son and his school. He meets IEP goals (since when is 70% mastery for a bright child good enough?) and is on or near grade level at the end of a year so the reduce services... then at the end of the reduced servies year he is way behind again... We had to go to private testing to get him serveces at all because he is bright so he does not look like he is struggling. For two years I asked for him to be tested and they told me he didn't need testing. I never asked in writing- I now know they would have had to test him...

They can and do exepmt children from high stakes teasting in Texas- my son was excempted from the reading test last year, which is one of the NCLB ranking tests. There are alternate tests that can be given as well. And ALL these types of tests are modified for him.

 

[SueM in MN]

They can and do exepmt children from high stakes teasting in Texas- my son was excempted from the reading test last year, which is one of the NCLB ranking tests. There are alternate tests that can be given as well. And ALL these types of tests are modified for him.

One of the things I found said that some states interpret the No Child Left Behind testing to mean they can't give accomidations - I know one of the things I have read is that Texas exempted too many kids (I don't have the article, but apparently some schools exempted up to half of their students. They basically exempted anyone who might not pass - easy to make your school look good if you do that.)
Some states are also apparently not giving a regular high school diploma to kids who had exemptions/accomidations.

 

[Merriwind]

I would definitely look into having the testing done privately. For DD7's gifted evaluation, I interviewed over a dozen psychologists before I found the one who I felt would be able to get her best result. (And I, thankfully, am not dealing with a dual exceptionality situation. You may end up speaking to more people than I did before finding a practitioner who meets your child's needs.)

All IQ and many achievement tests are given individually and orally, so choosing the right psychologist can be critical. Plus, many sections are not timed. I had to test privately, as we were living in NY and there was no way I was flying DD to FL and then expect her to perform well on a test! But, I would have tested privately anyway.

Also, testing privately means you own the test results, not the school district. If your district accepts more than one test, you can have both administered. Due your research on the instruments used. With DD, Sarasota County takes both the WISC-IV and the SB-V. I expected her to do better on the SB, as it is a more verbal test and she has great strengths in that area. She actually did better on the WISC. (Not a huge difference, but I used those scores.) The psychologist explained those results by saying that the SB expects verbal strength, while the WISC rewards it.

You really need to find a practitioner who is very familiar with the instruments you need to use and has worked with dually-exceptional children before. S/he may be able to meet your son's needs without crossing the line of a "special accomodation."

I'm sorry if I am rambling. It's late and I'm tired. I spent most of last year researching all these instruments, so you are welcome to PM me if I can help you. Good luck! And good for you for being such a strong advocate for your child!