Parents of kids with school struggles - (long)

[mom2boys]

how much info do you give teachers up front? Both of my boys have dyslexia. In our school district, dyslexia is does not fall under special education. They have learned and are stilling learning strategies for dealing with their reading disablility. They are in a regular classroom. Both are bright boys and do well in their other subjects. The only area of obvious difference is in their writing skills. In the past I have met with their new teachers at the beginning of the school year to explain each of the boys and their stengths & challanges. Usually it has helped the teachers understand my boys a bit better. However, this strategy blew up in my 7 year olds face last year. His teacher decided the week before school started that she didn't have time/didn't want to be bothered... with my 2nd grader. I honestly do not feel he got anything out of the 7 months he sat in her classroom. Therefore, we transfered both boys to a different school in the middle of the year. It was the best thing that ever happened to my second grader. It has also been a good move for my older son.
(Please don't think I am bashing all teachers. We have had a positive result with every other teacher my boys have had.)
Question: Do you inform teachers of your children's challanges or do you keep it to yourself? And to borrow a line from Dr. Phil: "How's that working for you?"
Any teachers prospectives?

 

[believe]

I believe it is best to speak with the teacher and come up with a plan for the year. I haven't had this with my DDs, but I will say that even with them in preschool I speak with the teacher prior to the start of the school year and let them know what DDs enjoy and what I feel they need to work on. This saves the teacher some time in trying to figure everything out for themselves. DD#2 starts preschool this year and I have already spoken to the teacher about how emotional she can be, I don't want her thinking she is like her sister...they are totally opposite academically and in every other area of life.

Sorry that one teacher didn't want to be bothered. When I taught I loved working with children, especially on areas they are also concerned about. It is a wonderful way to build a child's self-esteem.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

I always felt it was wise to let the teacher know ASAP about ANY problems our daughter was having.
That way, the teacher could choose to deal with it appropriately or ignore it. We knew immediately then, whether the teacher was going to work WITH us or against us, so to speak.
If the teacher was blase about the difficulties DD was having, we knew that we'd have to be more pro-active to help DD get through the year, if the teacher was interested and informed about our childs particular type of problem, we knew the year was going to run a bit more smoothly.

Good luck, and yes, personally, I would inform the teachers. Any info you can give them early on can only help the child/teacher relationship IMHO.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

My DD does not have an academic issue, but she does have epilepsy. She was diagnosed during the past school years, and her teachers were awesome about working with me. I normally got phone calls within 10 minutes of a seizure rather than a note at the end of the day. I plan to meet with her new teachers at the beginning of the year to explain her condition.

 

[goofy4tink]

You are your child's best advocate. I would check in with the teacher in a very non-threatening way at the beginning of the year. If you get a bad feeling after meeting with the teacher, then I would ask to speak with the principal. There could be a better suited teacher for your child. I have had pretty good luck at the end of the school year with talking to the teacher about where she feels is a good spot for the next year for my dd. Now, I do NOT ask for a particular teacher/class!!! I have asked in the past for my dd to be placed in a different class the next year than a very disruptive child. Stay in touch through-out the year and if it's possible, be active in the school.That shouldn't make a difference but it sure seems to. best of luck to you and your kids this year.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If your child has a defined issue it would make sense to be up front about it that way you can work with or in some cases figure out something that will work better for your child.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

First of all, if your kids have been diagnosed with dyslexia they are entitled to special services. This does not need to be in the form of special education but in the form of what is called a 504 accomodation. It will ensure that your child is given accomodations to help him with his needs and the teacher is accountable for delivering these services. Since written language is a problem and I assume that reading too , it comes to mind that they would need help if your state has high stakes testing. If so you need to get on this problem as soon as possible. Most states do employ high stakes testing and your child if diagnosed would be entitled to both a scribe and to have the test read to him . Both of these are accomodations and do not change the content of the material. They only make it accessable as determined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Another important point (and I know your kids are still young) but if these accomodations are put into play early, then your child will be entitled to them if he takes an SAT provided he has not made the appropriate amount of progress. I say give kids every
advantage to be successful. High stakes testing often does not show a child's ability and it would be terrible if your kids were not able to demonstrate their knowledge due to a learning disabilty.

I know you were not teacher bashing but there are teachers out there who do not want to teach kids who have learning disabilities. I know this on both a personal and professional level. You ARE your child's best advocate but you MUST be informed as to what your rights are.

 

[s&k'smom]

Hi, as the mother of a child in special education I would suggest you check your state laws. though dylexia (which I can't believe) is not defined as coming under special education in the school district you must check what the law says. In Mass if something is going to impair your child's learning you are entitled to services (it's something like that). Most schools and districts do have the child's best interest at heart but in the era of budget cuts you never know. I work for two special education advocates and you can't believe what can happen if you are not up to date on what the law says.

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

We had a real problem last year with DS's 4th grade teacher. He doesn't have any education problems other than being an unorganized and undermotivated nine year old, but he has something called encopresis. He is being treated by a specialist in Boston for this embarrassing disorder and we let his teacher know this at the beginning of the year. He needs to be allowed to use the bathroom WHENEVER he needs because of medication he is on. HIs teacher totally didn't get it and thought he was skipping out on class by going into the boys room for long periods of time. I tried explaining about the condition and the meds and she just kept saying I don't know how I can teach him. My response was that as a teacher, it was her JOB to find a way. Like a nine year old wants this disorder and to have his parents discussing his bathroom habits and problems with a teacher...just so he could skip out on class. He was so stressed out in her room that he developed a nervous tick. We got him out of that class ASAP and he did much better throughout the year.
I think its best to be upfront, then watch to see how the teacher reacts with your child...get them out if there are any problems.

 

[mom2boys]

Thank you all for your support. You are correct. It would be unfair to the teachers to keep this info from them. I was a bit hesitant after my youngest's experience last year. However, we have had a positive response at their new school. We have a good rappore (sp) with the principal and everyone has been very helpful. My youngest's teacher (at the new school) actually thanked me for opportunity to teach my son. Now if you knew my son...
According to an international dyslexia expert, ours is the ONLY school district in the US that does not place it's dylexia program under special ed. (That is a bold statement - please let me know if you know of any others.)

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I think that each state interprets the federal guidlines and then creates their own. In order to be eligable for SPED in some states the child needs to have 3 critera one of the specified disabilities, need specially designed instruction, AND not making progress in the general education setting. I do not see how a principal can say that their district does not recognize a disability however, if your child does not meet the criteria then as I said before he is still entitiled to services under a 504 accomodation under federal guidelines. These are NOT sped services but usually are managed by the special ed department. The DISTRICT does not make the guidelines the state adopts their own guidlines which supercede the federal however the federal guidlines are still in place and can be referenced.

Do a web search for guidelines in your state and then federal guidelines. All students are entitled to free and appropriate public education under the federal guidelines. The key here is the word appropriate. If your boys need a scribe or material read to them then this is not specially designed instruction BUT it is an accomodation to help them access the curriculum. Think of it as a person in a wheelchair needing the curb cut away so they can access the street or sidewalk. It only gives them ACCESS to the street or sidewalk.