Question for parents about special education

[Texan Mouseketeer]

Have any of you with kids in special education regretted getting services from public school or regretted having your kid labeled? Any cases of an older child having trouble getting in to college or doing other things because of their label? And are there any parents out there who have chosen not to have their kid labeled and just hide from the school whatever particular disability your child may have? Or do you feel like the services have been a huge help?
I'd love to hear some examples. Thanks!!!!!

 

[debster812]

I don't know if this is what you're talking about but here's my Title 1 story.

DS came to our town's public school system from a private Kindergarten program, so it was two totally separate curricula. When he was screened for 1st grade, the Reading specialist flagged him as below where they want the 1st graders to be, and reccommended Title 1 reading supplemental help.

DS received this help for all of about 6 weeks. Turns out he COULD actually read, he was just a little too shy to really show the Reading Specialist what he could do. In his defense, he was only with her for about 10 minutes. His first grade teacher was a GEM, realized what he could do, and had him reading slightly above grade level after about 6 weeks.

I'm of the school that extra help is NEVER a bad thing, and no one, in my experience at our school was interested in 'labelling' DS, they just wanted to help him get to where he needed to be.

Good Luck with whatever you're dealing with.

 

[Wishing on a star]

In my State, the fact that a child is 'Special Ed', and is on an IEP is NOT a part of their regular public record.

You should find out what the policy is where you live. I believe that this may be a Federal thing????

My advice is... first, carefully discern whether your child truly needs the help. If there is a real learning disability, or something like this, involved. Then, your child more than likely TRULY NEEDS the assistance. This can make ALL the difference in the world! This can make the difference between your child struggling and suffering and failing... or actually learning!

The thing is, if your child does have a problem... His academic struggle and poor grades may end up being what keeps him/her out of college. Not a label from elementary school.

Where I live, the child must be evaluated to verify a disability before they qualify for special services. Here, the schools actively try to STOP parents from getting their child on an IEP. (Possibly because of the proverbial lack of funding...) They only want to have to cater to the worst of the worst.

The bottom line, YOU are your childs BEST ADVOCATE!!! Do not worry about 'labels'... Do what you know is best for your childs well being!

Best Wishes for you and your child!

 

[N.Bailey]

My son has been termed learning disabled since 1st grade. IMO, the earlier you catch it, the better chance your child has for success. I would highly suggest you not hide. The school will work with you on just about everything. They are also sent to a special help teacher for a bit each day and this teacher is qualified to deal with special needs children more than the regular teachers are. The regular teachers also don't have the time to help your child with every little thing. Thinking they should would be so unfair to that teacher and the other students in the class, and in the end, you're only hurting your own child.

Get your child tested and go from there. IEP is not Title 1. If your child doesn't need anymore help than what Title 1 offers, IMO, they'll eventually catch up and get back on track.

IMO, trying to hide it; and unless the teachers are living in oblivion won't be an option anyway, will guarantee your child doesn't get the help he/she needs and will pretty much guarantee their future will be fairly bleak.

Know though, you're going to be doing a lot more homework and such with your child than you normally would. Without help from home, most kids wouldn't probably overcome those disabilities and I'm of the belief that we're all disabled in some capacity or other. It's just sad when it's reading for some.

 

[N.Bailey]

I know you didn't want to give out too much information just yet, but I think you should also make an appointment with your child's pediatrician and have him/her test your child's vision and hearing too. I was hoping it would be that simple for us, but it didn't turn out to be the case. It could be that your child (or the child in question)is simply not seeing very well too and I think you should rule that out before you continue forward.

 

[janette]

I can't say I regret but I don't think we could manage in public schools without the label. My 11yo DD is severely dyslexic, she was identified as learning disabled in pre-school and entered public school mid 1st grade but I waited until I was assured services would be in place before she started. There really isn't always a choice. It hasn't solved everything, we are in a rough patch right now and hopefully will get through it. I had some additional testing to get a official Dyslexia diagnosis to help get her in a program at the school. In that situation it was a issue of making sure she had the right "label".

I see you are from TX and the TAKS tests are another consideration. Without modifications I'm not sure my DD could pass the tests. She takes special tests for some subjects and gets modifications like having the math test read to her. I wouldn't want to have to worry about them not passing her based on the tests. She's already one of the oldest in the class with a summer birthday and we started her late, really would not be be beneficial to retain her.

The services have been a huge help, when she started 1st grade mid-year she wasn't completely proficient at the recognizing the alphabet. She's now in 5th grade and reads almost at grade level. If they need the help they won't get it in the regular classroom.

There is somewhat of a stigma but the concept of how someone can be "smart" and not be able to read is hard to understand for a child. When your child has a label and can explain that yes, I might not be able to read but my mind works different than others. They need to also understand where there strengths are and what they can do better than their class-mates. My DD's favorite artist is Leonardo DiVinci and she knows that he was also considered dyslexic and yet was a very accomplished artist, mathematician and inventor. A very brilliant man.

 

[graygables]

Preface: we e-school at home with a public virtual charter school (so far the best of both worlds)

I think the term "label" was coined by someone in a public school trying to discourage a parent from getting help for their child. Kids are labelled whether we want them to be or not. They are in Reading Group A or Math Section B. They are troublemakers or they are angels. I had a special ed person tell me that they didn't want to "label" DD which meant they didn't have to provide services. I told them to label away and I wasn't giving up. She's Asperger's with a dash of dyslexia and ADD thrown in for good measure. If she has to take the state tests, she needs some help processing that information, thank you very much.

My youngest is a poster child for ADHD. We are thinking she may very well be bipolar, but the school didn't want to offer anything b/c my interventions were "successful" and she had not been officially diagnosed. My interventions include 1am test/learning sessions b/c that may be when her brain clicks on and her body runs down enough to keep up (NOT successful in my book). Again, I got the "we're not going to label her, that's up to the doctor to decide". So, I had to take her (uninsured) to the ped to get a dx, only the ped automatically referred her to a neurologist b/c of the severity, so the school refused to do anything until I had some "recommendations" in hand. $900 out of pocket later, she goes for her first round of testing for the school on Friday.

I think it is doing a child with problems (and the people who deal with them) a HUGE disservice trying to hide them. My DD2 is bipolar, been dxed by 3 different docs, but when she moved out to my parents to go to school, she quit taking her meds. My parents doc has told them that she's NOT bipolar (even though she still is rapid cycling) b/c in interviews w/ my parents, they are lying about her behavior and covering it up. My mother said to me, "You don't WANT her to be sick, do you?" OY!!! Of course I don't WANT her to be sick, but she is and she needs to take her medicine. Do any of us want our children to be labeled? No, but if they need help, then it's our responsibility to do whatever it takes to get it for them.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

You have to be very careful if you want your child in Special Education to go to college.

I was in Special Education throughout school. When it came time to take the SATs I was severely unprepared. The classes I took in high school did nothing to prepare me for college as they were all vocational vs. academic (living skills math, very basic sciences etc...) My parents had no idea that taking these classes would effect my higher education like they did.

I had to take remedial classes in college (paying for them) to cover material I should have learned in high school. Going to a 4-year school straight out of high school was impossible since my SAT scores were so low I couldn't even get into the "party schools". Finishing a community college in 2 years was also impossible (even going full time) because I had so many remedial classes to make up. Even the remedial classes were harder than they should have been since they are geared towards people who have taken them but need a brush up.

I'm still struggling my way through community college (though I'm almost done) and it's been 10 years. Now I haven't been going straight through for 10 years. I've had to work and attend half time, taking time off here and there, but the struggling in math and sciences can be pinpointed to not being prepared in high school.

Special Education can be a wondeful thing. This is just some food for thought.

 

[Marseeya]

IMO, if the child needs the help and special education will provide it, why do anything else? My DS was in special ed for a few years, then tested out. It's not always a "lifetime sentence." If he needs to go back in at any point, I won't hesitate and his college career won't even be a consideration in that decision.

As for college, at least the one I go to (a state university) has accommodations as well. I was tested and diagnosed as having a learning disability in math while I was in college and I ended up getting accommodations for it -- didn't have to take any higher level math classes. I was able to substitute different classes for my foreign language requirements. And, I got extra accommodations that I didn't really use (extra time for taking tests, tutoring, and being able to record my classes).

 

[pattyT]

DS -
Speech Theraphy at 2 for delay
helpful - yes
expensive - yes (we have a 25$ copay and he went 2x a week)
necessary - probably not - (dh and his father were slow to talk -3-and I think he would have caught up on his own at 4 he will tell youall about perimeter drains and excevators!)
because they started him in preschool already - they kept him in the program
.
DD -
learing disability??
at the porochial school they thought she had 'issues'
title 1 helped (and it wasn't a big deal to her to be in it)- but wasn't regularly available at the school. I believe in hindsight that the issue was with the teaching staff being underqualified and unorganized as well as inconsistent.
Her 3rd grade teacher requested "testing"
No disability
BUT based on a single sheet questionaire for myself and the teacher they decided she was ADD at home and ADHD at school.
I called the Dr.
what drug did I want...
ummm none... I will not drug my child based on a one page questionare... I want to see a specialist first...
Specialist is on vacation for the summer...
decide to switch to public school where more resources are available..
talk to teacher...
decide to give her a clean slate to work with and see how it goes...
teacher agrees...
no add or adhd,
she just needs routine and structure...(which we JUST have at home so i didn't see the problem!)
Now in 6th grade - just got her update from school a;s, b's, one c (she is in a lower group level but I don't think SHE realizes it as a few of her friends are in it too)

 

[golfgal]

I don't have kids in special ed but an inspirational story-the valedictorian of our high school two years ago spent his entire elementary/jr high time in special ed classes. He really struggled through 8th grade. He said that in 9th grade he could almost feel the lightbulb turn on and everything made sense. He was a straight "A" student after that. He is a good kid too.

 

[tw1nsmom]

If a child has a learning disability they need the label in order to get the help they need to succeed. Also, a students special education records are confidential (I believe they're covered under HIPPA? as well as the IDEA). So many children receive pull-out help of some sort, that if you don't let other people know yourself, they should never find out. I, on the other hand, share what my son's disability is with many of the parents I know. I feel that when my son is behaving a little "off" it's easier for the other children to accept him if they know that his brain just worls a little differently.

When it comes to college, you do not have to disclose a learning disability unless you are requesting accomodations, and due the privacy laws they cannot find out. The only situation where an organization can find out about a students special education records without your permission is the military/government. Even then, there is only one label that will definitely hurt your child's chances in the military..Emotionally Disturbed. If your child has a disability that may fall under this category, it might be beneficial to them if you push to have them categorized under Other Health Impaired. Of course, if your child has a true emotional disability and the only way to get help was to accept the E.D. label, I would take it.

 

[Claudia1]

The only "label" I would worry about would be MI. One of my children is more MI than LD but we were able to keep an LD track thru school. The MI curriculum (at least in our corporation) did not agressively prepare the students for graduation. The mix of the class may have been the determinant, I'm not sure. As an LD parent, I can also say that the students in the LD classes tend to be less motivated and many have troubled family lives. Not their fault, but I have seen it year after year, which is why we have always pushed for part-time LD classroom work. We wanted our child to be motivated and taught within a general ed classroom, too.

LD is not a bad thing! It acually means that learning is possible with a few adaptations. Many colleges address that these days.

I would not worry about the label but be very concerned and vigilant about the curriculum. Be sure that they are prepared for whatever future they want.

My child went thru public school all 12 years but had difficulty at the end. We enrolled her in the Indiana University High School program (a phenomenal accredited distance-learning diploma program) and transferred her credits there after the local graduation ceremonies. They accept the IEP from your home school and work with you toward the goal of an accredited diploma. They also have classes with dual credit; high school and college.

I agree that the label is not the issue. The real issue is the track in the classroom.

 

[janette]

You have to be very careful if you want your child in Special Education to go to college.

I was in Special Education throughout school. When it came time to take the SATs I was severely unprepared. The classes I took in high school did nothing to prepare me for college as they were all vocational vs. academic (living skills math, very basic sciences etc...) My parents had no idea that taking these classes would effect my higher education like they did.

I had to take remedial classes in college (paying for them) to cover material I should have learned in high school. Going to a 4-year school straight out of high school was impossible since my SAT scores were so low I couldn't even get into the "party schools". Finishing a community college in 2 years was also impossible (even going full time) because I had so many remedial classes to make up. Even the remedial classes were harder than they should have been since they are geared towards people who have taken them but need a brush up.

I'm still struggling my way through community college (though I'm almost done) and it's been 10 years. Now I haven't been going straight through for 10 years. I've had to work and attend half time, taking time off here and there, but the struggling in math and sciences can be pinpointed to not being prepared in high school.

Special Education can be a wondeful thing. This is just some food for thought.

There are still accomodations available in college. One of my nephews (dyslexic) tried to take the SAT without modifications twice before getting modifications and he did fine once he received the modifications. He went to a 4yr university but found that it was too difficult, he also has a family so that complicated things. He recently graduated from a community college with an associates and was able to find a decent job in the computer field. He'll do fine in the working environment it's school that is hard.

You are correct you have to be wary of the special ed's base of expectations. They are happy with my DD's reading level being almost at her grade level but I know she can do better so I pushed to get her into a program that would help with that. Only her reading / language classes aren't the same as the rest of the class.

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

The only "label" I would worry about would be MI. One of my children is more MI than LD but we were able to keep an LD track thru school. The MI curriculum (at least in our corporation) did not agressively prepare the students for graduation. The mix of the class may have been the determinant, I'm not sure. As an LD parent, I can also say that the students in the LD classes tend to be less motivated and many have troubled family lives. Not their fault, but I have seen it year after year, which is why we have always pushed for part-time LD classroom work. We wanted our child to be motivated and taught within a general ed classroom, too.

LD is not a bad thing! It acually means that learning is possible with a few adaptations. Many colleges address that these days.

I would not worry about the label but be very concerned and vigilant about the curriculum. Be sure that they are prepared for whatever future they want.

My child went thru public school all 12 years but had difficulty at the end. We enrolled her in the Indiana University High School program (a phenomenal accredited distance-learning diploma program) and transferred her credits there after the local graduation ceremonies. They accept the IEP from your home school and work with you toward the goal of an accredited diploma. They also have classes with dual credit; high school and college.

I agree that the label is not the issue. The real issue is the track in the classroom.

What does MI stand for? None of my students that I have taught have had that label...we have MR here for mental retardation but I think they're trying to phase that terminology out...

 

[Texan Mouseketeer]

If a child has a learning disability they need the label in order to get the help they need to succeed. Also, a students special education records are confidential (I believe they're covered under HIPPA? as well as the IDEA). So many children receive pull-out help of some sort, that if you don't let other people know yourself, they should never find out. I, on the other hand, share what my son's disability is with many of the parents I know. I feel that when my son is behaving a little "off" it's easier for the other children to accept him if they know that his brain just worls a little differently.

When it comes to college, you do not have to disclose a learning disability unless you are requesting accomodations, and due the privacy laws they cannot find out. The only situation where an organization can find out about a students special education records without your permission is the military/government. Even then, there is only one label that will definitely hurt your child's chances in the military..Emotionally Disturbed. If your child has a disability that may fall under this category, it might be beneficial to them if you push to have them categorized under Other Health Impaired. Of course, if your child has a true emotional disability and the only way to get help was to accept the E.D. label, I would take it.

What conditions qualify you for ED? Is it things like Bipolar and OCD or things that are more serious than that??

 

[janette]

What conditions qualify you for ED? Is it things like Bipolar and OCD or things that are more serious than that??

I was even told by the Special Education people at the school not to put a Behavior Plan in my DD's file. She clashed with her 3rd grade teacher and had some behavior issues that year. The teacher wanted to do a behavior plan, it was discussed but after she left the room the Sp Ed teacher and diagnostician both told me that it was not needed and a really bad idea. This was a label to be avoided. I don't think the teacher would have even suggested it if my DD wasn't receiving services. We didn't and she's done fine since then with different teachers.

 

[Claudia1]

MI stands for Mentally Impaired. Our corporation also uses EH for Emotionally Handicapped. I think it is great that your school is getting away from these labels!

The LD, MI, and EH tracks are vary, supposedly to better address each disability. The EH classroom is supposed to have a teaching/learning style that accomodates the correct discipline and reward. EH are the students with psych. diagnoses but also kids from troubled households that act out aggressively. Probably not the best determination but that is what heppens here. The MI class room in the early years did not teach as much academics but taught more basic life skills. The MI students have IQ under 70 but they have also put autistic students in that category. (One of my friends has an autistic son and she fought that all thru school. He is now a freshman in college, away from home!) The LD track taught the curriculum with adaptive modifications. Some students were full-time but many were part-time.

The problem with this system is that, once they get to the upper grade levels, some students will never catch up academically or do not have the classroom skills to thrive or even survive in a general ed classroom. The Elementary and Middle school have these classrooms but the High School has many of the students out in general ed classes, with a Resource teacher available for help. I have significant issues with this system but I have also seen some successes. I'm not supporting or defending it, either.

Each parent needs to be aware of their own school's special ed program. An LD track in another school will probably not be identical to my experience. I think this discussion is very beneficial and the question is an excellent one.

Oh, one more thing........... I strongly recommend that you have your child tested on your own! Many insurance plans cover testing under a medical diagonsis. Leaving it up to your school saves you money but you must be willing to completely trust them. You know you child better then anybody and an independent evaluation can be taken into an IEP to defend or support an educational plan. It is your child! If labels are an issue (IMHO, that is always a valid concern), do what you can do to find out what they need for success. This is not just for school, it is for the rest of their life. You may be very pleased to discover that early intervention can change their lives!

 

[froglady]

I spent 1st grade in Special Education. I had speech difficulties, and until I learned how to write, the teachers didn't realize that I knew how to read, and had no diminished mental capacities. I was then put back into a "regular" classroom (there was no mainstreaming in the late 50s/early60s) but received speech therapy until 5th grade.

DS had speech difficulties, so we started three years of therapy at age 3. Now, unless he gets excited and starts talking quickly, you would have no way of knowing that he ever had a problem.

 

[tiggger1]

This might be a bit off topic, but what do you do if the teacher is trying to label your child when it is clearly not. A friend has a daughter who is in 3rd grade and has a bit of focusing issues. She is very smart but tends to be talkative and rushes through her work, making it messy. She had a few problems last year with this last year and the mom asked her peds about possible ADHD. Both Peds said absolutly not that it isnt ADHD, she wasnt even a maybe case. She just needed a more structured work practice( has to do homework with no tv, people in the room as she is easily distracted. This year her new teacher had her for less than a week before telling the mom she needs to be tested for ADHD and take meds. Mom talked to a different ped and they told her she doesnt have any adhd tendency besides the focusing and they think that the work is too easy for her and she gets bored. So mom takes her to get tested at a tutering place and they also say that she isnt adhd and that she is a high middle school leval reading and her grade in math..

mom tells the teacher that she doesnt want her daughter labeled adhd and wants her daughter to have hader books to read ( they are only allowed to talk out their grade books from the library)and the teacher said ok but she is afraid that this teacher has already labeled her as trouble....
any ideas?