Seems so minor compared to others, but dyslexia and public school?

[Neesy228]

I'm wondering if anyone has a child with dyslexia and their school doesn't have any programs to really help? My DS7 was just recently diagnosed, but it's been suspected for a while. The school now wants to put him into Special Education, but they won't label him as dyslexic - only that he has a specific learning disability - and they don't have any multi-sensory programs to help him learn. They've just set his goals in his (still unsigned) IEP so low that they can surely meet them, and plan to continue teaching him with all of the same methods they've been using....

I've been having confrontation after confrontation with the school about all of this...they want me to sign the IEP and get him into the Spec. Ed. class...I just don't see what good it does him?

I would appreciate any help or information or "been there, done that" advice...I'm overwhelmed by it all and teeter between feeling like I'm a terrible mother (because that's what school keeps telling me, since I'm depriving him of the help he needs) and feeling like the school doesn't know what they're talking about when it comes to dyslexia!!

 

[bookwormde]

It depends if it is a 504 plan or an IDEA/IEP. IDEA is a 2-step process, first is to have a classification, which is covered under the regulations and second is to develop a plan to meet the child’s need for an appropriate education. Just let them know that you want to have a completed IDEA classification document before the IEP is developed and determined.

bookwormde

 

[OneLittleSpark]

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the American school system myself, but just wanted to add some support and encouragement. I'm Dyslexic myself, but only got diagnosed when I went to university (and pushed to get tested), so went for many, many years not knowing what the problem was.

With the school, I think you just need to keep sticking to your guns, and don't sign anything until you feel your son is getting what he needs. If there's anyone in your area who could give advice, or who over-sees the special educational needs of kids in your area (as I said, don't know how the US system works), go and talk to them. Get as many opinions and inputs as you can, and do whatever you have to to help your son.

There are also plenty of things you can do with him at home, to help him along the way. Obviously I'm not saying that you should give up on the education system completely, and provide all his support from home, but my mother helped me tremendously when I was growing up with dyslexia. Try ad get him into reading and using books, in whatever way you can. Don't force them on him, but find something that is the right level for him, that will be interesting to him. I know that when I was younger, I was heavily into fact books, as they have lots of interesting information, laid out in small chunks with pictures to break text up. Another way to go might be comics, 'create your own adventure' books or reading to him for a bit each day. Really, the best thing you can do yourself, is to help him find a love of books. It probably won't be easy, it will probably take a long time, and it will probably be frustrating as anything for you at times, but the best way to improve at something is to keep doing it, and the thing that will make you do that is passion.

You might also want to talk to the school about Irlen testing. Irlen, or Scoptic Sensitivity, Syndrome is a condition that often goes hand in hand with dyslexia, and makes white pages problematic. The theory is that a certain frequency of light (this is different for different people) isn't processed properly by your brain, so white, which reflects all colours, messes your brain up. This manifests in a number of different ways, but for me, I get white walls and strobing at me, lines of text sometimes swim and move, and I see white 'rivers' running through the text. I didn't know that other people didn't see the world this way until I found out I had Irlen's; until then, I thought this was how everyone saw the world! I've recently got specially tinted glasses, paid for by my school system, which have made a huge difference to all sorts of things for me.

A simple way to see if he might have Irlen's Syndrome is to change the background colour of pages on the computer, and see if he finds any of them easier to read. To do this, right click on the desktop, select properties, then select the 'appearance' tab and click 'advanced'. This will bring up a new window. From there you can just click on the thing you want to change the colour of (in this case the white background of the text box), then select the colour from the 'more colours' option (if you need more help with this, just PM me).

EDIT: Just found this self-test website, which might be useful: http://irlen.com/index.php?s=selftests

Anyway, I wish you all the best. Stick to your guns, and keep fighting for your little boy; I'm sure you'll come through for him . Dyslexia is a challenge but, like all challenges, it can be worked around and over-come. And just to prove this, and keep you positive, here's a list of famous dyslexics. See, we've not done too badly for ourselves!

 

[1stluvispooh]

First I think you need to deiced what you want for your child. Do you want him in an inclusion class and get pulled out for extra help on stuff. Do you want him to be able to take test in a different room so he has more time. You need to be specific. If you think the goals in his IEP are set too low then say that and tell the school that you wont sign until it brought up to ______. Unfortunately you have to battle at times to get exactly what you want.

 

[LMC]

The school system does not want to label him because they do not want to be responsible for providing services. If you have a diagnosis from a doctor, then you need to get the 504 or the IEP and have the diagnosis documented. If it is not documented with the recommendations from the treating physician, then you can not hold the school system accountable for any educational assistance. This is very important; don't let them try to tell you that it is "just understood" that you are dealing with these issues between the two of you (you and the school system) so there is no need in documenting it because they will work with you. Because it will come back to haunt you; if not during the school year, then at the next IEP meeting or when you change schools.

 

[Neesy228]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who offered input.