Mom to Mom

[Imadickens]

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@Hellodemocrat wrote:

I have heard of it, just wanted our son to go to public

school.   He did great, was in a great school band and

now has a Very good job.  Didn't want him to miss out

being around other kids or the experiences.  The band experience was a great on for him and us.

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I agree! Both my kids were in the school bands from 3rd grade on. My dd actually was offered a scholarship to play in her college band!

[Imadickens]

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@betty423 wrote:
The child trying to help has significant learning issues brought on by a medical condition however that condition does not keep them from attending school. But due to a series of misdiagnoses along the way the child is now in fifth grade and is working at a third-grade level at best. Most recently, he was diagnosed as dyslexic. The parents have been saying for quite a while they felt that dyslexia wasn't playing but the school district was not willing to evaluate. They were hoping to have the child left back a year but the school is not willing to do that either. The parents are looking at all options, including special education schools. Thank you for your kind reply.

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What the parents need is an advocate. They should call the head of their school's SPED and ask for names of outside advocates. Local child therapists might have names of advocates as well. I know in our state there are laws that parents are unaware of, but the districts don't tell as SPED students can cost more for districts to educate! Good luck.

[MarieIG]

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@KarenQVC wrote:

It sounds to me like the parents need a lawyer who specializes in this area.  It will be well worth it.  If the child needs all these special services and can get them through the school district, it will save them hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future.  The services may be needed through age 25.

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This.  They should consult with / retain a lawyer who specializes, and has a proven track record, in education law.  Where I come from, an "advocate" can attend meetings a make suggestions.  An attorney can haul the school district into court and force them to show why they are not making proper / adequate provisions as required by law.  And, if warranted the Court orders the school district to provide services or make arrangements outside the district if they services are not available inside the district. 

[151949]

When my DH was supposed to be in 6th grade he was diagnosed with a spinal condition that required him to be in a full body cast for a year. He was in the hospital for most of that time but at home some of it. Also that same year his father (who was in his 60's) had a stroke and passed away. Something like this - had it been available then- would have greatly helped him but instead he failed that year and had to repeat it. That was pretty hard on him emotionally because all his pals moved on to middle school without him just when he needed them most.I think this sounds like it would be a very good thing in some circumstances. 

[Yardlie]

I haven't read all the responses, but I know that each state has laws about this. I used to teach. Some states require that if you home school your child, YOU MUST be the teacher. Those laws could have changed, but there was no option for hiring an outside teacher...although you could get together with other home school children and their parents for certain activities. The other alternative was that your child could go to the local high school only for certain classes (e.g. maybe a foreign language or advanced math).

As I said, state laws might have changed, but they need to be checked carefully.

[Kalli]

If the child has an official diagnosis of dyslexia from a respected source, and has difficulty reading, the Wilson program, based on Orton-Gillingham (but from what I understand, is more organized into lessons and stages/steps than OG) could be the answer.   Many of our area schools offer Wilson now, though few offer Orton-Gillingham.  Many teachers are trained to do Wilson here but only a few are highly trained, which is very important.  If it were my child, and he/she was 2 or more years behind, I'd want the highly trained teacher.  This gap is not going to be bridged without special help. And retention is usually not an effective solution for something like dyslexia because a learning disability is not often outgrown.  Students, though, can be taught strategies that help them work with this type of thing.  

The parents need to get online, search for their state's organizations, parent groups, etc., that deal with dyslexia (or whatever their child's official diagnosis is) because parents who've been through this can be the best source of info.  From there, they can find an advocate(s) and get recommendations for lawyers.  Schools will try to cut costs wherever they can and as a taxpayer, I respect this.  However, public schools must give each child the correct instruction needed to make progress and if there's a program that has been proven to work for that child's particular learning problem, the school must provide that instruction OR pay for the child to go elsewhere to receive it.  At least, that's the way it is in my state.

Schools do not want to deal with the threat of a lawsuit.  These parents need to research this and become knowledgeable for the sake of their child.  If their child has dyslexia, I would not just hire a home tutor for this, unless that teacher is highly trained to instruct students with that child's particular learning disability.  I would turn to the program that has data to support its effectiveness.

[wildcat fan]

One of my former students attended after school/weekend tutoring sessions at a Sylvan Learning Center which provided instruction using the OG methods. The parents made arrangements for those private tutoring sessions and asked that I communicate with the tutor to share feedback.   Do you have a Sylvan in your area?  

If they are interested in going homebound, they might want to look into online K-12 programs. Our state has a virtual charter school and another charter school called Connections Academy that have free tuition.  Parents just need to sign up their kids.  Connections Academy is set up in several states.  Both of these online platforms offer advanced G/T classes, and they have special education teachers to work virtually with special needs students.  If they have computer and Internet, that may be worth checking out.  From what I understand, they encourage having someone (like a parent or tutor) to help the student at home, but they have a curriculum and certified teachers on standby to help with any questions, provide virtual teaching sessions, and offer feedback.

I would encourage the parents to continue to make requests from the local school.  In my area, students who are working below grade level are encouraged to come in early or stay after school for daily 30-45 minute tutoring sessions with certified teachers in the needed subject area.  The tutoring and snacks are provided at no cost to parents but they would need to provide transportation.