Any experts in LD diagnosis and carry over to university?

Parents Forum
21

<p>I completely agree with tsdad-
There is a lot of incorrect information here. This is not the forum to discuss the difference between school psych evals and private evals or insurance reimbursement vs private pay. There are a lot of variables that affect all of these. As tsdad mentioned, if a student is a HS sr, and you are requesting testing through the school for purposes of addressing future (college) needs, they are not obligated to accomodate your request. Moreover, if your purpose of testing is for academic purposes, your insurance carrier may not cover it either (most do not cover educational or developmental issues). </p>

<p>You can contact several private practitioners and explore the range of fees and services, but this isn't like buying a car. Sometimes,you get what you pay for. A good evaluation takes time. This is for your child, and your child's future. Allocate your funds wisely.</p>

22

<p>I am a special educator in the field of gifted and also have background in the other end of special education. You need to check with two people: 1) Check with the Office of Disability Accommodations at the universities and colleges where your daughter is considering. Accommodations are given at the college level. It varies from school to school and some are much better at accommodating. 2) Please check with the special ed teacher or special ed coordinator for your child's current school district. IEP kids have what's called a transition plan. For some low functioning kids this means what will they do to support themselves once they graduate. However, for a child like yours it would include transition to college. If your child needs to be reevaluated in order to still qualify for services in college, then the district very well might cover the cost.</p>

<p>Also, I wanted to address the comment some one made about why would a child with a high IQ need special ed accommodations. Although it is a small segment of the population, it is possible to be both gifted and learning disabled. A student might have a 140 verbal IQ but struggle with math concepts, etc. These kids do exist and do need assistance in order to reach their full potential. There have been many books and journal articles written on this subject.</p>

23

<p>my oldest daughter has an averaged IQ of about 140-150 but if you take out the subtests that are below average, her iq would be 160.
While SAT scores no longer reflect whether extended time was given, I disagree with that.
If a school has a problem in admission with students having learning differences, they are going to have problems allowing accomodations.
Although D school is not known for their learning disabilty dept, they have been fairly supportive of her there.</p>

24

<p>ok I have a question since some of you have expertise in SPED
which would be appropriate an IEP or 504?
this is the letter I wrote to the head of special ed dept at my daughter school, after the school psychologist advised me that an IEP eval was not appropriate ( but I am still unsure)</p>

<p>
[quote]
I would like your opinion on what would be appropriate for my 10th gd daughter -------------.
She had an IEP from 3rd to 7th-8th gd while she was at -----school for specific learning disabilty. ( what I understood was mainly because of anxiety and difficulty with math)</p>

<p>However, because she was not making any progress in her IEP and from what I observed during her resource time- wasn't even addressing her IEP, I had her removed from SPED and requested a 504 as I was advised it was easier to enforce that. However- the only reason that I had her removed from SPED at ---school was because the resource class was a waste of time for her, not because I thought that her learning disabilties had miraculously been "healed".
( school did not write a 504 plan for daughter)</p>

<p>At ----high school , her freshman year last year, she was enrolled in ACE, the program headed by head of math dpt- and english teacher, daughter made great progress with the assistance of that class, and was able to finish INT 1A in math spring semester, although she had begun the year with .05INT A. ( However this has put her off track- so that her current math class is after school, reducing available time for tutoring in other classes).</p>

<p>While ---duaghter had a strong year last year, this year she is getting Ds & Fs in many assignments & tests in her classes, despite spending a great deal more time on homework.
To prevent this, I had requested a 504 plan last year, but because her semester grades were strong, ( the school psych & school counselor) felt it was unneccesary.</p>

<p>I am determined to get her the help she needs this year, and while I would like to request an evaluation to determine which would be more appropriate for her, an IEP or a 504, I have been told they are two totally different things, and to go down the road of an IEP is inappropriate given her good grades last year.</p>

<p>I think her past history and her current grades this year should be considered as well, as many of the underlying issues have never been totatlly addressed, and I really want her to have the help that she needs.

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25

<p>Technically, a disability is only a disability if it interferes in the child's learning....in normal words: If I have high anxiety, but am still able to achieve, then it is not interfering in my learning. That's how some kids are able to "exit" special education. They get control of their disability and no longer need special assistance. Some kids never get to that point and it's not through a lack of effort. If your child is achieving at the appropriate level, then it is possible that she may not requalify.</p>

<p>In normal times, I would suggest an IEP because they are actually legally binding documents. Once the parents and school officials have signed off on them they must stick to them or they are breaking the law. If something is in a child's IEP and is not being followed, the school district can be taken to court. However, you mentioned that at the middle school level the resource room wasn't really helping your child due to the teacher (which unfortunately does happen). In my school district 504's are typically used to cover kids whose impairments don't fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It allows the schools to accommodate them without an official ruling under IDEA. It's sometimes used for kids with ADHD or prolonged illnesses. In the districts where I have worked IEPs were much more detailed than a 504. However, that may not be the case where you are since it's a different district and state (although there really shouldn't be variance since they are federal laws). Do you know another child with a learning disability in your district? I would talk to those parents and see what their experience with IEPs at the high school level was. Did they feel it was worthwhile? Like I said, normally I would suggest the IEP but it sounds like that hasn't been that successful in your district thus far. However, like I said, IEPs are legally binding and if something isn't being done that is listed in that document, parents can call the principal or district special ed coordinator to question it.</p>

26

<p>I have found it interesting, I thought all the schools would view my Ds accommodations in the same way, as secondary schools did. My D has very minor accommodation of extra time in timed tests. As in, extra time in the SAT and still not finished...so, not one of those kids gaming the system.</p>

<p>Now that she picked a school, a large state flagship U, they only accommodate people functioning below 50% of "normal" though how people functioning that far below normal would even get in is a mystery to me, having seen their admissions practices. I can certainly see the accommodations for physical issues being dealt with in what appears to be appropriate ways. It is a mystery to me that a kid who required extra time and got it from AP & SAT and other timed exams (and disclosed that on the application) in order to be truly successful and confident and gain admissions, should no longer be allowed those same accommodations once admitted.</p>

<p>I would be willing to have my D's testing updated, even if it is pricey, but only if the results (assuming they are the same as they were before) would allow her the accommodations.</p>

<p>In further research it seems that many private schools have the ability to be much more flexible and to continue high school accommodations, whereas, in the big flagship top public, one is fully absorbed into the bureaucracy and it's not so very easy ;)</p>