Prepared by Brenda Reul
 

Katie had been speaking Spanish for several years when my husband and I adopted her at the age of eight from Guatemala.  Considering her developmental delays, we opted to enroll Katie in a kindergarten class.  By the end of her kindergarten year I was concerned about Katie’s learning difficulties and I expressed my concerns to school personnel.  I was told that Katie’s struggles were simply related to the acquisition of a new language and readily dismissed.  Even though I had doubts, deciding to trust the, “experts”, I waited until Katie was halfway through first grade to confront those same experts who were still trying to persuade me that Katie was simply, “catching up”.  As an adoption specialist, I firmly believe in the concept of, “catching up”, when it comes to developmental delays related to international adoption.  As a mom, I firmly believed in my own intuition and I somehow knew there was, “something else”, going on.  Like most parents, though, I did not know how to identify that, “something”, or how to convince the, “experts”, to take my concerns seriously. And, like many adoptive parents, I did not want to be perceived as, “one of those overanxious adoptive mothers.”

Luckily, one of Katie’s English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers pulled me aside as I was picking up my children from school one afternoon and said the words I needed to hear:  “Katie would be having the same problems learning if her English was perfect.  She had the same problems learning in Spanish.”  I will always be grateful to that woman.  Her simple honest assessment provided the confirmation that gave me the confidence to be the strong advocate my daughter needed.

And so began my own education about learning differences and Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs).  “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, ensures a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities (specific learning difficulties).  A school district offers an appropriate education when it provides access to public education that is designed to meet the unique needs of the child.”  (adapted from, Special Education:  A Guide for Parents and Advocates, by Chuck Levin, Annie Villegas and
James Wrigley)

For those of you who are having doubts about the responses you are receiving from your child’s educators, and to those of you who have not yet addressed your concerns, my advice is, regardless of what you are being told, trust your own feelings and expertise about your child and DO NOT WAIT.  Insist on having your child assessed by the school system or have your child assessed privately.

The following article was written by Jayne Matthews, an educational advocate who is also the parent of a child with learning differences. 

Following the article is an excerpt from LD Online, an excellent resource for parents and educators.  It will direct you to websites that explain the IEP process.

(My daughter is now enrolled in a different school system and is making steady progress as a confident learner with the help of her educational plan and the special techniques and accommodations her educators are providing.)

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Education Matters: A Typical School Day and

Assessment First Steps
by Jayne Matthews

Kenny is a bright boy who studies very hard every week for his Friday spelling test. On Thursday nights, he and his mother practice spelling each of the week’s words. After an intense hour of review, he can effortlessly spell all ten words. He goes to bed and falls asleep thinking about how much he will please his mom if he gets a good grade.

The next day Kenny goes to school confident that this time, he is going to get 100 on the test. But, as often happens his confidence wanes and his frustration grows as the day unfolds. First period, his teacher scolds him because he has forgotten his homework, again. In reading class, he is hoping and praying that he will not be called on to read aloud. His classmates always snicker as he struggles to sound out the words. He feels ashamed, and sometimes angry. Math is his favorite subject. However, several of the problems he completed correctly are marked wrong because he reversed the order of the numbers in his answers.

In social studies class, he is called on to answer a question. He did not understand the question. When he asks the teacher to repeat the question, she becomes annoyed and he is punished for not paying attention. At lunchtime, he is teased on the playground because he has to stay after school and clean out all the mess in his desk, again.

Even though Kenny has lost much of the confidence he had at the beginning of the day, he is still looking forward to his spelling test. It is his last chance to get something right. But, as soon as the teacher hands out the test booklets, a familiar anxiety starts to set in. He cannot remember how to spell the first word. His mind is a blank. The teacher begins to call out the other words. He thinks he can spell a few, but he is not sure. When the teacher returns his test, he has only spelled four words correctly. Kenny knows what to expect when he gets home from school: his mother will be disappointed by his failing grade and will ask him repeatedly – “What happened? You knew all the words last night.”

Judging by the telephone calls that I receive from parents, there are dozens of students like Kenny. Bright, articulate boys and girls who are having a difficult time in the classroom: boys who study hard for a test, then forget what they memorized, girls who have trouble reading, but do not get the extra help they need, and smart kids who have difficulty staying focused in class, then get labeled as behavior problems.

If you have a child who is having some difficulties in school, my first advice is, you must act immediately to identify what is preventing your son or daughter from being successful in the classroom. They may need educational testing, a speech and language assessment or a neurological evaluation to determine if they would benefit from special education services. In order for a child to receive these and other services from the public school system you will need to begin the formal assessment process to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

You may begin this process by contacting your child’s school and request in writing a team meeting to discuss your child’s progress and express your concerns. It is strongly recommended that you hand deliver your written request to the school or send it by certified mail. If you hand deliver the request, be certain to get a dated receipt from the person you give the letter.

Within in a few days you should receive a letter from the school acknowledging your request for a meeting. If you have not heard anything from the school within ten days call the school to follow up and find out the status of your request. Once the school receives and acknowledges your request, an IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting will be scheduled to discuss your child’s needs.

 

From LD Online:  www.ldonline.org