Advice needed for Mom of dyslexic needs insight

[Beansmom2]

Hello all. Very glad to find this board. Am struggling with decisions for my 3rd grade dyslexic daughter (dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD).

 

Profile: Non verbal WISC IQ puts her in 99% for same aged peers.

In third grade performs way above average in math and science. (math facts are a bit of an issue though..higher order stuff is very strong). Spelling and writing are well below expectations. She reads on or just below grade level. We have never been able to get her an IEP...but have tried since kindergarten. She spent last year at a private school as we thought a smaller classroom would be a better fit but she was very unhappy and wanted to return to her neighborhood school. We switched her back this year. We use an orton gillingham tutor twice a week and work on enrichment at home.

 

After getting turned down for an IEP again, we started to look at schools for dyslexia for next year. Found one that is very reputable. We had concluded this would be a good thing and are hoping they have a spot for her. The school is very expensive. It will be painful financially for us but we are willing to make the sacrifice if it is the right choice. We were pretty decided Until.....

 

Most recent development: We recieved her ITBS scores and she has a composite score in the 96%. Most of her scores were in the mid nineties (math and reference skills the highest) with science coming in at 87%.

 

Now we are rethinking our decision to send her to a school for dyslexia. She is content at her public school. She is holding her own academically. She is a bit quirky but has an established group of friends. Tutoring seems to helping some though I have some concerns about her writing. Its pretty bad.

 

My issue is I don't want to look back in 5 years and realize I made the wrong choice. I want to do the best thing for my child.

 

Can anyone provide any insight? Sorry for the long post.

[momtotkbb]

What were you hoping to achieve w/ the IEP? Was it to receive the O-G teaching w/in the school? Or pull out services? What do you see that the private school has that she needs? I'm not trying to be a pain here - just trying to get a basis of where you're coming from and what your expectations are?

 

Based upon my experiences in school they no longer qualify dc for IEP's or Spec Ed services based upon a dx of LD's unless they are performing significantly below grade level in the classroom. If she's making "C's" or above in her classroom work - regardless if she is capable of higher based upon IQ - then she probably won't qualify for IEP. Also, most are reluctant for LD's to even classify much less provide IEP's for those kiddos in early elementary (I don't agree w/ that - but that's the turn Spec Ed has taken) But, based upon a dx of LD's she would qualify for a 504 plan --- the 504 plan doesn't provide remediation type work which is what you are doing w/ the O-G tutor -- but it would provide accommodation in the classrooms if needed. Things like extended time for in-class writing assignments and exams, a scribe or computer for in-class writing, oral exams if warranted, notetakers or copies of teacher notes for her files to compare to her own notes, etc.

 

Our oldest went all the way through ps and was dx in first grade as gifted/LD (dyslexia/dysgraphia)/ADD-inattentive but never had an IEP - because of his giftedness he didn't fit the requirement for Spec Ed services. We too used a private O-G tutor (by the time the others came along we were hsing and I was trained in 0-G so we did everything on our own). I didn't need a 504 plan for him in elementary because I worked closely w/ the teachers and they just did what I asked. In middle school and high school we had to do a 504 plan for a couple teachers who felt it was un-fair to allow extended time, no penalty spelling errors on in-class writing assignments, etc. w/out the 504 plan in place.

 

In our case because of my training I wasn't worried that he didn't meet the criteria for an IEP - they would have given him one if I pushed just bec it was me -- but I saw no benefit that the school could provide through the IEP. Your case might be different.

[burleygirl]

Beansmom,

 

My daughter is 13 and we found out she was dyslexic at 10, 5th grade. She did not perform poorly in the classroom until 4th grade. However, I would say she performed inconsistently in 4th. Sometimes exceptional, other times poorly - it depended on the topic, her interester, her mood. Either way because of her test scores she will never get an IEP but I don't feel she needs one. When we found out she was dyslexic we took her out of her private school & sent her to one that specialized in working with students with learning disabilities. Onlike your daughter she has never performed well on any standardized test where she had to do the bubbling - but she does fine just answering. Multiple choice tests are very difficult for her.

 

My husband and I questioned the cost of the school, its necessity since she was not doing horribly. But she struggled with multisyllable words and other skills. She received the O-G training on a daily basis and had 3 separate language classes (reading/spelling, writing, O-G tutoring). However, we sent her for 3 years (5th - 7th). It was the best decision we ever made. Yes, it was difficult financially but worth it. Her first year was tough - she didn't want to leave her friends but she met new friends and formed wonderful friendships with children who had similar quirks. You might want to weigh the pros and cons of sending her, what do you hope to accomplish while she is there.

 

At first I didn't think she needed to be there but once she was there I realized that this was what she needed for the time being even though her dyslexia is mild. She left her 8th grade year and is attending a private Christian school. She has been doing well with minimal accommodations however we are doing a formal 504 plan for the 2nd semester.

 

If your daughter is doing well with the tutor she may be fine. Dyslexia is not the same for every child. A tutor would not have worked for her because the school she was attending in 4th gave a lot of homework that my daughter worked on for hours each night. It took her longer to do her 4th grade work than her current 8th grade work.

 

I wish you the best in your decision. I will say that she had several classmates at the specialty private school that only went for one year and are doing really well. Her schools motto, 'Go as fast as we can and as slow as we must'. My daughter was behind grade level in reading, writing, spelling, reading comprehension and reading nonsense words when she started. When she left she was either above or on grade level in all these areas.

 

If you wait another year or 2 it may allow you to see how she is progressing. I do understand your concerns about space availability. The 3 years my daughter was there - there was a wait list for 6 & 7th grades (The didn't really do grades - skill levels).

 

Good luck to you. We made our decision based on the fact that you only get one shot at education and our daughter really hated going to school at the time and had very low self confidence which does not seem to be a problem with your daughter. My daughter loves learning now and her self confidence is so much better.

Edited December 6, 2011 by burleygirl
clarification

[RamonaQ]

If you are happy with the school, and she is, why not seek a 504 for accommodations (in the future, if necessary) which may include keyboarding in the classroom. Spend your money on good tutors to re-mediate the reading and writing.

[Beansmom2]

What were you hoping to achieve w/ the IEP? Was it to receive the O-G teaching w/in the school? Or pull out services? What do you see that the private school has that she needs? I'm not trying to be a pain here - just trying to get a basis of where you're coming from and what your expectations are?

 

Based upon my experiences in school they no longer qualify dc for IEP's or Spec Ed services based upon a dx of LD's unless they are performing significantly below grade level in the classroom. If she's making "C's" or above in her classroom work - regardless if she is capable of higher based upon IQ - then she probably won't qualify for IEP. Also, most are reluctant for LD's to even classify much less provide IEP's for those kiddos in early elementary (I don't agree w/ that - but that's the turn Spec Ed has taken) But, based upon a dx of LD's she would qualify for a 504 plan --- the 504 plan doesn't provide remediation type work which is what you are doing w/ the O-G tutor -- but it would provide accommodation in the classrooms if needed. Things like extended time for in-class writing assignments and exams, a scribe or computer for in-class writing, oral exams if warranted, notetakers or copies of teacher notes for her files to compare to her own notes, etc.

 

Our oldest went all the way through ps and was dx in first grade as gifted/LD (dyslexia/dysgraphia)/ADD-inattentive but never had an IEP - because of his giftedness he didn't fit the requirement for Spec Ed services. We too used a private O-G tutor (by the time the others came along we were hsing and I was trained in 0-G so we did everything on our own). I didn't need a 504 plan for him in elementary because I worked closely w/ the teachers and they just did what I asked. In middle school and high school we had to do a 504 plan for a couple teachers who felt it was un-fair to allow extended time, no penalty spelling errors on in-class writing assignments, etc. w/out the 504 plan in place.

 

In our case because of my training I wasn't worried that he didn't meet the criteria for an IEP - they would have given him one if I pushed just bec it was me -- but I saw no benefit that the school could provide through the IEP. Your case might be different.

 

 

Wow thanks for all the detailed responses. Our state will reimburse parents for the cost of educating your child if you pull them from public to do specialiazed schooling IF you have an active IEP. Our intention from the beginning was to secure the IEP for this reason...we know the school system has no orton gillingham based program...so what they'd offer through the IEP was worthless...excpet maybe for speech therapy but we didn't even get that. That's why we decided to spend the countless dollars on tutoring. We just finished an Ed pysch in May that diagnosed her with ADHD for the first time. It was missed in round 1. We had hoped this would help gain the IEP as dyslexia is not recognized as a learning disbaility in our state (all kinds of words are used like developmental and processing).

 

 

We put her in private for grade 2 because due to budget concerns the public schools were going for maximum class sizes. Becuase she is extremely sensitive to noise and any type of chaotic environment we thought the small class size would be beneficial. It turned out to be a disaster. She was socailly very unhappy and we found the private school to be very inflexible for example they played music during silent reading and you can imagine how distracting that would be to a dyslexic...they would not change their policy. There are many other examples but that one was such a thorn in my side I can't seem to let it go.

 

Her teacher has told me that my child is at the top of her class with the exception of reading and is actually baffled as to why we are looking at a school for dyslexia. We know our daughter is very gifted. She can take apart a television and put it back together, she wins countless art contests, her vocabulary rivals an educated adult. My worries are that she will never reach her potential and that her disabilty will keep her out of higher level classes. Already I have to fight for the gifted services even though via the WISC she is technically a genius. The biggest worry though is that things will catch up with her as school becomes more complicated and she'll begin to slide...and then all the things that come with it...low self esteem etc. She is extremely sensitive.....low self esteem would be a recipe for disaster down the road.

 

I really appreciate your suggestions of a 504. Definitely something to consider and pursue.

 

Aagain thanks to everyone who replied. This has been incredibly helpful.

[EKS]

It sounds like your daughter is 2E and at the moment is compensating very well. Whatever you decide to do regarding her school placement, you're going to want to keep remediating her reading until she is reading not just at grade level, but if at all possible, at >95th percentile (preferably the 99th) for her age.

 

Does the OG tutor assign homework to be done daily? If not (and perhaps even if so), it's important to have her read aloud to you daily starting with books that she reads easily and gradually progressing (over a period of years, if necessary) to more difficult material.

 

Also, which level ITBS did she take? Most of the 2nd grade test is read aloud by the teacher whereas the 3rd grade test is read by the student. If her reading is weak and she took the 2nd grade test, this could have an effect on her scores in the future (when she has to read it herself). The 2nd grade test is also untimed.

 

I also suggest that you get a 504 plan for her so that she can use a keyboard and word processor for writing assignments as well as extended time for tests.

[Beansmom2]

It sounds like your daughter is 2E and at the moment is compensating very well. Whatever you decide to do regarding her school placement, you're going to want to keep remediating her reading until she is reading not just at grade level, but if at all possible, at >95th percentile (preferably the 99th) for her age.

 

Does the OG tutor assign homework to be done daily? If not (and perhaps even if so), it's important to have her read aloud to you daily starting with books that she reads easily and gradually progressing (over a period of years, if necessary) to more difficult material.

 

Also, which level ITBS did she take? Most of the 2nd grade test is read aloud by the teacher whereas the 3rd grade test is read by the student. If her reading is weak and she took the 2nd grade test, this could have an effect on her scores in the future (when she has to read it herself). The 2nd grade test is also untimed.

 

I also suggest that you get a 504 plan for her so that she can use a keyboard and word processor for writing assignments as well as extended time for tests.

 

 

Yes we get homework from the tutor and try to review each night. My daughter needs to be in bed by 7:30 (always so tired puts herself to bed)so sometimes it is a struggle to get it all in. We read 20 min but alternate paragraphs.

 

Really really good point on the ITBS. She took them Oct of this year (she is in third). My guess is they were the 2nd grade tests. I must clarify with school as that would make a huge impact on scoring. If so I will really have to pursue the 504 in elementary if that's the route we go as all advanced placement for middle school is based on grade 5 ITBS scores with no altennative testing accepted. Accomodations will be very important. Thank you so much for mentioning that.

 

We are waiting on results of COGATS. I'm still struggling to get her into the gifted program but making some progress with WISC scores at least I have their attention. School though is holding out for COGATS (which are not read to kids in grade 3) before they decide. The results could be very interesting.

 

I am so glad I found this forum.

[momtotkbb]

Do you have a copy of your state's gifted education law - if they have one - it's not mandated for all states to provide gifted ed and many do not have a law that directly applies. If you live in a state that does you need to get your hands on it, if you don't already. My oldest ds's COGAT scores weren't high enough since his LD's came into play on a paper/pencil test - here gifted ed doesn't begin here until 3rd grade. The school originally tried to tell me he didn't qualify - but I had already done my research and had a copy of the state law for gifted ed -- I knew that there were alternative measurements that could be used and went to bat bec a WISC or SB score is far more accurate for IQ than the COGAT. Most gifted ed in elementary is just simply enrichment and teaching of logical reasoning skills. But, if your state is like our's our ds would not have qualified for Honors coursework in middle school w/out having been in the GT program in elementary.

 

Is hsing an option for you? If so it sounds like you could far more address her learning strengths and weaknesses at home. While we didn't hs our oldest - our other three who are 2E are all being hsed.

[Beansmom2]

Do you have a copy of your state's gifted education law - if they have one - it's not mandated for all states to provide gifted ed and many do not have a law that directly applies. If you live in a state that does you need to get your hands on it, if you don't already. My oldest ds's COGAT scores weren't high enough since his LD's came into play on a paper/pencil test - here gifted ed doesn't begin here until 3rd grade. The school originally tried to tell me he didn't qualify - but I had already done my research and had a copy of the state law for gifted ed -- I knew that there were alternative measurements that could be used and went to bat bec a WISC or SB score is far more accurate for IQ than the COGAT. Most gifted ed in elementary is just simply enrichment and teaching of logical reasoning skills. But, if your state is like our's our ds would not have qualified for Honors coursework in middle school w/out having been in the GT program in elementary.

 

Is hsing an option for you? If so it sounds like you could far more address her learning strengths and weaknesses at home. While we didn't hs our oldest - our other three who are 2E are all being hsed.

 

I think they will accept the WISC score ultimately but she may need more than just a high score on an achievement test to qualify. She needs a high motivation and creativity score (not sure what tests they use but she bombed the Torrance in Grade 1)...and at least a 96 composite on ITBS (which she has). I believe they are waiting on the COGATs because if the scores are high enough they will wave in without other criteria. They could be very high....with my child you never know where she'll end up. We will see where it goes. But I will get her in this year that I know. I will see about the state law. Its funny it really matters to my daughter. She wants to be in the program. She knows she is smart. She knows she belongs there.

 

I have thought of homeschooling and looked into a few times. I always came back to the realization my child needs the structure of a traditional school. Also despite her quirkiness she is very social.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Beansmom2

[EKS]

If she doesn't do well on the CogAT (and it can be a problem for 2E kids), insist that she be allowed to retake it with appropriate accommodations. You'll need to do a 504 plan for that. With a dyslexia diagnosis, she should be able to get someone to read it to her (as it is not a reading test), someone to fill in the bubble sheet if that's a problem (or be allowed to circle the answers in the test booklet), a testing area with reduced distractions (like by herself in the counselor's office), and extended time.

[Beansmom2]

Today I received a ltter from the dyslexia school we recently applied to. As part of the process they have a two hour evaluation/testing with each applicant. After testing they concluded her performance was higher than their typical rising 4th grader and in their opinion she does not need a full time program. They gave some helpful suggestions such as adding a writing tutor to the current schedule.

 

So I guess I have my answer. Thanks for listening.