IEP or 504?

[onaclairadeluna]

So the neuropsych report is in and it confirms everything I have observed. My son is officially a 2e dyslexic. Verbal and Perceptual IQ are off the charts and working memory is also really high and then there is processing speed (insert ominous music here). (14th percentile:tongue_smilie:)

 

She did the battery of Dyslexia tests. He did great on some, even phonological processing (probably from 10 years of barton).

 

However single word reading and sight words were at a 3rd grade level (with other reading scores in the 96th percentile). He's 14 and reading Ancients right now. He read Dickens in the 6th grade so he is a good reader. At least when he is reading a book. Not as good with disorienting standardized tests and apparently really bad at individual words.

 

And then there was rapid naming, yikes! Rapid picture naming was in the less than 1st percentile.

 

So the neuropsych has confirmed dyslexia and even calls it a reading disorder.

 

We also did a speech evaluation. She documented word finding problems but her tests did not show anything that would qualify for an IEP through speech because she didn't give any timed tests. Expressive language was WAY lower than receptive but not enough to qualify for anything (except a few articulation problems).

 

She gave me a book on word finding exercises that we could do at home to help him get a little faster and more automatic with getting words out.

 

Anyhow that is the update. I am still waiting on the initial IEP part 2. I am not sure how easy it will be to get an IEP but I got the feeling that I probably could if I pushed. He has significant enough challenges especially when compared to his potential. The question I have is, is it worth the effort to push an IEP rather than a 504? Really my main goal in all of this was to get extra time on tests. Still, I want to do everything I can for my son, so if and IEP would be better, than I'll try to encourage the team to move in that direction.

 

I am still waiting for the special ed report (she did the achievement tests) I have a feeling they will find a problem with writing but we'll see. He is not a terrible writer but I imagine he will test poorly. He says standardized tests were dreamed up to torture kids like him. They test everything he is bad at and nothing he is good at. We'll see. In the meantime I want to be prepared and figure out what I should be asking for (if anything).

 

Thanks for any advice.

[FairProspects]

It is very hard to get qualified for an IEP around here - you have to be 2 standard deviations or grades behind. Our neuropsychs said ds was far too functional due to the 2E (and it sounds like your ds is too) to qualify. Do the neuropsychs think an IEP is a realistic possibility given the funding limitations? Schools around here are cutting Spec. Ed. like crazy. We're just going for the 504.

[herekittykitty]

From what you've described I think he'd definitely qualify for an IEP. My son is younger (7) but is also dyslexic and 2E, and he got one without a problem. Have you looked at www.wrightslaw.com? It was recommended to me, and I learned a lot from purchasing a few of their books. They're really helpful to read before you meet with the school, because then you know your rights, the schools position, and they also give good ideas on how to negotiate without ticking people off.

 

For us, the IEP process took awhile. I know that's how it's done, but I felt frustrated, like we were wasting valuable weeks of education. We also had a private neuropsych eval, which I shared with the school. But of course most schools still must do their own evaluation to prove a student is discrepant from their peers and therefore "entitled" to special education. Our school had to collect data over a course of 4 weeks. It was all very precise - truthfully, a little too much for my liking. But that is how it's done. ITA about them testing everything my son has difficulty with. If they gave him a vocabulary test, or scientific reasoning, now that would be great.

 

Anyway, then we all met again to go over the results, and they explained what he was qualified for. I was pretty unimpressed with that part - basically they proposed pulling him from the classroom at different times for smaller group or individual instruction in the pull-out room, called the learning lab. The same curriculum and methods are used. That was the main reason we started homeschooling with dual enrollment. We felt doing more of the same, just in a different setting, was not the answer. I think we could have pushed back a bit, but we just decided we would rather invest our energy into our son's education at home than fighting an uphill battle with the school. I would definitly recommend taking someone with you when you meet with the school. Take notes. Also definitely don't sign anything they propose right then and there. If you did decide you are looking for testing accomodations via a 504 plan, the process may go a lot faster. Usually those can be implemented pretty quickly.

 

p.s. This is the specific Wrightslaw book I got on IEPs. Most of their publications are available at Amazon and you can get them for your ereader:

http://www.amazon.com/Wrightslaw-Peter-Wright-Pamela-Darr/dp/1892320207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335131785&sr=8-1

Edited April 22, 2012 by herekittykitty

[herekittykitty]

I realized I forgot to answer your main question - about whether or not it is worth it to push for an IEP. If you want more than just the extra time on tests, I would ask for it. If that is all you want, then just do the 504. If you do decide on the IEP, I would ask for the accomodations you want to be implemented now, informally, while the IEP is being written. Sometimes you can do that directly with the teacher if you have a good relationshp with him/her. Also keep in mind that if you don't ask for an IEP now, and decide later that he needs one, the school may have to start the evaluation process all over.

 

A couple of other thoughts - does your son have an ideas about what he wants to make life easier in the classroom? My DS really wants a "helper" ie an aid, but he is also too high functioning to get that. I always ask him though because often he thinks of things I did not think to ask for.

[RamonaQ]

Around here, you would seek an IEP if you want the school to provide services (speech, etc...) Otherwise, if you are seeking accomodations...extra time on tests, reader or scribe, alternative methods of response, reduced workload, etc... then a 504 should suffice.

 

I would say at the high school level, and also having a 2e dyslexic son and looking at high school in 1 year ourselves, I would think a 504 would suffice.

[rafiki]

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[onaclairadeluna]

Thanks for all of the replies. The question that I still have is

What services might be helpful for him? Is there anything that the school could do to help him with his remaining issues? Or is helping him at home sufficient. I have a friend that is an SLP. I think I'll ask her opinion.

 

Half of me thinks that extra time would be fine. It is certainly my primary goal. However I was a bit surprised that rapid naming was in the less than 1st percentile.

 

I am wondering if I should evaluate for vision problems (is this something I would be able to get the school to do). Perhaps there is some visual processing problem going. How do you proceed in having this evaluated? Does it make sense to look at this. Mostly it's word finding but he it was picture naming that was the lowest and although still pretty high his block design was significantly lower than other perceptual reasoning.

 

Other things I can do to help with word finding. I don't mind doing them myself. Slow is fine but I think his retrieval problems still frustrate him. The SLP gave me "Help for Word Finding" so that's where I plan to start.

[RamonaQ]

I think the question you would even want to ask is what is special ed at the high school. What services do they provide? The high schools around here no longer provide speech, etc...Those are elementary/ middle school. Here special ed/ IEP provide tutor/ homework help in a block of time in the student's school day.

 

Generally for low processing, accomodation is the only thing as there is no remedy or cure. Although I may have heard others on this board say contrary. However, our neuropsy team told us there is no therapy etc for low processing...just accomodation.