Worried that my curriculum isn't meeting my goals for my 8th grader (Xpost)

[Tiramisu]

I had a surprise 8th grade hser this year. It was unexpected and I just pulled things of the shelf. She has a very short attention span and little motivation (and a possible medical issue we are investigating), but through tweaking the materials and schedule, she's been getting her work done most everyday.

 

We had to drop CLE Reading because she really hated it. But I have a concern with reading, and it's that I haven't seen that she's made progress in reading since she went to ps in third grade--when she was advanced--until she came home this year. I thought that she could read for history and science, but often it's been me reading it aloud, and I have it scheduled on a loop so we're hitting only one thing at a time and that means she's not getting something *good* to read everyday, KWIM?

 

We have an appoinment today to help us figure out her difficulties. But in the meanwhile, I'd like to start her reading something more challenging, even if it's just fifteen minutes a day. I just need to do it in a way that won't overload her and feel like she has even more work.

 

Also, she's a great writer, but she's skimping and can somewhat get away with it with the materials I'm using because the expectations for output aren't clear. I chose Lingua Mater because I wanted her to be exposed to more beautiful things, but I don't know if it's working as far as writing goes. And I have grammar covered with EG+, which is finally starting to click. I noticed with writing, when she had an assignment to do for an outside religion class, she pumped out a decent five paragraph essay in very short time with no stress. I almost think she needs clear expectations like that, versus what she's getting in Lingua Mater.

 

So those are my worries about reading and writing. Math is covered since CLE is working for her and I decided I will probably continue to proceed through the 800 level rather than move onto algebra.

 

Any thoughts?

[OneStepAtATime]

If she is not reading well with History and Science, could it be she struggles to extract meaning from non-narrative sources?  Perhaps she needs more explicit instruction in how to do that?

 

 DD really struggles with this.  Her AGS textbooks help because they have step by step, explicit instruction in how to read a textbook, but she still needs some scaffolding or meaning may be lost.  Maybe you could run her through the Critical Thinking Company Reading Detective materials.  It helps the student see how to effectively extract information.

 

When you say you want her to read something more challenging, are you talking about a more advanced level of novel?  Non-fiction for information?  ....?  Does she read anything for pleasure?  I wouldn't mess with her pleasure reading, if she does that, except to maybe provide her with a variety of quality literature to choose from.

[Tiramisu]

If she is not reading well with History and Science, could it be she struggles to extract meaning from non-narrative sources?  Perhaps she needs more explicit instruction in how to do that?

 

 DD really struggles with this.  Her AGS textbooks help because they have step by step, explicit instruction in how to read a textbook, but she still needs some scaffolding or meaning may be lost.  Maybe you could run her through the Critical Thinking Company Reading Detective materials.  It helps the student see how to effectively extract information.

 

When you say you want her to read something more challenging, are you talking about a more advanced level of novel?  Non-fiction for information?  ....?  Does she read anything for pleasure?  I wouldn't mess with her pleasure reading, if she does that, except to maybe provide her with a variety of quality literature to choose from.

 

She doesn't really read anything for pleasure anymore, not like she used to, and I find that very sad. She listens to music a lot instead, and she will read un-published novels, not necessarily high quality stuff. I wish she would read for pleasure again, like she used to.

 

I've never worried too much about her reading comprehension since she was such a precocious reader in her early years, but maybe I should. What I noticed in some of the work she did in CLE and in Lingua Mater is that she doesn't always get figurative language. I didn't suspect that as an issue since she seems fine with it in speech.

 

It might be worth getting Reading Detective or the Seton Comprehension books to confirm she's okay. 

[PeterPan]

When you say you have an appt today, you're getting a psych eval?  That will be good.  You've suspected spectrum or kissing the spectrum, right?  So then issues with comprehension would be a given.  She might have had strengths at a young age that allowed her to *mask* her weaknesses.  As the material got harder, she pulled back.  So you need thorough language testing to see what's going on.  

[kbutton]

I recommend Figurately Speaking. It's standalone, but if you google, you can find resources that bring in short stories or other literature. It's also fun.

 

I hear the CTC materials are good--we used Inference Jones, but I've not used Reading Detective. They have a new one for history that is for older students, I think. It looks promising. http://www.criticalthinking.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=world+history+detective 

 

I really, really, really like The Reader's Handbook. It doesn't have to be done in a schoolish way. The red one with the hang glider on the cover is for grades 6-8. It teaches reading skills explicitly, and it has a TON of graphic organizers to help with the thinking skills necessary to build good study habits and comprehension, reading for information, etc. My son loves it, and we're using it with middle school kids at co-op in a small group format. Our group is diverse, but even the NT and very smart kiddo is struggling with some skills. Your daughter is not the only one. 

 

I would require her to read certain things each day, but start pretty close to what she's used to reading and work up to harder stuff. It's not just reading ability--reading harder stuff requires more concentration. Reading easier stuff is a quick reward. I don't read up to my aptitude level for recreational reading because I just don't care to. I sometimes listen to it though. My fun reading is to turn off my brain. If I have to work, it's not fun anymore. So, some of it is personal taste. I do enjoy reading harder stuff, but not unless I just set out to do it, and if I'm going to work at it, I'd rather just read non-fiction. 

[Tiramisu]

When you say you have an appt today, you're getting a psych eval?  That will be good.  You've suspected spectrum or kissing the spectrum, right?  So then issues with comprehension would be a given.  She might have had strengths at a young age that allowed her to *mask* her weaknesses.  As the material got harder, she pulled back.  So you need thorough language testing to see what's going on.  

 

We saw a neurodevelopmental pediatrician, a very experienced one. I liked her. She does not think she's on the spectrum but agrees with the ADHD dx and thinks that's what I'm seeing, even when it's spectrumish stuff. She made a referral to a psychologist who does that specific testing, but she thinks an np eval would be better time spent. Unfortunately, she doesn't think insurance will cover it because it would be fore educational reasons primarily. She also warned me if I get an np eval, the ps may not recognize it...relevant if she decided to go to a b&m high school.

 

[MyLittleBears]

Could your concern be worded differently for insurance purposes? A lot of times we as parent don't see the social/behavioral differences in our children, especially if they are subtle. It's not until it affects academics that it becomes apparent to *us*. I know this is was the case for us. Your nd pediatrician only gets a snippet of your dc and gets most of their info from what you are telling them. 

[texasmama]

I am in love with Figuratively Speaking and think all middle schoolers should do it.  (or high schoolers...or adults who never learned that stuff)  So incredibly user-friendly, interesting, and fun!

[Tiramisu]

Could your concern be worded differently for insurance purposes? A lot of times we as parent don't see the social/behavioral differences in our children, especially if they are subtle. It's not until it affects academics that it becomes apparent to *us*. I know this is was the case for us. Your nd pediatrician only gets a snippet of your dc and gets most of their info from what you are telling them. 

 

Unfortunately, it was her wording on the visit summary. :(

 

Yeah, there's educational impact but real life impact is much greater, IMO.

[kbutton]

We saw a neurodevelopmental pediatrician, a very experienced one. I liked her. She does not think she's on the spectrum but agrees with the ADHD dx and thinks that's what I'm seeing, even when it's spectrumish stuff. She made a referral to a psychologist who does that specific testing, but she thinks an np eval would be better time spent. Unfortunately, she doesn't think insurance will cover it because it would be fore educational reasons primarily. She also warned me if I get an np eval, the ps may not recognize it...relevant if she decided to go to a b&m high school.

 

 

If you are having behavioral/life impact issues, I would be calling the insurance company to ask. I think they can code things as anxiety or autism or whatever, and it can make a difference. 

 

If the life impact is worse than the educational impact, I would seriously consider the ASD follow up over the NP evaluation. The public school will probably accept the eval, but it may not get you an IEP. It probably would get a Section 504. An SLD diagnosis or other diagnosis from an NP or some other professional is taken into consideration, but the public school wants to see educational impact to give out intervention. That's not the same as the school not accepting things. You might need to look at the law a bit. 

[Tiramisu]

If you are having behavioral/life impact issues, I would be calling the insurance company to ask. I think they can code things as anxiety or autism or whatever, and it can make a difference. 

 

If the life impact is worse than the educational impact, I would seriously consider the ASD follow up over the NP evaluation. The public school will probably accept the eval, but it may not get you an IEP. It probably would get a Section 504. An SLD diagnosis or other diagnosis from an NP or some other professional is taken into consideration, but the public school wants to see educational impact to give out intervention. That's not the same as the school not accepting things. You might need to look at the law a bit. 

 

I went through a huge ordeal with insurance company over my oldest's testing and provided 200 pages of documentation of medical issues. But the insurance company still did not accept the appeal to cover the np eval, though dd's college accepted the results for accommodations.

 

In school, this dd wouldn't be tested without a fight because she wasn't failing. We were in that situation before and the DP warned us about that, too. In her visit summary, she mentioned the word "subtle" more than once in reference to follow up testing for learning difference. The ADHD is not subtle, though.

 

I wasn't clear about the school not accepting things. It has to do with the evaluator being state certified. If you go to one of the certified places independently for testing, I think the school has to accept that documentation. If you go to an np or an non-state certified place to do the tests, theoretically they could refuse to accept the results to put an IEP in place. She was warning me that I could possibly be in the position of getting an np eval (and paying $$$$) and still having an issue on the school end if they aren't certified. Not that she didn't want me to get the np eval. It was her first recommendation, but she just wanted me to be prepared.

 

I had asked the DP how she would prioritize things given that we have a lot going on, and she said the np eval would be her first recommendation, because the np might very well do the same tests as the ASD psych and we might save ourselves time and aggravation...given we have an OT eval this week and possibly continued therapy and we're still dealing with the questions of the rapid heart beat, regular therapy, etc. Of course, the ASD eval would be covered by insurance and the np wouldn't, but I'm afraid dd would burn out if I do too much now. The other thing is I'm not even sure an np eval is finacially possible right now.

[Tiramisu]

The really nice thing I found out at the DP's visit was that math is now dd's favorite subject. Who would have known?!!

[wapiti]

FWIW, where we live, there isn't a problem with our district accepting an NP's results; the type of doc made the recommendations doesn't really have an impact.  However, our state has rules about IEPs - no services (except for speech) unless academic performance is well below grade level and AFAIK that requirement is without regard for the type of eval or type of diagnosis.

 

504 plans are easier to get.  My ds has a 504 for a medical issue (restricted PE due to heart condition) but he lost his IEP for OT services back in K.

 

It just so happens that I was making edits to my ds's 504 plan yesterday (correspondence with school) and I still have the document open.  If it helps anyone, the relevant language looks like this:

 

1.  Does the student have a physical or mental impairment?   ☒Yes â˜No

(Indicate the impairment(s) considered and provide information explaining the Team's determination. Attach and upload the evaluative data collected for eligibility determination.  )

 

2.  Does the student's documented physical or mental impairment impact the student in one or more of the following major life activities? ☒Yes â˜No

â˜Caring for One’s self â˜Learning â˜Concentrating

â˜Performing manual tasks â˜Working â˜Thinking

â˜Walking â˜Eating â˜Communicating

â˜Seeing â˜Sleeping ☒Other:

â˜Hearing â˜Lifting         Exercise                       

â˜Speaking â˜Bending

â˜Breathing â˜Reading

 

3.  Does the impact substantially limit this major life activity? ☒Yes â˜No

Describe the impact and the data considered in determining impact.

 

4.  Does the identified disability impact the student’s access to the general education programs and services of the school? 

☒Yes     â˜No   (Briefly explain)

 

5. With these considerations, is the student disabled under Section 504?   ☒Yes â˜No

(*In order to be considered disabled under Section 504, all questions 1-4 must be marked yes)

 

Section 504 Service Plan

 

If a student is determined to be disabled under Section 504, the Team must proceed to determine necessary services, modifications and/or accommodations.

 

1. Describe the student's needs as related to the identified disability: 

 

2. Corresponding Accommodations and/or Services and Person’s Responsible:

[Tiramisu]

Big news!

 

I called the np that the dp recommended. She sounded wonderful! We are scheduled for an np eval! 

 

She is in-network for us, and there could be a chance that insurance may cover it because dd has had a concussion and has had frequent headaches for years. I have to get the medical records from the hospital and bring them to our current pediatrician, who has to make the request. Even if that doesn't work, her prices are more reasonable than I expected.

[Tiramisu]

dp