Bad PS good PS - what does it mean & implication to students w/ LD

[Ummto4]

My first ds is going to be a high schooler next year and I may send him to PS. He has a mild LD - borderline ADD (almost, but not yet .. according to his NP), low processing speed (16%) and low working memory (can't remember). He had visual problems, but it's so much better now after a year of visual therapy. These impact his work. He can do the work, but he's slow to understand, slow to memorize, and slow to work.

 

We live in a good school district in HOuston suburb (FOrt Bend), but we're zoned to a not so good high school and middle school (scored 5 and 6 respectively by greatschool website). Granted, they are still better than some schools in the inner cities, but compared to most schools in our district, these are in the bottom 20%. I'm thinking of moving, but hubby doesn't want the hassle of moving.

 

Hubby thinks that it doesn't matter where a child goes in high school. A student will always succeed if he or she  works hard during  college years and not partying. He said that people drop out of hard majors in college because they don't want to work hard. Hubby himself managed to rank third in his computer science degree when he's in France by working 3x harder than the French because he's a foreigner who just learned French a year before his college entrance. I agree with him (how can I not ? He defied the odds) , but in my opinion, good schools tend to have better demography and is located in a better neighborhood, so they can give harder contents to the students. Hence, better college preparation and better odds in succeeding in college.

 

I say, if a student is a bright and good student, then he can get to AP/IB classes even in a not-so-good school and get decent college prep courses. But, students like my son, will likely be placed in regular classes which will be low quality (not college prep quality) in bad schools. HEre I assume that regular classes in good public schools are college prep quality.

 

SO my questions are:

 

- Am I right here ?

- Hubby said that our mild LD son will be stressed out in good schools, so it's better to go to the school we're zoned to, and then transition him to a CC then to local univ (U of HOuston, which is a decent univ in Texas). He said that U of H won't be as hard as Texas A&M or UT Austin, so I better relax and trust that our son will be able to survive college. Is he right here ?

- Since I'm not familiar with American high school (we're both immigrants), I'm wondering how the students are placed ? Is there any placement test to determine who go to regular, honors, or pre-AP/IB classes ? Or all of these depend on middle school report cards ?

- I also worry of the quality of his peers (morality and attitude)  if he's placed in regular classes in a not so good school. Am I right ?

 

What's your thought ? Good school, or not so good school for a mild LD person ?

PS: By good public school, I mean public school with score of 8 in greatschool website and is generally recognized as a good quality school. Certainly not the top ones where competition is cut throat and students cheat to survive.

 

TIA.

 

 

 

 

 

[DawnM]

It completely depends on the school, the staff, how well they accommodate him, etc......

 

Our local school is always rated in the top 3 for the entire greater city area.  Sometimes it is #1, other times it falls to #3, but the top 3 don't change, and are very similar

 

I wouldn't put my LD kid there if you paid me.  They don't want my son with LDs.  One VP even commented that my son would "bring down the testing average."  I don't think I was meant to overhear him but that solidified my decision to keep him home.

 

It will fully depend on your kid, the way your district deals with LDs, the staff and how willing they are to work with him, and the kids at your school.

 

Since you are looking at NEXT year, I would spend a few months doing your homework.

 

1. DO you know anyone else with a child in the school?  Anyone with LDs?  Start asking questions.

2. Go to the school, meet with a guidance counselor or an Assistant Principal, express your concerns, and see what they say.

3. Call the district office and meet with someone who oversees the special education department and see what they say.

 

and most of all:

 

4.  Start working on an IEP or 504 plan with them NOW.  it takes forever to get it in place, so having it well before summer is your best bet.  Summers are difficult to get anything done as they have a skeleton staff and waiting until school starts next year will be very frustrating as he may not have it in place until Thanksgiving of next year. 

[Veritaserum]

First, learn about 504 Plans or IEPs. Your son would probably qualify for one or both. These are contracts of sorts with specific accommodations that will help your student be able to learn. My 15yo has a 504 Plan for anxiety and ADD. It lists things like needing assignments in written form, being able to draw to keep hands busy and to manage anxiety, among other items.

 

When my child was 13 and went to public school for the first time, they placed based on my recommendation (advanced for English, regular for math). Other schools may have placement tests. When my child switched schools to an IB school, they also asked me for recommendations on course levels. Very few schools in our area are IB schools. This is a charter school. The regular high schools have AP, but not IB. A major reason we switched my child to the charter school is because it is very small (~30-35 students per grade level, 150 kids in the whole high school). The local high school is much larger (400-500 students per grade level). My child has high anxiety around large groups of people, so a smaller school is more manageable. A larger school, however, will likely have more programs to offer.

 

Community college after high school for a child with mild LDs is probably a really good idea. It will be less pressure. There are accommodations he can get approved through whatever college that are similar to a 504 Plan or IEP. It's called something else. I can't remember. Unless my child's condition improves a lot over the next three years, the low pressure state university (used to be a community college) is the most likely college option. After a year or two of that, my child may transfer to a more rigorous school. I think that's unlikely, though.

 

In the next few months, you should be able to meet with a counsellor at your zone high school to ask your questions. Find out what's needed to get a 504 or IEP. Placement tests might be given in the spring for fall classes, so that would be good to know now as well.

[Laurel]

I agree that it depends on the school. Dss was living with us last year, attending a public school system that is consistently among the top in the country. His teachers were great, and on the surface the sp ed team was very accommodating and worked with us. (We had meeting after meeting...) This year, dss is living with his mom, a different school system, and this one provides much more of the scaffolding he needs. I am less impressed with his general teachers, but the sp Ed team (esp the woman that works directly with him) is phenomenal.

 

I was sure that our top school system would be the best for him, but having seen both in action, I think he has a better chance of being successful at the other school, because of the teacher he has (who will stay with him through high school).

[Ummto4]

The special ed. system -- is it district dependent or school dependent ?

 

How do I compare the special ed. system between two schools or two districts ?

 

Thanks

[Veritaserum]

Each school will have its own special ed department.

[Farrar]

My understanding is that those Great Schools ratings are, in large part, pure test scores. It's such a small measure of a school. Some "mediocre" schools will have great special ed programs. Others won't. You just need to ask around, visit, etc. A bad school with no support for your kids' needs *will* potentially really have a negative impact... but moving to the district next door won't necessarily buy you the school you dream of and that rating system can't tell you if it will or not.

[Jann in TX]

In Texas they require the special ed students and the high number (in many districts) of ESL students to take the same end of course exams as the 'regular' students and all are averaged together for the rating. Because of this a VERY GOOD school can have a low rating.

 

Like the other posters have suggested, I also recommend meeting with the school (vice principal and special ed teachers).  You will need to bring in your previous testing results and if necessary, they will arrange for additional testing to see what services they can provide your son.  

 

Our local district has a high rating, but they were not able to provide services that were 'adequate' for my oldest dd (so we continued to homeschool her through high school and she was SUCCESSFUL in college!).  The district would have had her in all regular classes but with a free 'pass' to go to the 'resource room' where ONE teacher was available to help ALL of the special ed students-- first come basis.  Most students never received support!  We are in a small district and larger districts are often able to provide additional support.

[Starr]

You may need to find someone local to walk you through the system. I have rarely heard of a school that sets up a plan and everything is followed and works well. You will need to be very involved. What percentage of each school students goes/completes college? With his learning issues I would consider homeschooling through high school. Either you teach or you follow up daily with teachers and daily homework . It's great you are thinking about this now.

[KungFuPanda]

Those ratings often reflect the student demographic more than the quality of classes or teachers.

[wapiti]

You've gotten a lot of great advice above.  I think individual fit is far more important than a school's test scores, for any child but especially for a child with learning issues.

Edited November 24, 2015 by wapiti

[gardenmom5]

has he had an assessment for an auditory processing disorder?  the "low processing speed" make me wonder if apd therapy would help. 

 

there are three different kinds - all of them can affect processing speed. (and it only takes one to cause problems.) it could also be behind his add-type challenges.  what therapy depends upon the particular type of disorder.  speech processing and auditory processing are in opposite hemispheres.  an inefficiency in one, can cause problems.

subtypes - (brief descirption from what his audiologist gave me.)

prosodic - inefficient right hemisphere, affecting sounds/volume - difficulting with pragmatic elements of communication (re: facial expresions, subtle intonation, sarcasm)

auditory integration - inefficient communicaition between left and right hemispheres (or as I used to joke about dudeling - his GUI and his HD don't like to talk to each other.  and that's exactly what his evaluation found.).  it's characterized by slower processing speeds. difficulty with multi-step directions, multisensory tasks, etc.

auditory decoding - inefficient left hemisphere. difficulty interpreting sounds - especially with background noise.  difficulty with reading/phonics, confusing words, learning new concepts.

 

testing was in two sessions - one extremely thorough hearing test to rule out an organic hearing problem. and the 2nd to determine what areas of hearing were not working right.  then we went to a SLP to determine course of treatment.

now's the time to look at your insurance for what they'll cover for therapy.

[wapiti]

has he had an assessment for an auditory processing disorder?  the "low processing speed" make me wonder if apd therapy would help. 

 

there are three different kinds - all of them can affect processing speed. (and it only takes one to cause problems.) it could also be behind his add-type challenges.  what therapy depends upon the particular type of disorder.  speech processing and auditory processing are in opposite hemispheres.  an inefficiency in one, can cause problems.

subtypes - (brief descirption from what his audiologist gave me.)

prosodic - inefficient right hemisphere, affecting sounds/volume - difficulting with pragmatic elements of communication (re: facial expresions, subtle intonation, sarcasm)

auditory integration - inefficient communicaition between left and right hemispheres (or as I used to joke about dudeling - his GUI and his HD don't like to talk to each other.  and that's exactly what his evaluation found.).  it's characterized by slower processing speeds. difficulty with multi-step directions, multisensory tasks, etc.

auditory decoding - inefficient left hemisphere. difficulty interpreting sounds - especially with background noise.  difficulty with reading/phonics, confusing words, learning new concepts.

 

testing was in two sessions - one extremely thorough hearing test to rule out an organic hearing problem. and the 2nd to determine what areas of hearing were not working right.  then we went to a SLP to determine course of treatment.

now's the time to look at your insurance for what they'll cover for therapy.

 

Low processing speed as measured on, say, the WISC is rather specific and doesn't have an auditory component (except to the extent that it involves talking to oneself inside one's head); typically it involves a motor angle (coding subtest) and scanning/tracking (symbol search).  It wouldn't surprise me if there were some connection between low processing speed and auditory processing via an underlying issue with sequencing, but I'm not seeing an explicit connection.  Were you able to get measurements for the speed of the types of processing you mention?

 

Can you describe what APD therapy you are referring to?  I'm only aware of listening therapy (as in Tomatis-style) and I thought that one was too controversial for coverage (we paid out of pocket for OT combined with listening therapy for two of my kids many years ago).

[City Mouse]

In the Houston area you have so many option that might not be available in other areas that I woulnt be too concerned about the quality of the local high school. Have you looked at some of the charter schools? Unless you have other reasons to move, I would not do it just to change high schools, because so many factors go into making a "good" school. You might move and the principal of the school could change and change the whole atmosphere of the school.

 

There are several strong community college programs in the Houston area. Lone Star College even has programs specific for college age students with disabilities. Univ of Houston my be easier to get admitted to than the more "popular" Texas universities, but I would not say that the course work is "easier". While not as huge as UT or A&M, even 25 yrs ago it had the super large 250+) freshman lectures that you would find at any big university. Some programs are quite competitive. It really depends on what he decides to study. University of Houston Downtown (which is actually a different university) has open admission and more supports for non-traditional students. One benefit to.UH is that he could attend part time living at home if he can't handle a full time load of courses

[gardenmom5]

 

 

Can you describe what APD therapy you are referring to?  I'm only aware of listening therapy (as in Tomatis-style) and I thought that one was too controversial for coverage (we paid out of pocket for OT combined with listening therapy for two of my kids many years ago).

 

 

we did tomatis a few years ago - it did actually help a little. (our provider seemd kinda spacy. she was also working on her clinical psych doc.)   iLS is a more developed form.

 

he has received some non-specific therapy through the local elementary school - and I have seen a significant improvement in both his prosodic (now 80%) and auditory discrimination (100%) .  but what they do does NOT support auditory integration at all (or at least not enough to help him adequately.  he still only scored 52%.)  I've also had him in a lot of bilateral activities - as that requires both sides of the brain/body to work together and will support those pathways.

 

the one we will be doing first is CAPDOTS. (http://capdots.com/)  it is 12 - 16 weeks, about 30 minutes a day.  progress is usually noticeable by 8 weeks.

 

two other types - depending upon specific disorder and rec'd course of tx are:

 

fast forward (http://www.scilearn.com/products/)

brain pro.  (https://www.brainsparklearning.com/)

 

both are also in the home, 30 - 40 minutes per day for 8 - 12 weeks.

 

there is also a basic listening therapy that is done in the home, 30 - 40 minutes, for 6 - 10 weeks, with a program customized by a SLP.

 

all require a 'training partner' to work with the person receiving auditory training.

 

[Plateau Mama]

I haven't read all the responses but I would not put a whole lot of value on the great schools website.

 

My experience is it depends on the school. Our neighborhood school was the top school in the state when my kids were there. Top test scores, top teacher etc. I hate that school with a passion. My two older kids both had a miserable time. One is highly gifted and went into the gifted program at another school in 1st grade. The other has learning issues and had a 504. I pulled him in 2nd grade to homeschool. Ironically, the school with the gifted program was the "least desirable" of the schools in the area and it was our favorite, by far.

 

The thing you want to look at is what % of kids has 504/IEP plans. Our top school was under 1%, which we thought was great,and it is if your kid doesn't have special needs. the teachers/staff just don't know how to implement the accommodations, they don't know how to deal with kids coming and going for extra help etc. You want a school that has a decent % of 504/IEP students. My friend taught at a different school and she said it was just normal for kids to be coming/going throughout the day.

[gardenmom5]

I haven't read all the responses but I would not put a whole lot of value on the great schools website.

 

My experience is it depends on the school. Our neighborhood school was the top school in the state when my kids were there. Top test scores, top teacher etc. I hate that school with a passion. My two older kids both had a miserable time. One is highly gifted and went into the gifted program at another school in 1st grade. The other has learning issues and had a 504. I pulled him in 2nd grade to homeschool. Ironically, the school with the gifted program was the "least desirable" of the schools in the area and it was our favorite, by far.

 

The thing you want to look at is what % of kids has 504/IEP plans. Our top school was under 1%, which we thought was great,and it is if your kid doesn't have special needs. the teachers/staff just don't know how to implement the accommodations, they don't know how to deal with kids coming and going for extra help etc. You want a school that has a decent % of 504/IEP students. My friend taught at a different school and she said it was just normal for kids to be coming/going throughout the day.

 

I agree.  there are schools that are only interested in their ratings.  we have a few schools in our district that are optional.  my son *really* wanted to go to one.  (his friend was going there because his sisters were there.)  I really didn't want him there, I thought it was a bad fit. even though  it was entirely lottery to get in, he got in.  horrid year.  they didn't want anyone who wasn't a dedicated student in their school - and made their lives miserable. the school pysch told me, to my face, his (as yet undiagnosed cause) 'stomach aches' were school stress, and he should be at a different school.  "children's hospital doesn't think they're stress related".  she shut up. (he had a pinched nerve in his spine).  they also refused to do any testing for LDs - because they didn't want to offer any services.  I put him in our neighborhood middle school - which was a far better school.

 

since it was 6 - 12, I started looking at where their graduates went to college. I wasn't impressed.  My girls both did IB dips at a different high school - they had much higher standards and higher outcomes.

[Storygirl]

I agree that you should talk to the schools and others in the community to see what services they offer to struggling students. We recently moved and had to choose between two school districts. We did not choose the very highly rated, super academic school district, because we heard that they don't like to work with special needs kids, and that children who struggle in class are marginalized socially. So you can't assume that a school that is highly rated for rigorous academic is also a good fit for average-to-struggling students. On the other hand, in the area that we moved from, the highly rated school was also known for good special ed. So it really varies.

 

You'll have to do some investigating. Visit the schools you are considering. Talk to people you know in the community about their experiences. Some schools have a kind of parent council on special education, and if your district has one, you could contact them or go to meetings (ask the school if there is such a thing in your area).

 

I also agree that you want to have an IEP or at least a 504 in place before he enters the classroom. Not every student with learning issues will qualify for an IEP; the school must evaluate, and there is a long process involved (120 days from official request until an IEP is in place). Schools must evaluate homeschoolers for IEPs, but they do not all provide services to homeschoolers. Legally, your local school must work with you to evaluate your son, whether he is a homeschooler or is enrolled, so that is a good place to start. As you work with them this year to create an IEP, you may get a better picture of what they will be able to do for him in high school and whether they are going to be able to work with his needs.

 

The bottom line is that the school district can make a big difference in whether your child succeeds or not. Some are better than others. You are right to be questioning whether your school will be a good fit. While the average student may be able to work hard and make the most of any school opportunities at any school they may attend, it's not true that a child with special needs can thrive anywhere. Your husband can't expect to equate his own experiences with what might work for your son, unless your husband has the same profile of learning differences.

[Dmmetler]

I would agree that it can be really relative. For example, I taught at a school for several years that had absolutely LOUSY ratings based on test scores. However, it was a focused literacy optional program. What that meant was that every kid had Slingerland phonics instruction in the early grades, and LD specialists were all OG trained as well. If you wanted OG and had a kid who needed it, there was no better place to be, and we got a lot of kids who had transferred to us after struggling and failing elsewhere. Kids who weren't struggling readers often found the pace of the general classroom to be too slow, and transferred out-in a district with lots of school choice options.

 

The result was that we had a steady stream of kids coming in who were failing, improving, making gains-and often transferring out when they were solid. Looking at individual kids, the school was doing a great job. Looking at test scores in aggregate, we were not, because they didn't reflect that 5th grader A had been at the 1st grade level at the start of the year and was at 3rd grade level by testing time-and that 5th grader B, who had failed the reading test in 3rd, been retained and had been with us for 3rd the 2nd time and 4th, is now back in his neighborhood school because he had gained enough skills and strategies that he'd been accepted to a science magnet.

[bettyandbob]

If you want to do this you have to start the IEP process now. If you wait until spring nothing will get done and nothing will be in place when your ds is to start school in the fall. There are timeline the school must follow once a referral is made. The school has a certain number of days (30?)after a referal to meet and discuss whether not the student should be evaluated for services. If the committee decides that the student should be evaluated, there will be more days (90?) before all the evals have to be finished and the committee meets again. Then, if they decide your ds qualifies for services, you will schedule to prepare and IEP, after the IEP the committee including you determines what the appropriate placement for the services the student needs is. Each step in the process is drawn out. So, you have to start now. 

 

The good thing about starting now is you can get familiar with your school and start to get a feel for the special education services environment. Hopefully, that will be positive. As others have said it really comes down to the individual school not the reputation of the district. You need a principal who leads the way on making sure students get what they need. Some principals are very inflexible. When you deal with such a school environment and you can find yourself in a fulltime unpaid disability rights advocacy position quoting federal law daily. 

 

Please note, even if you find the best place ever, it can change overnight. The principal can retire and suddenly the  whole atmosphere becomes negative. This happened to me and it is horrible witnessing a child loose skills across academic and nonacademic areas. I removed my child from the school, but it took years to recover some skills and some skills we may never get back. 

[Plateau Mama]

Also keep in mind when they say 30 days, that is 30 school days. In our case my son was referred in November. I think we had his initial meeting right before Christmas. Then they had x amount of time (I think 60 but I cant remember), but between Christmas, Midwinter-break it was almost April before his plan was in place.

[Veritaserum]

It does take a long time to get a plan in place. We initiated the request for a 504 Plan in July, right after we were notified my child was selected in the charter school lottery. We signed the final draft last week. It would have been finalized sooner, but my child was hospitalized for the first half of October. It was ready at the same time we decided we needed in patient mental health treatment.

[Storygirl]

Also keep in mind when they say 30 days, that is 30 school days. In our case my son was referred in November. I think we had his initial meeting right before Christmas. Then they had x amount of time (I think 60 but I cant remember), but between Christmas, Midwinter-break it was almost April before his plan was in place.

 

According to federal law, it is 30 calendar days, not business days or school days.

 

30 days after the initial request for them to determine if there is enough evidence that there might be a disability to warrant evaluations (as a homeschooler, you would need to be prepared to give them the evidence)

 

Then 60 days for the school to conduct the evaluations and decide if there is a disability.

 

Then 30 days to write the IEP.

 

Total 120 days.

 

But schools do find ways to try to draw the process out. To ensure they follow the federal guidelines, you have to be willing to stay on top of things yourself and make sure they do everything by the book.

 

We are in the middle of this process now.

 

OP, you might want to post on the Learning Challenges board. There are many helpful and knowledgeable people who post there.

[Tsuga]

 

- Am I right here ?

 

I don't think there's one right answer. There's what works for some and what doesn't work for others. It is impossible to predict the future for your own son.

 

- Hubby said that our mild LD son will be stressed out in good schools, so it's better to go to the school we're zoned to, and then transition him to a CC then to local univ (U of HOuston, which is a decent univ in Texas). He said that U of H won't be as hard as Texas A&M or UT Austin, so I better relax and trust that our son will be able to survive college. Is he right here ?

 

I don't know about your son being stressed in "good" schools (I would rather say, high-performance schools), but i do agree that for a kid who is not going to be in that top 25%, he will be just fine in a less competitive atmosphere in which he has a peer group that will join him for CC and then to local UoH. I think others have great specific LD advice.

 

- Since I'm not familiar with American high school (we're both immigrants), I'm wondering how the students are placed ? Is there any placement test to determine who go to regular, honors, or pre-AP/IB classes ? Or all of these depend on middle school report cards ?

 

It depends on the district, but generally, there is some testing and performance into AP-IB classes, but would this be on your radar? I don't know of any district, and I know some rural areas with low averages, where a kid who is consistently in the middle could take AP-IB or honors courses, because those are for kids who go fast and can manage the material. So I wonder why this is a concern.

 

- I also worry of the quality of his peers (morality and attitude)  if he's placed in regular classes in a not so good school. Am I right ?

 

What's your thought ? Good school, or not so good school for a mild LD person ?

 

I think that you want a school that will be able to work with your son to achieve his goals.

 

PS: By good public school, I mean public school with score of 8 in greatschool website and is generally recognized as a good quality school. Certainly not the top ones where competition is cut throat and students cheat to survive.

 

​Great schools is an algorithm that's game-able. On the whole, the GreatSchools rankings are directly and almost linearly related to zip code income, so really, a 10 means nothing more than "We have a lot of kids who have every advantage here." And by the way--my kids are in 10s. And they are advantaged, we are not rich but we prioritize education. So I don't criticize GreatSchools bitterly, since we got the good deal. But you have to realize it's not about teaching quality and it's not about how they meet kids where they are. It's VERY much about where kids come from. Yes, diversity, etc. factor into it, but not much.

 

For example, comparing two high schools in our district, the one that has the lower ranking actually sees kids with learning disabilities do BETTER on average than the kids with LDs or disabilities at the higher ranked school.

 

You can see this if you go to GreatSchool's "Report Card".

 

The overall rankings don't mean a lot.

[PeterPan]

Ok, I'll just toss this out, because I'm not really sure I understood your original post.  Are you considering ADHD an LD, or are you saying he has a diagnosed SLD on top of the ADHD?  Or you're saying he has ID?  Because many people with ADHD do not have learning disabilities.  DSM5 will diagnose SLD reading (dyslexia), SLD writing (dsygraphia), SLD math (dyscalculia), etc.  I don't *think* ADHD is considered a learning disability.  Difference, yes, disability, no.

 

Agree with the others who said you're likely to get a 504 but might not push over to an IEP.  

 

Also agree that you would want to make your formal, written request for an IEP NOW.  In the spring the schools are SWAMPED, utterly swamped.  Don't do that.  Make the request now.  It's 120 calendar days from when you make the written request, so you're still 4 months out.  You'll know at that point what they would do and whether you want to be there.  If you go through the process in your school district and decide they are NOT a good situation for him, you can move and get it updated at the new school or reject and have the new school do the 504/IEP.  It just gives you the best way to get in there and see what they'll really do for him.

 

Now I'll be blunt.  You know his IQ scores, sounds like, and you know what he's bent toward.  By the time he's a sophomore or junior, the two things you're going to be valuing are *individuality* (ie. the unique things he does) and *dual enrollment*.  Homeschooling gives you time for both.  So I know you're looking at this, maybe having some problems, and saying LET ME OUT!! You *might* find that, when you calculate it out that way, you can actually achieve what is *more* valuable to him more easily with homeschooling.  Is he going to want to dual enroll?  When?  How much?  Will being in the ps allow that?  States are changing their laws, but it's something to sort through.  In our state now you actually can do enroll MORE if you're in the ps.  It's just something to sort out.  And for uniqueness and individuality, it's something colleges will look for.  Does he need time for unique interests?  My dd has ADHD.  She's downstairs sewing another costume right now.  I have NO CLUE how all this comes together for her, lol.  I sweat it every night in fact!  But I know she has time to pursue these unusual interests that make her unique.  

 

I agree with your dh, btw, that putting the dc through an AP, rough rough experience might not be ideal.  My dd loves to learn, has avid interests, but the low processing speed would make it exceptionally hard for her to crank out essays for an AP exam.  So she could work all year, have it boil down to a couple hours with one test, and BOMB.  For her, dual enrollment, guaranteed credit by being physically in the class, makes a LOT more sense.

 

And yes, feel from to come over to LC.  We don't bite.   :)

[Plateau Mama]

According to federal law, it is 30 calendar days, not business days or school days.

 

30 days after the initial request for them to determine if there is enough evidence that there might be a disability to warrant evaluations (as a homeschooler, you would need to be prepared to give them the evidence)

 

Then 60 days for the school to conduct the evaluations and decide if there is a disability.

 

Then 30 days to write the IEP.

 

Total 120 days.

 

But schools do find ways to try to draw the process out. To ensure they follow the federal guidelines, you have to be willing to stay on top of things yourself and make sure they do everything by the book.

 

We are in the middle of this process now.

 

OP, you might want to post on the Learning Challenges board. There are many helpful and knowledgeable people who post there.

It quite possibly could have changed but when we did it (8 years ago) it was calendar days.