Slow in decision making and processing skills (Woodcock-Johnson test)

[Jamberry77]

Hello,

My son, a new ninth grader, recently completed his first ever Woodcock- Johnson test which showed him to have slow decision making and processing skills.  This showed up in his fluency tests (any thing that was timed was so slow).

 

Grade equivalent for math fluency (speed) was 3rd grade; writing sentences was 6th grade.  Everything academic was either grade level or higher.  All the fluencies were elementary grade level.

 

At this point I'm contemplating putting him in public school so that he can get the extra time he needs, get a testing accommodation, and have real teachers for physics (the area I think he might go into). 

I was told that we can go to an educational psychologist to get a testing accommodation (for ACT/SAT) for him.

We do use a curriculum provider which is extremely flexible in how we educate our kids.

 

My son has always hated school work and has had trouble with the process of reading, taking notes, and answering written questions (and math speed).

 

My older son told me that going to public school wouldn't hurt him, and that public schools aren't as bad as I think they are.  (He's a new college freshman at a big public school.)

 

The ninth grade son does like being around people, and goes to two different youth groups at church and is in mountain bike races. 

 

Two questions:  what have you done in homeschooling to help your slow child, and how did you get enough work done to call it a high school subject? I'm worried we might not cover enough material.

 

Second:  I'm looking for reassurance that keeping him home would be best, or assurance that public high school has really helped your slow child.  I've sort of ruled out one local charter that has a reputation for lots of homework.   My son already gets about 2 hours of free time a day, and we do the minimum for each subject to accomplish that.  He could never cope with no free time.  Also, one school has 90 minute classes.  How will my son cope with that?  At home he takes frequent activity breaks. 

 

Please forgive my unorganized plea, and just tell me what comes to your mind.

 

Jamberry

[PeterPan]

On my phone so being brief, but your problem is you're wanting an IEP or 504, which takes 120 days, but already into the school year. Also some public schools will not count anything homeschooled toward their diploma. So that's the first thing to find out, what the timeline is.

 

Sounds like he's bright with SLDs , which makes home better anyway. So yes evals, but where to school is your choice. What do you need to fix?

[Storygirl]

Elizabeth is making some important points.

 

Check your school district to make sure they will allow high school students to switch from homeschooling to enrollment partway through high school. In some districts, students have to start at ninth grade even if they have completed some of high school at home already. Find out what is allowed in your area.

 

If new students must enroll as ninth graders, and you think you may want to have him go to school at some point in high school, you will need to enroll him ASAP.

 

Her other point is that it takes time to get a 504 or IEP in place at school. It is not automatic, even though you have a private evaluation report. The school will need to go through its own process of evaluating for learning issues, and part of that process is often putting the student in the general classroom with no support at first, so that the teachers can make their own observations. Schools value teacher observations more than parents'. If he does well enough, they can deny that he needs to go through their evaluation process. Parents have the legal right to request evaluations, but schools can deny if they do not agree that evaluations are needed for the student.

 

As a homeschooler, you have an advantage. The school district is legally required to evaluate all students in their district who are suspected of having learning disabilities, even if they are homeschoolers. Because you have a private evaluation report, you have evidence to support your request that they evaluate him, and they don't have grounds to deny evaluating him.

 

That probably seems confusing. Why can they keep him from being evaluated if he is in school, but would do it if he were homeschooled? Because they have a set process that they go through for their students, and it relies heavily on teacher input. They will want to wait to evaluate him until they have teacher input, and they will also say that they need to have him in the classroom for a bit first to make sure that he has been properly taught, and that his limitations are not due to improper instruction (this seems offensive to homeschoolers but is part of the law).

 

Basically, he will have to enter school with no accommodations and show them his limitations before they will agree to evaluate. Obviously, there is a huge disadvantage to this, because he has to show that he cannot learn without extra support. Basically, he has to fail or really lag behind his peers. And as a ninth grader, that will affect his GPA.

 

SOOOOO.... unless you live in an area where you must start high school at ninth grade, it would be better for you to continue to homeschool him and request the school to do evaluations while he is homeschooling. As part of the process, you can ask what accommodations he would receive if he were to enroll in school. Then, if you think it would be helpful to him, enroll him. Because the district will have evaluated him as a student with learning needs, they will then have to offer him accommodations with a 504 or IEP from his first days in the classroom.

 

He can then start high school with the help he needs.

 

I hope that makes some sense. If you decide to request evaluations from the school, either as a homeschooler or after enrolling, people here can help you with the process. To give you a little start, here is the federal timeline (schools can complete the process faster if it suits them, but they can't miss the deadlines).

 

*Parent requests an evaluation by writing to the special education department of the local school district.

 

*30 days -- Time the school has to decide if they will evaluate. They can deny if they don't believe there is enough evidence. Or they can have the parent sign a form giving them permission to move ahead. Either way, they are required by law to respond in writing.

 

*90 days from then to conduct the testing and gather information. Before that 90 days end, they must present their findings in a written report to the parent and the rest of the IEP team. That report will say whether there is a learning disability (according to their definitions -- they don't have to agree with the private testing).

 

*30 days to write the IEP if one is needed.

 

So unless your school chooses to act faster than required by law, it is 120 days (calendar days, not working days) from the time you request evaluations to the day the IEP is finished. And if they deny the initial request, saying they need to gather data from the classroom teachers and make sure that the problems are not due to inadequate instruction, it can take even longer.

 

We had private evaluations in hand and put in our request for evaluations before the first day of school last year, and it was March before we had IEPs in place. Because they denied our initial request and made our kids prove the extend of their disabilities in the classroom before they would evaluate. It stinks that schools can do this, but it is very common.

 

Edited September 7, 2016 by Storygirl

[Heathermomster]

Hello,

My son, a new ninth grader, recently completed his first ever Woodcock- Johnson test which showed him to have slow decision making and processing skills. This showed up in his fluency tests (any thing that was timed was so slow).

 

Grade equivalent for math fluency (speed) was 3rd grade; writing sentences was 6th grade. Everything academic was either grade level or higher. All the fluencies were elementary grade level.

 

At this point I'm contemplating putting him in public school so that he can get the extra time he needs, get a testing accommodation, and have real teachers for physics (the area I think he might go into).

I was told that we can go to an educational psychologist to get a testing accommodation (for ACT/SAT) for him.

We do use a curriculum provider which is extremely flexible in how we educate our kids.

 

My son has always hated school work and has had trouble with the process of reading, taking notes, and answering written questions (and math speed).

 

My older son told me that going to public school wouldn't hurt him, and that public schools aren't as bad as I think they are. (He's a new college freshman at a big public school.)

 

The ninth grade son does like being around people, and goes to two different youth groups at church and is in mountain bike races.

 

Two questions: what have you done in homeschooling to help your slow child, and how did you get enough work done to call it a high school subject? I'm worried we might not cover enough material.

 

Second: I'm looking for reassurance that keeping him home would be best, or assurance that public high school has really helped your slow child. I've sort of ruled out one local charter that has a reputation for lots of homework. My son already gets about 2 hours of free time a day, and we do the minimum for each subject to accomplish that. He could never cope with no free time. Also, one school has 90 minute classes. How will my son cope with that? At home he takes frequent activity breaks.

 

Please forgive my unorganized plea, and just tell me what comes to your mind.

 

Jamberry

My DS is an 11th grader with 3 SLDs and tests gifted. Son came home for 7th grade because we were exhausted. He was an A student and studied all of the time. His teachers did not understand his dysgraphia and were pills about his use of a word processor. Bringing that child home saved us both.

 

Son types most of his work and carries a laptop to all outside classes. He reads and comprehends well, but he is slow, so we use audio books for all of his text books. DS reads and listens to books simultaneously using Immersion sw on the iPad and increases the audio speed up to 1.5 or 2x.

 

DS uses apps like Evernote, Quizlet, and Inspiration sw. We are currently exploring speech to text options for analysis type essays. He has taken the ACT once and with extended test taking time. I basically provide all the accommodations that any publicly funded university would provide. DS is entirely comfortable with his devices. Our local high school is a disaster and uses a block system for classes. Honestly, I have neither the time or patience to deal with teachers and staff, especially when their graduation rate is barely 80%.

 

He carries an Echo Smartpen for subjects like chem where it is not feasible to type his in-class notes. His teachers provide extended test taking time. When I select son's coursework, I generally choose curriculum that combines video lectures and text. DS is currently taking an online drafting course and playing tackle football.

 

These kids can and do thrive when they are given appropriate instruction and accommodations. DS is able to take outside coursework and subjects at home. Son remains in close contact with his old classroom friends and is active with our church youth group. He volunteers and serves in several capacities. He hikes, hammocks, and long boards. DS designs and builds his ideas. He would not be able to pursue and develop his outside interests if he were sitting in a public school. I'm interested in his long term spiritual and intellectual growth. We just don't have time to be bothered with whatever the local high school is doing.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Heathermomster

[Sneezyone]

Following.

[Jamberry77]

Thank you Heather, Storygirl, and Elizabeth.  Wow.  You answered my questions and gave me additional info.  After reading your responses, and looking into the local public schools' websites and reviews, I think we're going to stick with homeschooling.  Also, I called our curriculum provider and she told me that it's fine with them if he does more video learning than text reading, as long as he's writing about what he learns, as in "what is important about this." 

 

Question for Heather:  what are "immersion sw" and "inspiration sw"?

How does your son use Evernote - to take notes, or for other things?

The Smartpen sounds amazing.

 

Thank you all so much!

 

 

[Heathermomster]

Thank you Heather, Storygirl, and Elizabeth.  Wow.  You answered my questions and gave me additional info.  After reading your responses, and looking into the local public schools' websites and reviews, I think we're going to stick with homeschooling.  Also, I called our curriculum provider and she told me that it's fine with them if he does more video learning than text reading, as long as he's writing about what he learns, as in "what is important about this." 

 

Question for Heather:  what are "immersion sw" and "inspiration sw"?

How does your son use Evernote - to take notes, or for other things?

The Smartpen sounds amazing.

 

Thank you all so much!

Immersion software (sw) is where the device highlights the word while the word is spoken.  Immersion is avaliable on certain Kindle Fires and through VoiceDream sw.  

 

Inspiration is mindmapping software that may be used on the iPad, PC, or other Mac product.  You are going to need to explore mindmapping.  Many types of mindmapping sw are available, so you just need to look around and try a few.

 

EverNote works across multiple platforms.  We use it for assigning school work, reminders, and webclipping for research papers.  To sync the info across the platforms, you need Internet access.  I use EverNote on my Android phone to assign DS work.  You can use Siri on an iPod and speak notes directly into EverNote.  

 

The sw for the Echo Smartpen can be tricky.  We use the cheapest, simplest Echo Smartpen available. 

 

Ipad apps like Notability allow the user to annotate PDF files and record audio.  Tech is changing at a record clip to assist our students.  The trick on the parent's side is to select tech that is not a distraction to our students (and other students) whenever possible. 

Edited September 8, 2016 by Heathermomster