Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Heather Bryant on October 23, 2011 at 9:08am

I'm wondering about this also. I want to ask for an IEP but I don't know what to ask for. He doesn't need speech, vision or OT, He needs extra help in reading and writing ( orton-gillingham prefered) and even math facts that need to be memorized. My school district is talking insolvency but I want to stand up for my Rights to a free education.
What kind of therapy or resources will my school district have access too for dyslexia?

Permalink Reply by JayneC on October 23, 2011 at 10:04am

We have been in the midst of all this for 4 years now.... We have asked for Orton - Gillingham and we are not getting that since I don't think any of the teachers are trained, but we were also told that ALL of the teachers are trained in phonics. I don't know what that actually translates to in terms of using phonics with the students because I have never seen it happen.

We get Sp. Ed...but it is more for "organizing thoughts" rather than working on keyboarding or comensatory skills for severe dysgraphia. As for Math, we introduced Math the Fun Way, which we taught our child, but implementation at school has been inconsistant. I think it is hard for the classroom teacher to reinforce a program that they are unfamiliar with.

In Speech, they work on "th" rather than "f", which my dd can do in a setting where she is told, "say these words with a "Th"...but it does not translate to every day conversation.

I have attempted to explain the issues my dd has but it seems fruitless.

 

Permalink Reply by Lisa on October 26, 2011 at 6:39pm

My daughter, 7, was recently diagnosed with dyslexia.  We set up an IEP for her.  Her hand writing is very neat, and she can copy perfectly, but evaluations show she can not determine correct letter orientation and struggles with decoding.  Which makes spelling difficult, even simple words.  She works with an Occupational Therapist on computer skills using co-writer and dragon speak.  Until she is proficient in her computer skills, she has a teaching assistant in the class room during her writing time.  She also gets small group (3 students) intensive daily reading instruction in addition to class room reading instruction.  The last item is not considered special education, since her reading level is not low enough to qualify in the special education category. We just started this program and are planning on evaluating after 10 weeks to determine if she is progressing.  I am interested in knowing if anyone else has an IEP and what is working for their child?

Permalink Reply by JayneC on October 27, 2011 at 3:33am

You certainly have what sounds like great supports! We were told by our OT that she does not teach keyboarding skills so DD was d/c from OT. She does not qualify for decoding support because she reads above grade level (though if you read with her, she has tons of substitutions, skipped words, mispronunciations etc.)

 

At this point we are excited that the classroom teacher has been reading DA and is seeing DD in those pages...so maybe before the transition to middle school, we will potentially have an IEP that addresses her needs. We are hopeful.

Permalink Reply by Lisa on October 30, 2011 at 6:08pm

It is great that your daughter's teacher is reading DA!  Hopefully that will facilitate the creation of an IEP.   For us the biggest blessing and factor in getting her IEP, is having the diagnosis of dyslexia from her evaluation.  I have spent two years listening to educators tell me her learning issues are due to her "attentiveness" in class and "she has too much going for her to actually have a learning disability."  At least now she is getting support in the areas she needs.  I only wish there was a solid formula for what support is needed to keep her working at grade level.  

 

Permalink Reply by JayneC on October 31, 2011 at 3:21am

Lisa - We have heard those same comments about our dd. The diagnosis of dyslexia is hard to come by because the school can not offer that diagnosis as it is neurological and private testing is cost prohibitive. We did get the diagnosis on a consult, but without shelling out the big $ for testing, it was not offered in writing. Regardless, the teacher is reading DA and discovering alternative means of helping dd. The SpEd teacher has also ordered the book. It would be nice if there was a solid formula for support, There is such a diversity among people with dyslexia that it would be difficult to come up with a definitive formula.

Personally, I would like to see Reading Specialists get on board with phonemic awareness, OT's to get on board with keyboarding, Speech to work on phonemic awareness, and SpEd to work toward using alternative strategies for Language Arts and Math. (In my dd's situation anyway.)