Specific Learning Disability...

Crick - My 7th grader was dx'd with dyslexia in 3rd grade. For the past four years, he has been using the Wilson Method for reading and has made significant gains. While he is not yet reading at grade level, the differential has reduced each year. Some things to consider for an IEP... 1. Test materials is read to the student. 2. Increased testing and homework time for work involving a significant amount of reading. 3. Use of a "word bank" when taking fill-in-the-blank tests. 4. Waiver or accomodations during state testing. 5. Set of textbooks at home to allow for pre-reading familiarization for new units. 6. Preferential seating in the classroom to allow for "near and square" positioning to the board. 7. Use of a notetaker (aide) during class or the ability to receive printed lecture notes from the instructor. I will probably remember some of his other ones, but this will give you a good start. Sam

Those are great ideas, thank you!! Starting next year he'll do the state testing etc., so do I add that now or wait til next year to add it about the testing time etc? He's in 2nd grade and extremely visual of course. Do you know of things for the primary ages I should ask for? Like for spelling tests (HEADACHE...poor kid has been on the same spelling words for weeks now, despite my best efforts and his best efforts) He is sooo frustrated and tries so hard. :( I don't know if I can ask for things like "no word problems during math" or ask for an alternative, or what that alternative would be. He is grade level for math and loves math, but now that they are getting into word problems and the school implemented the "Everyday Math" cirriculum, it's really not a good program for kids with learning disabilities imo. I know I can't ask for a different cirriculum though. shoot! lol! Can I ask for things like "if the answer to the question is correct, he should not be marked off for backward letters or numbers?" For example...those timed math tests they take, he knows 3+6 = 9, only he'll at times write that 9 backwards, and they mark it wrong. Sorry for all the questions....dyslexia is completely foreign to me and I'm trying to learn all I can about it along with the IEP stuff to ask for at once.

Crick, I think it is fine to ask those things. I would go ahead and put in something about state testing now, because usually an IEP is revised once a year, and depending on when the state testing is, it might not be revised in time next year.

I highly recommend a book by Sally Shaywitz, M.D. titled "Overcoming Dyslexia." It offers a great explanation of what is going on and then the "plan" for teaching a child to read. I initially found it at the library but after reading it, I had to buy it. The main thing to remember about Dyslexia is that it is an auditory based disorder, not visual. The treatment must include auditory training to get the best results. Dyslexic kids usually cannot 'hear' that words are made up of individual sounds, they only percieve the whole. Before they can ever decode a word or spell one, they have to really get the idea that the word is made of pieces. If you want more specific activities for working on that, let me know. Teaching dyslexic kids to read is my passion. I hope you and your child find all the resources you need.

Mat....so the phonetics basics the draft has in his IEP is a correct format then? To teach him how to hear the sounds? It makes sense now that you put it this way because he does everything based on seeing and touch, rather than processing what he hears. Even if I break sounds down he has difficulty, so I probably just added to his frustration. lol! oh vey! I will definitely check out that book, thanks!:)

Yes, phonics is definitely the way to go. All of the phonological awareness activities are useful. Some activities that you can do: 1) count words in a spoken sentence (on fingers or tap/clap out) 2) break a word into syllables by pausing in between and have him put it together (eg: cow-boy, ta-ble) 3) play I spy with initial sounds (I spy, with my little eye, something that starts with sss) starting out with a limited number of items or pictures 4) count syllables 5) sing banana fana fofana or Willabee Walalabee or other rhyming song you know 6) do alot of nursery rhymes with emphasis on the rhyming words 7) change words in a familiar song to words that rhyme to make the song silly (sprinkle sprinkle little car how I thunder what you jar, cup above the squirrell so fly...) 8) overteach letter sounds. Use large letter cards on the floor (6-10 at a time) and jump to the m, hop 3 times on r, put the s on the chair, pick up the t and turn around 2 times, put the m on your head, etc. 9) point to each word when reading aloud to your child 10) play checkers with letters on the board, say the letter sound you land on with each turn. I could go on but I'd probably bore you to death. A good book with these kinds of ideas is "Games for Reading" by Peggy Kaye. She also has "Games for Writing," "Games for Learning," and "Games for Math" which are also good.

Thank you soo much! I think he'll have fun with all of these and hopefully his frustration will start to subside just a bit very soon. I know he thinks he's stupid because his peers are so far ahead in reading/writing and we are working on that as well. I told him that the "everyone else way and the school way" of teaching him was not right for him and that after Christmas break they were going to start teaching him the "T way". "They named a way for me??" LOL! He's excited about that as well as seeing the high test scores we hung up on the wall for him to see. He's very bright, just needs to realize he is. Again...thank you! I'm in a completely different world right now so learning everything I can.

Like yours, my son also has dysgraphia. Here's some NON-academic things he can do. Play with playdough. Work with K'nex (or Leggos). Take piano lessons. LEARN TO TYPE! (There are lots of fun computers programs for this, including Mario Brothers.) Take karate, which is fun and will help with hie overall coordination. Another thing you can ask for in your IEP is an Alpha Smart. It's a small keyboard that he can use to write. At his age, you will want him to do some manual writing, but the sooner he learns to keyboard and use an AlphaSmart, the better. Definitely get a second set of textbooks. Also take him shopping and let him try a TON of pens until he finds one that works for him. You can also buy a grip that fits on pencils, to help him hold it correctly and write easier. Most dysgraphic kids have grip problems and hold the pencil, their arm and everything TOO tense and TOO tight. (My son used to break pencil points all the time, and un-informed teachers thought he was doing it to be a pain.) Please feel free to PM me, since I have been dealing with this for many years -- my son is now 17 -- and have had my son in private schools for dyslexic students. I think I know most of the tricks and tips by now! Robin

How interesting about the pencil advice. They did note that he grips correctly, but presses down extremely hard. I will look up Alpha Smart, never heard of that. So typing you feel is helpful to him, or is it more that the earlier he learns, the better for later?

Glad Robin mentioned the grip. C uses a triangular grip on his pencils. It creates enough of a gap in his grip that he cannot overgrip the pencil/pen. I can get them at any office supply store. Other nice feature - they can't roll off the writing surface. Sam

Crick, I must have missed all this during my absence from the boards. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Special Education! :cheer: LOLWe are in a similar situation with J. Over the summer he was diagnosed with specific learning disability, language processing disorder and a suspected auditory processing disorder. Add that onto everything else and we have a 28 page IEP to work with.I've found that J's intervention specialist, occupational therapist and speech therapist have been a wonderful source for information on how to help J at home. And they have been very in tune with the self-esteem issues. My J is also very bright, but struggles to keep up with his peers as well. He's getting better at not comparing himself to them, but it still happens sometimes.The writing bit is actually starting to get better now that J is learning cursive. I thought it would be harder for him, but he said its easier now that he doesn't have to keep stopping. Good luck with T. I hope the IEP really helps him.Blessings,Jenny

Thanks, Jenny!:) Those IEP's are long, but I don't think we have 28 pages! lol! Wowza! The 2nd meeting went well and they didn't really have any issues with the things I asked for or asked to be removed from his file. I did find it really interesting that the 2nd meeting went much better than the first. I was extremely put off in the 1st meeting by their almost "refusal" to focus on what the actual diagnosis is (dyslexia) as well as them not being specific enough for me. They spent over an hour doing their "presentation" and answered questions. Then basically said "here's the form for you to sign" and when I balked, the OT did speak up and said we could take it home to read first before signing. (which in my mind is what they should tell you FIRST and had I not known that I had a right to take it home, and felt forced to sign it...sheesh) During the 2nd meeting, armed with more info and research I had done, they figured out pretty quick I wasn't a "run of the mill" type parent.;) I asked them point blank to confirm that it is dyslexia and they said "yes, but we can't put that in the IEP because it's not recognized as a true LD and he won't qualify for services". Now how sad is it when the powers that be in our nation cannot recognize how harmful they are to the very process they design and implement supposedly in order to HELP kids?? Oh vey..I think I have another platform now. lol! They are already using the alphasmart with him and they are also using 2 computer programs which they gave me the names of so I could download for home use. We also figured out the alternative to the spelling tests, which his teacher kind of disagreed with, but the learning teacher agreed with and I was able to get it in that he cannot be marked off for the backwards thing. If he does it backwards, they need to verbally confirm with him the spelling and he got all but 1 right doing it verbally. Now if we can just get his self esteem boosted...sigh. The initial excitement of the "T Way" has lost it's flavor and it's WORK. lol.

Yeah, the self esteem thing is killer. Sometimes J seems to be doing great then the nest day he comes home crying because he is so stupid. :( It's heartbreaking, but it does seem to get better everyday.