Future Special Needs Teacher Wants Input

[dhfl143]

ldstudent posted this on LDOnline: "Hello,
I am currently working on my certification to be a teacher of students with learning disabilities, and I need to interview a parent of a student with a learning disability. I thought it would best to do this assignment anonymously in order to receive honest answers and reactions. The questions are posted below. If any parent, or a few parents would be able to take a few minutes to answer them, I would be very grateful. Thank you in advance for your time. If you would rather email me the answers rather then post them, just click the "email me" button at the bottom of this post and copy and paste the questions.
1. What is your child’s classification?
2. What is your relation the to the child?
3. At what age was the child when the classification was made?
4. How old is the child now?
5. Were there any early childhood traits that indicated the need for classification?
6. Does family history indicate anyone with the same classification as your child?
7. How was it brought to your attention that your child may needed/may need to be classified?
8. Do you feel that the matter was handled sensitively by those involved?
9. What types of programs/classes is your child enrolled in at their school?
10. Are you satisfied with the available programs at this school?
11. Are there any services that are not available at their school due to a lack of money?
12. How did the classification of your child affect you and your family?
13. Do you feel that your child has endured positive changes since being classified?
14. Do you think that the educational assistance being provided to your child is effective?
15. If you could, what would you change about the educational assistance that is being provided?
16. Do you feel your child may outgrow the current behaviors as they enter adulthood?
17. What is the most important piece of advice that you would pass on to other parents and family members of a newly or soon to be classified child?
18. Looking back, would you have done anything differently in relation to the child’s classification and schooling? (i.e.: a different school? different IEP provisions)
19. Has the child been socially affected by their classification?"

Anyone want to chime in and provide some input to help him/her out?

[healthy11]

I've helped other special ed teachers in the past, but now that my son is beyond K-12, I think it would be better for the parent of a younger child to answer these questions.

Dhfl, I know the person may not want to join another site, but I'd strongly encourage them to come over here and post anyway ~ they could "compare notes" with people like Bros, who is also studying to become a special ed teacher, and REALLY see what issues and concerns parents have!

[jisp]

Healthy in some ways those of us with kids beyond the k-12 age are the ones you want to talk to because we have perspective on what worked and what did not.

My son is a freshman in college so keep that in mind when reading my responses.

1. What is your child’s classification? SLD, OHI and ED
2. What is your relation the to the child? Mother
3. At what age was the child when the classification was made? My son was dx with SLD at age 8. He developed other neuro-psychiatric problems at age 11.
4. How old is the child now? 19
5. Were there any early childhood traits that indicated the need for classification? Trouble rhyming. Unusual behavioral challenges.
6. Does family history indicate anyone with the same classification as your child? Yes
7. How was it brought to your attention that your child may needed/may need to be classified? 2nd grade teacher requested an evaluation. My son was not classified as he is also gifted and the school said there was no problem. A year later I showed the eval to my neighbor, a child psychiatrist who told me that my child had a SLD. Later my child was at an LD school and the director of the lower school told me that something was not right. She encouraged us to take him to a psychiatrist/neurologist.
8. Do you feel that the matter was handled sensitively by those involved? At times
9. What types of programs/classes is your child enrolled in at their school? Private LD school, Resource room, separate contained program, tutoring, therapeutic school, cognitive therapeutic work.
10. Are you satisfied with the available programs at this school? Not Applicable. My son only made progress because of a mish-mash of services and programs that we fought hard to give to him over time.
11. Are there any services that are not available at their school due to a lack of money? My son was repeatedly denied an appropriate math curriculum because the school refused to buy it provide separate instruction in it.
12. How did the classification of your child affect you and your family? The classification had little effect on our family. The illness my son had and his disability had a HUGE impact on our family.
13. Do you feel that your child has endured positive changes since being classified? My son is in college. But he made progress not because he was classified but because we fought and fought to get him appropriate instruction.
14. Do you think that the educational assistance being provided to your child is effective? My son received very effective cognitive therapeutic work. It was paid for by health insurance and the school but it was provided by a private practitioner.
15. If you could, what would you change about the educational assistance that is being provided?NA
16. Do you feel your child may outgrow the current behaviors as they enter adulthood? My son has matured and learned how to manage his illness and to manage his SLD. I am not sure that he necessarily "outgrew" his behaviors. Instead he developed better strategies for coping.
17. What is the most important piece of advice that you would pass on to other parents and family members of a newly or soon to be classified child? Do not give up hope and fight fight fight to get your child the services and tools they need to be successful. At the same time give your child space and let them develop into who they want to be. Nurture their interests and their passions.
18. Looking back, would you have done anything differently in relation to the child’s classification and schooling? (i.e.: a different school? different IEP provisions) I probably should of listened to my gut and not trusted certain people who ended up doing harmful things to my son.
19. Has the child been socially affected by their classification? YES!!!!

[mamak]

1. What is your child’s classification? SLD with a secondary of ADHD
2. What is your relation the to the child? Mother
3. At what age was the child when the classification was made? 8 years old
4. How old is the child now? 15 years old
5. Were there any early childhood traits that indicated the need for classification? Yes but I was not aware that they were indicating traits until after he was classified. He had a lot of sensory problems with crowded places, sunlight, food and clothing, there were some speech indicators which we thought were hearing problems but he always passed his hearing tests at the doctors however we finally recently found it was due to his APD. He was very clumsy too.
6. Does family history indicate anyone with the same classification as your child? My brother was in special ed for other disabilities. I found out after my son's DX that my dad has dyslexia and my mom has ADHD...I found out I had ADHD after my son's DX and have realized my poor ability is not because I am stupid but just that I have undiagnosed dyslexia.
7. How was it brought to your attention that your child may needed/may need to be classified?
At the end of kinder teacher casually mentioned he was not retaining the sounds of the letters and I should ask for a referral if it continued in first. First grade teacher did not refer him because he made the reading test after multiple attempts by one word. Second grade teacher held him in at lunch and recess to finish his work because he was "daydreaming". When I asked for him to have his recesses returned to him and to send the work home I discovered he could not read the worksheets or do the work. I thought he could read because he always read books from home which he had memorized from reading with us.
8. Do you feel that the matter was handled sensitively by those involved? No because he was denied reading services because they did not test in all areas of disability. During the assessment the school nurse reported he had vision problem, I took him to the optometrist who felt he needed to be assessed for visual processing problems but school denied the testing and lied that it was their responsibility. The only services he received was "handwriting without tears" which was not effective and the RSP helped him finish his work.
9. What types of programs/classes is your child enrolled in at their school? He is currently receiving consultations with the RSP but no actual services. His remediation services for reading, OT and VT were from outside sources because he did not progress and often times regressed in the RSP programs offered in our district.
10. Are you satisfied with the available programs at this school? We were first denied reading services and by 4th grade his fluency level was that of a 2nd grader. After giving the school the opportunity to try their intensive reading program for half a year and results showed regression we elected to take him to intensive reading instruction through Lindamood Bell where he made several years progress in 7.5 weeks.
11. Are there any services that are not available at their school due to a lack of money? They will not claim lack of money because that is illegal...instead they provide faulty assessments that deny services based on the results...take child out of district for testing and you get the truth that there are needs...then you have to fight tooth and nail for services.
12. How did the classification of your child affect you and your family? I had to close my business which required travel in order to be home to make sure my son got to his OT, VT, and tutors. I made sure he was not left behind in the fourth grade by reteaching him his curriculum and assisting him in completing assignments with modifications instead of watered down modified curriculum they were attempting to provide to him. It has been a living hell since we filed for due process back in the 5th grade and even more of a problem with retaliation after they failed to provide services for half a year in the 6th grade causing them to owe my son compensatory services for that.
13. Do you feel that your child has endured positive changes since being classified? Not from the school
14. Do you think that the educational assistance being provided to your child is effective? NO, not in the past except for one year of RSP for writing after he learned how to read...it failed to bring up the fluency levels though which was part of the goal that year.
15. If you could, what would you change about the educational assistance that is being provided? I wouldn't of accepted it because it was not effective... I was forced to in order to prove that it was ineffective in order to get compensatory services paid by district. RSP teachers are often not trained to work effectively with dyslexic kids and or are not provided the programs which are effective. In light of the fact that every minute my son was removed from the general education program he lost the opportunity participate, learn the grade level standards and had huge blow to his self esteem and social life in order to participate in ineffective RSP interventions, I should of just gotten remediation outside. Districts think that RSP is a more restrictive environment however not being able to read and write is a more restrictive lifestyle for any student who is expected to read to learn and it must be remediated as swiftly as possible in order to not loose valuable class time and fall behind in grade level standards.
16. Do you feel your child may outgrow the current behaviors as they enter adulthood? I sure hope not he is very hardworking and diligent with his school work...he does have some social pragmatic problems which we are trying to deal with at home.
17. What is the most important piece of advice that you would pass on to other parents and family members of a newly or soon to be classified child? Don't trust the school assessments and progress reporting without getting second opinion from outside experts to make sure that the school is offering and providing an appropriate program.
18. Looking back, would you have done anything differently in relation to the child’s classification and schooling? (i.e.: a different school? different IEP provisions). It was my son's wish to remain in a regular public school. We honored this wish. It was not easy to do considering he had to attend intensive reading intervention for 2 summers and go to vision therapy and OT in the afternoons plus keep up with his homework. At one time I logged how many hours he was working on a week and it was 57 hours between school, homework, OT, VT, and travel to get there. He was in the 4th grade but that was what had to be done in order to catch up with what they had denied him through early intervention.
19. Has the child been socially affected by their classification?" Yes, especially in middle school where they began sorting the smart kids from the average kids. My son is also gifted so he lost out in this area and was denied classes with his intellectually gifted peers. He also broke down in 7th grade and told me he wanted to kill himself if he had to go to RSP because it was not helping and he was missing out on learning new things in general ed classes. When he had to go to RSP in middle school kids notice and there is a stigma behind it that you cant wash off. That is when he suddenly stopped being invited. Early outside intensive intervention would have been much better for this very bright kid but we just didn't know any better, we were mislead and all we received was progress reports stating "making progress" when he really was not despite the tutoring I was providing before I knew he had dyslexia and needed more specialized instruction. I can even say that my not being welcome at the school because of my advocating for his rights also inhibited my relationship with other parents...the school that my son attended was very much dependent on parent participation so when a parent stays away from a lot of the activities at the school other parents may not know why and may construe that as child coming from a unsupported home life and elect to have their kids play with other kids where they know the parents.

[michellea]

1. What is your child’s classification?
SLD (dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD)
2. What is your relation the to the child?
Mother
3. At what age was the child when the classification was made?
6
4. How old is the child now?
13
5. Were there any early childhood traits that indicated the need for classification?
Yes, slow language acquisition, higher receptive than expressive, naming issues, slow to meet gross and fine motor skills. I referred him to early intervention and he had EI services from 18 mos to 3 years. He had an IEP in the public school for OT and PT from age 2 to age 5.
6. Does family history indicate anyone with the same classification as your child?
Not officially, but we're pretty sure there are reading and attention problems on both sides (not parents)- undiagnosed
7. How was it brought to your attention that your child may needed/may need to be classified? I brought it to the school'a attention. They were willing to give him the "gift" of time and would have waited to evaluate.
8. Do you feel that the matter was handled sensitively by those involved? Yes
9. What types of programs/classes is your child enrolled in at their school? My son is enrolled in a private school for students with language based learning disabilities. It is a language based curriculum in all subject areas, small classes of similar peers (8 or fewer), supervised by a SLP and OG Fellow. He has 3 language arts periods per day including a one on one session.
10. Are you satisfied with the available programs at this school?
They couldn't be better.
11. Are there any services that are not available at their school due to a lack of money?
No
12. How did the classification of your child affect you and your family?The classification had no impact. The disability can create a lot of stress and work.
13. Do you feel that your child has endured positive changes since being classified?
Since he was awarded the current placement in the LD school (in 3rd grade), he has become more confident, an active learner, better reader and writer and is able to compensate. I do not believe this would have happened in the public school - regardless of the amount of services provided.
14. Do you think that the educational assistance being provided to your child is effective?
Yes
15. If you could, what would you change about the educational assistance that is being provided?
It would be closer to home. He has a 3 hour round trip commute in rush hour traffic.
16. Do you feel your child may outgrow the current behaviors as they enter adulthood?
I don't consider his disabilities behaviors any more than I would consider a person that is blind as having non-seeing behaviors. His disabilities are a neurologicaly based condition that may result in certain behaviors. He is learning to compensate for his disabilities and use strategies to help him work around his challenges. But, he will always be dyslexic, dysgraphic and have ADHD. It is the way he is wired. The issues cannot be "cured".
17. What is the most important piece of advice that you would pass on to other parents and family members of a newly or soon to be classified child?
Educate yourself on the law, the process and your child's disability. Advocate as if your life depends upon it. Don't take the information the school gives you at face value. Recognize that they have competing interests (money, other students, time constraints) that influence their recommendations and approaches. It is your job to hold the school accountable for FAPE. When things get complicated or emotional, surround yourself with a team of experts that can guide you and negotiate in a business like, unemotional manner.
18. Looking back, would you have done anything differently in relation to the child’s classification and schooling? (i.e.: a different school? different IEP provisions)
Not really - we caught it as early as possible, pressed for significant services early on, and ended up with the best placement possible. I am very grateful for the team and the district. It doesn't always go this smoothly.
19. Has the child been socially affected by their classification?"
If you are asking if there are social ramifications of having an IEP I would say yes. But, quite frankly, if we had ignored is issues, the "labels" would have been even more difficult. Since he is fully aware of his strengths and challenges I am sure he would say he'd much rather be identified as a student with dyslexia than a stupid, slow, lazy, trouble maker. The biggest social issue he faces as a result of his schooling is that his circle of friends are widely dispersed and not in the local community. This is an outcome of his placement, not the IEP or being classified as a special education student.

One note - I rarely think about ds's "classification". What really weights on my mind is his disabilities and how they will impact his life. Being on an IEP is a positive in my book - its one way to insure he gets the education he needs to have full life.

[bros]

Huh. Those questions look like some of the questions I have to get my parents to answer for next month for one of my sped classes.

[momfromma]

My son is a junior in high school.

1. What is your child’s classification? OHI and Language
2. What is your relation the to the child? Mother
3. At what age was the child when the classification was made? My son was dx with Language issues at age 5.
4. How old is the child now? 17
5. Were there any early childhood traits that indicated the need for classification? Difficulty differentiating opposite (hot/cold, big/small), difficulties generalizing skills and difficulty memorizing texts.
6. Does family history indicate anyone with the same classification as your child? No
7. How was it brought to your attention that your child may needed/may need to be classified? In KG, he had behavioral problems (meltdowns) and had trouble in articulation. Later on, in 3rd grade, when curriculum moved from learning basic skills to using these skills to learn, it became obvious that what was working for other kids was not working for my son.
8. Do you feel that the matter was handled sensitively by those involved? Not always.
9. What types of programs/classes is your child enrolled in at their school? First in self-contained classroom with a variety of students with different diagnosis and abilities, then public school with an aide.
10. Are you satisfied with the available programs at this school? Not Always. Our school district is small and is not really offering a continuum of services. The choice is stark between the self-contained classroom and a highly competitive high school where my son is currently enrolled.
11. Are there any services that are not available at their school due to a lack of money? Yes. we were denied an appropriate reading program in middle school because the school had invested in a program that was totally inappropriate (our son was above the maximum level) and it took us two years to convince them to do something else. Even then, we had to provide the material and the aide who was teaching was not appropriately trained.
12. How did the classification of your child affect you and your family? The classification does not affect us. The disability has sometimes been source of tension and conflict in the family, in particular with grandparents who had trouble understanding why we were not stricter with ds, and with teachers who were discounting our son's ability.
13. Do you feel that your child has endured positive changes since being classified? Our son improved dramatically in those areas where he did not have serious needs (maths, writing) as soon as he was afforded an appropriate education in mainstream classrooms. However, very little improvement can be seen in those areas where he has a deeper need and it is clear the school has no clue how to deal with that.
14. Do you think that the educational assistance being provided to your child is effective? No. We have had a couple very great sped teachers, and both of them recognized they were not equiped to help ds, and pushed him more toward the mainstream, but nobody seems to be able to deal with his more serious issues, to the point we have had to turn to outside help.
15. If you could, what would you change about the educational assistance that is being provided? We would have refused to send him to an inappropriate classroom and insisted that he is provided proper support.
16. Do you feel your child may outgrow the current behaviors as they enter adulthood? Not really.
17. What is the most important piece of advice that you would pass on to other parents and family members of a newly or soon to be classified child? The school is not always right, and is not always wrong. Remember that you know your child best, but also listen with an open mind to what the school says. Also, make sure that your child is not restricted in his interests.
18. Looking back, would you have done anything differently in relation to the child’s classification and schooling? (i.e.: a different school? different IEP provisions) Listen to yourself and oppose what seems wrong.
19. Has the child been socially affected by their classification? Yes, in part in the way teachers were seeing him, in part because the classification and the services has prevented him to access electives he would have shone. But I would say that the lack of appropriate services in behavioral issues has also affected his social outcome.

[dhfl143]

Bros, perhaps it is a classmate

[dhfl143]

I was hoping ldstudent would reply here at Millermom, but since he/she did not. I wanted to share the reply posted on LDonline:

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for doing that for me. There were so many replies!"

And from me personally -- thanks guys! As always, you are the best!