Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Parenting > Special Needs Children
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-03-2013, 10:16 AM
 
2,302 posts, read 2,972,815 times
Reputation: 3013

Advertisements

And many children are misdiagnosed with ADD when really there are other underlying issues (not getting enough sleep is a big one). I would not jump into medication. She's behind in her school work, time to address the learning issues.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-09-2013, 11:24 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,764,882 times
Reputation: 30711
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordHelmit View Post
That's what I was wondering about the school testing for it, because quite frankly we don't have nearly enough to pay for any of that out of pocket. I was surprised for him to diagnose her with ADD, she doesn't seem it to me she listens fairly well for a 7 year old doesn't really get distracted from her work unless her brothers and sister start messing with her. Well, I suppose I'll have to talk to the school then...we were hoping that since this is now her 2nd time doing this type of work, it would "click" with her, but no her letters are still backwards. she has gotten better for sure, and usually when i ask her "there is something wrong with this sentence, can you find what is wrong?" (on a sentence she's written, such as
"i bib it") she identifies what she did wrong. is there a good way to deal with dyslexia without having to send her to a special school etc?
There are specific ways to get the school district to test. You have to write a letter and send it certified mail to the principal requesting she be tested. Someone here can give you details on exactly what needs to be included in the letter. There are federal and state laws about this to protect your daughter's rights. She doesn't necessarily need a special school if your school district has a strong special education department. The school district is required to provide her appropriate education. If they don't have the appropriate instruction available for her, the school district will have to pay for her to attend a school that does. Dyslexia isn't the end of the world. She just needs taught how to learn the way her mind sees things. My sister and my niece are dyslexic and very successful.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-13-2013, 11:08 AM
 
47,525 posts, read 69,521,481 times
Reputation: 22472
Quote:
Originally Posted by hml1976 View Post
I have a child with adhd who is not medicated and he is a straight A student. There are many other ways to deal with adhd rather than just medication.
True. My pediatrician said that ADHD is a learning disability and that a child scoring high on standardized tests doesn't have a learning disability. I think sometimes smart kids get diagnosed (and drugged) because they are actually multi-taskers more than unable to pay attention and learn. Plus some smart kids are quite bored in the classroom so while they might be paying attention to the teacher, they're also paying attention to the fly on the wall, the kid behind him, and what his next moves in his current video game should be, plus the bird passing by the window, and to the pencil eraser he's fidgeting with. Their overactive minds can't do just one thing at a time.

It's not unusual for a 7 year old still learning letters to get some backwards. They may not have a concept of left and right down yet. You could put a star on their right hand everyday and tell them that's side is right, the other side is left and "b" has the curved part on the right of the line, "d" has it to the left of the line.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-20-2013, 10:49 AM
 
Location: Location: Location
6,727 posts, read 9,909,904 times
Reputation: 20482
She's probably hungry. Many children confuse the lower case d and b, and it may take a while to sort that out, but frequently, children who don't get enough to eat have a problem because they lack the nutrients the brain needs.

I'm sorry you are having financial difficulties.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-20-2013, 04:22 PM
 
530 posts, read 1,160,495 times
Reputation: 1146
My oldest daughter was also below grade level in first grade, and we went through a whole bunch of testing--both medical and educational. The first lesson I had to learn is that you may get as many wrong or bad diagnoses as good ones. It was amazing to me that every person who saw her seemed to find my daughter supposedly had a problem in their area of expertise whether it seemed to be true or not. It was like they were so laser focused on their particular areas, they sometimes could not see the forest for the trees. Therefore, just because a doctor says a child had ADD, it may not be so. I had to follow my gut to determine who I thought was right and who I thought was wrong. It also really helped to study their reports and to read about each problem. In one case, for example, I had a language pathologist recommend speech and language therapy for my daughter, but this pathologist's own testing did not support the need for this type of intervention.

The full educational testing completed by a psychologist proved to be quite helpful for us. This is the type of testing often required for special education services. It should include IQ and academic achievement tests, such as WISC IV and Woodcock Johnson tests or other similar ones. There also are a host of other tests that can be considered. When we went through this testing, I was happy and frankly a little surprised that my daughter's IQ was found to be in the high average range. Since her achievement tests were below average, this discrepancy gave her a "learning disability" diagnosis. Schools want a student's IQ and achievement to be on par with each other, and if they are not, then extra services are often warranted.

The good news is if your child gets the correct help, it does really work. My daughter had intervention services for about four years, and it was quite successful. She is now an average to above average student in middle school, who does not need any extra assistance. Seven years old is great age to start addressing any problems and get a student back on track. I would recommend doing what it takes to ensure this help is provided.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-21-2013, 05:53 PM
 
Location: Finally in NC
1,337 posts, read 2,202,731 times
Reputation: 998
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
There are specific ways to get the school district to test. You have to write a letter and send it certified mail to the principal requesting she be tested. Someone here can give you details on exactly what needs to be included in the letter. There are federal and state laws about this to protect your daughter's rights. She doesn't necessarily need a special school if your school district has a strong special education department. The school district is required to provide her appropriate education. If they don't have the appropriate instruction available for her, the school district will have to pay for her to attend a school that does. Dyslexia isn't the end of the world. She just needs taught how to learn the way her mind sees things. My sister and my niece are dyslexic and very successful.
that is not true. You can send a letter to get tested for a learning disability, but not dyslexia. I was a teacher in two states and because dyslexia is a medical condition, it needs to be diagnosed by a medical doctor-public schools do NOT have to provide medical testing and many do not recognize dyslexia as a learning disability at all because it is a diagnosed medical condition. A school is required to provide a free appropriate public education, but that does not mean they are required to test for something out of the realm of the school staff's area. A school can't diagnose other medical conditions either. That is the job of an MD.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-21-2013, 10:43 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,809,602 times
Reputation: 17473
Quote:
Originally Posted by goodbyesnow View Post
that is not true. You can send a letter to get tested for a learning disability, but not dyslexia. I was a teacher in two states and because dyslexia is a medical condition, it needs to be diagnosed by a medical doctor-public schools do NOT have to provide medical testing and many do not recognize dyslexia as a learning disability at all because it is a diagnosed medical condition. A school is required to provide a free appropriate public education, but that does not mean they are required to test for something out of the realm of the school staff's area. A school can't diagnose other medical conditions either. That is the job of an MD.
I agree that the letter should be for testing for any learning disability, but...dyslexia is tested for and classified as a learning disorder in some schools. Now, the tests may or may not help depending upon the particular problems a child is having, but an educational dx is enough to provide services. Autism is a medical dx as well, but the schools can and do give an educational dx for it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-23-2013, 06:40 PM
 
Location: Finally in NC
1,337 posts, read 2,202,731 times
Reputation: 998
Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
I agree that the letter should be for testing for any learning disability, but...dyslexia is tested for and classified as a learning disorder in some schools. Now, the tests may or may not help depending upon the particular problems a child is having, but an educational dx is enough to provide services. Autism is a medical dx as well, but the schools can and do give an educational dx for it.
That's interesting. I've been in two states and neither will test for or recognize dyslexia. It sounds like some areas are different. Good to know.
When I was teaching, it really didn't matter the dx-more important was that they received the help they needed but in both states I had kids with a medical dx of dyslexia and parents were outraged their kids didn't qualify/meet criteria for a learning disability in the schools.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-27-2013, 09:03 PM
 
2,302 posts, read 2,972,815 times
Reputation: 3013
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
There are federal and state laws about this to protect your daughter's rights. She doesn't necessarily need a special school if your school district has a strong special education department. The school district is required to provide her appropriate education. If they don't have the appropriate instruction available for her, the school district will have to pay for her to attend a school that does.
Here's the rub. In our school system, which is notoriously corrupt, they will not mention dyslexia, much less diagnose it--because if they do, they will be required to provide services for it, or pay for private services.

All of the kids in my child's private school for dyslexia who came from public schools have parents who are on the ball, and either had their children tested privately from the onset or became totally fed up with the bureaucracy and finally broke free. Our school offers its own private scholarships as well, but there are many children in our public schools who are falling through the cracks whose parents don't know to suspect a learning disability and lack the skills or concern to fight for their children. We need more school choice, period.

In contrast, at my child's previous mainstream private school, the teachers told me after 3 weeks of kindergarten, that they suspected an LD. The principal called me and told me the psychologist to call and walked me through the process. No red tape. No games. And our new dyslexia school is an amazing, amazing place.

It is frightening to think that the same government bureaucracy that endangers our children's education may soon take over our healthcare system.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Parenting > Special Needs Children
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:14 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top