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    seablue Offline OP
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    Here's my rant:

    &%#$@**&! (jumping, hooting, hollering, chest thumping, gnashing of teeth, etc.) mad Today I even had a few angry tears about it all. (Sorry if TMI.)

    Why can't I find the "TWICE EXCEPTIONAL COORDINATOR" at each district? (We are at the second largest district in the nation here.) This is education… full of educators… lots of kids filing through over the years… can't be a new concern…

    I wish there was a nice, big door with a TWICE EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT SERVICES written over it, where we could go to discuss best practices, share success stories and disseminate material. I would volunteer there. I'd bring muffins and multi-colored paper clips.

    Parents all over the district would put their energies into supporting the educators and para-educators who capably guide our children to access the curriculum. There would be eager learners learning! There would be best practices developed, practiced, and revised! There would be teachers (I guarantee it) who skip to work because they love their job so much… because our twice exceptional children are intrinsically-motivated learning machines!

    Is it not worth systems change? Why is this so hard? Is it so hard to take the law, written on a piece of paper in black and white, and apply to to a situation to effect change for a better learning environment?

    Do most parents here throw up their arms, and choose one of these options:

    1. home school
    2. private schools
    3. public school with privately paid tutoring

    ?

    Rant over.




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    Im not in the US, but oh I feel your pain. We really can't afford to send DD to private school, but I know she'd be better off, given our particular set of options.... And it's awful to know that and not be able to do anything about it.

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    Originally Posted by seablue
    Do most parents here throw up their arms, and choose one of these options:

    1. home school
    2. private schools
    3. public school with privately paid tutoring

    Nope. Just kept bringing them more and more refined data about the needs (both E's) and stuck to it until my kids had reasonable educational plans.

    I never heard the phrase "twice exceptional" mentioned in my district until there was a major change in personnel at the top. Now it's a known thing. I still use "academically gifted and having disabilities" when I'm talking to lay people or even some teachers-- you never know who will become aware if you actually explain to people.

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    seablue, I totally share your frustration.

    Originally Posted by seablue
    I wish there was a nice, big door with a TWICE EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT SERVICES written over it, where we could go to discuss best practices, share success stories and disseminate material. I would volunteer there. I'd bring muffins and multi-colored paper clips.

    So start it. One person can do amazing things, even if you feel very small and unable to effect change. I haven't felt called to do exactly what you wish you had in your district, but I have something else that I've been wishing for for years that I realized, if I don't do it, no one else will start it. It's not easy to start and it probably won't be finished until my kids are graduated, but I'm still doing it. It gives me a one small thing that I've done to hopefully help at least one other parent somewhere someday, kwim?


    Quote
    Do most parents here throw up their arms, and choose one of these options:

    1. home school
    2. private schools
    3. public school with privately paid tutoring

    As much as I would have liked to change the public school system, and as hard as I advocated and attempted to make change for my ds, we are parents who dropped out to private school. That was recommended to us at our very first neuropsych, at diagnosis end of 2nd grade, and we didn't drop out - I truly believed I could advocate and make a difference for my ds. It simply took too much of a toll, and by the time ds was about to enter middle school we realized public school was not going to work out. Making the change was tough (for me to consider doing - ds had made the decision and leaped out happy as a clam)… but once we were there not only was ds' life so much easier… *my* life was so much easier. And ds grew in ways I'd never dreamed he could, and he had the chance to finally work experience both challenge (intellectual challenge, not "I can't do that because of my LD challenge" while also getting help with his LD. We had to also pay for private SLP therapy for several years. We're heading back to SLP therapy again. It's brutal. I can't imagine how tough it would have been if we weren't fortunate to have the resources we have as a family, and the reality is - we've put resources toward all of that that we'd planned to save for a different period in our lives. We're not rich and making the change to paying for so much out of our pocketbook was tough.. yet I feel like we gave ds the fighting chance he needed to become a self-confident person.

    And advocating isn't anywhere near over for us - our ds is in his first year of high school now, back in public school, and after making tremendous gains in middle school we're seeing once again the impact on his psyche that those early years of struggling and not receiving help at school. Growing up with an LD isn't easy - in addition to the extra work students have to do just to overcome the straight-up challenge of the impact of their LD on academics, they can also struggle a lot with self-understanding and acceptance.

    I think one of the things that would make all the difference in the world in terms o teachers understanding (or anyone understanding) would simply be to spend a day in the shoes of a kid who has an LD. And I wish the opposite to - that my ds had just one day to spend in the shoes of a person who doesn't have DCD ad dysgraphia. I think it would help him understand his own LD so much better. Not sure that makes sense.

    Thanks for the rant - I hope if feels better to get it out. I find that posting here where I can find other parents of 2e kids really does help keep me sane!

    polarbear





    [/quote]

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    We just admitted & tested my son "2E" this summer for my DS who is a H.S. Sophomore. We have been trying to make the public school work. I did manage to make the public school work for my older daughter who had LD's. I am on the fence about going to look at a private school open house next week.

    At this point I'm hopeful but not entirely optimistic. My district does understand the term, and is giving us a 504 plan as of last Friday. But.. the email I got today implied that we are going to have to ask for accommodation each time he needs it. It's like pulling teeth. I was just told that for my son to get the extra time my will be allowed for written assessments he will have to work out with the teacher/counselor every single time. This is unacceptable, and so I am going to have to continue to advocate.

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    seablue Offline OP
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    I pass out peer-reviewed articles. I am a little bit of an advocate. I don't know if I can change LAUSD (big honking district), but I will pelt the GATE and special education departments with information.

    Critical Issues in the Identification of Gifted Students With Co-Existing Disabilities

    The Twice-Exceptional

    http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/3/2158244013505855

    And this National Association for the Gifted (US) position paper:

    https://dese.mo.gov/sites/default/files/WISC-IV_Position_Paper.pdf

    Are you finding it harder to access gifted education or access accommodations?

    We are in a situation to scrimp and save and put one (maybe both) kids into private education, but we'd rather not begin at ages 5 and 7.

    I just feel some of our most involved families are forced to jump ship. We could start a revolution if could band together. Big "if" I know.

    I'm still in knots, but I feel better knowing there is this community out there ~

    Last edited by seablue; 10/17/14 09:27 AM. Reason: clarification
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    Originally Posted by bluemagic
    My district does understand the term, and is giving us a 504 plan as of last Friday. But.. the email I got today implied that we are going to have to ask for accommodation each time he needs it. It's like pulling teeth. I was just told that for my son to get the extra time my will be allowed for written assessments he will have to work out with the teacher/counselor every single time. This is unacceptable, and so I am going to have to continue to advocate.

    Are they requiring him to work it out every single assignment/test or for every single class? I would think that (in a reasonable world…) the 504 would state your ds is given 50% extra time (or whatever percentage is agreed upon at the 504 meeting) for classroom and state testing, and details re an extra day/week/whatever for homework (if needed and agreed upon), things like that - very specific parameters in terms of allowances and limits. It's then up to the individual classroom teacher to work out the details of how that works in their classroom, for example, if he's allowed 50% extra time on tests, it might be handled one way in Chemistry and another way in French class - but both teachers have to give him the extra time, he should not be required to ask for it each time he has an assignment or test.

    My ds does have agreements with some of his teachers that if he is going to *use* his extended time on an assignment he sends them an email stating that he needs to use it before it's due. That way it's obvious he's using his extended time rather than simply putting off doing his work. That's not something that's stated in his 504, but something that the teachers like to have him do and it works out fairly well.

    JMO, but if the parameters in the 504 are all clear, and if your ds and the teacher have an understanding of how to make them work within the teacher's class… then there is *NO WAY* your ds should be required to ask permission to use his accommodations. One simply way you might put this to the 504 team is - does the school make children who wear contact lenses ask permission to wear them at school? Would the school have a child in a wheelchair ring the doorbell before entering the school to ask to be allowed to bring their wheelchair inside?

    A few other things you could consider offering up as a rebuttal if they are insistent that he ask each time: Ask in return - do you think the disability comes and goes, isn't always there? It doesn't go away, so the accommodations shouldn't be a "has-to-request". I'd also suggest that it takes more of the teacher's time to have to make a decision every single assignment to say "yes, you can use your accommodation" than to just let him use it. And… if it's in his 504, the teacher can't legally refuse the accommodation… so why bother wasting his/her time with having to ask?

    polarbear

    Last edited by polarbear; 10/17/14 10:51 AM.
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    Originally Posted by seablue
    I pass out peer-reviewed articles. I am a little bit of an advocate. I don't know if I can change LAUSD (big honking district), but I will pelt the GATE and special education departments with information.

    Agh, seablue, I wouldn't have been so quick to suggest that you can be the change the world needs had I realized you were in LAUSD - that's a huge district! I am living in a much smaller school district smile

    The flip side of being in a large metro area, though, is that statistically speaking there must be relatively large numbers of 2e parents out there, somewhere, so maybe starting grass-roots by trying to network with other parents? Then as you gain size and vision as a group, that's when you try to make change within LAUSD?

    I'm in a hurry so I have to leave with that comment, but I'l be back later to add a few thoughts smile

    polar

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    Originally Posted by polarbear
    Originally Posted by bluemagic
    My district does understand the term, and is giving us a 504 plan as of last Friday. But.. the email I got today implied that we are going to have to ask for accommodation each time he needs it. It's like pulling teeth. I was just told that for my son to get the extra time my will be allowed for written assessments he will have to work out with the teacher/counselor every single time. This is unacceptable, and so I am going to have to continue to advocate.

    Are they requiring him to work it out every single assignment/test or for every single class? I would think that (in a reasonable world…) the 504 would state your ds is given 50% extra time (or whatever percentage is agreed upon at the 504 meeting) for classroom and state testing, and details re an extra day/week/whatever for homework (if needed and agreed upon), things like that - very specific parameters in terms of allowances and limits. It's then up to the individual classroom teacher to work out the details of how that works in their classroom, for example, if he's allowed 50% extra time on tests, it might be handled one way in Chemistry and another way in French class - but both teachers have to give him the extra time, he should not be required to ask for it each time he has an assignment or test.

    polarbear
    The email that came home said every single assignment. That seems unrealistic and I'm emailing back and saying this should be worked out ONCE per class and assumed to be used all year. It's really only going to affect English & History class anyway because at this point it's only for written assessments. Not math style test or multiple choice test.

    Don't really want to hijack this thread. My point was to say that we did get our district to recognize the 2E. But it still remains to be seen how well they pull off the accommodations. I wouldn't want to be in LAUSD, the problems going on in that school district right now. I wish you the best of luck getting help.

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    Imagine not having to re-invent the 2E wheel with every year and every meeting - sounds like Nirvana, I'd volunteer there, too!

    We've taken the private school route and it's not perfect, but better than our public options. I've found another 2E parent in my child's class and we now tag team the administration. It really helps get attention when you're not the only email/phone call/meeting they face. I'm really open about my DS's situation and that has helped me find the other 2E parent, and garner support from NT parents. The NT parents' support was unexpected and so helpful this year, psychologically for me and program-wise for DS. It's worth looking for those parents, too, I now know.

    I'm pretty sure the many, many useful pieces of literature I've provided either sit unread in DS's file or go directly into the recycling. I can explain dysgraphia in my sleep (and probably do!) after repeating it so many times. I keep handing them over, though, and keep repeating my explanations, because doing so has led to accommodations and an IEP that give me actual tools. And maybe it will help the next student. Maybe.

    And polarbear, I completely agree with both shoe wishes. What a gift either would be for a 2E child.

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