Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 600 guests, and 19 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    parentologyco, Smartlady60, petercgeelan, eterpstra, Valib90
    11,410 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    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
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 1 of 2 1 2
    #221773 09/03/15 08:08 AM
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 582
    G
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    G
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 582
    As many of the kids here, DD10 started school a week and 1/2 ago. She actually has done well bringing home homework and taking it to class. This is AMAZING, but I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's her first year in middle school so she is anxious to do the right thing. I emailed the teachers on the second day to give them the heads up about DD's 504 ADHD accommodations (checking on her planner the end of the day and making sure all work is in the backpack are the ones I am most concerned about). I asked if she could email the homework to class as she had a history of losing it, and stated that I would be asking for that at the upcoming 504 meeting. The only teacher who replied was the one going on maternity leave. So, a couple of questions for you all:

    -Coming up is "meet the teacher". Do I bring up the 504 info then? Very little time to do so. If not then, when or should I wait for DD to revert back to losing everything so I can prove my point (she lost her lunch yesterday so didn't get to eat).

    -No one is following the 504 at this point. Go to the counselor (she's in charge of 504's)?

    -I want the "email in homework" clause in the 504. My fear is that it won't be allowed at this time since she is doing well. Shall I sit on it for awhile?

    Thanks in advance!!!

    greenlotus #221775 09/03/15 08:13 AM
    Joined: Feb 2013
    Posts: 166
    B
    BSM Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Feb 2013
    Posts: 166
    You should try to make every teacher (including specials) aware of the 504, either in person or via phone or email. Bring it up as soon as possible and provide a list of her accommodations. If the 504 is not being followed, address that as well.

    And if you have an email the HW clause, start using it now. It should not be ignored regardless of her performance.

    greenlotus #221777 09/03/15 08:31 AM
    Joined: Sep 2011
    Posts: 3,363
    P
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    P
    Joined: Sep 2011
    Posts: 3,363
    I wouldn't wait until the "Meet the Teachers" date - even if it's tomorrow. Have you tried emailing the 504 counselor to give her a heads up re the teachers not following the 504? If not, I would the counselor an email, tell them there have been some issues (state the exact issues) and ask if the teachers have all been given a copy of your dd's current 504 plan. What I'd do as follow-up depends on the response I got from the counselor.

    I wouldn't push the email for HW until your actual 504 review meeting - if the review meeting is going to happen in the next few weeks. I'd focus instead on what's in the current 504 and not being done. If there is homework lost in the meantime due to *not* having that accommodation, use that as data showing she needs it at the meeting.

    Also, fwiw, our ds has email turn-in as an accommodation, and it's not all smooth-sailing. Some teachers are fine with the accommodation, others don't like it. We encourage our ds to only use it when he absolutely has to - it's been helpful to him to turn his assignments in on paper (he uses keyboarding for all of his work but prints out homework at home and has printer access at school). The upside to having him turn things in on paper is two-fold - he gets practice at the organizational skill (he's extremely organizationally challenged), and it makes the teachers happier who do not want to deal with having a student turn in homework via email. He also gets clearer marks on written papers (explanation of grades) when the assignment is graded on paper. He uses the email accommodation as a back-up, which has the upside of being proof that he did, indeed, turn an assignment in smile

    Good luck with your 504 meeting... this is such a stressful time of year getting started with a new school year.... hopefully things will smooth out for you and your dd soon!

    polarbear

    greenlotus #221779 09/03/15 08:41 AM
    Joined: Apr 2015
    Posts: 647
    E
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    E
    Joined: Apr 2015
    Posts: 647
    Originally Posted by greenlotus
    -Coming up is "meet the teacher". Do I bring up the 504 info then? Very little time to do so. If not then, when or should I wait for DD to revert back to losing everything so I can prove my point (she lost her lunch yesterday so didn't get to eat).

    -No one is following the 504 at this point. Go to the counselor (she's in charge of 504's)?

    -I want the "email in homework" clause in the 504. My fear is that it won't be allowed at this time since she is doing well. Shall I sit on it for awhile?

    Thanks in advance!!!
    At our school, "meet the teacher" wouldn't be an appropriate place to bring up 504 since it's all the kids, their parents, kind of open house and sign up for conferences thing. Trying to discuss accommodations would be like trying to get information in the carline. YMMV

    Yes, tell the counselor about 504 compliance.

    I don't know how successful you'll be with the scan/email accommodation without demonstrating it's an issue, first. We have this one but long history of assignments hanging out in backpack forever, never to be submitted. I think it depends on the exact issue--forgetting to bring from home is somewhat different from forgetting to turn in what's in the backpack.

    Good luck! Back to school...not for the faint of heart.

    spaghetti #221787 09/03/15 12:27 PM
    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 2,498
    D
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    D
    Joined: Apr 2010
    Posts: 2,498
    Originally Posted by spaghetti
    I remember 6th grade and it was not pretty. Took the whole year, bit by bit just to get the 504 followed. They have people in the school that can help. If a teacher seems lost and/or unwilling, suggest they do a teacher to teacher consult with the special educator regarding how to implement.

    Yes. IME having the special ed teacher education his/her peers works much better than having it come from the parent. Even if the same things are said, it goes better peer-to=peer.

    greenlotus #221806 09/03/15 07:43 PM
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 582
    G
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    G
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 582
    Update:
    Went to Open House and did a quick chat with the teachers. The social studies teacher stated that she expects good spelling, but will redo the grade if the student writes the misspelled word correctly 5 times. DD can't spell worth a flip (just mentioned it in another post about dysgraphia)so my stomach sank. She sure can spell correctly if she writes her papers online which is another reason to do the work on a computer!!! She has an editor's eye for spelling if it's not her handwriting. Also, I know I wasn't supposed to bring up her 504 per your advice, but no parent was around and the teacher stated something about it so I asked how it was going in class. Next thing I hear from the teacher is that she had read the accommodations, but she understood them to mean that all the work was being done by the parents. What?? I said she must not have received all the info, and then the teacher gave me the big "huh?" look.
    Good thing you all gave me lots of good advice.
    Question - if she is supposed to do her work on a computer wouldn't that cover the spelling problem?

    greenlotus #221807 09/03/15 08:05 PM
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    A
    aeh Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    At this grade level, doing work on the computer will probably include the spelling accommodation, but strictly, spellcheck, word prediction (that's like autocorrect on an iPhone), typed responses, and electronic submission are all separate accommodations. For many dysgraphics, typed responses helps greatly with spelling, even without the spelling aides, because it takes enough of the working memory load off (in the form of letter formation) to allow self-monitoring of spelling.


    ...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...
    greenlotus #221815 09/03/15 10:08 PM
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    Originally Posted by greenlotus
    Update:
    Went to Open House and did a quick chat with the teachers. The social studies teacher stated that she expects good spelling, but will redo the grade if the student writes the misspelled word correctly 5 times. DD can't spell worth a flip (just mentioned it in another post about dysgraphia)so my stomach sank. She sure can spell correctly if she writes her papers online which is another reason to do the work on a computer!!! She has an editor's eye for spelling if it's not her handwriting. Also, I know I wasn't supposed to bring up her 504 per your advice, but no parent was around and the teacher stated something about it so I asked how it was going in class. Next thing I hear from the teacher is that she had read the accommodations, but she understood them to mean that all the work was being done by the parents. What?? I said she must not have received all the info, and then the teacher gave me the big "huh?" look.
    Good thing you all gave me lots of good advice.
    Question - if she is supposed to do her work on a computer wouldn't that cover the spelling problem?
    I'm sure you are aware but you should put into the 504 an accommodation that says she doesn't need to writing the spelling words five times. Not a real effect method of teaching spelling to someone with dysgraphia and it's going to be a lot of busy work.

    Even if the work isn't turned in online can it still be typed? It's not too uncommon to include using a computer for essay writing as an accommodation. And I know a lot of students that type almost everything, outlines from chapters, short answer questions unless the teacher tells them it has to be handwritten.

    FYI What teachers don't like about typed/emailed work is it's hard to prove it's not plagiarized or copied. Cheating is a BIG deal at DS's high school and it's one of the reasons the teachers prefer hand written work in many cases. Most of the time if a essay is typed at home they required the work to be sent through a website like Turnitin. I have also seen teachers OK typed work as long as there is a handwritten first draft included.

    greenlotus #221824 09/04/15 04:09 AM
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    A
    aeh Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 4,047
    Our HS prefers electronic submission, for the reason that it is easier to check for plagiarism. But all our students use school-provided netbooks, and teachers are actively encouraged to favor assigning word processed and electronically-submitted work, in keeping with our push to become a paperless campus.


    ...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...
    bluemagic #221845 09/04/15 11:04 AM
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 582
    G
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    G
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 582
    Originally Posted by bluemagic
    I'm sure you are aware but you should put into the 504 an accommodation that says she doesn't need to writing the spelling words five times. Not a real effect method of teaching spelling to someone with dysgraphia and it's going to be a lot of busy work.
    I just wanted to make clear that I don't know that DD has dysgraphia. I have been following other posts about it and so made mention to a question I had made about it. Sorry to be unclear. She is supposed to use the computer for her work which is so important since she cannot spell or write well enough to read. I will be asking the school to assess her.

    Page 1 of 2 1 2

    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    California Tries to Close the Gap in Math
    by thx1138 - 03/22/24 03:43 AM
    Gifted kids in Illinois. Recommendations?
    by indigo - 03/20/24 05:41 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5