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    Joined: Oct 2012
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    I went through vision eye therapy (counting on my fingers....) 25+ years ago. Caught the vision problem (farsighted + eye tracking issues) in 4th grade and started therapy the end of 5th. Back then, I went 3 times a week for 6 months. It was a big time commitment!

    4th and 5th grade, my grades were poor, I was stressed and confidence low. 6th grade I switched from private to public school, got a fresh start and I think the eye therapy really began to help. I actually think it also helped with my focus/ attention issues. Long story short- without much intervention I made up all the lost ground in math and writing by 7th grade and was placed in 8th grade algebra (I didn't want to because I still had some confidence issues but I ended up doing fine).

    My point is that ground can always be made up down the road- especially with a bright child. I would ask her what she feels most comfortable doing? If easing the workload means that she has more time to focus on the therapy (less stress, pressure and homework) that could actually boost confidence down the road if the message she gets from school and parents is "We understand you are struggling through a challenge but we also have confidence in your future because you are a bright, hard working student."

    Sports analogy: If your younger high potential athlete had a sports injury (like tendinitis) that needed time to heal, would you continue to make them train at high volume/ overload principle with risk of further injury because they have an elite competition at a Jr. level coming up? Or would you reduce their training volume so they could heal properly and protect their future success at a Senior level?

    Either way- there are multiple ways to handle the problem and listening to how she feels might give you the best direction in what is best for her at this moment.

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    Originally Posted by Hils
    My point is that ground can always be made up down the road- especially with a bright child. I would ask her what she feels most comfortable doing? If easing the workload means that she has more time to focus on the therapy (less stress, pressure and homework) that could actually boost confidence down the road if the message she gets from school and parents is "We understand you are struggling through a challenge but we also have confidence in your future because you are a bright, hard working student."

    Hils, thank you for sharing your experiences.
    I agree that this math class doesn't impact her academic future, and she sees that too. As far as workload, the regular paced math classes have more work because they are not skipping problems or pages. That is one of the reasons for wanting to stay in adv. math. She also finds it more engaging and her friends are in the class. Tough decisions, plus I am considering homeschooling for math since she has it the last hour of the day.

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    I am coming up with solid ideas for accommodations based on your post. I would love any more accommodation suggestions.

    The doctor is not supporting patching. She may prescribe glasses based on her progress. Dd's vision is +.75. I found out yesterday that one eye is handling most of the dynamic vision and the other does the up close focus work.

    I found out more about the 504 process in our district. Once I submit a 504 request, the school has 30 days to schedule a meeting and then 60 days from the meeting date to put accommodations in place. So...it could be a short process or a long one depending on the school's response. I have heard from friends at other schools in my district who had a quick response, and others had it drag out for the full three months.
    Our former school had a horrible reputation for pushing back on ieps and 504s, which is one of the reason we switched schools.

    Is there a thread with accommodation ideas or tips for the 504 process? thanks!

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    This whole thing seems bizarre. What if a kid was in a car accident and lost the use of their hands or they were stuck in a wheelchair. The kid goes back to school in the wheelchair. The school says "Well, sucks to be you. We don't need to do anything for you for three months. You'll have to find another student willing to open your locker for you. And oh yeah, if you can't write to do your math, too bad. You don't get any accommodations for 3 months because our policy states we have the right to stall and stonewall."

    DS was in an accident in kindergarten and went back to school with his eye patch on the normal eye, and the other eye turned in so much that you could barely even see his pupil. He also had a big plastic neck brace so he couldn't turn his head at all. The school acted like he had stubbed his toe. Teacher sent me a few emails implying that he was having problems finding his carpet square in the classroom, and that when he tried to write, he was shaky and the letters overlapped. He was also crying a lot, according to her. One time I pulled up in my car to drop something off and DS was stumbling across glaze ice on his way out for a field trip. The "normal" kid in front of him in line slipped and fell flat on his back, almost striking his head on the sidewalk. That could have been DS who already had a crushed skull. No teacher or adult anywhere. No one even saw the kid that fell. Other than the few random emails from the teacher, the school didn't seem to be the slightest bit concerned about DS. I told the classroom teacher in an email that there was a possibility of him having a seizure, because of the air in his brain, and she didn't respond at all. And when I told them he was supposed to go outside for recess wearing a helmet (doctor's written orders), once the neck brace was off, I got eye rolls. There were times I came to pick him up and saw him running around without the helmet. No phone call from principal or school nurse or anyone else asking what accommodations DS might need. I did insist that he stay out of gym, so he sat in the nurse's office for weeks. Otherwise they probably would have sent him to gym with an eye patch and fractured skull. I told the school that the prognosis for his vision was completely unknown, and still, no one had any suggestions. The bizarre thing was, he already had an IEP, for speech. How hard would it have been for his case manager to call a meeting? I don't think they were being deliberately callous, it just stemmed from profound ignorance and basically a systemic failure regarding special ed in the district. Later on I found out that the school basically never writes 504 plans.

    Anyway sorry for that rambling vent. I wouldn't juust take that as the answer, but double check to see if that policy is really legal. I think there is a much shorter time limit and they are probably not in compliance.

    Last edited by blackcat; 10/02/15 11:09 AM. Reason: coherence
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    Wow blackcat that is a disturbing situation. I hope you were able to find more support at that school or at another.
    Last year I was so overwhelmed by the lack of individual support for the children at our former school that I started homeschooling my daughter. I know many other families with similar experiences at that school. I would like to blame it all on the principal, but it was just the overall culture of the school. Great district-school looked great on paper, but horrible at meeting students' needs. I'm happy to say that other schools in our district do a much better job.

    Last edited by balancing act; 10/02/15 04:36 PM.
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    We did ultimately get them to update his IEP (but then they didn't bother to follow it, another long saga). We switched to another school in the district which was fine, but I knew it was his individual teacher and IEP manager, and it wasn't necessarily indicative of the school as a whole, which was still headed by an ignorant administration (i.e. district curriculum directors, special ed directors, etc). Even the best principal can only do so much if you have crazy district policies/procedures and staff who move between schools. Luckily we now have the kids out of that district (for the time being, at least).

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