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Hi all, any way I could use DS' iep to get DS out of mandatory foreign language? The year after next DS will have to take Spanish, French or German. I know it will be a disaster with his dyspraxia and dysgraphia. I would like him to continue on in accelerated math and honors language arts and I fear he will not be able to handle the foreign language with those classes considering his pretty severe dysgraphia. I think he would be great with sign language (he knew it when he was little) but that, as of now, is not an option. Any ideas?

If he is college-bound, I suggest talking to admissions of potential colleges to see what they require. (And there's almost always a way around college freshmen admission requirements.)

Check your state to see if they allow alternate high school graduation plans. In my state the school board can approve an alternate plan. Perhaps your son can do an independent study on a foreign culture, which would give him exposure to global cultures without the distress of learning another language.

Check your state law to see if they allow students to take classes at a different institution. Perhaps your son can take sign language through a virtual school or a college and have it paid for by your district and count for credit.

If those options are exhausted, I'd suggest proposing an alternative foreign language course. I'm thinking Rosetta Stone, which doesn't have a handwriting component.

However, I'd like to share the experience of my 8 year old nephew. He has dyspraxia of speech, dysgraphia and dyslexia. He learned to read and write through foreign language study. He attends weekly Hebrew classes and uses Mango Language at the library and Duolingo at home. He had major english reading breakthrough while learning Russian. While learning foreign languages, he has learned variations of letter sounds which have improved the clarity of his english speaking.

I hope something works out for your son!

Hi Irena,

It's good to hear from you!

What way are you anticipating his dysgraphia and dyspraxia will cause issues with learning a foreign language? FWIW, our ds hasn't had any issues at all with learning Spanish - he uses his regular accommodations (keyboarding, extended time, etc) and he's done quite well with it, hopes to continue to study it at college and possibly use it in business someday. His Spanish classes have been interesting too because he's learned a lot about different cultures around the world.

FWIW, I think sign language wouldn't work for my ds due to his fine motor issues.

I have heard of people getting exemptions from foreign language for students who need them through their IEPs... but I'd also consider looking at what colleges require as sanne mentioned. I've lost track of what grade your ds is in - will he be in high school year after next or middle school? If he's in middle school now, that might be the place to try out a foreign language course as an elective, and if it doesn't go well advocate to replace it with something else in high school.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Hi Polar! yeah that is what my husband says, i.e., couldn't he just type... I don't know. He tried Spanish in first grade and he just couldn't keep up with the writing. And that was 1st grade. I just feel like he would be overwhelmed and with all of the conjugating, etc... I want him to continue in his advanced math and language arts. I just have a really bad feeling about it. He is going into middle school but isn't required to start taking it until next year (2nd year of middle school) so I am just exploring options right now. It is nice to hear your DS is handling it well! Gives me hope

IEPs can mandate a foreign language exemption and/or the IEP can require a pass/fail in place of a letter grade. I have seen proposals for sign and computer languages in place of a foreign language.

Foreign languages were a disaster for me in high school. I squeaked by with Latin. DS recently received a foreign (really 3rd) language exemption from his dual curriculum high school, but that took a year and a half. Then one of my twins tried for a foreign language exemption at his IEP meeting last week, but was not successful. A lot depends on the IEP team and the DC.

Thanks EmmaL and spaghetti.

I met with the principal of the middle school and she said at this point they do not accept computer science as a foreign language but they are revamping their language program and we may be having a very different discussion next year so ... I guess we'll see.

Hopefully, I'll revive this thread next year with an update and some positives and advice to share.