Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional What to do about Math Disability?

Back for an update and another request for input. Sorry in advance for the length of the post.

As you may recall from my initial post on this thread the 2e specialist who evaluated DD10 over the winter diagnosed a math disability (previously identified by neuropsych testing 3 years ago but now labeled severe.) No one - spec Ed school, district, 2e specialist, my education consultant - really knows what to do for her as she lacks *any* automaticity and still does all addition/subtraction on her fingers. During the first IEP meeting 2e specialist (appearing by phone) suggested an evaluation by a "special Ed math teacher" to assess her lower level math skills, basic math concepts, Piagetian-type understanding, etc. No one knew what she was taking about or had heard of such a person. (Apparently not a typical math specialist as you would find in any generic school setting...) She said that she would ask for input and names of local providers on a pediatric neuropsych listserv and email the results to the district's representative. Any further questions I asked were put off until we could get the information in this email.

At the second meeting the district rep had a copy of this email but did not share it with me or my consultant. She showed it to the school's director of special Ed and they discussed between them what evaluations to do when school reconvenes in the fall. (We had previously discussed repeating Key Math but now there was apparently a different plan in place...) Any questions I raised were brushed off with the statement that our time was limited and we "have to get thorough this." Neither spec Ed director nor district rep felt it was necessary to go back to pre-K levels as we had previously discussed. They talked about a specific math program that would indeed go that low if needed but school's spec Ed director (who seems to be obsessed with common core standards despite it being a private school...) tried to insist that DD needed to be presented grade level math and they would fill in gaps as needed rather than sticking with the previously discussed plan of starting at the bottom and working up to be sure the foundational skills were in tact. Needless to say I was not happy...

After the meeting the district rep contacted me several times to sign off on "the re-evaluation we agreed to." I made the point - repeatedly - that I had not agreed to anything, I needed the info we were waiting for from the 2e expert and I could not/ would not sign off until I saw the email with the information we were waiting for. The district then told me I WOULD NEED TO FILE A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST if I wanted to see the email. No, I am not kidding.

So yesterday I met with 3 reps from the district (I declined to sign off on the IEP as drafted and said DD would not be starting school in the fall without a completed IEP on file...). Among the issues addressed was this math situation. Under protest - and with my consultant insisting it was ridiculous and unnecessary - I signed a FOI request and received a hard copy of the email. I was so furious about being forced to jump through these hoops when appropriate planning for DD's math needs was dependent on this information I wasn't able to really process the information in the email and make appropriate requests. Now with the passage of a day I looked at it again and am here for input.

This was not an email to my district but instead am email to a Dr. Michele Mazzocco who specializes in math disabilities. The email, which I assume was bcc'd to my district as I see no reference to it there, included basic information about my DD, a copy of the post the 2e specialist placed on the list serve (asking for a spec Ed math teacher in our area or a test to determine understanding of basic math concepts) and the only response she received from that post in which the responder mentions Dr. Mazzocco and says she would likely recommend TEMA (Test of Early Mathemtatics Ability) or PanaMath test. 2e specialist then wrote to Mazzucco asking if she agreed with the poster or had other suggestions. No reponse from Mazzucco, no input from 2e specialist as to whether this was in her opinion an appropriate recommendation. But now district wants me to sign off authorizing school to evaluate DD using TEMA.

I am beyond confused. Anyone familiar with TEMA? Or Dr. Mazzucco? Or what the 2e specialist means by a "special Ed math teacher"? 2e specialist, district and school spec Ed director have all said they don't really know what to do for her with either testing or curriculum so it seems like a perfect situation to ask for IEE but no one even seems to know who would be appropriate to ask for.

As I said I was seeing red over the whole situation and was given the email during the meeting so no chance to do any research or think about what to ask for. DH made the point that this TEMA test was being suggested 3rd hand (Mazzocco's work inferenced by a responder to 2e specialist's listserv post) so I requested that the district contact Mazzocco directly to see what she says. They agreed but we still don't have a plan in place for DD's math when the school year starts in a few weeks.

Any and all input please!