Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Gifted and Dyslexic

Well we finally got our diagnosis no thanks to school

We fought to have testing done for DD10 who has been having problems with reading and writing. School did do some testing (Achievement test) which showed that there was a severe discrepancy in several areas between her cognitive ability and her IQ however, since she is able to perform average work they will not consider her to have a disability or provide any services unless she starts to fail.

So we went to a specialist who has confirmed that she does have dyslexia. Now we are looking into special tutoring, which is all going to have to come out of our pocket Some other ideas that he suggested are recorded books, keyboarding, and dictation software.
Anyone else out there have any suggestions?

I am still pissed at school though especially since teacher has been marking her papers all over with things like "You can do better then this!" and oh, my favorite DD wrote "big" instead of "pig" and teacher circled it with that ugly red pen and wrote "No Excuse!"
I don't know how much to blame her teacher though since the school psychologist told us and the teacher that she doesn't have a disability only a "relative weakness"

At least the school year is almost over. Hopefully tutoring will help!

Relative weakness can hurt extra when you're a perfectionist, used to being able and willing. Ask for understanding and you'll probably get mocked. In a perfect world anybody could get help just by asking. It's not likely that most people just make stuff up about themselves. I sympathize.

Type this into google
davidson gifted forum + dyslexia

Oh, I feel for your DD. Master of None's advice is good.

In addition: Is your DD at that school again next year? If so, go right to the principal with the paper with the red pen on it AND the diagnostic writeup; talk to the principal about placing your DD with a teacher who can nurture rather than abusing her. That sort of feedback can do huge damage, and it's not instruction.

The right teacher can make all the difference for a kid with an LD.

DeeDee

If I understand the history correctly, you had your child evaluated by the school for special ed and she was found ineligible for an IEP. You then had her tested privately and you found that she indeed has a reading disability and needs specialized remediation.

While it probably makes sense to pay for private tutoring if you can (it is often of higher quality and it avoids "pull outs" in school), I would not let the idea of an IEP die. If she qualifies, she should have one. In addition to tutoring services, an IEP can offer accommodations. The goals can help put the teachers on alert as to her areas of challenge. You can go on record with your concerns and vision. AND when it comes time for the SAT, it increases her chances of getting accommodations such as extra time.

That said, I would contact the school and set up a meeting to discuss the evaluation report and ask that the team reconsider her for eligibility under IDEA. You have a right to disagree with the TEAM's original finding, to present new data and to try again.

AND - I agree with master of none - the teacher's behavior is bullying and unacceptable. I would address it first with her directly, and if you don't get anywhere, go to the principal.

Finally, be sure that the tutor you hire is experienced in teaching children with dyslexia. They should be using a sequential, multi-sensory, phonemic approach such as The Orton Gillingham Approach or one of it's derivatives: LiPS, Wilson, Singerland, Project Read More info at http://www.interdys.org/

Also - some must reads: Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, Straight Facts about Reading, Louisa Moats, All Kinds of Minds, Mel Levine

Best of luck.

Sajechma, I hear your frustration. We ran into the same issues with our DD not qualifying under IDEA and RTI. We basically heard if she's at or above grade level they don't have to do anything regardless of her IQ. I even had an administrator quote the section prohibiting the use of the old discrepancy model.

While your daughter may not qualify for an IEP, she should qualify for accommodations under a 504 plan. My DD now gets extra time on writing assignments and timed tests. She also is allowed to use a keyboard in class. She is just getting to the point where she types well enough to make this a useful accommodation. She seems to be making fewer of the "b, p, d, q" type of mistakes -- maybe the capital letters on the keyboard help? Her OT says that we should continue to see improvements in spelling -- time will tell on that one. It sounds like your DD would benefit from similar accommodations.

[quote=knute974]Sajechma, I hear your frustration. We ran into the same issues with our DD not qualifying under IDEA and RTI. We basically heard if she's at or above grade level they don't have to do anything regardless of her IQ. I even had an administrator quote the section prohibiting the use of the old discrepancy model.

This is basically what the school told us during our meeting. The Psychologist that we saw today is school certified and he said that probably in order to fight the school because she was able to perform adequately that we would have to probably get a lawyer to fight them. He recommended we try the tutoring first, (they specialize in reading disabilities) see how it goes and if needed try the 504 route that you have for accomdations using a keyboard extra time etc...

That is why one of my goals for her this summer is to learn how to type

Hi sajechma-- I just found out that dd12 is gifted & dyslexic also. This, after years (YEARS) of trying to convince the school that she needed help. I posted the test results here and there is a link back to a thread from when I first began posting about it on this board. I assume you have heard about stealth dyslexia ?
We also dealt with RTI issues. Now that dd has a diagnosed learning disability, I am going to try the 504 education plan. I have a meeting on Mon.

Let me know how it turns out ginger234! Good luck!