I am hoping that someone has some advice for me or can point me to some helpful resources. I would also love to have any references to articles that can help explain 2E kids like mine to his teachers.
My DS9 started 3rd grade in a new school this year and he is doing poorly academically. The school placed him in the lowest math and reading groups, per their policy. His teachers will not move him up until he gets a high A in the subject. I think he is frustrated and board with the easy work and he makes many, mostly stupid mistakes. The teacher has compared him to the "actual gifted child" in the class who has straight A+ grades a few times in an attempt to help me understand how dilusional I am to think that my son should be given more difficult work.
We have had him tested by several different individuals and he is in the gifted range, was diagnosed with a general anxiety disorder, dysgraphia, ADHD combined type (although we were also told this is likely not true by other doctors), �relative reading and writing weaknesses", a low processing speed and that he �shows signs of dyslexia� (when I asked if this means he is dyslexic, the tester said they did not feel comfortable labeling him with dyslexia at this age). He has gone through vision therapy that improved his tracking when reading a little and greatly improved his sports performance.
My son went to public school in first grade and it didn�t go well, he was not challenged, had a harsh teacher, and ended up with an ulcer and irritable bowel. We went to a private school in second. He had a great teacher and did great academically and emotionally. Unfortunately the school closed and we are at a new school this year and they have placed him over a year back in both reading and math. My son has started to tell me how stupid he is and his level anxiety is fairly high again.
We have noticed if he is challenged and engaged the anxiety is reduced. When his anxiety level is high, his school performance is very inconsistant.
All the testing that was done in his second week at this new school does not place him at the same level that he was working at previously. Ie. He took the same AR reading assessment at the end of last year and his average was 3.5, but this year was 2.0 and this is what they tell him to read in school and take AR tests on. His tutor has him reading 5th grade level books and his behavioral vision specialist tested his reading and felt he read at a 5th grade level. He is working about a grade level lower in math as well.
His MAPS test taken this year showed very low scores, but the (different) standardized testing last year showed him to be well above the 90th percentile in everything except a phonics section. I think that the poor scores were because his anxiety levels were high due to the new school.
We have went to many professionals, who all seem to be able to tell us what they think is going on, but none seem to have a plan to help him beyond lists of school accommodations that don�t really seem like they would be helpful to him (like extended test times, study guides in advance of other students).
It�s clear that his teachers think I am crazy, pushy mom and repeatedly tell me how my child is barely average academically. I know what he can do and know this is not true. I don�t know what to do to help my son show what he is capable of at school or how to help the teachers understand him.
Thank you!
Jody
