Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Update on IEP Fight

Here is the original thread discussing DS13's WJIII and CELF-4.
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....ssistance_With_WJIII_for.html#Post197352


So, I met with the district Special Services director and head psychologist this morning. The psychologist agreed that there is something wrong and DS13's processing speed was slow. Member aeh also mentioned to me the coding vs decoding and how DS13 seems to code better than decode. The psychologist agreed and stated that she felt it was from the years of speech therapy.

In addition to the processing speed, the psychologist also agreed that there was a fairly large PSW. More than enough to be a concern. She felt it was also a concern that the WJIII and CELF-4 had fairly sizable discrepancies in numbers reversed. There was also concern that he had issues with Words-Expressive and was unable to explain similarities between two items.

So, it was decided that a 504 plan will be initiated before the start of school. He will also be going through further testing to see what the discrepancies are between more tests. He will be taking:
KABC II
KTEA II
OWLS
and either The Brief or the Delis-Kaplan for his executive function.

Hopefully we will be able to get more answers very soon!

Glad to hear there is movement in a positive direction! Especially that they're writing the 504 first, to get him jump started on the school year, while concurrently collecting more testing data for a possible IEP.

The KABC-II is a cognitive measure, like the WISC-IV, but tends to favor nonverbally-strong kids. The KTEA-II is an achievement test, with some optional phonological awareness subtests, and a decent set of writing subtests (better than the WJ). OWLS stands for Oral and Written Language Scales, and does what it says. Reasonable alternative to the TOWL. The BRIEF is a rating scale of executive function, which is valuable as it captures how his EF skills present in various natural contexts. The Delis-Kaplan assesses EF directly, through standardized in vitro tasks.

I am trying very hard to remain optimistic that the district will do the right thing. They didn't with DS9 who is 2E (ADHD).

KABC II....what would we look for as far as discrepancies between that and the WJIII?

If there may be doubts as to whether a teacher, school, or district may correctly handle the creation or implementation of an IEP or 504, some resources which may help parents know what to expect, how to advocate, and how to report include:
- the book From Emotions to Advocacy,
- wrightslaw website,
- National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) website.

Tips for meeting prep have been posted on other threads but in case it is helpful, here is a brief summary:

- Research state laws and the school or district policies and practices. This information is often found online. You may wish to print and put this in an advocacy ring binder to refer to over the years as the laws and policies/practices may change over time.
- Have any test results and other pertinent facts available to share (milestones, reading lists, other accomplishments/achievements)
- It is good to have them speak first. If asked to speak first, you may simply wish to thank everyone for attending and summarize that you are all here to share information and ideas about how to best meet your child's educational needs... and that you would like to hear from them.
- Agenda
- Know who is in the meeting, and their role(s)
- Stay calm
- Know what you are asking for
- TAKE NOTES including Who-What-Where-When-Why-How of services, so you can summarize in an e-mail afterward [Some families announce they plan to record the meeting and then do so, rather than taking notes.]
- Use active listening (rephrase what has been said, and put it in a question form) to clarify understanding
- Be open to receiving the school's data/observations.
- Listen to any proposals they may make, ask appropriate probing questions, such as how a proposal may work, how the proposal may help your child, the schedule/frequency of service delivery, etc
- Do not be forced to make a decision if you need time
- Summarize next steps & time frames, and/or need for a follow-up meeting
- Thank everyone for their time & interest
- After the meeting, write a summary (points of agreement, etc) and share it, possibly by e-mail

The KABC is relatively light on timed and verbal tasks, and it is supposed to be culture-reduced. The theoretical structure is a bit different from either the Wechslers or the WJ, although it probably has more in common with the WJ than the WISC, as it is partially-based on the same CHC model of intelligence. (Kaufman was a co-author on the later editions of Wechslers, and this was his attempt to integrate the empirical history of the Wechslers with the more-contemporary CHC model of intelligence, and also address some cultural bias issues.) It has a different range of task types for working memory, with verbal, symbolic, and visual-kinesthetic options, but, if I recall correctly, they are all forwards. There are a few fine motor tasks you won't see in the W/WJ.

I sent an email after hitting points of our meeting and thanking them for taking the time to discuss everything. I also stated I looked forward to working with them for the best possible outcome for DS13.

aeh, with his slow processing speed (especially on numbers reversed) is the KABC the wrong test for him? Or do you think it will be ok?

Actually, I think the KABC-II is probably a better test for kids with slow processing speed, as it doesn't stress speed as much. Numbers reversed is part of working memory, but isn't assessed on the KABC-II, if I recall. Number recall is forwards. The plus is that his strengths won't be as diluted by his weaknesses. The minus is that you do want to make sure his weaknesses are exposed enough to be acknowledged. Since the BRIEF and DK are also under discussion, that would be a good direction to look for exposing working memory vulnerabilities.

So some additional thoughts: did they specify that both the oral and written portions of the OWLS would be administered? Some SLPs use only the O of OWLS, unless specifically asked to give the W. Also, is it the OWLS or the OWLS-II?

I do want his strengths to be known but I want to make sure his weaknesses are apparent as well. I'm more worried that the weaknesses will be hidden, if that makes sense.

I have not yet read up on the Brief but I did research the DK. I think that test will tell us A LOT, which is good. He is, for sure, being tested on one of them.

The psychologist will be doing both oral and written on the OWLS but they did not specify which version. I stressed the written portion during our meeting because my son cannot write.

Oh, good. If you have any say, and they will only do one, I would lean toward the DK, definitely, as that is direct assessment. The BRIEF is a set of rating scales, which is good ecological data, but not as good for drilling down. Ideally, you would want both.

I just sent an email requesting the use of both but emphasizing the DK over the Brief if only one is used. We will see.

DS13 visited with a developmental optometrist on Wednesday. The doctor used the Visagraph III. He said while he cannot say whether or not DS is dyslexic, he did say that the profile fits. These are the scores:

Measurement Left Right Grade Norm Goal Grade Level

Fixations/100 words 158 158 114 <77 3.0
Regressions/100 words 22 22 23 <11 7.6
Avg Span of Recog 0.63 0.63 0.88 >1.30 3.0
Avg Duration of Fix 0.20 0.20 0.27 <0.23 18

Reading Rate (wpm) 187 195 >312 6.3
Direction Att Diff 14% 20% <14% 14

Grade Level Efficiency (GLE) 4.6
Cross Correlation 99%
Lines Found vs Compatible Lines 10/9