Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional 504 plan?

DD7 has some issues and everyone that's worked with her has suggested a 504 plan. I have a meeting at school set up for later in the month. She attends a gifted school with a rigorous curriculum. She understands the material but has memory, speed, fine motor and gross motor problems getting in her way according to her IQ testing and OT evaluation. I would like to help her as much as possible so she has an easier time next year. She is getting A and B grades but her math and spelling slip because those ares most effected.

I worry for her that the school will think this is a kid that 1: can't keep up or 2: can't do math & spelling. BUT when given extra time on math tests she does very well, she just can't get it done quickly, it takes her a very long time.

Any help, encouragement, words of wisdom or suggestions? This is so new to me!

A 504 plan gets your DD only accommodations (reduced workload, preferential seating, etc)-- not services.

For fine and gross motor problems and memory deficits, I'd want an IEP in place-- this would provide direct services (PT, OT, access to 1:1 teaching with a special educator) to improve her functioning in these areas. Anything that costs the school money (personnel time) generally falls under the realm of an IEP.

To start this process, you need to request a formal evaluation from the school-- in writing-- and tell them all the areas in which you suspect deficits. After that, they are to convene a meeting and decide what she needs and how those needs will be met. The Wrightslaw book From Emotions to Advocacy has lots of information and sample letters.

HTH,
DeeDee

A 504 plan may help her very much. It sounds like if she is given extra time, she is able to complete the work in a quality manner and is able to demonstrate her understanding of the concepts and skills. In addition to extra time, it seems she might benefit from technology to help her with her fine motor skills (key boarding). Even private schools must honor a 504 if they take any Federal money.

Learn more about 504's here:
http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/accommodations
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.index.htm
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-rights/section-504.gs?content=868

thanks! it is a public school. i am getting her OT privately outside of school, hooray for insurance. Should i still pursue an IEP? We did that when she was young and needed speech therapy services but always did private therapy outside of school. I think she needs accommodations at school anyway, not services.

thanks!!

It sounds like a 504 is necessary. If everyone who works with her thinks that she needs one, then just do it. As a friend on mine said, if your kid needed glasses you wouldn't hesitate to buy them. It should be the same with 504 accommodations. Legally, the school can't discriminate against her just because she has a 504.

FWIW, I just attended a 504/IEP process review for 2e students through our school district. They said that since the they eliminated the discrepancy model (achievement being much lower than potential based on IQ and achievement testing) many 2e students do not qualify for IEPs. The key question to qualify for an IEP is whether the student can receive reasonable educational benefit from general education classes alone. If your child still gets As and Bs at a gifted school it is highly unlikely that she would meet this criteria.

It depends. The special education law includes not only academic but also "functional" skills. If your child lacks functional skills such that she cannot complete tasks other children can complete, even if she is performing at or above grade level, she may still be eligible for IEP services. This wording in the law is the best protection I know of for 2e kids.

If you search "functional" on the Wrightslaw website you will get pointers to this information.

DeeDee

I've helped a LOT of parents through the 504 process (re: hidden medical disability) over the years, so I'm pretty familiar with both IDEA and ADA's provisions for plans.

That said, if you can qualify under IDEA, no question that is the best route to go.

The only exceptions that I can think of are disabling conditions which require "management" rather than remediation/goal-oriented improvements, and are anticipated to persist into adulthood without real mitigation-- in those cases, the child will need the protections of 504 in college, but still, cross that bridge when the child transitions out of IEP eligibility in middle/high school. These are persons for whom ADA is more appropriate, generally speaking. Learning is often not the life activity most impaired in those cases, however.

Take a careful look at the qualifying conditions written into the law in IDEA. Many students with moderate impairments may not qualify under a full evaluation; but with learning the primary functional impairment, the odds are much better.

The real differences between the two things are in the fact that IEP's come with federal funds attached, that there is a very clear protocol for writing/review/procedural safeguards set forth under the law. It isn't necessarily about the kinds of services or accommodations available, though strictly speaking "services" are only an option under IEP and not a 504 plan.

I'd request information from the Special Ed team regarding whether or not they believe that your child could qualify under IDEA. If not, then a 504 certainly seems reasonable-- but I'd want the IEP if it is possible. From a parental standpoint, there are much clearer procedural safeguards, and an IEP must be written with measurable goals which are evaluated at regular intervals. (I say this as parent to a child with a 504 plan.)



ETA: Oh, and the evaluation criteria for both laws involves not comparison to levels of function, but comparisons to the person's unaffected peers, which one could argue fairly successfully would not necessarily be "average chronological peers" in the case of a student with high cognitive potential via testing.

HTH!

The best legal reference for this that I know of is a due process finding that is most frequently abbreviated as "Lillie/Felton":

http://www.dueprocessillinois.org/LillieFelton.html

thank you for all the information and feedback, it is pretty overwhelming. I am going to try to sort through it all so I am prepared for the meeting in 2 weeks.

howlerkarma, you said something about unaffected peers... i just found out that DD was given extra time to complete a math test. she took almost an hour and a half to complete a test that her peers completed in 30 minutes or less. She scored an 89 on the test. obviously if she had to turn in her paper after 30 minutes she would have failed because it would be incomplete.

How can a child even function in school at all if they need an hour and a half to do a test?? I am so worried about her sinking because of these issues.

edited to fix a name... sorry howlerkarma, i called you howlermonkey!

This appears to be the discrepancy model under the old IDEA(?). Has this standard been applied to the 2004 version of IDEA?
I'm still learning this stuff so any guidance is appreciated.

Knute, it would appear that, if anything, the 2004 changes would strengthen the position adopted in Lillie/Felton.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/elig.index.htm

I'm not an attorney, by any means, but this seems to indicate that the criteria for eligibility are based (still) on whether or not the child has: a) a disability under the law, and b) need for "related aids and/or services" as a result of that disability.

Mitigating measures (such as giftedness) which may mask the degree of the impairment are a separate issue-- or should be. The consideration that I'm most familiar with here is a judgement of whether or not a particular aid/service would provide educational BENEFIT to the child. Not whether or not it would put the student "ahead" of average peers, which is the underlying point of Lillie/Felton.