MON, thank you so much. That is exactly what is going on! Thank you for breaking it down for me. Love the parapelic analogy.
This is the fundamental problem I run into all of the time in one way or another with DS disabilities. Hypontonia and the vision disorder are hidden disabilities for the most part... they are real but invisible. People, including teachers, aids, psychologists eve, simply do not understand or truly 'see' them. No matter how much I tell people about them, they have a hard time really grasping that DS has an actual physical weakness that other children (that do not have the disability) do not have. It is ignored and not understood and often not accommodated for which leads to all sorts of anxiety and problem behaviors. I don;t understand how many times this has to be explained to educators before they truly 'get it.' And I do not beleive they are at all malicious - it is like they just have this 'mental block' to it.
Anyway, I love how you lay out the disablity vs. grade level/iep. I will probably need it and use it in future dealings...so thank you! I'd love to write out an email and explain it to her right now, but I will wait and see what she comes back with, I suppose... I just feel compelled to educate them because they really need it and I'd like them to truly understand. YKIM? I guess we'll see what she comes back with!
