Just So You Know

Just got back from parent teacher conference

DS#2 is in 4th grade. In 1st grade I realized he had a learning problem. The school refused to test him (He's doing fine in class except for his behavior). I paid to have private testing. The diagnosis came back positive for 3 issues. He's dyslexic (no surprise, so is his dad), Cognitive Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), and Impaired/Lacking Executive ability. In plain English, I have a troubled reader who has difficulty understanding verbal instructions and can't prioritize his homework or school assignments.

Once I had the private testing done, the school was willing to run some tests of their own. They basically agreed that he had a CAPD problem but the resource teacher told us that dyslexia is a made up condition that doesn't exist. They also said that they really felt he was ADHD and wouldn't take him into resource until we medicated him. (It's not yet illegal in my state to suggest that). Since the resource department refused to help us, the principal called me and suggest that we write up a 504 accommodation separate from the Resource people and she would file it. It turns out that she has a dyslexic son and remembers. meBarbie gave me some great things on CAPD that I took up to the school.

Fast forward 3 years of fighting with the teachers and the resource faculty. This year we have a new principal and a new resource teacher and my son only reads on a 1st grade level. The school psychologist doesn't think he has any psychological issues beyond the coping mechanisms he's developed to hide his learning disability. I've now hired a private tutor who wanted to come to the school and do one of his sessions during the time that he was in school. We tried it once. The principal and new resource teacher had an absolute hissy fit. We started going over files. All the stuff Barb gave me, all the copies of the independent testing, the 504 that we wrote up with the former principal - - NONE OF IT IS IN THE FILES. The only thing in the file is the testing the school did that showed he was on grade level and the 504 that we refused because I was not going to medicate him for a condition he doesn't have.

So the principal and the resource teacher are jumping all over me for not having him tested when he first started falling behind. I just sat there dumbfounded. For FOUR YEARS I have been begging for help. Now they're saying that I'm the problem because the previous resource teacher is claiming that we refused to allow her to work with him. EXCUSE ME???

So, tonight as parent teacher conferences I signed all the paperwork for them to retest him. I took in new copies of the resources that Barb gave me and next week, I'll take in copies of the private testing that was done (I have to find it). DH is convinced that they're just trying to placate me since they now know that I'm paying for private tutoring. I'm worried that they will confuse him since I'm not going to stop the tutoring. The tutor said that she would be happy to co-ordinate working with the resource teacher but I don't think the school will be happy about working with her. DH thinks it's all just blowing smoke and they won't do anything but warehouse him since that's what happened to him when he was in resource. DH also thinks that they're going to tell us that it's all a behavior problem again. I have a defense for that though. I have a letter from the school psychologist from last year telling me that she felt DS#2 is an incredibly wise kid who knows how to manipulate people in order to get out of things that he doesn't want to do. She asked if we had considered testing him for learning disabilities. (Maybe that should have clued me in that things were missing from his file?)

In the meantime, I'm going to have to start taking him out on the last 1/2 hour of school on Thursday for the reading tutoring. It's the only time slot that she has available during the week this year. If she has a student drop then she will consider a 4:00 pm slot for him.

In addition, we got the CRT testing from last year back. He's above the state, school, and class averages for mathematics and way below all the statistics for reading. This district has a track record for finding ways to keep resource or 504 kids out of advanced classes. DH is convinced that by getting him reading help, we'll lock him out of advanced math classes.

I'm just so confused anymore about knowing what's best for him.

Sorry for the rant.

posted by Shondratasha @ 19:57