My son was just tested and found to have a 'Significant Reading Dissability', what are our rights?

Question

The testing found a large discrepancy between his intelligance level and his actual reading and comprehension level. He now qualifies for special education, but I am not sure that is the best thing. It seems he will be plunked in a room full of kids at all different levels of learning. He was making strides last year (1st grade) with a reading teacher and has fallen backward since them. We have hired that reading teacher to tutor him and she feels the reason for the step backward is because what she has taught him is not being carried over into the classroom. I feel like actually placing him in special education class is not the answer. We are willing to do anything on our end as parents to help. Do we have any other options? We live in Michigan. Thanks in advance.

Mustanger - We have included a relative who is a literacy coach for teachers in a neighboring district into our discussion. We have also discussed this situation with another relative, who IS the attorney for our district and our board. We have included the tutor in our discussion as well as our family doctor and previous teachers and our districts parent advocate. YA is just another piece to get wonderful pieces of real life experience. I am not sure how you decided that we were looking for advice in this forum to base our actions for our 'son's entire future', but that is most certainly not the case.

Answer 1

First of all--you are wise to be autious about special ed. Contrary to what "bellajay" and others said, you can't count on special ed classes providing "intensive" instruction. Granted that is what they are supposed to do--but its rarely what happens. More likely, in most schools, those classes have become little more than day care. Also exercise EXTREME caution with regard to an IEP. These plans are intended to spell out wha tyour son needs--and put it in writing. but in practice they often become an excuse for not providing needed services--and may require you to do things NOT needed--like putting your son in a special ed class. Also, the "Special Ed diplomas often issued under an IEP are not high school diplomas--and are all but worthless.

Two more things. First, to learn about your rights, you should plan on educating yourself. Start by going to wrightslaw.com. This is the best place online to learn about your legal rights regarding disabilities. Second, get in touch with disability advocacy organizations in your area. They can help you.

Finally, you said "signifigant reading disability." That actually doesn't say much.--its not a specific diagnosis You should have a specific diagnosis--and perhaps have outside evaluation/testing done. If this diagnosis was made by the school system or its representatives, you absolutely should get a second opinion.

Keep in mind--under federal law, your son has a legal right not only to an education, but to being taught in an inclusive situation if possible (i.e. not segregated into special ed unless its really necessary) and to reasonable accomodations--and is entitled to these things with or without an IEP, etc.

Answer 2

Your rights should include a few options:

The option to leave your son in his regular classroom and have the teacher teach him at his level... the con to this is that the teacher may not be specialized to teach in a way your son can understand b/c she is not a "special ed" teacher.

You should have the option to have your son leave his regular classroom for just about 30 min or so to go to another classroom where they will teach him reading comprehension skills in a small-group setting (I find this the best for my child's needs)

You should not have to move your son to a special ed class completely if he ONLY has reading disabilities

My suggestion to you is to call the school DISTRICT office of special education to find out all your rights. I have found recently that the school makes decisions based on the school and not based on the child (this is a situation I have dealt with here in my school district and didn't find out the truth until I called the district office). Now, not all schools are like this - my daughter has been in special ed since kindergarten and this was the first time I had a school not doing what was best for my child and doing what was financially best for them.... Anyway, that was my personal rant...

Back to your question, also ask the school or the district for the pamphlet that has your rights as a parent of a special ed student listed. There's alot of information. In some cases you can hire a tutor and have the school reimburse you for it. It all just depends on the options the school is giving you and how well they meet the needs of your son.

Oh yeah and I don't know if the organization Parents Helping Parents is out there php.org but if it is, join or attend the free meetings, there's ALOT of information out there. Also if PHP is not there, ask the school district of there is another parent support group that they know of. It's always best to learn from other parents who have been there.

Good luck to you and your son!

Answer 3

Please don't count out the benefits of learning in a special education classroom just yet. The intensive instruction that would take place just might be what your son needs to make progress with reading. It could be just a stepping stone for him. I think that you would have more luck having the material the reading teacher taught him being carried over in spec. ed room rather than the gen. ed room. The job of a special education teacher is to follow the IEP and teach students in the way that they individually learn best. In a gen. ed class of 20-25 kids, it's just not always as possible as it is in a class of 12 kids. You have the right to request a CSE meeting and bring up your concerns and request that various evaluations be completed so that your child can recieve all the services that he needs. If for some reason you do not feel as though the school is meeting the needs of your son, you also have the right to have an advocate present. An advocate will push for services and your son's education on your behalf. This can be very helpful to parents especially if they are new the laws and workings of special education. Also, If possible, have the tutor teach you how she works with your son, that way, even if the school district does not do it, you can do it at home. Good luck!! Oh, and you can find out a ton of information about learning disabilities on the web site www.ldonline.org it's really helpful.

Answer 4

You can demand an IDP meeting to review the results and set out an action plan.

Most good school systems should be able to offer you a resource reading program or teacher. You do not want him out of the regular classroom if he has normal intelligence. You SHOULD be able to get an IDP written that demands compliance from the regular classroom teacher in addition to assistance.

You need to demand tests to find out WHY he is having problems (dyslexia, comprehension problems, processing disorder) so that the issue can be addressed and mediated.

If the public school system cannot or won't help, you may be able to find a private school that specializes in LD students. Some public schools demand that a student be failing before they can get special help.

You are fortunate to have found this out now. Perhaps the reading teacher could give you some tips on how to help him at home as well.

Answer 5

Although you may feel like placing him in Special Ed. classes may not be the best thing because of the classroom situation- there are different "levels" or types of S.E.. He does not need to be pulled out like that in a room with all different levels.. There are also reading programs such as Title I, Read180 and so forth.. At an IEP meeting, I suggest reading your parents right handbook before hand and go into the meeting with 2 or 3 ideas, like Read180 and so on and demand that for your child.. Also- in IEP's, we CAN put time limits on anything we as a team decide for our children.. So you can have various intervention plans before you find one that works.. For example, I normally try out different programs or services and put on the IEP that we will try this and meet again after a certain time (I normally do a semester).. If it works, we keep it.. If it doesn't, we look into a new program and go from there! It's somewhat time consuming, I know- but everything is time consuming.. There's no sense in using what seems to please everyone if it's not really helping!

Answer 6

When there is such a discrepancy between his IQ and his actual reading and reading comprehension level, I blame the teacher.
A lot of teachers still use flash cards, not having been trained in phonics. But phonics, produces better readers. Teach a child with flash cards, they only learn a few words, teach phonics and they can read whatever is put before them.
I became a home room mother, when my son was in special ed in the fifth grade. The teacher taught with flash cards. One little boy could read the word "fish" on the flash card, but not on the written page. When the teacher scolded him about it, he replied that the flash card had a spot on it and he remembered that the card with the spot meant fish.
The teacher mostly sewed cloth dolls. I felt his time in that class was totally wasted.
I visited my college president and asked for a student in training to be a teacher to tutor him in reading, and I insisted on phonics. .He went three times a week for an hour.
The result is he is an adult now, who loves to read, and reads well.
Special Education, sounds like a good thing where they give your child extra help. Alas, it warehouses them. There is no encouragement for top grades. I was in the class one day, when the teacher told students to think of things they wanted to be, when they grew up. If they said lawn helper, garbage collector she said "Good". If they said teacher, scientist, she said, Oh now, are you sure you want to do that.
And of course you are aware that the other grades will call out, "here come the retards." when your son goes from class to class. sorry I mean no disrespect to mentally retarded children, thats just how it it. Special Ed will set him back, not help him.
Good Luck, he is fortunate to have you for his parent.

Answer 7

>>>>It seems he will be plunked in a room full of kids at all different levels of learning"<<<<

Special Education is a SERVICE not a PLACE. It seems you son could benefit from co-teaching (where the special education teacher comes into the regular classroom and teaches with the regular classroom teacher) or a limited form of resource or pull-out where he spends the MAJORITY of his day in the regular classroom and goes to the resource room or pull out program for reading.

Also, whatever is written into the IEP (individual education plan) for your son is what needs to happen. So if the team decides he gets a certain type of support, modifications, or interventions in the regular classroom, then that's what he should get and there should be documentation of this.

Answer 8

On something as important as your son's future, why get opinions on Y/A. Talk to the school board. If you don't like what they say find a good lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing. Your local bar association should be able to give you a list and an initial consultation, through the bar association, is generally in the area of $25 or so. Y/A is a great place but by no means the type of advice you want when it comes to your son's entire future. Also try a search on the web for reading disabilities. You will find a wealth of information out there.

Answer 9

God doesn't just make up rules and do anything He pleases. He's holy and good, and the rules for what is and is not good could never have been otherwise. God told the early humans that their only happiness lies in Him, and any other choice would lead them to death and misery. That's not something God could have made otherwise if He felt like it- it's just a simple description of the nature of reality. . . sort of like telling someone that if they jump off a tall building they'll die. But, they chose to go their own way and do their own thing anyway, and, just as He told them, they suffered the consequences for that. God wouldn't be righteous or holy if he simply overlooked that sin and let them do anything they pleased. The penalty for sin is death, and if God is to be just, then that debt must be paid, somehow. But God, being the loving creator that He is, wasn't willing to let that be the end of it. He was willing to pay that price Himself, so that we could be saved from hell. Because if we don't pay the price, then somebody surely must do it in our place. Jesus could do that for us because He never sinned, and therefore he didn't owe a sin debt at all. It's sort of like if you commit a crime and get thrown in jail. The other prisoners are not going to be able to help you post bail. Only somebody who hasn't commited a crime and is therefore not in jail himself will be able to come bail you out. So our sin-debt was paid by Jesus' death, and because of that, we can be right with God again. The righteousness of God is satisfied, and His love for us is proved at the same time.

Answer 10

Don't be discouraged, keep encouraging the child. Find a school that specializes in helping children with special needs. I would not suggest putting him in class with a lot of different students on different levels, he needs to excel with other students on the same pace. You should consider whatevers best for the child.