Help! Anyone Else Been In My Shoes?

kimby · 03-05-2005, 08:33 PM

HELLO EVERYONE I AM A MOTHER OF A 7 YR OLD DAUGHTER. RIGHT NOW I AM FIGHTING FOR EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS. I AM AT THE BRINK OF EXPLOSION. I LIVE IN ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN MY AREA. THE THING IS THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FINDS ALL KINDS OF WAYS OF DENYING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS THEIR RIGHTS. YOU SEE THEY MAKE THE DIAGNOSIS TO BE NOT OF NEED OR CONCERN.
AS I SAID MY CHILD IS 7 AND STRUGGLING WITH READING ITS CHOPPY AND SLOW SHE SOESNT COMPREHEND WHAT SHE HAS READ, HER MATH IS TO BE NOT HER GREATEST SUBJECT, HER WRITING IS VERY DARK AND SLOPPY, SHE WRITES HER LETTERS BACKWARDS AND #S TOO. ( YOU SEE THE SCHOOL "FIXES IT " BY PUTTING A LAMINATED PAPER ON HER DESK WITH THE CORRECT WAY TO WRITE THEM) SAYING THAT IT IS GETTING BETTER. HER SPELLING IS HORRIBLE. WELL TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT,WITH ALL THE READING I HAVE BEEN DOING THESE SIGNS POINT TO DYSLEXIA. I NEED TO KNOW IF ANY OF YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS FIGHT AND WON THE BATTLE!!!!!!
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IM GOING CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS SO MUCH
KIMBY
PS I HAVE MY EVAL MEETING THIS WEEK SO I NEED HELP ASAP!!!
I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING
IM TIRED OF

ING AROUND WITH THE SCHOOL!

lulu · 03-05-2005, 08:40 PM

It would really

me to know what state you are in so that I can research the school district. Let me know that, then I will see what I can do to

.

kimby · 03-05-2005, 09:11 PM

Hi Lulu

I Am In Pennsylvania.
Thanks For You Help!

tiffysmom · 03-06-2005, 12:28 PM

Go to her pediatrician and ask that she be evaluated for dixlesia. With diagnosis in had go to the school district, because, regardless of where you live every child in the United States has to have an education, regardless of disability. My oldest of the boys has dixlesia and I went through a whole bunch of crap. His pediatrician evaluated him and the school distric did not have any choice. My son can tell his letters now. He is an acomplished artist. What

ed him was covering one eye while he read. Anyway a word of consolation dixlesic people are extremely bright what happens is that their brain processes information too fast and eyes cannot catch up. Once they are trained believe me they excell in everything.

jhzcmom · 03-06-2005, 01:01 PM

I am also from the wonderful school districts in PA and my 8 yr. old son was having the exact same problems, kimby. First off if you want to have a professional evaluate your son for dyslexia, you can do so and the school has to pay for it ( at least that is what I was told and my school did pay for it) What part of PA are you from? If you are familiar with State College there is a great place there to have your daughter evaluated. As it turned out my son didn't have dyslexia, he was just a little younger than the others in his class and couldn't keep up. Does your school have a Title One reading program and an IST program?
The Title One program just gives the kids more one on one time with a reading specialist and the IST is actually a program made up of alot of specialist to

with your kids progress, I still have meetings every 3 months just to make sure my son is where he should be. Hope this

s, I know it is very hard to get anything done and you feel

for your child. If there is anything else I can

with just let me know.

kimby · 03-07-2005, 06:10 AM

Well I Have Gone To The Doctor And They Said That Drs Dont Test Dyslexia A Psychologist Does The School Dont Test For Dyslexia. I Feel I Am Stuck In The Middle Somewhere. I Am More From The Pittsburgh Area.
We Have Been To A Pediatric Opthomoligist And He States That Her Problems Are Not Due To Her Eyes. We Have Also Had The Patching System On Her Eyes Due To Amblyopia, And When I Mentioned This To The School They Immediately Tried Blaming Her Problems On The Eyes. You See My Husband Has These Same Problems And He Was Just Pushed Through The Same School System, With No Diagnosis Just Excuses.
My Daughter Is Also On Her Second Set Of Ear Tubes, Which They Ahve Tried Blaming It On Her Ears, The Dr Says No That Is Not The Problem Either.
I Have Been Reading The Book Of Wrights Laws For Special Education And Hopefully I Will Go Into This Meeting Well Informed And Armed For The Battle.
Im Scared And Nervous Of The Fight Will Lead Me Next. I Will Demand An Iee But The School Will Take It To Due Process Meanwhile They Will Fail My Child And The Fight Will Continue Next Year.
Yes We Belong To A Title One Program And We Have An Iep Program. She Is In The Reading Class But It Doesnt Seem To Help A Whole Lot.
She Tries So Very Hard To Succeed And It Breaks My Heart To Have Her Get As Frustrated And Then She Gives Up It Just Breaks My Heart.
Well Wish Me Luck I Will Call The School At 8 To Make The Appointment For The Meeting. Let Ya Know What Happens.
Thanks Again For All Your Advice.
Kimby

chickiepoo · 03-07-2005, 08:53 AM

Kimby ~~ My heart just aches for your daughter. School systems, no matter what state, are inadequate.

Your daughter deserves so much more than stupidity from the school district.

I hope that the advice from the other ladies will aid you and finding the right way to your daughter.

Blow those school officials out of the water...knowledge is power!! You can do it!!

Ellie

kimby · 03-07-2005, 10:40 AM

WELL I CALLED THE SCHOOL THIS AM THEY HAVE THE MEETING SCHEDULED FOR WED AM BUT I HAVE TO WORK SO NOW IM WAITING FOR THEM TO CALL ME BACK TO SEE IF WE CAN GET IT IN TODAY OR TOMORROW. I CALLED AT 8:30 AND NOW ITS 10:30 FEELS LIKE THE WHOLE DAY WENT BYE ALREADY. I HATE WAITING ON THEM. I HAVE A HOT TEMPER WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH THE SCHOOL. THEY HAVE ALREADY SCREWED WITH MY PARENTAL RIGHTS AND IM HOPING I DONT BLOW MY CASE. I ALSO HAVE A VERY INTELLIGENT DAUGHTER WHO WAS TESTED FOR THE GIFTED PROGRAM THREE YEARS AGO. sHE WAS IN 1ST GRADE AND TO THIS DAY I STILL HAVE NEVER RECIEVED ANY INFO FROM THE EVALUATION. NOT A REPORT NO MEETING AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HER IQ IS THAT KEPT HER FROM THE PROGRAM. SO I AM FURIOUS AS I DEAL WITH THE SYSTEM AGAIN. HOPE I DONT EXPLODE!!!!!!!!!!

ALL FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT AND ADVICE I REALLY TRULY APPRECIATE IT.
I HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO OTHER PARENTS IN OUR DISTRICT WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE FIGHT UNSUCCESSFULLY AND IM SERIOUSLY THINKING OF BRINGING THE MEDIA DOWN ON THEM. THEN MAYBE OTHER PARENTS WILL COME FORWARD ALSO. DOES ANYONE THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA?
OR AM I CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR MY CHILDRENS FUTURE?

THANKS AGAIN
KIMBY

tiffysmom · 03-07-2005, 01:44 PM

The media will always do it. Now try your listings Children Advocates, these are lawyers that represent children for very little or no fee. It will not hurt to look.

kimby · 03-09-2005, 05:54 AM

well the meeting is over and yet i am no further along.

the test shows that my child has above average intelligence. and no disability.
so why arent her grades reflecting this?
i still need to read through the report again. they suggested having her tested for ADD. they also said that the cirriculum in our system is tough and that the classroom teacher may not be doing her job. (well they said that in so many words)
i took your advice and took an advocate. now i am really lost. who exactly tests for dyslexia? They could not honestly rule out dyslexia.
oh i guess the battle continues.

tiffysmom · 03-18-2005, 07:54 PM

Talk to her pediatrician he/she might be able to

you in telling you who does the testing. That is who gave me the refferal for my son.

kimby · 03-21-2005, 06:30 AM

Well This Week Has Been Tough To Pull Through. I Wrote A Letter To The School Requesting More Testing Be Done. Well I Was Denied Any Expedited Time And Was Told 60 Day Process. Well Then Another Letter Was Sent Quoting Idea Regulations And Then They Ok'd My Request Verbally. Denied It To Me In Writing. I Have To Deliver A Letter Today Reitterating The Conversation. What A Mess!!!

I Took Her To Another Evaluator Who Says There Is Definately Something Wrong. We Need To Finish The Testing Though Her Frustration Levels Peaked And We Had To Put Testing On Hold. I Believe We Will Finish It This Week.

I Feel So Overwhelmed And Frustrated Myself. Truly Dont Know If I'm Coming Or Going These Days.

Have A Great Day Everyone! As My Battle Continues I Will Keep You Informed. Thanks For Your Help And Support!

Kimby

kimby · 05-11-2005, 06:42 AM

Well it's been awhile since I have been to this site but I wanted to let ya all know that I am still in the battle with the school.
The evaluation turned into an addendum and still found no disability. They still blame it on maturity and feel she needs to be retained. So I took it upon myself to see a "real" psychologist. And Guess what? She has a disibility. I am waiting on the written evaluation so I can spring it on the school. Where I go from here is up to them I guess but I know it will go to due process so

for me. I can't believe they wasted a whole school year on her.

I will keep u up to date when i get the evalation report in writing. I go back to get it on the 19th.

Thanks again for all your support!
Kimby

momofbpi · 05-11-2005, 07:39 AM

Hi Kimby

I have a similar situation with my triplets my son Ian has sensory Integration and adhd and hes on concerta he was evalutated at our childrens hospital and his own dr. then we had to

with the town to give us services and you have to keep pushing because t hey dont want to spend the money to make it better.

I do have to say with my daughter her eyes are bad and her math skills and writing was terrible we thought it was her eyes we had her tested the eye dr. said she was fine. Then we had her reading tested and she was fine but then I started noticing she couldnt concentrate on her school work at home and then her teacher was saying that when she was at school she wondered around not paying that much attention and the school said oh its her eyes dont worry about it.

Well we called our dr. he sent me a paper to fill out about stuff she was doing and he sent one to her teacher and when all was said she has attention def minus the hyper activity but shes on concerta right now and I have to say now that shes able to concentrate better her math is coming along and her hand writing is starting to become readable and she was doing letters back wards too.

The one thing shes still having problems with is when to add s or es and such to words shes 7 and in first grade and they do harder things now in everything then I remember doing in school.

We are having a parent teacher conf. to set up testing before school gets out again to make sure she doesnt need any services in school like my son. she gets math tutoring right now and I had to push for that.

I would suggest what everyone else is saying to have her looked at by a professional even if you have to go to a neurologist like we did with our son Ian then we went to the childrens hospital and they tested him too that way our town couldnt say boo once we had a usable diagnosis and then they had to give services. Unfort. al ot of school systems do this because there are so many kids who need services and they dont want to pay for it. You are the only advocate your child has but some towns have youth advocates to

with the

for your rights you could look up and see if you have any in your town.

Goodluck and keep pushing because even if the school says theres nothing wrong your her mother and you know best so good luck i had this

before and i know its frustrating you can do it. Hugs Kim

kimby · 05-11-2005, 08:34 AM

Hi momofbpi,

I have already gone and had an evaluation with a neuropsychologist. She gave me a generic version at the time of testing. I have to wait for the specifics after the report is written. I go back on the 19th for the report.

In the quick version she told me that we have frontal lobe problems, and right brain issues. On top of that she has a writing disability, a math disability and ADD. She also is going to recommend some kind of brain scan that is only run in Washington DC. So that is my next move medically. Well not actually, we go friday to see a psychiatrist for the ADD but her recommendation was to hold off the meds until we get the scan.

The next move educationally is that we make the school understand that what she has is a serious condition and that she needs special services. Thats a battle that I am so prepared for. I have really great advocates working for me. They keep my strengths up when my emotions take over. So I am very blessed in that fact.

ok well I'm gonna go. I will keep ya up to date on whats happening!
Thanks again everyone for your support!
Kimby

PS.
I am really

of medicating her. I have heard so many horror stories about the meds.