Managing a Child's Learning Disability: Believe No One - Página 2

Some experts believe that this new set of guidelines for early intervention will most likely address environmental deficits for children and probably not identify highly intelligent, gifted children who aren't performing up to their potential due to learning disabilities. One reality has to be that there will be more pressure than ever on the school districts to meet the expanded legal requirements of IDEA. As a parent you will still have to fight to get the resources for your child. Know your child's rights under the law and be prepared to elevate the discussion with school administrators.

As you come to grips with the realities of your child's school and your state's funding, you will need to become the face and the voice for your child. There is a media and public relations tactic that we can employ in the education arena. When people are interviewed and asked questions they generally have prepared statements or messages that they will repeat over and over no matter what the question. When a celebrity is asked about his newborn baby he'll say, "She's great and I can't wait to see her after the launch of my new movie....." When asked if the baby will be making a public appearance soon, he replies, "This movie was everything we hoped for and you won't be disappointed. You get the idea.

So, what are your messages?

• How is my child doing?
• Can you be specific?
• May I see some of her work?
• What is she working on?
• How does her time as defined by the IEP compare with the actual resource being provided?
• May I see the classroom schedules?

You want to become a familiar face to everyone who interacts with your child. You are interested in exactly what is being implemented in the school setting to help your child learn. You are interested in exactly what progress she is making. Stop by the classroom several times a week. Be a room parent. Volunteer at every possible opportunity. Stop the counselor in the hall. Be known to the principal and every member of the office staff. And make those visits as positive as possible because you may be perceived as a negative presence before you know it.

You are interested in obtaining information. When a teacher says your child is doing fine, you need to ask, "Can you be more specific?" Your child is such a joy to have in class. "Really, in what way?" You need to ask to see your child's school work before parent's night. Ask for a portfolio of work so that you can actually see what they are doing at school. When children are in first through at least third or fourth grade there may be little in a backpack to provide clues for what is happening at school. Don't believe that ‘no news is good news.' Get the facts early and take action.

Believing no one may sound overly cynical, but it isn't. Teachers are well intentioned but often young and inexperienced. Or, they may be protected by tenure (enough said). The majority are good but they have too many students and not enough help. And, almost without exception, they are completely under educated and under trained regarding learning disabilities. That fact, combined with limited resources, makes you the only person who will fight for what your child needs. When you are told the classroom of twenty five doesn't allow for your child to get the one-on-one accommodation she needs, don't accept it. If you are advised that the Individual Education Plan (IEP) is being followed and you still have concerns, ask for a meeting. When the school contacts you for an IEP meeting get it on your schedule, prepare lists of your concerns and questions, and be sure there is adequate time for you to listen to their reports and address your list as well.

The report from school that your child is doing fine is not something that should give you comfort. In fact, a child with learning disabilities in an average size classroom who, according to the teacher, is doing fine may actually be falling through the cracks. You may not hear the giant sucking noise as they are swallowed up, but they are sinking. Why? If they have a learning disability and no behavioral problems that may be disruptive or noticeable to the classroom teacher, they may appear to be the ideal student. They sit in silence and don't demand attention. Of course, they appear to be fine and they are a respite for the teacher, but they aren't receiving what they need to learn. That is where you come in.

When Danielle was in the first grade I went to visit her classroom in the third week of school. The room was decorated and so inviting. The children were all so animated and cute. I sat in the back of the classroom until the bell rang and children were directed to put their things in their desks and go to recess. I walked up to Danielle who was still standing by her desk. Her face lit up as she reached for my hand. The teacher walked over and told me how much she enjoyed having Danielle in her class. I looked at the top of Danielle's desk and there, taped to the desk, was a colored calendar with at least a dozen boxes filled with time schedules. The teacher explained that this was Danielle's special schedule. She had a reading and math class that was integrated into her day in lieu of recess and art. She explained the schedule and the various locations in the building. I asked the teacher how Danielle was supposed to know when it was time to go to her different classes and how she was supposed to find the rooms. The teacher said they tried to remind her or sometimes if the resource teacher didn't have another student she would stop by.

Well, right away I had a mental and emotional list of about ten reasons why that was unacceptable. My anger was rising along with the grip on Danielle's hand. I fought the urge that would become all too familiar, to take her away from this place. But instead in a controlled voice I asked how a six year old child is supposed to follow a complex schedule with no help. The other children were guided and escorted everywhere, but Danielle was supposed to follow a spreadsheet that requires telling time and memorizing an architectural drawing of a 12,000 square foot building. The teacher responded, "That is the way we do it."

Believe no one and nothing. They may have done it that way for three weeks, but, for Danielle, they never did it that way again. I asked for a meeting with the principal, the counselor, and the head of the school district's special education department, the teachers and our private learning consultant. The accommodations they had made for Danielle looked like they were meeting their legal requirements. But when called to defend them they had to admit that Danielle wasn't receiving the agreed upon educational services. The only two people who could look me in the eye were the resource teacher and our consultant. I knew this resource teacher was someone I needed to get to know better.

 
Reprinted with permission: Surviving Learning Disabilities Successfully: Sixteen Rules for Managing a Child's Learning Disabilities, "Rule #3: Believe No One". Copyright 2007 Nancy E. Graves and Danielle E. Graves.