A Parent's Perspective — The Parent Role in the LD Evaluation Process - Page 2

I didn’t know anything about the testing process. I didn’t even know what the results necessarily meant. I just knew that I needed to have answers even though I wasn’t sure what the questions were at that point.

After testing, it was the psychologist’s opinion that Marielle’s issues were not significant enough to warrant taking her out of the school where she had been happy and was progressing. But the seed had been planted, and it no longer felt comfortable to leave her in regular preschool because, as her parent, [I knew] something was definitely wrong. I didn’t know what it was.

So I went to look at a number of special needs preschools. The one that I ultimately chose needed to do their own testing. So again, I had a three-year-old who had more testing [done] on her than most children have in their entire school lives. She received a psychological evaluation again, another speech and language evaluation, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. What came out of this, and this was a public program, was that in all of the areas they tested, she qualified for [assistance]. [This indicated] she was really struggling across the board and really needed something.

As to how that felt, it was unbelievably sad. Those were the days where I cried frequently about this. Some of the tears were for me but so much was for the struggle I knew that she would face in such a vast unknown at three years old. No one could assure me that with deficits so significant at such an early age, what the future would hold.

[Despite] all the fear and the heartache at that time, I was also hopeful because I understood, as much as I didn’t initially want this, that a special needs preschool would also have a group of children with similar needs and a program that addressed them.

What I didn’t realize (because I was so focused on that particular year and that moment) was the following fall in the special needs preschool. They began to talk about the following year, which for Marielle would have been kindergarten. What I remember being sort of taken with was the realization that it wasn’t just a question of being in a regular versus a special needs preschool for a year. This was a lifelong process. This was not going to go away in a year or two. That was really the beginning of the process for us as a family.

NCLD: Once she was already identified as having a specific learning disability, what types of options were presented to her in school?

Judith Halden: Again, because she was so young, she was just entering what would have been kindergarten. At that time, the options were much fewer than they are today. One option for us was to put her in a public kindergarten program. She could have attended our local public school which is only three blocks from our house, but she would have been in what was called a self-contained class meaning she would have been with all other children who were identified with some type of issue. It wasn’t even just a learning issue within a three-year age spread.

But for the most part, these children were isolated from their peers, which is not at all the case today. The services that she qualified for (which were many) would have been offered as pull-out programs, meaning that she would have had to leave the classroom to be worked with privately while missing what went on in her class.

I also was concerned that Marielle might need more than what the public school option provided. But at five years old, there were not private schools at that point that would take her. So we opted to put her in a self-contained kindergarten classroom. And the following year, other options opened up and we began to look at those.

NCLD: Thank you Judith for sharing this part of your LD journey with your daughter Marielle, and discussing how to deal with schools and the challenges that you faced navigating this situation. Can you offer us some takeaway messages for how to navigate the evaluation process?

Judith Halden: Keep in mind (not that most parents need to be reminded of this) that your child comes first. I think at times we parents feel like we don’t really want to be the squeaky wheel, but the reality is that sometimes you really need to be.

Make sure not to neglect what you as a parent need for yourself — be it talking to friends, or gathering more information — because it can be a really tough process at times. Keep asking questions. Keep networking with people who have similar issues or children with similar issues. And try to stay positive.

NCLD: Thanks again Judith for sharing all this very personal and very important information with our parent audience.

This transcription was made possible by a grant from the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation.