My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
Demand accountability from each other and from the systems that support students' health and learning.
Medical professionals often see children at different times during the school year and should be encouraged to discuss educational concerns as part of their routine intake interview. As experts in child development, they can encourage early screening efforts to ensure students don't have to wait to fail before being identified as at risk of learning failure.
Medical professionals can also be effective in expediting referrals for special education evaluations by empowering parents, foster parents, and other caregivers to be proactive in sharing concerns with school personnel and apprising them of their due process rights so that they can be effective advocates for their children.
Remember to consider the multidimensional nature of learning disabilities. "A learning disability is what you have, not who you are." Be sure those providing any type and level of care acknowledge the importance of addressing the medical, behavioral, and social and emotional needs of these children in addition to their unique instructional challenges.
Be outspoken advocates for students with learning disabilities.
Medical practitioners can have a strong positive impact in local school communities and at the district, state, and federal levels. As respected professionals, their voices can often penetrate unintended bureaucratic barriers; as advocates, they can often influence policy in support of improved services for students who struggle with learning. They are, perhaps most importantly, valuable members of the treatment teams that deliberate about the very services and supports that can have an immediate positive effect on school success. Invite them to participate in these meetings in writing, by phone, or in person.
Discourage a wait-and-see approach to decision making about learning disabilities. We're all guilty of waiting too long -- to see the doctor about a persistent pain, to finish a project that has taken over the living room floor, or to ask how our children are performing in school. When school problems arise, parents and other caregivers often are eager to dismiss concerns about learning disabilities as premature, or even place blame on external factors (he's tired, she lost her notebook, he was absent) and shy away from thinking about the possibility of LD. In fact, survey data suggest that even parents who admit to suspecting learning disabilities in their children will wait almost a year before seeking help.
Educators are often similarly predisposed to attribute students' struggles to immaturity or lack of effort. Join forces with medical professionals and send the strong message that sooner is better when it comes to investigating the possibility of LD.
Open and maintain effective, ongoing dialogue.
Too often we assume information about a child is readily shared among parents and other caregivers, educators and other professionals, and related service providers. This is rarely the case.
For example, an elementary school-age child may see her primary care physician for managing her AD/HD medication. In addition to her assorted subject area and specialty teachers, she also works with a special educator in a resource room program, and she has an afterschool tutor for math. Her parents daily oversee homework and studying for examinations, and she attends religious training classes each week led by a lay member of her faith community. These individuals will not know how to communicate with each other about their goals, expectations, and contributions to her success unless all of them make a concerted decision to do so. Establish a systematic approach to gathering and sharing feedback, perhaps facilitated by questionnaires, conference calls, or email.
Help students be effective self-advocates.
Longitudinal studies, following children over 20+ years, have shown that successful individuals with learning disabilities share key attributes:
- the ability to be an effective self-advocate and to identify and seek out needed services and supports,
- the ability to articulate specific details about their learning and behavioral needs,
- having a well-established network of people to whom to turn for support, and
- thinking ahead and being proactive in arranging for needed accommodations and modifications.
Medical professionals, educators, and parents, foster parents, and other caregivers should work together to ensure that students learn and rehearse self-advocacy skills from an early age and that, whenever appropriate, students are included in the development of educational and treatment plans.
© Child Welfare League of America. Reprinted with permission.
This article originally appeared in Children's Voice (March/April 2006), published by the Child Welfare League of America.
