I need IEP advice... updated on page 2.

[UMaineTeach]

Apr 22, 2014 5:53:08 GMT -5 auntie said:

Apr 21, 2014 21:26:59 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

Do some research about how crossing midline effects literacy skills. I have to go to bed now or I would.
I have been doing a lot of work this year using parts of Brain Gym (cross crawls and lazy 8's) and we have a consultant working with us who insists these skill are critical, but I haven't actually read the articles, I just followed her directions. If you can find compelling information about crossing midline and reading they might continue services.

You might also look at his eye tracking, that is linked to reading success too. google things like visual tracking/visual pursuit

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278262604003161 - I have this article, but I don't know where to find it online for free

DS has dyslexia in addition to his other gifts- Aspergers, ADHD and GAD. When he was at the special reading school, Brain Gym was something other parents riffed on along with Irlen Lenses and the various listening programs with the clever names (Earobics, FastForWord, The Listening Program, etc). A lot of parents were pretty bitter about these as being woo rather than effective multisensory instruction. To a person, they wish they'd sucked up the $25K a year tuition and started with Orton-Gillingham or Lindamood Bell insted of wasting time and money on these other programs. IME, one of these two programs are the way to go- Orton took DS from a non-reader at 8 to reading on grade level in under 2 years. The foundation he got had him reading college level non-fiction in middle school.

We have Earobic at my school, but I have never used it. We have also had training in some Lindamood Bell and have the LiPS and the V/V programs. I have had success with many kids using the LiPS language of "what do you feel" vs "what do you hear" We haven't really used V/V at all. It's an embarssment that we spent like $3k and it sits on the shelf.

My district has jumped on every bandwagon that rides through town. I have also had good results with Sounds Sensible and SPIRE. Different kids, different programs.

[auntie]

Apr 22, 2014 21:32:37 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

Apr 22, 2014 5:53:08 GMT -5 auntie said:

DS has dyslexia in addition to his other gifts- Aspergers, ADHD and GAD. When he was at the special reading school, Brain Gym was something other parents riffed on along with Irlen Lenses and the various listening programs with the clever names (Earobics, FastForWord, The Listening Program, etc). A lot of parents were pretty bitter about these as being woo rather than effective multisensory instruction. To a person, they wish they'd sucked up the $25K a year tuition and started with Orton-Gillingham or Lindamood Bell insted of wasting time and money on these other programs. IME, one of these two programs are the way to go- Orton took DS from a non-reader at 8 to reading on grade level in under 2 years. The foundation he got had him reading college level non-fiction in middle school.

We have Earobic at my school, but I have never used it. We have also had training in some Lindamood Bell and have the LiPS and the V/V programs. I have had success with many kids using the LiPS language of "what do you feel" vs "what do you hear" We haven't really used V/V at all. It's an embarssment that we spent like $3k and it sits on the shelf.

My district has jumped on every bandwagon that rides through town. I have also had good results with Sounds Sensible and SPIRE. Different kids, different programs.

The thing with Lindamood Bell, which is sort of derived out of Orton, is that it requires fairly extensive training for the instructor- this isn't something you're going to master at an in-service. Some of DS's teachers in the reading school had their Masters in Orton. V/V is especially useful for those kids on spectrum who are hyperlexic and struggle with basic comprehension. It's about the only program out there for this kind of reading disability. IME, the kids who get LB in public schools don't tend to do as well. Few schools can devote the time to reading a private school will- DS used to have multisensory reading/writing 3 hours a day- year round.

One program you didn't mention is Read 180. It's a Scholastic program that was intended for kids who might come from backgrounds where reading isn't a thing because of language differences, poverty, culture. I was sort of gobsmacked our district piloted it when DS was in 9th- they insisted on bringing him in on the program even though he was reading well. I really didn't want him to take that class, but he enjoyed the break so I let it stand.  Read 180 is computer based; it did nothing for his reading per se- but it brought the writing piece, including mechanics and conventions, around. 

[stephm0188]

Bumping this to update.

His meeting was today. The decision to dismiss him from PT was based on her opinion that he is on par with his peers. No evaluation or any sort of data to support the decision to drop him.

The wording for APE was also shady, so I objected to that as well. Waiting to hear from the school psychologist and someone from the state BOE before proceeding.

[anlo]

Apr 29, 2014 13:38:49 GMT -5 stephm0188 said:

Bumping this to update.

His meeting was today. The decision to dismiss him from PT was based on her opinion that he is on par with his peers. No evaluation or any sort of data to support the decision to drop him.

The wording for APE was also shady, so I objected to that as well. Waiting to hear from the school psychologist and someone from the state BOE before proceeding.

I'm glad you are standing your ground here. It does not sound like they have even close to enough data to back up dropping the PT.