Learning Issue? Starting IEP process?

[nicolewi]

We have long been concerned that my sweet, funny kindergartener may have some kind of learning disability. I am considering starting an evaluation through the school. I have some questions for the school psychologist (they told me that's the main contact for this), but am waiting for a call back. Before I decide whether or not to start a referral process, I want to know more about how they do evaluations, and what they do if she qualifies for services. She already does speech. She has no social or motor issues and is "normal" in other ways. 

She may pass an evaluation...I don't know. But I absolutely know there is something very different about how she learns vs. my other 3 kids, and I am not sure how to help her pick things up more easily.

Any particular recommendations on things I should be asking, or may not know to cover? Thank you.

Background Info:
I posted last April on this same topic, and the advice then was to wait longer and keep an eye on things. It's hard, b/c she is making SOME progress in kindergarten, she's still far behind where I feel she really should be after 2 years of preschool and kindergarten. Yet, she's not like at ground zero...she is below grade level expectations, but not in the lowest category on her report card. I feel she does a great job copying friends.  I am going to talk to her teacher about this again soon, also, and have spoken to her in the past.

Here's an edited excerpt from what I posted in April. This is still true:
My two older kids just ate up letters, numbers; were early strong readers, etc, and my fourth seems like she will be similar. I'm concerned about my kindergartener. She CANNOT seem to remember what month it is, even if we've just gone over it 10 minutes before. This is a long-running thing that we've been focusing on a lot and she still doesn't get it. I have told her over and over that her birthday is in December, and she still can't remember. She will say, "Christmas!" and then, "ummm...July?" or something like that. She can't count to 20, and when I try to go through it with her, she seems to keep making the same mistakes over and over, even when I say it with her one time after another. She knows some letters, but still not all. If I ask her the first letter of the alphabet, she has some trouble figuring it out. If I ask her to listen for the month that starts with "A" in the month song, she doesn't catch "April." She's not getting sight words. She reverses a lot of her numbers when she writes them. She has trouble remembering how to make a number 10. 

At the doctor's office yesterday, she had to use an alternate eye chart b/c she doesn't know enough letters. She knows some, but, for example, she still doesn't recognize "t", even though we've done lots with letters. At the doctor, she pointed to the "t" on her page and said, "Whatever this thing is!" which is kind of hilarious, but...not really. 

[VillainV]

I’m not sure how normal this is, but my almost 5-y-o is the same way. According to my MIL it’s very similar to way my H was when he was the same age (whereas I was more like your older children). I will say that my child has more emotional intelligence than most adults I know, so to me it seems like he has just picked that up first and will pick up other stuff a little later. The only thing I have found is that at least with my child, I have found that he absolutely will not learn things until HE is ready to, and when he’s ready, he learns very quickly. Sometimes I just have to figure out how to make him decide he’s ready to do it (ie: he can’t do X until he learns how to do Y first).

[rooster222]

Well it definitely doesn't hurt to talk to the school psych and hear what she has to say. The only problem with testing kinders is that (in my experience) the tests aren't always super accurate. I know at my school we had some kids tested early on and by the time they got to 3rd grade there were clearly a lot of other things going on or more to their story. Then they had to be re-tested and sometimes put on a completely different track.

On a personal note, my dd went to 4 years of pre-school, we had her start kindy at 6 and she still didn't read until the end of 1st grade. She's always concerned me and struggled academically but I don't think she has a learning disability. She's in 8th grade now and has a tutor but even her tutor says she just needs to hear things more than once and have more time and explanation.

What does your dd's teacher say about her progress?

[hopecounts]

Any kid with an IEP should be retested every 3 yrs under IDEA so doing a baseline now when she seems to need help is a good idea since if it’s a short term glitch or something more they’ll re-eval in 2nd anyway.

Request a full evaluation this must be done in writing so type one up and send it to the counselor, document via e-mail when it is sent.

Be aware schools do not evaluate for dyslexia in most places in the US.

The poor working memory would concern me.
May be a maturity thing but I’d want to get some basic educational testing done

[hopecounts]

Feb 13, 2019 14:58:19 GMT -5 rooster222 said:

Well it definitely doesn't hurt to talk to the school psych and hear what she has to say. The only problem with testing kinders is that (in my experience) the tests aren't always super accurate. I know at my school we had some kids tested early on and by the time they got to 3rd grade there were clearly a lot of other things going on or more to their story. Then they had to be re-tested and sometimes put on a completely different track.

That’s why IDEA mandates retesting every 3 yrs it’s not a reason to delay getting a kid help.
If it’s more the school is required to retest in 2nd grade anyway so that will be caught then

[rooster222]

Feb 13, 2019 15:08:28 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

Feb 13, 2019 14:58:19 GMT -5 rooster222 said:

Well it definitely doesn't hurt to talk to the school psych and hear what she has to say. The only problem with testing kinders is that (in my experience) the tests aren't always super accurate. I know at my school we had some kids tested early on and by the time they got to 3rd grade there were clearly a lot of other things going on or more to their story. Then they had to be re-tested and sometimes put on a completely different track.

That’s why IDEA mandates retesting every 3 yrs it’s not a reason to delay getting a kid help.
If it’s more the school is required to retest in 2nd grade anyway so that will be caught then

Is this a new mandate?  I don't recall this being required but I'm out of the loop now because I stay at home.  

[hopecounts]

Feb 13, 2019 15:35:28 GMT -5 rooster222 said:

Feb 13, 2019 15:08:28 GMT -5 hopecounts said:

That’s why IDEA mandates retesting every 3 yrs it’s not a reason to delay getting a kid help.
If it’s more the school is required to retest in 2nd grade anyway so that will be caught then

Is this a new mandate?  I don't recall this being required but I'm out of the loop now because I stay at home.  

Could be.
It’s been the case for at least 3 yrs as we discussed it at DDs kindy transition meeting when discussing her latest testing.
She had her first 3 yr retest this year in 2nd

[sparty04]

I don’t have any advice but I have almost the exact same worries about my DS2. He’s only 4 but he’s definitely behind where DS1 was at this age. Same memory issue too. Ironically, I was just thinking about looking into an eval yesterday, but I think he’s probably too young. I’m hoping to send him to a school sponsored junior K next year, and I hope that will help try to figure out if he has some kind of learning issue.

[arch01]

I had a poor experience with the school getting an eval-he wasn't "bad enough" to qualify for services, and their evaluation was...not great. Could be just the school, but I would be fully prepared to get a private eval.

Here's what the requirements are for retesting:

ldaamerica.org/evaluating-children-who-have-been-referred-to-determine-eligibility-for-special-education-services-and-requirements-for-reevaluation/

What does IDEA say about reevaluations?
A triennial evaluation must be done every three years after a child has been placed in special education. Reevaluation can occur more frequently if conditions warrant, or if the parent or teacher requests a reevaluation. For example, parents might request a reevaluation when they do not feel their child is progressing within the current program, instruction, services, or goals.

IDEA makes provisions to have a “no questions” reevaluation. This is when the full team, including the parents, believes that the present program is working and simply needs to continue in the same manner. If there are no questions, then no assessments are needed and the triennial reevaluation simply confirms progress. Parents need to be sure that their questions are not overlooked in “no questions” reevaluations. This is especially true of the last reevaluation the child receives before leaving high school. The child may need current test data to receive services in post secondary education.

We were told by the psychologist to have DS retested the summer between 2nd and 3rd, particularly because of where his WISC-V test was (borderline high average/high). She believed that his inability focus and his visual processing delay significantly affected his results. That would put us right at the 3 year retest.

[abs]

IME schools are very reluctant to test in Kindergarten. They will try to push you off and say it's normal and worry about it in 1st grade. 1st grade will tell you the same. Unless it's interrupting the class and affecting the teachers ability to teach I have found schools to be pretty useless when it comes to learning disabilities. Doesn't mean you shouldn't request an evaluation. Based upon what you said I think you should. Just do your homework and be prepared for pushback.

DD is in 2nd. She has several friends that have been pushing for dyslexia evals and they've gotten the runaround for years because they are "good" kids that don't cause problems.

[hopecounts]

Feb 14, 2019 17:27:25 GMT -5 abs said:

IME schools are very reluctant to test in Kindergarten. They will try to push you off and say it's normal and worry about it in 1st grade. 1st grade will tell you the same. Unless it's interrupting the class and affecting the teachers ability to teach I have found schools to be pretty useless when it comes to learning disabilities. Doesn't mean you shouldn't request an evaluation. Based upon what you said I think you should. Just do your homework and be prepared for pushback.

DD is in 2nd. She has several friends that have been pushing for dyslexia evals and they've gotten the runaround for years because they are "good" kids that don't cause problems.

Yeah schools won't touch Dyslexia testing IME.
They 100% want to make you do it privately and avoid dealing with it.

And honestly they aren't going to fork over the case for O-G so you are better off doing it on your own.and getting the kid O-G so they can make significant gains before 3rd when improvement in reading recovery drops off even with the best therapy available.

It's also impossible to diagnose before end of 1st because the definition is inability to recognize letters and read after a year of appropriate instruction

[karinothing]

I will say my knew his letters at 18 months but still needed to use the alternative eye chart in kinder. Sometimes kids freeze up when they think we are quizzing them. For example my youngest wont tell me a letter if AI point to it and ask what it is but if I say "show me the E" he can do it right away. Kids in kinder have a very broad range of abilities.

Do her teachers recommend an evaluation? Maybe you could look into tutors to help. You can hire reading specialists or do summer school?

[elcjet]

nicolewi,what state are you in? I'm a Dyslexia mom and the working memory deficit is sort of sending off some warning bells. In most cases, you can request the IEP but in kindergarten they don't have too much to go off of and some schools will deny you can even test that early. (You can) The IEP could be denied if the testing or even "body of work" is not below grade level enough. (In our District, they use lowest 10% to qualify, which is pretty darn hard to do)

I would suggest, if you can afford it, a private evaluation with a practitioner recommended by the IDA. (International Dyslexia Association) It's much easier to guide the school towards appropriate interventions when you have done most of the legwork yourself.

NOW is the best time to get intervention for your daughter so that the impact is the lowest. Orton Gillingham-based programs will show the best results, and you can start at home with Foundations in Sound and progress into doing Barton, or you can privately seek out a certified tutor who will also follow a similar sequence of structured, multisensory programs rooted in OG.

Happy to answer questions in PM! I have a 3rd grader diagnosed in 1st grade, and a current 1st grader who I am 90% positive is dyslexic but not as impacted as her brother and the school is working with me. (And I started Barton on my own because mama can only afford 1 in active tutoring) The fact that your Mom gut is telling you something is different is enough to warrant investigation -- we just know.

[oliviapope]

My middle son was VERY similar to this. I skipped the eval and went straight to a private tutor who is certified in OG and Linda Mood-Bell. In three months of private tutoring he has made more than a years worth of improvement. I will still do a full eval next year, but by then we will have more information. I would not wait at all to get things moving. For us early intervention has been amazing.

[morecoffeeplease]

I’m a prek special education teacher and I will always tell parents that if they are concerned, they should ask for testing. Even if a student doesn’t qualify for services, the tests itself will give teachers useful information. If problems persist you can ask for another evaluation at another time.

If you have any specific questions I’d be glad to answer.