Here are 15 guidelines that can strengthen the effectiveness of your advocacy.
-
Have your child evaluated by experts who can identify your child’s needs.
-
Make sure you understand his needs before you meet with school personnel to discuss his needs and possible interventions.
-
Make specific requests (in writing) for meeting his needs; support your requests with reports from well-credentialed experts, experts whom the school respects.
-
Treat people with respect, even if you disagree with them, even if they reject your requests. Read more...
Advocacy, advocating for children, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, IDEA, IDEA 2004, IEP, IEP meeting, IEP meetings, IEPs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, monitoring of reading, parents, problem solving, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, Special Education, struggling reader, struggling readers IEP
In Part 1 of 2, we discussed five ways to minimize feelings of intimidation. We recommend that you take all or some of these steps well before the IEP meeting: Read more...
-
Study the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA-2004), especially the sections that explain the requirements for IEPs and IEP meetings.
-
Send the IEP Team any new information you have that identifies your child’s needs.
-
Examine your child’s school records.
-
Meet with a private expert to review all reports about your child and a copy of his school records.
Confidence, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, IEP, IEP meeting, IEP meetings, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individualized Education Programs, Intimidation, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, strengthening resiliency, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Part 1 of 2
Even if the members of your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team are extraordinarily kind, caring, and courteous, you might find them intimidating. After all, they know the rules, the language, and the system far better than you. This is their umpteenth IEP meeting, only your second. And even if they simplify their language, you may still find it mysterious, complex, and fast-paced. What’s a WISC-IV and a Woodcock-Johnson? What do they look like? How does memory for digits relate to word identification? What’s the difference between a norm-referenced test and an informal reading inventory? Why is this even important? Read more...
Confidence, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, IEP, IEP meeting, IEP meetings, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individualized Education Programs, Intimidation, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, strengthening resiliency, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
As Wendell Berry said, “Once precision is abandoned as a linguistic or literary virtue, vague generalization is one of the two remaining possibilities, gibberish being the second.” Such language is open to guessing, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. Look at these examples from a composite of IEPs.
Present Levels. “Juan has trouble with reading. He needs to improve his comprehension.” Ask yourself: How far below grade level is he reading? In addition to comprehension problems, does he have trouble with sight vocabulary, decoding, and fluency? Does he have trouble with listening vocabulary and listening comprehension? Without this information, teachers (and parents) don’t know what to teach him, how to measure his progress, and, because his instructional levels are not listed, at what levels to start instruction.
Read more...
complete IEPs, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, explicit IEPs, Explicit objectives, goal, goals, IEP, IEP meetings, IEPs, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, measureable objectives, Monitoring, monitoring of reading, objective, objectives, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, relevant IEPs, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
If your child is eligible for special education, perhaps. One key to getting help is to show the school that his social and emotional problems are impeding his learning or that of his peers. Another is to show that they’re blocking him from achieving a primary goal of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA): “To ensure that all children with disabilities have [an] education that [meets] … their unique needs and prepare[s] them for further education, employment, and independent living” (34 CFR § 300.1). A third is to show that involvement in a social and emotional learning (SEL) program is critical for him to achieve his academic goals. Read more...
benchmarks, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, emotional, emotions, goals, IEP, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, objectives, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, related services, services, short-term objectives, social, social problems, social-emotional learning, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Perhaps.
If your child is eligible for special education, he may be entitled to virtually any nonmedical service he needs to benefit from special education. To get him services, you need to first learn what he needs and then request it. Here’s a reasonable strategy to increase the odds of getting him what he needs. Read more...
- First, get written reports from well-credentialed, private specialists. Make sure you fully understand the reports and they tell the school what services your child needs, why he needs them, and why they’re essential for him to benefit from special education. Share these reports with your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team.
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, goals, IEP, IEPs, Individualized Education Program, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, objectives, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, related services, services, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Nothing can ensure that your child’s IEP meeting will be productive. However, you can increase the odds that it will be. Here’s one way. Before the meeting, meet with your child’s case manager and agree on how the meeting should be organized. You have a right to do this as you’re an important member of the IEP Team.
Fortunately, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA-2004) and the format of the IEP offer an excellent sequence for developing the IEP. Unfortunately, the sequence is often ignored and critical parts of the IEP are given the short shrift. Read more...
benchmarks, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration level, goals, IDEA, IDEA 2004, IEP, IEP meeting, IEP meetings, IEPs, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, monitoring of reading, objectives, parents, problem solving, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, short-term objectives, Special Education, struggling reader, struggling readers IEP
Unfortunately, many children with reading disabilities feel hopeless and helpless about learning to read; they believe it’s better to give up than to try and to fail. Fortunately, schools and parents can do many things to change your child’s belief that he’s incompetent and that he’ll never learn to read. Only by getting your child to believe he can learn if he makes a moderate effort will he begin to work at becoming a competent reader. Read more...
Confidence, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, IEP, IEP concerns, IEP meetings, IEPs, learned helplessness, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, McCabe, monitoring of reading, Motivation, Patrick McCabe, reading assessment, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, self-efficacy, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
The federal law governing special education is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. Its regulations make clear that the IEP Team must seriously consider your concerns. The regulations say:
In developing each child’s IEP, the IEP Team must consider … the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child.
One way to ensure that the IEP Team seriously considers your concerns is to send it a list of your concerns — before your child’s IEP meeting. Below is an example.
EXAMPLE
March 1, 2009 Read more...
Mrs. Estella McComick, MSW
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, IEP, IEP concerns, IEP meetings, IEPs, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, monitoring of reading, reading assessment, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, Special Education, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
No.
The reading goals of struggling readers should emphasize only what they must learn to make meaningful, important progress. Having only a few important reading goals that must be emphasized during reading and related instruction increases the odds that teachers will devote an adequate amount of instructional time to overcoming the struggling reader’s specific reading difficulties. Too many goals lead to diluted, unfocused instruction. Read more...
benchmarks, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration level, goals, IEP, IEPs, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, monitoring of reading, objectives, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, short-term objectives, Special Education, struggling reader, struggling readers IEP
