Should I put my Learning Disability (LD) daughter back in Special Education?

[BusynMember]

She was mainstreamed last year. She has a receptive language disorder, and learning disabilities in reading and spelling (diagnosed privately at a neuropsychologist). Her IQ was 88, pretty much the same for verbal/performance. I think it's a little low for her, but she's certainly not an above average child intellectually. She gets confused, especially in learning about sentences and with reading and spelling, and is falling behind her peers. Last year the reading teacher was very easy, which is why we tried mainstreaming her. He babied her and all the kids. This year she says it's "too hard. Put me back in Learning Disability (LD)." I can do that, but is that best? Would she learn more in regular reading, even if she didn't do well? The Special Education kids are not working on the same things as the regular ed kids. I'm really not sure what to do and would appreciate feedback. She would only be in Learning Disability (LD) for reading and language. She can already access extra help before/after school and during study hall, but it doesn't seem to be enough, at least for reading.

 

[JJJ]

I'm a big fan of putting kids where they need to be to learn. It sounds like Nicole would do better in the Sped room for her language block. I completely understand getting her away from a weak teacher last year, but what benefit is gaining by having her sit in a room where she can't do the work the regular ed kids are doing? I would think it would make it harder for her to learn -- to have to focus on her material and ignore the regular ed curriculum going on around her.

 

[Sheila]

Hi MidwestMom

If you're daughter is overwhelmed in her new placement, in the interim I'd try to get her back to the Learning Disability (LD) class.

You mention receptive language, spelling and reading difficulties. Sounds like maybe "language-based" disabilities rather than. Does her IEP target language therapy at her specific weaknesses? If not, it should in my opinion.

Dyslexia tends to involve phonics and word attack skills. Because my son's problems do not involve these skills, he is not classified as dyslexic; rather his reading problems involve multiple language impairments.

If it's been a while since your daughter was evaluated, it might be prudent to have her re-evaluated to see where she is, what other factors may be contributing to the problem (sequencing, working memory, et al), and the best way to remediate and accommodate based on her individual needs.

The Learning Disability (LD) class you mention may be just what she needs -- I don't know. But I do know that sd's are prone to removing special needs students from one pre-designed curriculum and placing them in another "one-size fits all" environment. If this is the case for your daughter, comparing new evaluation data to prior evaluations should be helpful in deciding whether the Learning Disability (LD) class is appropriate to her needs or whether something like language therapy needs to be added.

 

[BusynMember]

Thank you for your responses! Nicole is stuck in not belonging in either class. She has a serious language/reading disability (not dyslexia). On the other hand, she is quite a bit ahead of the other Learning Disability (LD) kids. This semester she managed to pull a C-minus in reading, but that was review. Now it's getting harder. The teacher complains that she isn't picking up, say, the concept of "nouns" so now that they are on "compound sentences" she doesn't "get it." Also, she can do well all week long for spelling pre-testing then totally screw up the final test. She says "I forget."
She was tested last year by a neuropsychologist. I am not convinced he nailed her problem. Reading and Spelling Learning Disability (LD) is vague, to say the least. But he couldn't really put his finger on it. I have a call in to the Learning Disability (LD) teacher now. This one would not be her reading teacher, but she is in charge of Nicole's "case." I really like her, but in the end it's my decision. Hub doesn't care. Isn't he helpful? LOL. Nicole wants to go back, but I'm wondering if it's not just that it's easier for her.

 

[Sheila]

difficult child's made As and Bs in Language Arts. Grades were the least reliable piece of information when it came to his reading ability. And his high grades threw up the greatest roadblocks in getting him services.

Reading and spelling is vague. Spelling is one of the numerous reading components that must integrate seamlessly for "reading" to become proficient and result in comprehension.

There's a ton of "reading" info in the archives at http://www.conductdisorders.com/community/forums/special-ed-101-archives.16/.

You might also want to do some research specifically on how receptive language impairments impact reading ability to see if anything along these lines sounds familiar.