Ahh - Interesting point Donny's mom!
SharonSP, You need to talk to the special ed dept. and his teacher and tell them he NEEDS AN OT eval.. I would also write a letter. My child can write but had OT help in K and I spent this summer 2 hr a day teaching her to write better. I also hired a resource teacher teacher for tutoring and the school also hired a tutor too for the summer. She got tutoring 4 days a week by 2 tutors.
I bought those x-pose, with a 9x11 in. dry erase board that has lines on it. It was a big hit. She loves it. I only get it out when were doing educational stuff like writing or math. I give her a reward afterwards and that is tick tack toe.
Thank you amberwaves. I
will talk to the ESE specialists. He has been in private OT 2 per wk for half hr each for the last 10 mths. It has helped but he needs more. I have tried helping him at home but the minute I sit him down to try, he throws a tantrum and starts hitting me so I have just stopped. He does the same to his aunt and his older sister too. I have an easel with a white board on one side and black board on the other. He does do better with a dry erase marker than a pencil. Possibly b/c it doesn't require so much pressure. His teacher has bought him the fatter and heavier training pencils and theirs not much difference but she also tried him with a dry erase marker and it was little better. WHY though?
I am getting the feeling more and more that he should be placed in another school but so want him to have a mainstream education and experience.
Interesting article. If would be interesting if parents could put "No Child LeftVery eye opening artilce. My son was promoted from Kindergarten to First grade this year even though I felt he had not mastered the necessary skills. His Kindergarten teacher told me that she was promoting him because he will be held back in 1st and 3rd grade because he won't pass the the FCAT but speaking to the ESE teacher this week, she told me he can only be held back once in elementary school and her recommendation would be for 3rd grade as there is a lot to cover and one of the most difficult. It really breaks my heart that he's already been targeted to fail and I must learn not to take it personally.
He's only been back to school for 5 days and already he's having problems. His fine motor skills are really bad, and he can barely hold a pencil yet there is no OT in his IEP. He was upset yesterday in Music class when his teacher told him to copy something and he couldn't do it. She got mad at him and told him to do his work and he was very upset. He really hates being embarrassed and feeling inadequate. He's started to say "I can't do it, I'm doomed". Am I going to have to be a dragon slayer for the rest of my life? I told his regular teacher about it this morning and she's going to have a word with the music teacher. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will have two advocate groups going to school and observe him. It's really hard and I am getting more and more depressed about my son's future.
I think there are some good and relevant points in that article. However,I didn't get a chance to read the article when it was originally posted, but sought it out today. Thanks for posting it.
I totally agree that this is something to watch out for, but it's sure not easy. One problem is that you don't always get the ongoing feedback you need from the school, so you can tell if both the school and your child are making a good effort.
Another problem is that the appropriateness of accommodations is often a judgment call.
With my son, I felt that the school was letting him slide through much of his day, with too much drawing and Lego playing. On the other hand, I saw that he was exhausted at the end of his school day, even with this low level of demands. I didn't want him pushed so hard that he'd crack -- like in 2nd grade when we pushed him to do the same homework as the rest of his class, and the stress became unhealthy for him.
Anyhow, thanks for sharing the thought-provoking article.
Thanks for posting the article. Very interesting. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118763976794303235.html?mod= googlenews_wsj
Tzoya,
It's good you've brought this to our attention. The information revealed in this article is important for us to know. We must guard against this kind of funny business that, I believe, occurs a lot throughout many school districts. Thanks for the warning.
This is very interesting to me.
Granted Mason is just going into 1st grade this fall, but I felt he wasn't ready to move on...I know academically he didn't reach all the criteria to move on to 1st grade. He can only sight 8 sight words, I was told the minimum should be 20...he can't right or spell his last name from memory yet. He is doing very well with math and numbers but fell quite behind once they introduced reading. He definitely isn't behaviorally and emotionally ready!
I was told they were moving him on because that is what IEP's are for. Also then he has a chance to continue his education when he is older, through the age of 21. But honestly what good is that going to do him, if he just keeps falling further and further behind.
I am going to keep a close eye on this...maybe it is better to hold them back when they get a little older, I'm not sure.
Thanks for sharing!
emerald_521:Thanks for the insight woodsman! It is really helpful in what I am dealing with!!
Micki--I see your point too...I asked if that was an option and they told me no...now I guess I didn't get more specific and ask if that meant, not at this time, or never...I could ask if they thought if he should continue to fall further behind if they would offer Mason more. If more spec. ed wasn't available to you would you consider holding ds back? Maybe that is too hard to answer.
But at the same time I would not want a 18 year old in first grade.the family of a girl with severe learning disabilities complains that, instead of the intense instruction she needed to master reading and math in eighth and ninth grades, teachers showered her with accommodations: a peer note-taker, a peer to read materials to her, oral exams, reduced assignments and a calculator on math tests.
At an administrative hearing, the family -- whose names are not disclosed in the court papers -- sought to force the school system to pay for her private schooling. Noting her strong A and B grades, the district successfully argued that accommodations were helping her learn. In U.S. District Court in Seattle, a judge hearing an appeal of the case disagreed last year, saying the system improperly relied on accommodations rather than instruction,
This is what we're dealing with, with our dd starting grade 4 all accomodations and modifications and no pertinent instruction.
[QUOTE=amberwaves] But at the same time I would not want a 18 year old in first grade.