HELP!!
I recently took my daughter to be tested by an independent psychologist. Her findings was that my daughter, Cortney, suffers from mild retartation. By no doubt, I do I feel that nothing is wrong with Cortney, however, I have questions. Cortney currently has an “A” in spelling and in reading and has a “B” in reading. But when working in math in class, she fails terribly but has much less difficulty completing the same assignments she was given at school while she is at home. Cortney also has difficulity putting together sentences on paper. Cortney is now in the 2nd grade (she is 9). When Cortney was in kindergarten at her previous school, kindergarten was only a half-day. In Cortney’s current school, she was placed in the all-day kindergarten that help a lot but it was her second time repeating the grade.
Even though I like Cortney’s school because of it’s “zero tolerance” for violence of any kind, I feel slighted because the school does not provide in special education classes if they are needed for students. In order to get Cortney tested or put in a special education environment, I will have to put her back in Detroit Public Schools only to be put on a long waiting list until they determine if special education is right for her.
Please help me if you have any suggestions or if you have been through the same with your child(ren). All of your comments will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Deana E.
Detroit, MI
Re: Is Special Education the Answer? HELP!!
It seems like the Spec Ed and LD kids now in grades 4-6 are likely to be the ones with a good reason to be vilently upset by 11th grade. Why not help them now instead of waiting?
Re: Is Special Education the Answer? HELP!!
It sounds like the term “mild retardation” is outdated. It would be helpful to find out what tests were done and what they mean. If you go to LDONLINE and look under “Assessments” that will help you to figure out her test scores. You certainly have many more rights than the school is telling you. They will not serve up the menu to meet the needs of your child. Do your homework. If you want to save time than find a special education advocate in your area. They know the rights of parents and you will not waste time. Schools usually spend more time and money trying not to provide proper services.
Good luck.
Susan
We have a similar discussion at the school I teach at. We do very little for our students with special needs. I feel that’s wrong but my administrators often disagree. Their feeling is we need to be able to direct our energies toward things like no violence and a sense of community and academic excellence. They feel that if we actively include programming for our special needs students, we will be spread too thin and those students simply need to sink or swim.
While I disagree, I might assume the school your daughter now attends feels much the same way. My school would say it cannot be all things to all people and that is cannot afford to hire teachers trained in special education.
The parents of students with special needs, which would include myself, do feel slighted as do you. We take that bad along with the good and stick it out but our children certainly pay a price in the lack of proper programming for them.
It’s a hard decision. Good luck to you and your daughter as you make it.