Hello everyone, before I start investing money into the various products available to help learning disabilities, which test should I use to assess the problems. My younger sister is 15 and she is reading at a 3rd grade level and does not know her multiplication. I would like to get some materials for her and any other suggestions you have. Her IEP’s are very vague as to what her specific issues are. I am also unable to read the teachers summary report(not legible) but it looks as if a Bougance test was administered. Does anyone know anything about this test and how I should use it to determine the appropriate outside resources for Francesca. Thank you.
Re: Which test
Thanks K. The only problem that I have now is that I am told that I can not speak to anyone in special ed who handles her school because they are out for the summer and “if they check there messages they will contact you”. Very vague on there part, but I will call to the school district tomorrow and her guidance counselor and request this information.
Re: Which test
I had that problem too!! I was told that I had to wait until the teacher came back to school. That is not how it works!! They have her records you just have to contact the right people!!
I also had a lot of problems with the school administration becuase I was a sister not a parent. Even though I am clearly an adult and not a child, they insisted that I get a note from my Mother. It was really just another way to stall. I ended up visiting with an advocate from the Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN.org) The advocate wrote a letter to the school prinicipal explaining that my mother was entitled by law to assign any one she wanted to be her son’s educational advocate!!
I hope you live in a more co-operative district than I do!
Good Luck and post back with what you find out!!
K.
It probably said Brigance. However, I thought it was only used in young children.
“The Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development is an individually administered test that evaluates the development of children up to age seven. It is a popular readiness and screening test and is often used to identify children with developmental delays, aid in designing individualized educational programs for them, and monitor progress over a period of time. Altogether, the 200-item test takes between 30 and 60 minutes to administer, depending on how many of its 11 sections are used with a particular child. Questions are answered by either oral or written response or by pointing to pictures. Two other components of the test are direct observation of the child by the examiner and an interview with the parents to gather additional information about the child’s skills. The test evaluates the following skills, in the order in which they are developed: preambulatory, gross motor skills, fine motor skills , prespeech, speech and language, general knowledge, readiness, basic reading , manuscript writing, and basic math skills. Test results are expressed as developmental ages. They can be entered in an individual record book and charted over time as the child’s development is monitored.”
That is a description of the test.
I am by no means an expert on evaluation but she should have had more than just that test and if she is fifteen, they probably shouldn’t have used that test at all.
Did they give you the test results?? You should ask for a copy of her entire school record, usually kept on file in the guidance office. It should have copies of her testing. If it doesn’t go to your towns special ed district office,they will definitely have copies.
Before you determine what help she needs you need to know what areas she is having difficulty in.
If the Brigance is the only test they used, or they only used one test, you will need to request another evaluation. If it was done more than three years ago, request a re-evaluation. If it was done within three years, request an independent evaluation.
Hope this helps!
K.