My daughter is a sixth grade student and has always had problems with reading and writing. She has an IEP, but the school doesn’t seem to be helping with the obvious.
Since being diagnosed with ADD, I have been doing research on dyslexia and she seems to fit all the symptoms surrounding this learning problem. But whenever I bring this up to the school they don’t want to hear it or act like I know nothing. They deny that there is a test for this specific disability. They say that all the people with learning disabilities are taught the same way and that is just the way it is.
My biggest concern here is she is not getting the help that she needs and still has the hardest time with the simplest of words. What should I do or better yet how do I go about getting her tested for something the school doesn’t acknowledge?
Thanks,
Allison
Some professionals prefer to use terms that have been used for the past 50 years and that describe the primary problem.
Thus, if the difficulty is with using phonological skills to read, the child has dyslexia. If the problem is with writing, the term Dysgraphia is used. If math is the problem, Dyscalculia is used.
In the mid-1970s a law was passed requiring that all public schools address the needs of children with disabilities. This landmark law created the whole special education system. The term Learning Disability was used. Whether these disabilities impacted on reading, writing, math, or other areas, the umbrella term used is Learning Disability.
So, try not to focus so much on terms as on what your daughter needs. If she is not getting the help you believe she needs, you might seek a private educational consultant to advise you on how to approach your school system. If the school is limited in what it can offer, you might have to supplement what she gets in school with private help.