My son was tested and diagnosed by a clinical psychologist as having ADHD. I was also told that he has high to superior intelligence. Over the last three years, I have noticed a decline and lack of improvement in his reading comprehension and spelling. He struggles to read while he gets A’s in math.
I went to the school and requested a meeting to discuss the problems he is facing. I left the meeting with nothing concrete, only the discussion of accommodations - which they have agreed to and seem to be implementing so far. But I am concerned that I was told over and over that he is ‘average’ or barely below for comprehension and spelling so there is nothing they can do – that he has to be at least 2 grade levels behind for a specific plan.
Don’t the “superior intelligence” and the “barely average” testing scores mean a significant discrepancy in functioning and shouldn’t that fall under the section 504 plan? If he’s getting A’s in math and barely C’s in reading but has superior intelligence, isn’t there cause for concern? Maybe I am just looking too much into this, but I am confused and I don’t know if we have enough to qualify for section 504. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Stacy
Your question addresses the frequent problem of a child who is bright and working below potential, but at an adequate level according to the school district. Under IDEA 2004, there is a new emphasis on functional and developmental performance as well as academic performance, both in relation to evaluation and programming.
Therefore, it is important for you to identify and secure documentation of the ways that your child’s functioning at school is impaired. As much as possible, it is necessary to document that the child is functioning below average in comparison to his/her peers, not just below his/her own potential. (There is some interpretation that allows for comparison just to one’s own potential, but this is a more difficult argument).
In some instances, the general testing the school has done may wash out areas where your child is actually functioning below average. Further analysis of the school’s testing and/or private testing that goes into greater detail may be necessary, as the school’s data may not fully reveal the extent of your child’s difficulties.
For example, if the child has been tested to have adequate overall reading, but specialized reading tests have not been administered that break out the component parts of reading, a particular area of difficulty may be missed in which the child actually is functioning below the average range.
Topic
Special Education