Dd is failing grade two..

[maliceinwonderland]

Kind of an update to my previous post today, my dd is indeed failing grade two.

The teacher was decent at the meeting, and flat out said that dd should have an IEP and that she shouldn't be being graded at a grade two level.
I had her assessed in the fall, and took the assessment results to the vice principal who is the resource teacher as well. He scanned the summary at the end and stated "This doesn't warrant an IEP."

The last line in the summary is "____'s profile is consistent with a diagnosis of Adhd and asperger's spectrum." It's a nine page report, but to me, that last line pretty much says it all.

As it turns out, apparently it doesn't. At the meeting, the teacher said "I don't know if I'm overstepping my bounds telling you this, but from what I was told they won't accept the assessment because the wording isn't right."

So, at this point my dd is going to fail grade two because her psychologist didn't word the assessment properly?!

I don't know what to do with this information. "This doesn't warrant an IEP" and "This needs to be worded differently." are two very different statements to me, and I can't figure out why he wouldn't have just told me he needed it to be stated differently.

If anyone has any advice to offer about how to get this fixed, I would really appreciate it. I'm going to phone the psychologist tomorrow and see if she can do something for us, but I just don't understand how the assessment isn't "enough" for them.

From what the teacher has said, dd should be graded at grade one level, and she would indeed be passing, but without an IEP her hands are pretty much tied, which I totally understand.

I really cannot imagine dd getting held back a grade. Right now she's in french immersion, but I'll be moving her to an english school next year if I don't homeschool and with her intelligence being extremely high, I feel like holding her back would do more harm than good. :

[Thalia the Muse]

I'm so sorry don't have useful advice, but I didn't want to read and not post. How incredibly frustrating! Since this was the vice-principal, is there any way you can go over his head to the principal or the school board? I'm pretty sure you have legal rights to get appropriate accomodation for your daughter, including an IEP.

[joensally]

Hiya, Malice .

Are you the mama who posted a while back about your DD and her lunch? If so, I posted all that IEP stuff for Ontario. I could dig around some more if you like as I'm good at digging .

At this point, I'd be a total bit%$ until they stopped stalling. This is ridiculous. They are accountable for the success of each child in their care, and the IEP is a method to have that success fit the individual child.

I would go to your school district's website and find out who is in charge of special ed and call that person. I would make an appointment with the principal.

If a child fails a grade and they have a diagnosis, an IEP and lots of good adult effort, so be it. But it's revolting that a 7 year old child might fail and the education professionals around her are stalling and being entirely ineffectual.

[maliceinwonderland]

Originally Posted by joensally

Hiya, Malice .

Are you the mama who posted a while back about your DD and her lunch? If so, I posted all that IEP stuff for Ontario. I could dig around some more if you like as I'm good at digging .

At this point, I'd be a total bit%$ until they stopped stalling. This is ridiculous. They are accountable for the success of each child in their care, and the IEP is a method to have that success fit the individual child.

I would go to your school district's website and find out who is in charge of special ed and call that person. I would make an appointment with the principal.

If a child fails a grade and they have a diagnosis, an IEP and lots of good adult effort, so be it. But it's revolting that a 7 year old child might fail and the education professionals around her are stalling and being entirely ineffectual.

Yes, it was me. And thanks again for that information! From the links you gave me it looks like she qualifies..which is why I was so stunned when I was told she supposedly didn't.
I phoned the board today and left a message for the person in charge of special resources in our area. I'm hoping he gets back to me tomorrow. If it's a matter of the wording of the assessment being changed, I'm sure I could get that done..I just need to know exactly what it needs to say. The fact that the guy in charge of this stuff at dd's school told me her problems don't warrant and IEP and then finding out it was actually they wouldn't accept the wording really ticks me off. It's hard for me to get the information they need if they won't tell me what they need :

Again, thanks to both of you for your replies. I am so sick of this. I just want dd to get the help she needs, and I'd really like to get it straightened out before I go into labour

[CarrieMF]

Honestly. If your dd is only at a grade 1 level pushing her ahead into Grade 3 is going to do way more harm than having her repeat Grade 2(at a new school of course because this one is not the right school for her).

There is a classmate of my dd's who the teachers wanted to have her held back in Grade 1. The parents said no. She is dyslexic and was diagnosed that in Grade 1. She was not catching onto anything in Grade 1. So she was pushed ahead and into Grade 2, but in a 1/2 split so she was still learning the Grade 1 stuff. She is in Grade 3 this year(a 3/4 split) and JUST learned her phone number about 4 months ago. It wasn't even that she was mixing the numbers up, she only knew what 2 of them were. She was put in the 3/4 split so she could get the advantage of getting some Grade 4 before going into Grade 4 next year to try and help her. Her parents keep pushing her ahead in the Grades even though she is not grasping alot of the concepts. She is going to have more problems the higher she goes because she is not getting the basics.

[maliceinwonderland]

Carrie,

I was thinking this exact thing this morning. Considering she'll be going to a new school, I wonder if it would be less damaging to just keep her back the grade. She is very intelligent, but because of her lack of attention in class, she's not getting the concepts. While I want her to have IEP, I feel like it wouldn't be in her best interest to just dumb down their marking until she passes, ykwim? Because she's capable of so much, she can think at grade level, we just have to find a way to get her to demonstrate that.

Also, I must say, despite her diagnosis, part of me feels like it would almost be a good thing if she found out that she failed because she didn't do the work. I feel like some of her problem may be her personality, and it needs to be clear that no one is going to rescue her if she isn't taking her responsibilities seriously. That may not be a popular opinion, but knowing her as well as I do, that's how I feel :

[Gabbi]

It is common for a parent to have a meeting with the psychologist AND the teacher. Have you inquired about this? I would suggest trying to meet with both of them together. Everyone should agree on the aspect of doing what is right for your daughter.

[mammastar2]

That bites. Definitely make a fuss with the Board, that sounds ridiculous. I have a friend with a daughter with learning disabilities in the Ontario system, and she has really had to advocate for her and be super-assertive, as they are always trying to take her off the track she's on and put her back in the regular stream.

If your daughter has needs that warrant an IEP, then simply holding her back a year will probably not help. It's also not a matter of being in grade 3 and doing grade 1 work, it's a matter of them tailoring the program to her learning needs.

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

Honestly. If your dd is only at a grade 1 level pushing her ahead into Grade 3 is going to do way more harm than having her repeat Grade 2(at a new school of course because this one is not the right school for her).

There is a classmate of my dd's who the teachers wanted to have her held back in Grade 1. The parents said no. She is dyslexic and was diagnosed that in Grade 1. She was not catching onto anything in Grade 1. So she was pushed ahead and into Grade 2, but in a 1/2 split so she was still learning the Grade 1 stuff. She is in Grade 3 this year(a 3/4 split) and JUST learned her phone number about 4 months ago. It wasn't even that she was mixing the numbers up, she only knew what 2 of them were. She was put in the 3/4 split so she could get the advantage of getting some Grade 4 before going into Grade 4 next year to try and help her. Her parents keep pushing her ahead in the Grades even though she is not grasping alot of the concepts. She is going to have more problems the higher she goes because she is not getting the basics.

Carrie, a child with an IEP is kept with their peers, but given work at their own level. If she gets an IEP she can be in grade 3 but be doing grade 2 work.

[Thalia the Muse]

it would almost be a good thing if she found out that she failed because she didn't do the work.

I totally agree with this for an older kid. But in second grade, the teacher is failing if he or she has so little insight that a kid can go a whole year not doing the work; most seven-year-olds need a lot of direction. As soon as she stopped working, it was the teacher's job to find a successful strategy to get her back on track -- and to keep you informed.

[joensally]

Originally Posted by maliceinwonderland

Also, I must say, despite her diagnosis, part of me feels like it would almost be a good thing if she found out that she failed because she didn't do the work. I feel like some of her problem may be her personality, and it needs to be clear that no one is going to rescue her if she isn't taking her responsibilities seriously. That may not be a popular opinion, but knowing her as well as I do, that's how I feel :

My 7 year old DD is a real pip too.

It occurs to me that she'll only learn this lesson when she's ready to, and at 7, if she's not ready, trying to teach it to her could be really negative. I don't know about you, but there are some aspects of my personality I'm still trying to change .

IMO, it's not the responsibility of a 7 year old who has some processing issues to conform to an inflexible system beyond a certain point. She needs support, not to be left to her own devices and flounder. (I'm pretty ticked off at the school on your DD's behalf, lol).

[CarrieMF]

Originally Posted by moondiapers

Carrie, a child with an IEP is kept with their peers, but given work at their own level. If she gets an IEP she can be in grade 3 but be doing grade 2 work.

I can see that being a good thing IF she stays at this school but the OP is planning on pulling her from the school. If she is doing Grade 2 work next year in a new school then why not put her in Grade 2?

[moondiapers]

We held my dd back because we changed schools and she wasn't up to par so to speak. She's now regretting it. She feels much more mature than her classmates....she has breasts while they do not yet etc. This year has been very difficult for her

[Meg Murry.]

Originally Posted by maliceinwonderland

Kind of an update to my previous post today, my dd is indeed failing grade two.

The teacher was decent at the meeting, and flat out said that dd should have an IEP and that she shouldn't be being graded at a grade two level.
I had her assessed in the fall, and took the assessment results to the vice principal who is the resource teacher as well. He scanned the summary at the end and stated "This doesn't warrant an IEP."

The last line in the summary is "____'s profile is consistent with a diagnosis of Adhd and asperger's spectrum." It's a nine page report, but to me, that last line pretty much says it all.

As it turns out, apparently it doesn't. At the meeting, the teacher said "I don't know if I'm overstepping my bounds telling you this, but from what I was told they won't accept the assessment because the wording isn't right."

So, at this point my dd is going to fail grade two because her psychologist didn't word the assessment properly?!

I don't know what to do with this information. "This doesn't warrant an IEP" and "This needs to be worded differently." are two very different statements to me, and I can't figure out why he wouldn't have just told me he needed it to be stated differently.

If anyone has any advice to offer about how to get this fixed, I would really appreciate it. I'm going to phone the psychologist tomorrow and see if she can do something for us, but I just don't understand how the assessment isn't "enough" for them.

From what the teacher has said, dd should be graded at grade one level, and she would indeed be passing, but without an IEP her hands are pretty much tied, which I totally understand.

I really cannot imagine dd getting held back a grade. Right now she's in french immersion, but I'll be moving her to an english school next year if I don't homeschool and with her intelligence being extremely high, I feel like holding her back would do more harm than good. :

***Why not homeschool right now?

[Flower of Bliss]

I taught HS math before DD was born. I regularly dealt with IEPs. The key to the wording is to say that her learning disability (or whatever you're using to qualify her) interferes with a life skill (namely learning or reading etc). I think that's the wording ... mommy brain here. It's not enough to say she has ADHD. It needs to be said why that affects her learning. Of course, in a 9 page report, I would think that was said...

As far as the holding her back debate, I think it might be a good idea, especially if you're switching schools. I regularly dealt with kids in high school whose parents had opted NOT to hold them back in earlier years and as a result the children were floundering in HS. It's much harder to fix it come HS. There were so many skills that the students hadn't fully grasped. We were trying to build on a foundation that these students just didn't have. As much as I cared about my students, I could not go back and start over with teaching them elementary math skills so that they could build on them and learn HS math skills. Also, having her learn the natural consequence of not doing her work seems reasonable.

Just my .02 cents.

Sage

[Dar]

"She had a disability that is affecting her ability to learn. She is failing to make adequate academic progress because of her disability."

That's what you need to say, or get someone else to say. Things may be different in Canada, but in the US, the schools must provide services if and only if the above is true.

Dar, ex-sped teacher

[Flor]

Originally Posted by Dar

"She had a disability that is affecting her ability to learn. She is failing to make adequate academic progress because of her disability."

That's what you need to say, or get someone else to say. Things may be different in Canada, but in the US, the schools must provide services if and only if the above is true.

Dar, ex-sped teacher

That's what I was thinking. I have had students with ADHD and Aspergers who were not on IEPs because their disability was not significantly impacting their school, but since the child is failing. . . .

Anyway, these students were often on 504 plans. Does your district have that?

[orca]

I just posted in the other thread as well. In Ontario, you can have an IEP specifically for behaviour concerns, but typically they are designed for students with exceptionalities in academics. (LD, slow learner, gifted etc.) I’m not sure if you have this link or not, but it may help you out as well:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general...iepresguid.pdf

Again, I’d need to know what board you are in, but in my board they are looking for a diagnosis of a learning disability/ slow learner etc. based on standardised tests conducted by the psychologist. PM me with the specific subtests and scores and I can tell you exactly what they mean.

[Mama_Bear]

She may not be on a SCHOOL decision IEP, but you are free to talk to the school and arrange for your daughter to be on a voluntary IEP (meaning, it is voluntary because *you* requested it).