Thread: Dyslexia, IEP, and frustration.

I met with the parent today. I do not feel it went well. The printed notes do not seem to make it home with the child. She says he is completing assignments, but I am not seeing them, therefore can not give credit for what I do not receive. I apparently have also been too vague on my summary plans I post. I guess there is truth to that. Her child is supposed to be keeping an assignment book, but has failed to do so. It would certainly help if he did.

Do the best you can- document what you do, and make sure he gets whatever mods the law calls for. That way, you're covered, although it is not terribly likely you will get sued- the ones who threaten to sue the most usually don't have the means to do so. As for this kid, if he doesn't do what's expected of him, he deserves to fail, and should do so.

unfortunately this one has the means...but i dont think the foundation. i'm a documenting freak lately. after today's meeting i think "mom's" eyes are open to the fact that her child is not bringing everything home.

thanks for input!

I'm going to interject as a parent because I understand where the mom, and the student frustration is coming from.

What you are doing is absolutely wonderful. They are great accomodations and/or modifications. Therein lies part of the problem( the problem is not you!).

The problem is, from what you have written, there isn't any actual special education going on. SpEd isn't acomodations and modifications, it's a special way of teaching, which is why students become SpEd students and have IEP's. He needs to be taught at his level in the way he learns. Unfortunately, all to often, IEP's look more like glorified Section 504 plans and then we all wonder why... :lol:

As JohnBoy said keep documenting and covering your behind because all you can do is follow the IEP you've been given. Although, you could always ask for an IEP meeting.

he has at least 2 resource periods and i have him for mentoring program where i share time with his resource teacher. he is receiving many sped services that i won't list here. there have been many iep meetings for this child. part of the issue is motivation and using his disability as a crutch when he doesn't want to do something, or worse has given up. we take things day by day. some are good, some are not so good.

on the positive, it has helped me learn how to better deal with dyslexia and prepare me for things i may have to deal with when my youngest is older.

Kontan - I am not a teacher and obviously not qualified to give you advice on teaching, however I am a mom, and perhaps I could help with ideas for motivation?

What grade do you teach?

My son is in 2nd grade,... I bought a shoe box and had him decorate it... then I went to a party store and bought little trinkets (small rubber snakes, bouncy balls, noisemakers, erasers, stickers etc) and put them in the box. He has a planner where he writes his homework assignments and where I make notes of what I want him to bring home. Each day that he brings everything home and everything to school that he is supposed to he is allowed to take one item from the treasure box.

As a kid, I struggled with dyselxia myself and now my son is going through those same struggles... kids with dyslexia can become very defiant. Many times we as adults stand back and say "But we have ALL of these people wanting to help you, coming up with ways to make it better... WHY won't you cooperate?" In my opinion, this is the reason...

Dyslexics feel in general, like they have no control over anything. We can't control our eyes and make them see what we know we should be seeing, we can't learn the way that we're being taught, when things get hectic and chaotic - it HURTS our brains.... having a bunch of people trying to make MORE decisions to help us is frustrating because very rarely are we asked... "What do you think would help?" "What would make it easier for you?" "What would motivate you?" I think that if you give a child the feeling that they CAN be in control, that they are being heard... they'll feel more motivated, they'll feel success.

i teach 9th. my goal is to not single him out in class and to keep him trying. he now sees that we are working for him and willing to figure out together what works best. the key is keeping him working and not using his disability to avoid work when he doesn't want to do it. we've hit a point now where he is trying very hard.

I am a student teacher and am just learning all the basics. I encountered a student today in my field experience who did not know the difference between a "p" and a "q". I tried to show him that the stick goes on the other side of the circle but he didn't seem to get it. I know that he has a learning disability, but how, as I teacher could I help him to overcome this problem...can I help him overcome it?

it is common to mix up certain letters. i hope you are not making a determination that this child has a learning disability b/c he doesn't have his p's and q's in order.

my 5 year old gave us a scare last year when she wrote her entire alphabet on her whiteboard...upside down and backwards. she even included numbers. i took a digi and emailed my aunt who is also a teacher. she said her 2 was wonderful. it was supposed to be a 5. we work with her and reinforce the correct way to write letters and numbers. her teacher says not to worry just yet. b/c we work with her she writes almost everything correctly. she still slips up in her spelling and writing, but we at least know to keep working and keep reinforcing.