Hi,

You asked about resources to help pay for all the expenses associated with your childs learning disabilities. There are several tax benifits for those with a diagnosed learning disability.
Take a look at this article and stash it away for tax time.

www.greatschools.net/LD/family-home-life/2008-tax-benefits.gs?content=646

Dear All,
I found this web site very useful and helpfull at the same time.
I have one chld 7 years old , I Dont know what problem he has exculty as i didnot seek help yet, but after reading at this web site i think he has adhd.
The boy is having difficulities in many ways.
First he is suffering at school, many children gets upset from him cause he plays always in some how aggressive way.
bad concenteration ( some times he can focs very good and other not).
he is very hyper and cant stand still without moving hands or legs.
Forgets sme things very easy and others he doesnt forget.
that is why i am very confused what is his disability, since some times he is normal and othertimes he is having really bad time for me and him.
The boy is not listing to me at all, i have to say the things 3 times to listen or talk in a loud voice.
please some body helps me i am already new here n irvine how can i help my only child since we are all suffering around and he himself he is feeling very bad, what do i do, where do i go and seek help for him,i mean where in irvine ,
thank you all for your ideas and it is very nice to share experience to learn more and more to help our children to become better for a better life

My 9 yr old son is also dyslexic with ADD. I agree with the previous poster who recommended evaluating your tutor. A teaching system based on the Orton Gillingham principals work best with dyslexic kids and adults. If your tutor is not exerienced with Orton Gillingham or some of the O.G. systems such as The Barton Reading and Spelling system or The Wilson System you should strongly consider switching.
For certified tutors in your area contact the local branch of the International Dyslexia association in you area and ask for a list of accredited tutors. Reasearch Susan Barton and her reading and spelling system. You can request a list of local tutors from her web site. I think the same hold true for the Wilson reading system. Hopefully there will be at least one tutor local to you. If not start asking around at the local school for teachers who have had training in Orton Gillingham. Around us many of the private schools have a few teachers that are trained and work privately with their students who struggle. Some of the private schools and LD schools also have tutoring after school hours for any students not just their own. You say you are in a rural area so I'm not sure if there are resources like this near you but these are the places where I found the most information and help for my son. If you think that having a text book on tape might help your son take a look at reading for the blind and dyslexic.
For accomodations on the IEP ask for extra time on tests and if attention is a problem ask that he be able to take the tests in a place where he can work that is not distracting to him. A quiet room or hall way is not always the best option. They should work with your son to determine this location. Not having to read aloud in class and not having to swap papers or grade others papers are something to negotiate also. Having the teachers provide notes or being able to use notes that classmates have taken is another helpful accomodation for some. Talk with your son, determine where he has the most trouble keeping up and ask for accomodations for those issues.
I hope these suggestions help.

Does he have an IEP? If not, he needs one and one that stipulates his homework is to be modified to better meet his needs. I'd also suggest you not hesitate to look very critically at the tutoring and the cost of it and what he's getting for that - has the tutoring helped him to appreciably close the gap in his skills?
I tutor myself and know there are rarely tutors who turn to you and say "This isn't helpng much." Or "I don't think this is worth the money or "You're not getting your money's worth."
You don't say what kind of tutoring but know tutoring can go on forever and it may or may not actually be helping. If of course you know it is a help than that's another matter entirely.
I'd say instead - if you have your son read in very simple books 20 minutes a day - that often does as much as tutoring. If the books are simple and he does not hit unfamiliar words - practicing reading in such books helps struggling readers and can help as much as tutoring. If you can read aloud to him every night in higher level books for 15 minutes - that's icing on the cake and together both can help his reading and right at home too.
You've gotten very good advice from others as to getting him evaluated and an IEP - one of my own sons is dyslexic and it was a struggle. Much good luck to you and your son.

I have just gone through all of this myself with both of my children this summer as well. I stay at home, so I can help more with them, but their father is a principal at one of the elementary schools in our town. I am currently using the Barton System and it is going great. I have had the school psychologist come to my home asking how I want to handle the situation. My daughter does qualify for spec ed, but I am looking at not putting her in this because no one is trained in Orton Gillingham. The reading intervension is Read 180 and from what I have studied on this, is not that helpful with dyslexic people, especially when they are lacking phonemic awareness. I got our insurance to cover for the testing through a neuropsychologist, but I am spending our money on The Barton System. I feel it will be worth it for them, it makes me upset, that we pay taxes and all, but my focus is getting the help my children need no matter the cost. Get yourself educated on this and their is plenty of help online, hopefully one day things will change, be the fight to make the change. Best wishes to you all.

Shari gave you some great advice and great resources. I agree - you must start by making a referral to have your child evaluated for special ed. Be sure to give the private report to the school - they do not have to adopt the recommendations but they must consider them. Most likely they will do additional testing of their own.

Once the testing is complete, they should provide you with a copy of the evaluation report including recommendations at least 48 hours prior to the eligibility meeting. You will meet with a team of teachers and specialists to review the evaluations and to determine if your child qualifies for special ed. You are an equal member of the TEAM that makes this decision.

Assuming your child does qualified you will write an IEP - educational plan for your child. This will outline his goals, accommodations and services.

There are some great articles on this web site about the special ed process, laws and IEP's. Be sure to read them - you'll be a more confident and effective advocate. Good luck!

If your child is not already in Special Education then you need to request an eval (despite your private eval).

Tell the school/district your child has already been diagnosed ADD and Dyslexic privately and if they prefer they may use your private eval in lieu of retesting these areas.

They are not required to use it, but they must consider it. It would be good if you could also include recommendations from the doctors/psychologist for special ed services.

If your child has an IEP then you can get the district to pay for and/or provide tutoring, specialized instruction, OT, assistive technology, and more.

If possible get your child qualified under ADD (spec ed category of “ Other Health Impaired”), it’s easier and you don’t have to go through RTI (response to intervention) , which sometimes can take a while before qualifying for spec ed IEP.

Dyslexia is under the spec ed category of “specific learning disability”.

I suggest reading up on the rules regs and then you can force the district to do what they are required to do under state and federal law.

You have to know the rules to play the game, lol.

It may take some persistence (possibly some filing of complaints) and going up the chain of command, but you can do it if you are determined.



How to request the district to evaluate (not screen) your child...

community.greatschools.net/groups/11554/discussion/168190




How to get what your child needs to learn via Special Education

community.greatschools.net/advice/239/How-to-get-what-your-child-needs-to-learn-via-Special-Education




Education Laws Regs, Violations, Info & Help

community.greatschools.net/groups/77570