Amblyopia and dyslexia

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My Son has Amblyopia which we are patching for as well as the school believes he suffers with Dyslexia as well. The School is unable to test him until he can pass an eye chart, but his eye specialists states that my son can not pass the eye exam unless we have great improvement on his eye.

We have been approved for the 504 program and we now have him qualified as disabled. However, after everything we have done, the school still has not put him into any special programs. He was held back in first grade, but only after a conference and I was worried that he may fall further behind in second. Reading is a real struggle and at one point in the year, his teacher told me, that she was at a point where there was nothing more she could do for him. It was truly heartbreaking. He is now going to second and still is not on level for reading. He complains he can not read the smaller print in the "copied" books he is given to read from.

We have made numerous calls to the school and asked to speak with the counselor and asst. principal and no one ever called us back. We left messages and even went up to the school on several occasions where we were told we had to make an appointment and they would give the Counselor a message. School has come to an end now, and we were never able to make contact.

I do not know where to go from here and have written the school district in hopes that someone would help me. I am told that the school is now getting the funding for my son under the 504 program, but he was not supplied with special classes or reading material that he could see.

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Parent Replies to "Amblyopia and dyslexia"

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Thanks to everyone, your comments have been very helpful! I am going to go to the other forums as mentioned above.

Thank you michellea for the letter, I will definitely use that!

In addition, you can find additional parent input here: millermom.proboards.com

Welcome. I would also encourage you to join the Learning and Attention Difficulites group here at GS: community.greatschools.net/groups/11554

Micheallea has provided you with a good letter. You want to make sure that you put your requests in writing to create a paper trail. A 504 plan is not federally funded, whereas IEP plans are partially funded through federal funds.

I would also suggest that you get up to speed on the differences between a 504 plan and an IEP. This article may be of interest:

www.wrightslaw.com/howey/504.idea.htm

Here is a letter that a friend of my suggeted you use to request the evaluation. Again, they cannot discriminate because of sight issues. When they delay the testing, they are discriminating. The timelines apply to him just as they do to sigted students.

Dear......,

I am writing on behalf of my son, his name, who is in the 2nd grade at X school. This letter is a formal request for my son to evaluated for special education. He has been experiencing difficulty in learning since he started school, was retained in the 1st grade, and now continues to struggle in the 2nd grade. He is not reading and his 2nd grade teacher stated that there was nothing else she could do for him. Please notify me in writing as to the date I will receive an assessment plan to sign and when the evaluation will occur.

Of note, my son has A....., which has affected his vision. As you know, Section 504 requires that a child be given accommodations that will provide him with access to curriculum and any assistance needed. Therefore, Section 504 applies to the assessment I am requesting. Please make sure, as is required by Section 504 that the evaluators who will assess my child use materials adapted to a child with vision needs and who have expertise in testing my son.
Thank you,

cc. school principal

Send this letter certified mail, receipt requested

Welcome. I would also ask you to join the Learning and attention difficulties Group. It is a bit more active than this one.

That said, the school must evaluate him for Learning disabilites if you make a request in writing. While the evaluation is made more difficult due to sight issues, Federal Law says that they must evaluate him using instruments/processes that account for his disabilities. If they do not have professionals on staff that are able to accommodate him, they should look and hire outside professionals.

If you haven't already made a written request for an LD evaluation, I would do this immediatly. In the meantime, I would work with your medical team for a referral to professional neuropsychologists that can work with your son to evaluate him dispite his sight challenges. You may have to dig deep to find them, and once you do, give the names to your school.

Hope to see you at Learning and Attention. community.greatschools.net/groups/11554

Hi, my non LD dd8 has strabismus (accommodating) which is a condition that can easily turn into Amblyopia. It's fall right under Amblyopia. We have done several years of patching. Through patching and glasses we have been able to keep both eyes very close to equal in vision.

I don't think the school can refuse to test him until his vision improves. It would be a BIG discrimination.I'm not exactly sure but I think they should have some kind of accomodations for children who have server vision lost. I'm sure others here know what accommodations are available.

Did you give them a written request for a full evaluation? If you have I would ask them to give you a copy of the policy that states they can not test until he passes an eye chart.

Please join the Learning and Attention Difficulties Group at community.greatschools.net/groups/11554 where many more parents are involved, and can offer support and advice.

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Any contributed content above is the subjective opinion of that member or external author, and not of GreatSchools. GreatSchools does not check for accuracy in community posts or verify the contributor’s identity. If you are searching for health-related advice we strongly suggest you seek professional medical support. View our Community Guidelines for more details.

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Amblyopia and dyslexia

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