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#11
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On 2005-04-26, Rosalie B. wrote:
I also agree that an IEP isn't really the way to go. What you have to deal with is not Henry so much as this particular teacher and that could be the possibility with anyone. It happened a couple of times to mine. It sounds like he's coping fine without an ISP in general, and I agree with the principal on this - it will be another strike against him, and it IS a major PITA. I'm a little confused by the claims on this newsgroup that 1) having an IEP is a stigma 2) getting an IEP is a major problem I don't see how having an IEP for ADD would be any more of a stigma than the ADD diagnosis itself. My own experience with this is limited---my son has an IEP for speech therapy, and it was no problem at all to get. He had a referral to the speech therapist from the classroom teacher when he was in kindergarten, who agreed that he could benefit from speech therapy. He gets pulled out of class once or twice a week for the therapy, as do a few other kids. We have to meet with the speech therapist a couple of times a year to get a progress report, learn suggested exercises to do at home, and sign some paperwork. There does not seem to be any stigma at his school associated with speech therapy (perhaps because about 1/3 of the school has English as second language). Is the IEP for speech therapy bureaucratically a different thing from an IEP for ADD? Or is it that the actions required of the teacher are different (releasing student for pullout versus changing some cherished pedagogical style)? Could someone with more experience explain things to me? ------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics (Senior member, IEEE) (Board of Directors, ISCB) life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels) Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed) Affiliations for identification only. |
#12
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Robyn Kozierok wrote:
In article , illecebra wrote: Unless the teachers write all their own materials, putting worksheets and such up on a web site is probably begging for textbook companies to sue the school. Sad but true. That's a good point. I was assuming they were generated by the teachers, but that's probably not a fair assumption, at least not all of the time. If the worksheets are coming from a text/wookbook, though, perhaps Dawn can purchase a copy to have at home for her son. --Robyn . That's a very good idea. Susan |
#13
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"Kevin Karplus" wrote in message ... On 2005-04-26, Rosalie B. wrote: I also agree that an IEP isn't really the way to go. What you have to deal with is not Henry so much as this particular teacher and that could be the possibility with anyone. It happened a couple of times to mine. It sounds like he's coping fine without an ISP in general, and I agree with the principal on this - it will be another strike against him, and it IS a major PITA. I'm a little confused by the claims on this newsgroup that 1) having an IEP is a stigma 2) getting an IEP is a major problem I have to agree with Kevin. I have two children on IEPs and have never had any of the experiences that Robyn claims to have experienced. If you know your rights (http://www.wrightslaw.com) and do your homework ahead of time, the IEP process is pretty simple. Getting teachers to FOLLOW the IEP might be an issue, especially with the science teacher Dawn describes, but then again, the threat of non-compliance sends your school into a tizzy. They DO NOT want to be sued. As for having an IEP, I can't see the stigma attached to it at all. One of my kids is two grade levels ahead of his age, and has an IEP for his ADHD and organizational issues, similar to Henry's. It has nothing to do with his intelligence or ability to do work, it does have to do with his inability to get his homework done 100% of the time, or to get writing assignments completed without dictation and typing help from me. Like Henry, these accomodations are a requirement for success in school. Without them, my child fails his classes, with them he is a straight A student. There is no stigma from the kids, because probably 1/3 of them have IEPs for one thing or another. There is no stigma from the teachers, but there is an occasional uncooperative teacher who refuses to follow an IEP until his/her superiors have intervened. The one thing we have experienced is the teacher who feels put-upon having to do any extra work, but I've learned how to deal with those types as well. When a child in middle school has an IEP, there is a specialist in the school whose sole job it is is to ensure that IEPs are followed. These are usually NOT guidance counselors, they're sped specialists. If you get these folks on your side, your child is going to benefit from an IEP and there won't be any stigma involved at all. I don't see how having an IEP for ADD would be any more of a stigma than the ADD diagnosis itself. My own experience with this is limited---my son has an IEP for speech therapy, and it was no problem at all to get. He had a referral to the speech therapist from the classroom teacher when he was in kindergarten, who agreed that he could benefit from speech therapy. He gets pulled out of class once or twice a week for the therapy, as do a few other kids. We have to meet with the speech therapist a couple of times a year to get a progress report, learn suggested exercises to do at home, and sign some paperwork. There does not seem to be any stigma at his school associated with speech therapy (perhaps because about 1/3 of the school has English as second language). Is the IEP for speech therapy bureaucratically a different thing from an IEP for ADD? Or is it that the actions required of the teacher are different (releasing student for pullout versus changing some cherished pedagogical style)? No, there is NO difference between an IEP for speech, for language processing, for ADHD, for dysgraphia, for emotional problems, or for physical differences. The IEP is, as its title says, an Individualized Educational Plan, a plan that is created for the specific needs of each particular student. My two kids have very different IEPs for very different issues, and yet they are handled exactly the same way by the schools, the administration, and the teachers. Marjorie Could someone with more experience explain things to me? ------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus Professor of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics (Senior member, IEEE) (Board of Directors, ISCB) life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels) Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed) Affiliations for identification only. |
#14
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"Dawn" wrote in message oups.com... Thanks to everyone so far for the excellent suggestions. Just to clarify, we already have taken each of the steps suggested. He did try to get the study guide from another student, but we weren't able to locate anyone -- it's complicated, but this particular class is not in his regular "group" and he doesn't know many kids from the class -- and wasn't able to contact the few he did know. At my daughter's high school at the beginning of the year each child and parent signs a contract for each class. On the contract is a space to fill in the names of two fellow classmates who are also in that class, that will be their contacts in case they miss homework assignments. The contract is not accepted without those two names. Might be something to add to your list of steps at the beginning of each year. I check his planner every day, period. That's the kind of thing you absolutely have to do with an ADD kids. I was told at orientation that every class's homework would be on the website -- that has only been true for one of his four teachers consistently. When the assignments are online, the actual worksheets are not. So in this case I knew the study guide was due but couldn't access the study guide. Lastly, we met with all the teachers at the beginning of the year and twice since then. This one has also refused to let him to go the nurse to get needed medication for migraine headaches. It's my personal opinion that she has just decided not to like him for who-knows-what reason. This is just sad. She's been rude to me in person and in e-mail. I'm not willing to schedule another conference, it's time to take this to her superior in my view. Hence, the IEP question. For his good, I need some assurance that we're not just going to rely on the kindness of teachers (as wonderful as that is when it happens). I hope a discussion with the vice principal will at least get this teacher to be civil, allow him to get medication, post study guides, and basically be treated like she would treat another adult. -Dawn |
#15
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On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 18:25:56 EDT, Kevin Karplus
wrote: I'm a little confused by the claims on this newsgroup that 1) having an IEP is a stigma 2) getting an IEP is a major problem I don't see how having an IEP for ADD would be any more of a stigma than the ADD diagnosis itself. I don't know how similar our IEP laws and customs are here in Canada. But it's been my impression that getting the IEP is straightforward and that having IEPs for learning disabilities and/or for giftedness has offered extra opportunities while not creating restrictions or stigmas. I wondered whether the original advice Dawn got from the assistant principal about not proceeding officially was about the stigmatized perceptions of boys with ADD, among the teachers in his school or among high school teachers. Why he didn't go on to say "such as Ms S, but here is how you/we might approach her" is a good question. Without an IEP, maybe he thought he was giving Henry a chance to "pass" without teachers labelling him as ADD before meeting him, either in junior high or in high school. Louise |
#16
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illecebra wrote:
Robyn Kozierok wrote: In article , illecebra wrote: Unless the teachers write all their own materials, putting worksheets and such up on a web site is probably begging for textbook companies to sue the school. Sad but true. That's a good point. I was assuming they were generated by the teachers, but that's probably not a fair assumption, at least not all of the time. If the worksheets are coming from a text/wookbook, though, perhaps Dawn can purchase a copy to have at home for her son. My mom would often buy duplicate copies of textbooks for us to have at home so we wouldn't have to carry them to and from school (or forget to bring them home). One of my grandsons has no lockers though, so he has to haul all his books plus one or two musical instruments from class to class and home on the bus. When I was teaching, we didn't have textbooks available for most of the curriculum that we taught (we did a combined science class - a unit of botany, a unit of earth science, a unit of physical science and so on instead of a year of earth science, a year of biology etc and there were no textbooks that had all of what we did in them, plus I had to have different reading levels for 4 different classes) so I basically didn't give books out at all. And I did usually write and run off my own worksheets, but that was mostly to assign long term projects and for study aids for A/V materials. But I don't think most teachers do this. grandma Rosalie |
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