Getting Help For Children With Learning Disabilities
It normally begins the same way – your child appears to be out of touch with things that happen at school. Sometimes the teacher suggests that your child is not putting forth the effort that she is capable of. Sometimes you are the one saying it. You know your child is bright; quick as a whip as the saying goes, and you are certain that they could be a star student if they just focused on their schoolwork instead of outside distractions. You may begin to question the teacher’s abilities to teach or at least to reach your child. You may look for other excuses but sooner or later, you begin to wonder if there might be something else going on; something that maybe you as a parent don’t really want to face or admit. You do see a lot of information these days on television and in magazines and also from parents of children with learning disabilities. You’ve heard the statistics that nearly 20% of all children in America are affected.
You have thought about taking your child in to a child psychologist to be evaluated, but a thorough evaluation does not come cheap, ranging up to $5,000 and more. Many insurance companies, if you even have insurance, do not want to pay for these services and if they do offer coverage, it usually comes with a substantial copay. While it is easy to say that money is no object when it comes to your child’s welfare, let’s face it, many households are struggling just to provide food and shelter for their families. The thought of coming up with several thousand dollars for an evaluation when you are not convinced there is anything wrong just seems a little too overwhelming at the moment.
However, there is an option available to you that you may not have considered. There is a law (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) which states that the burden lies with the public school system or private educational facility where your child attends, to find the means to assess every child’s learning needs so that they can be given an appropriate education. However, as with any government assistance, they seldom take the first step to offer or suggest their aid. (Let me be fair here. I know that there are some teachers, counselors and administrators who go out of their way to make every educational opportunity available for their students, but there are also far too many who would just as soon pass a child on to the next grade and overlook their needs just to keep from having to deal with it.) Just be prepared to do a little legwork and paperwork to get the process going. Whether you seek assistance through the school system or private practice, the important thing is that children with learning disabilities get the attention and help they need.
How might you know if your child has a problem? An excellent gauge to start with is by looking at your child’s reading abilities. Eighty percent of children with learning disabilities have problems with reading and spelling. Should you suspect that there is a problem, you need to set up a meeting with the principal and your child’s teacher. If the school seems to be giving you the runaround, as is often the case, address the issue with the Parents Training and Information Center in your state, to learn more about what can be done. A letter written to the Director of Special Needs at your child’s school might also work.
The goal at this point is to find a proper psycho-educational test that your child can take. This would be comprised of an IQ test, a reading evaluation that will break down your child’s reading skills into all of it’s components and gauge their competence in each area. If the results of the testing are way out of range in your opinion, you should request a second test be administered. If they deny your request you could go to an attorney to
orce the school do it. Once the exact problem of children with learning disabilities is identified, the school is required to take the necessary steps to ensure proper, sensitive education. That should be your end goal and is what will make all the difference in helping your child to reach their potential.
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Many parents who are concerned about their children’s progress in school think that their child may have a learning disability. Sometimes they are right. The problem, as this post rightly states, is that it can be very difficult to get your child assessed, and even if you can get it done privately it can be very expensive and may not give you the information you need.
When I left the classroom I decided that I wanted to help these parents, parents who are concerned about their children and frustrated with the services they are offered.
I took my own assessment system, one based on excellent research and many successful experiences, and turned it into a Home Study Kit that parents can use to diagnose their own child’s learning issues. Then with this information, I can give parents recommendations on how to help their child.
This is brand new, and if you want more information before you decide if it can be useful for you contact me through my website. I hope it helps.
It seems like you have pulled together a nice little following now. I’m delighted to see it.