Shelly: We moved our daughter to a small girls private school after years of school battles to get an IEP and try to have it followed for her dyslexia. She did well in the small class setting and received support and accommodations. She is now in HS and the “support” person serves over 40 girls and does not provide support or remediation. My daughter is responsible for requesting all accommodations in advance and she is drowning. The school is a rigorous, traditional private school and the teaching methods are not up to date in terms of technology which might help her. What might we be able to ask for from our local school district in terms of technology support, if any. I’d like to get their assistive tech person to teach her how to use her computer and apps to lighten her work load and help with writing (which is a huge issue). We already have a tutor for math (as do other girls in her classes) and they suggested a writing tutor. I’m not keen on sending her back to the public school where I’ll have to fight for her again and the classes are short (40 min avg vs. block schedule at private) but we can’t let her grades suffer and her self esteem suffer with no help at her current school. It’s all very disappointing that she’s not being supported.
This may be far off advice but it worked for my child. Find a local or nearby state university and talk to the disability support services director. Make sure the colleges has a staffed disability support services office-that is key. That talk, and actual tour of the center, was one of the major game changers for my child. Then, my child was in the 6th grade. We were carefully directed not only on AT but future trends. I bought some of my child’s AT as I did not want to waste time. Children learn quickly and are “technology” intuitive. My child is now entering the senior year in high school and started college tours this summer with AT skills and confidence. You have to be the “game changer” for your child.