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Doing
Your Homework:
Mom
Needs Help - Son Cannot Read
by
Suzanne Whitney, Research Editor, Wrightslaw
My
son was diagnosed with several learning disabilities and has other
issues as well. He is in a third grade regular education classroom.
He has an IEP and receives extra help for speech, reading and math.
Because the school recommended that he receive extra help for language,
I take him to a tutor twice a week. (I pay for this).
The
real problem is that my son cannot read. The teachers and principal
at his school are wonderful. They want my son to have an aide during
the day. The school board will not approve this. As
a single mother of three children and a college student myself, I
feel like I am being ignored. I do not know what to do or where to
turn.
I
need help from an advocacy group that can help me help my son. He
will be in fourth grade soon, and is running out of time. Any information
you have is greatly appreciated.
Sue's
Advice
You
are right, your son needs to learn to read. I don't think that an
aide is the solution to his problem. Your son needs to be taught by
a teacher who has specialized training in how to teach children with
reading problems. Most aides do not have this training.
An advocate can help you work with the system, but the system you
are in is clearly broken.
I
think you should contact an attorney, not to initiate legal proceedings,
but to develop a strategy to educate your school district about what
is required of them under IDEA and to develop a plan to get an appropriate
education for your son.
Attorneys
and advocates often work together with parents to recommend strategies
that result in an appropriate education for a child. You may need
to talk to many people before you decide what to do and who to work
with. You will need to continue to be the "manager"
of your son's education plan, but you need to find people who
can help you put a good plan into place.
People involved in education know how hard it is to get effective
and timely services for children. Many will take the time to talk
with you, even if they are not exactly who you need. They may point
you to other people and resources that can help.
Keep
calling and emailing people. Ask questions until you find the help
you need to develop and implement a plan for your son's education.
If you are persistent, you will find the help you need.
Keep a log of who you talk to and your conversations. Later, you may
decide to re-contact some people you discounted at first. A record
of your calls will be a good resource for you later on.
For more ideas, read Special
Education Advocacy - Getting Started.
Here
are links that will take you to people in your area who can help.
Start here -
Oklahoma
Disability Law Center
2915 Classen Blvd., Suite 300
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
Phone: (405) 525-7755
Toll- Free: (800) 880-7755 outside the Oklahoma City dialing zone
Fax: (405) 525-7759
Oklahoma
Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities
Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Oklahoma
P.O. Box 1134
Jenks, OK 74037
(918) 298-1600; (800) 532-6365 (in OK)
Evie Lindberg
E-mail: elindberg@oru.edu
International Dyslexia
Association (IDA)
IDA provider directory in your area
Branches
of the International Dyslexia Association
Take
care,
Sue Whitney
Research Editor, Wrightslaw
Meet Sue Whitney
Sue Whitney of Manchester, New Hampshire, works with families as a special education advocate and is the research editor for Wrightslaw.
In Doing Your Homework, Suzanne Whitney gives savvy advice about reading, research based instruction, and creative strategies for using education standards to advocate for children and to improve public schools.
Her articles have been reprinted by SchwabLearning.org, EducationNews.org, Bridges4Kids.org, The Beacon: Journal of Special Education Law and Practice, the Schafer Autism Report, and have been used in CLE presentations to attorneys.
Sue is the co-author of Wrightslaw: No Child Left Behind (ISBN: 978-1-892320-12-4) that was
published by Harbor House Law Press, Inc.
She also served on New Hampshire's Special Education State Advisory Committee on the Education of Students/Children with Disabilities (SAC).
Sue Whitney's bio.
Copyright © 2002-2022 by Suzanne Whitney.
Read
more articles by Sue:
Getting
Help for Children with Reading Problems
Research-Based
Reading Instruction
Exit
Exams Can Be Optional If You Plan Ahead
A
Parent's Guide to No Child Left Behind
What
Teachers, Principals & School Administrators Need to Know About
NCLB