I've kind of asked about this before, but thought I'd ask again to see what kind of suggestions I can get. My daughter just finished kindergarten, and she will be 6 next month. She was late to start talking, and we just chalked it up to the fact that between my husband and I, and our older 2 kids, we always pretty much spoke for our daughter rather than really encouraged her to speak. She was evaluated by the school prior to starting kindergarten, and they told us that her IQ was slightly lower than kids her age. Basically, she was about equal to an average 3 to 4 year old mentally. She normally has a very short attention span, and had a lot of trouble staying focused and paying attention in class. The teacher often had to let her rock in the rocking chair during regular class time just so she wouldn't be a distraction to other kids. She worked with specialists and a speech therapist every day all year. They never would tell us what exactly they thought was going on with her, other than her brain filtered words differently, which made it difficult for her to understand things normally. That didn't help me much.
She also has a low impulse control. She will randomly yell things, throw tantrums, start screaming and crying, grab at things that don't belong to her, etc. I am used to her, so I'm not bothered by it as much as other people and teachers would be. It worries me, naturally, but I've learned ways to reel her in, so to speak. She is very artistic, and she's always drawing people, shapes, rainbows, buildings, etc. She is also very friendly, sometimes to a scary point because she will talk to anyone like they are her best friend. She's very trusting of everyone. She also has more energy than most kids her age, and is constantly on the move. When she does get tired, though, she crashes hard and sleeps like a rock.
My main concern is that we should be doing more than what the school offers. I saw some improvement in her academics this year, but not in her behavior. I know as she gets older, if things don't change naturally, she will have a much harder time every year. I am hoping that there are other moms with kids in similar situations that can share your thoughts and experiences, or give me some ideas on what direction we need to take. I want her to have the same chance as every other kid her age, but I just don't think she will get it if we rely on the school alone. Thanks in advance for any help!
I would take her to her doctor and tell him/her what is going on and where you should go for answers. She may have a form of autism called Aspbergers. My son has a mild form of this and is on medication to help him focus in school. It is something I would get on sooner than later.
Has she been to see a Developmental Pediatrician or any type of medical specialist for a diagnosis? This is the first place to start if you have not already done so. The school will provide therapy where they can to help with any academic needs that they notice but they are not going to diagnose any problem or provide any type of help beyond the minimum required to get her through school (if even that). I'm not knocking school districts with this statement, just stating the facts. Their job is not to diagnose a medical problem, just to help a child through school.
You need to see a specialist to get a diagnosis so that you know what you and your daughter are dealing with so that you can get her all of the help she needs. Beyond what the school district is providing you may need to get her speech, OT, behavior, or play therapy. She may need medication. She may have something such as a hearing loss that could be treated and corrected. All of this can only be properly done with a diagnosis.
Also, once there is a diagnosis there may be additional services that the school district will be required to provide for your daughter but without it they do not have to.
Good luck,
K.
I'm a teacher with dual certification in general education and special education. When you mention they said she doesn't process or filter words/information the same as others...my first thought is a language impairment. You also mentioned her IQ was measured prior to starting kindergarten. If she has an IEP, I would ask for another IQ test when she's seven. IQ doesn't stabilize until around age five. It could be (and sounds like) she has multi-faceted needs. But as others have mentioned...the school system does not have the resources to anything other than assist her with academic and/or behavioral issues.
If she does not have an IEP, I would ask for another evaluation. The new process now is RtI (Response to Intervention). It's long...it's really difficult for the teacher and staff because there is so much documentation and data to collect, but you are your child's advocate and you have to stay at it.
Your other choice is...to have her evaluated privately. Some insurance companies will pay a portion. Early intervention is a MUST.
Good luck!
Jenn,
The short answer to your question is yes, you should be doing much more for your daughter than the school is offering.
The long answer is, schools are required to make your child functional enough in school so that she can access an apprpriate level (for her) of the general education ciuriculum. They are not there to diagnose your child, they are not there to treat your child's developmental delay, and they are not going to ever, ever, ever provide all the services that she needs to maximize her poteintial.
Please get your daughter to a Developmental Pediatrician for a full developmental, educational, social, emotional, speech and langague, motor and sensory, and neurological evaluation. You should never count on the school to tell you what is wrong, or what needs to be done. They are educators, and they are only concerned with meeting the standards of IDEA procedudrally, and frankly, it is your responsiblity to find out more than the school knows because this kind of conidition is effecting far more than her ablity to learn, and that is all the school should and can concern themselves with.
Things are not going to change naturally. I have been there, and so many families I have worked with have been there too, there is a great deal of medical treatment, therapy, and hard work ahead of you, and the sooner you are an expert in what is going on with your daughter, the better off she will be. Schools can be a great tool and help to you to supplement her treatment plan, but you need to own the evaluation that contains her diagnosis, and use your more comprehensive evaluation to hold the school accountable for providing appropriate educational services for your daughter that will compliment her comprehensive treatment plan.
Call the nearest childrens hospital on Monday moring and make an appointment with a Developmental Pediatrician.
M.
time to push for your daughter's future. As the other posters said, start with your doctor & move on from there.
Jenn,
I am so sorry that the school does not help you much in regards to your daughter. I was very blessed to have our son in a school that caught his different level and way of learning in Kindergarten. He was also slow to develop. He walked early, but speaking he was about 3 1/2 years old. And well he was our first and he is the oldest. He was always in a classroom to help him so he would excel. He did finally graduate. I was very happy and pleased with his high school IEP teacher. She was awesome. We lived in Smithville, Missouri when he graduated. We thought now what will he do? He went to a trade school and learned Sign language and enjoys that. And he also went on a mission trip after studying for 5 months with them. He is now married and has a son. But we still struggle with some of his behaviours. Where he seems very stubborn and does not want to listen and cooperate with ideas that are different than what he is used to. However in the last couple weeks I have noticed a little more flexibility in him.
His behaviour was not a huge issue growing up. However, because he did process information differently and still does to a point. We had to come up with ways to communicate with him to get him to understand things. I did have to watch his diet and he had consequences for his actions. I am not sure what you have your daughter eating or drinking. But things with red dye were not good for him and us. It would stay his system for 3 days and he would be almost uncontrollable. So we stopped that as soon as we discovered it. Sometimes things with wheat can make a child act out. I would go through her diet and see if there are some changes that can be made. We never eluded to our son that anything was wrong with him until he was an adult and we got him on disability from the Government. Not sure this has been the best route. We now live in a foreign country and it would be nice if he had some kind of degree or certificate to work.
We did not want him to think he was different or there was something wrong with him. He was teased mercilessly in school but managed to handle it. Our middle son on the other hand had really no 'disability' but could not handle any form of teasing.
My best to you Jenn. Hang in there!!
We finally decided that he may have Ausbergers. Which means they are highly functioning in a certain area. And your daughters could be art.
Take care.....K.
Has she ever been assessed by a pediatrician or referred somewhere for further testing? What the school are doing sounds great , but without a diagnosis of some sort then how do they know that what they are doing is enough? I would make an appointment with her ped , tell him/her everything that you told us and go from there.
Good luck
I absolutely agree with all of the great suggestions you have gotten already. I just wanted to add that if your daughter does receive a diagnosis and gets an IEP, they will develop strategies to help her learn better. She is obviously not getting the most out of traditional teaching methods (lots of kids don't), and they will need to find ways to adapt their teaching to meet her needs. I think you will find that you have a much happier, much less frustrated little girl when she isn't expected to learn just like everyone else! Best of luck!
There are places in the greater KC area where you can get your child evaluated by a developmental pediatrician; Children's Mercy, K.U. Medical Center, Dr. Edward Hoffman in Leawood, KS are just 3 options. A developmental assessment will help you to know what is going on and how to proceed. Here at the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Resource Center we have resources and information free of charge that may assist you in your decision process. Please feel free to give us a call at ###-###-#### or look at our website at www.moddrc.org. I hope this information is helpful, sincerely, J. Hatfield-Callen, Information Specialist, MODDRC and parent of a 23 year old son with developmental issues.
You are right about relying on the school alone - they just don't have all the resources. I second Karen B's idea about the developmental specialist. You might start by taking your daughter to her regular pediatrician and ask them for a good referral, and what type of specialist they would recommend for an evaluation. Consider getting a second opinion. The physical & mental evaluations can really vary. My best friend was told her daughter was autistic by the first specialist she saw, the second specialist accurately diagnosed her with a mild cerebal palsy (sp?) Obviously a vastly different treatment program! With a specific diagnosis you will continue to receive more support, and an individual education program to respond to your daughters needs. And it will help you understand your beautiful daughter more, too!
hi-
From my experience (as PDX mentioned), unfortunately school do not have enough resources. And as Karen B mentioned I would strongly recommend a complete assessment through a developmental pediatrician - it looks like this maybe one of the closest clinics http://www.childrensmercy.org/content/view.aspx?id=9456 The developmental pediatrician should be able to figure out what is going on, how to help your DD and know if she needs additional evaluations (e.g. speech, occupational therapy, etc). (If you choose to make an appointment with children’s mercy this site has some questions you might find helpful to ask the clinic http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/svc/alpha/d/disabiliti... ) and this site may help you prepare for the visit (http://www.firstsigns.org/concerns/parent_doc.htm)
Some of the behaviors and attention may be due to issues surrounding language (e.g. becomes frustrated/mad because she “can’t get the words out” or people don’t understand her; in school may have a short attention span because she has a hard time processing what the teacher is saying – if her processing is slower the other noises in the classroom (hum of lights, wiggling of peers in chair, sound of markers on paper, etc) maybe making it hard for her to understand what the teacher is saying).
The combination of some of the things you mention (rock in the rocking chair during regular class time just so she wouldn't be a distraction to other kids, constantly on the move, low impulse control, decreased attention) sound like possible sensory processing difficulties. Here are a great web site that has a check list to see if you feel that sensory processing difficulties applies to your DD:
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-proces...
Good luck!!
