Learning Disabilities

Hello Michele,

What is the teacher telling you that makes her believe your son needs testing? I mean that is a tricky age and not all children learn the same. I have 2 boys both have special needs and have the LD label. But I had concerns when they were 3 yrs old. With such things as speech, imaginitive play, the way they learned. If she has a valid reason as to why she wants testing I say let them do it. It is at no cost to you. I am a daycare provider and I also watch my childrens development. The first thing I do if I am concerned is ask the parents to have the childs hearing checked. It is best to rule out things before you go to the next step. Unless it is clear what the issues are. You are a first time mom and someone is telling you that your child may have learning disabilities. You have the right to be a bothered by it. We all want our children to be ok and not struggle. I know only to well the feelings I had them not once but twice.

If there is anything I can do to help let me know.

Let them test him. Years ago my daughter was having trouble in school, turns out it was a form of dyslexia called written expression. Getting the school to document and get help for her was really rough. When my second child was in the first grade they saw signs right away, and he got alot more help. It was alot easier to deal with getting help right from the start, both of them have now graduated.

I would have them go ahead and get him tested. It really does depend on what age group he is in the head start program. I had my son actually in early intervention that found out that he indeed had a learning disability and he ended up in preschool in a mainstream classroom (special ed teacher but with regular kids and special ed. kids. No one ever wants their child to have the title of having a disability. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I am a student studying to be a special education teacher with my 5 year old being learning disabled. It's good to go with your instinct but it's also good to get the tests done because if there is something wrong with him then things can get done now before it winds up being worse in the long run. Hope this helps. The early intervention program, if interested is located on Jefferson Ave. in downtown toledo but I'm sure that they should have something similar to that in Michigan.

Hi M., I am a daycare provider and a Mom of 3 and one has ADHD. I recently cared for a little boy that I highly suspect has learning disabilities. The Mother is refusing to have him tested.I applaud this teacher for picking up on things, not all teachers do. My Son's didn't. It is not an easy thing to tell a parent their child might have special needs, but the earlier things are detected the sooner he can get his needs met. There are so many things it could be and are usually treatable. And if it's nothing then you can rest assured. Good Luck

C.

Had the same problem when my son was small. He ended up taking speech therapy for a speech impediment, but I refused to put him into special-ed classes. Just because he's tested does not mean you have to follow their advice. The issue has to be re-visited every year by the school, anyhow. If you don't feel anything is amiss, insist they wait a year to see how he adjusts. My son turned out to be ADHD, but with a genius IQ. Oh man, did that kid put me through my paces! He's now a happy, well-adjusted 19 year old college student. Go with your gut instinct. Mama is rarely wrong. <wink>

I would advise to have him tested. Early intervention is a HUGE success in preventing and helping to solve problems before they become overwhelming, as well as being a great source for getting advice as to deal with unavoidable problems. That being said, make sure you evaluate the program your child is in. Contact your local "Help Me Grow" site and see what they say. "Help Me Grow" is a free community service. They have wonderful assessments that trained professionals give to see if your child requires services and then they help hook you up with those services. Don't let worrying about the stigma of "having a problem" keep you from getting him tested. I have seen children with problems that were preventable or could have been much less than they were, become huge obstacles because the parent(s)/guardian(s) did not want to have their child tested. Please give him the chance to get the help he needs, if he does need it. My own son had a problem and if I had waited he could have gone deaf, he had lost 50% of his hearing to fluid behind his ears. He had not had enough ear problems to warrent a visit to a specialist, but I insisted and now he has tubes in his ears and his language problems are gone. He does have some scar tissue in his ears but not nearly what it could have been if I had waited for the doctor to refer him.

http://www.ohiohelpmegrow.org/

That website above is Ohio's "Help Me Grow" site.

Good Luck!

I wish that they would have done some testing with my son who is now 11. He was in headstart and the teacher said that he was slower than the other kids because he was in a single parent household and he was shy. He ended up failing kindergarden. When he went to first grade the teacher asked me if it would be ok to have him tested. The school pays for it so I told her to go ahead with it because I too am very over protected when it comes to my kids. She tested him and found out that he is dyslexic. He is an amazing little boy and does great in school. He was tested as a genious but the only thing stoping him to be one is his reading level grade point is low. Your son is only 3 so go ahead and have him tested, who knows he might just be holding back to be the next president.....Boys go at their own pace so let him guide you and if there is a road block somewhere then take the wheel. Getting him tested doesn't make you a bad mom, it makes you a wonderful caring mom. Praise you for raising a child by yourself and going to school. I would love to go back. I wanted to be a councler because I do so well with the kids so follow your heart and I promise everything will come out great. Also testing sometimes saves a child, it took 17 yrs to find out my oldest daughter was very sick with Periodic fever dysorder and Lupus. Don't give up mom, your doing great!

I am with the moms who say do the testing. My son was tested beginning at 2 due to late speech development (testing recommended by peds office) and we went to early intervention. I am a stay at home mom most of the time and occassionally get to work from home but being a mom (back then) was my whole day and I am glad we did the testing. My son is autistic and we were hesitant to get started on diagnosis of his behavior and without the push from the peds office might have said "he's just a late talker". In fact I wish now we had tested sooner, especially when I compare my niece's development to my son's (though I know boys are different from girls when it comes to learning speech). Good luck and know that what you are doing is in your son's best interest. It is not about what you think but about what he really needs.

What are the indications that were presented to make the teacher feel that your 3 year old may have a learning disability? If this is your son's first time attending pre-shool at the age he is now, than it will be a little time for adjustment for him, and he will need time to be introduced and learn what his developmental, cognitive, and social skills are all about. Two months in attendance, is a short time, out of the first 3 years of his life to start testing to find out if he has any learning disabilities just yet.

Hi M.,
You have a lot on your plate right now. Trust me, I'm a single mother (divorced) of two children with special needs. My son Kyle is 9 and has MANY learning disabilities as well as emotional impairements. My daughter Kaitlynn, turned 7 a few weeks ago, and while she's a very strong academic student, she does suffer from PTSD. With that being said, let's see what I can do to help!

I think I'd start by having a meeting with your son's teacher. Be prepared to ask questions and don't be afraid to write down the responses. It's very easy to become overwhelmed when we are discussing sensitive issues like this, and later forget what was said. Never be embarassed to ask and certainlly never to take notes. This will allow you to focus clearer during your discussions and have a log to refer to when needed. What signs is your son displaying that make her feel he's a candidate for testing? What type of testing will be administered? IQ, Achievement, Speech & Language, Fine Motor etc..... Who will be administering the tests? These are all good questions to ask. Also, consider getting his Peidatrician into the loop.

Absolutely, I'd grant permission to have the testing done! It will never harm your son but can certainlly help him if it's determined he has a Learning Disability or Special Need.

Right now, the information I have is vague so it's difficult to better guide you. Who knows, this may be an attention problem the teacher is noticing, such as ADD or ADHD. Nevertheless, I'd have the recommended testing done.

One last thing...I don't think you are being over protective or paranoid, simply being a mother that wants to do what's best for her son!! Pat yourself on the back and know that's a strength!

Good luck with all of this and feel free to contact me if you would like more help! M. M (quite a coincidence)

hello. i am a mother of four special needs children. my children all had gone through early on and three are still in spec. ed. i hope these tests answers the questions that both you and his teacher are concerned about. but like the other mom had said that if he is in a class with 4 year olds, the material might be too advanced. good luck with the testing. sincerely yours, S.

What age group is he with? Most pre-schools are broken up into 2 1/2s, 3s and 4s. If he is with the 4s the activities might be too advanced, if with the 2 1/2s not challenging enough. You generally know your child best. I would ask for detailed reasons why she thinks he should be tested and exactly what she is testing for. If there is a chance he does have a disability I would have him tested so that you can catch it quickly.

Hi. My now 7 year old daughter was tested at our local ISD school at age 3...I finally woke up and realized she was slower than other kids. Plus I went there as a child, but my parents started me at normal age And then I did 2 years of pre, since I had birth problems that made it harder to learn. She babbled and made her needs known as a baby but her first word "Bye" was said at 1 1/2 years old. She has went from ISD programs to regular classes with other kids...but it is clear that she will need her speech teacher many more years. Just try not to worry about it and things will work out on their own. Send me a message if ya wanna be cyber pals. :-)

C.

mom to 7 year old
wkend stepmom to almost 9 year old....help! :-P