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Post by notjstamom on Feb 21, 2019 5:18:28 GMT
Long story short from my research and intuition I'm almost positive my 7 year old has dysgraphia, her school is saying she is too young to be tested and they want to wait until she's in gr 4. I've suggested a few modifications (from what I've found online)that thankfully have been helping her at school, but I'm out of ideas on what to do next if her school won' pay for a psychoeducational exam and get her a diagnosis. Anyone else's kids suffer from this?? Anyone who had to do it from home without a diagnosis?
Morgan
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Post by destined2bmom on Feb 21, 2019 5:38:14 GMT
My son was diagnosed at age 5. He is on the gifted and I took him in for testing for giftedness and the psychologist figured it out while testing him.
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Post by Legacy Girl on Feb 21, 2019 6:13:08 GMT
Oh, please don't let them wait until she's in 4th grade. The sooner she's diagnosed, the less frustration she'll experience and the better she'll do academically, emotionally and relationally.
I wish schools would move away from the mindset that kids have to under-perform or fail before they'll intervene. In our case, we had to pay out-of-pocket to have DD diagnosed by a pediatric neuropsychologist. It wasn't cheap, but it was the ticket to getting the services she needed to be successful. All the best to you and your DD as you navigate these waters.
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hannahruth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,616
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Aug 29, 2014 18:57:20 GMT
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Post by hannahruth on Feb 21, 2019 6:27:31 GMT
Our dgs was diagnosed in year 2.
Our services here in Australia, while certainly not perfect, do seem easier to access than overseas. The school has been assisting him and he has regular OT sessions that also help.
The younger the better for a diagnosis so that any therapy necessary can begin sooner rather than later.
Hugs to you - it is not easy.
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Post by christine58 on Feb 21, 2019 10:59:02 GMT
Pay out of pocket for your own evaluation. There's no need to make her wait.
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Post by Patter on Feb 21, 2019 11:07:12 GMT
Absolutely don't wait. They didn't want to test my daughter in 1st grade for some things until I told them about her birth/childhood issues. They then tested her for everything under the sun. She ended up with several services on her IEP. Had they not tested her, I would have taken her somewhere because what they thought she had (dyslexia) was TOTALLY off base and not what she had at all! Push to get what you need for your daughter. Hugs!
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Post by Linda on Feb 21, 2019 12:56:53 GMT
my oldest has dysgraphia - we paid out of pocket for an OT evaluation and treatment (he was homeschooled at the time). It was worth it, imo.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 5:31:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 13:24:48 GMT
My daughter was diagnosed with dysgraphia AND dyscalculia (spelling. Math related) in 1st grade. At the start of 1st is when she was diagnosed with Aspergers. We had a 504 but changed it to an IEP at the end.
Anyways here are accommodations she had in the begining:
Oral report over written in class Tiles used for spelling words Oral saying of reports as I typed it No cursive was taught (but she was taught to read it) Notes were given to her
She also had RSP Pull Out Services (district is now trying to do pull in which in mho sucks)
In the RSP class she was taught hand writing without tears, saw OT for heavy work and pencil grasp as well as hand arm muscle stuff, sensory needs, she got lined paper that was bigger and had main lines that were puffy and you could feel with a pencil, eye vision therapy with OT, worked with word bubbles to get her ideas down as well as drew her ideas to help her.
She also got help with math.
It took her a good 5 years of hard work to be able to write a paper on her own.
Do NOT wait. Have her evaluated with psych, OT preferable Sensory OT and with a peds ophthalmologist. Take that and request an IEP
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Post by shamrockpea on Feb 21, 2019 13:32:09 GMT
Write a letter requesting she be tested. They don’t like testing kidscearly because it costs money for services and kids get labeled, but if you as parent thinks it is best and are sure, they will have to do it. put it in writing.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 5:31:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 14:17:07 GMT
Write a letter requesting she be tested. They don’t like testing kidscearly because it costs money for services and kids get labeled, but if you as parent thinks it is best and are sure, they will have to do it. put it in writing. And time and date stamp it when you hand it over to special services at your school district AND site principal AND teacher.
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Post by Patter on Feb 21, 2019 15:36:43 GMT
Write a letter requesting she be tested. They don’t like testing kidscearly because it costs money for services and kids get labeled, but if you as parent thinks it is best and are sure, they will have to do it. put it in writing. Yes, that's what we did and included medical items that were pertinent. They came around very quickly that way. Hope it helps you too!
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Post by PNWMom on Feb 21, 2019 16:00:52 GMT
I'd definitely pursue testing on your own if they won't do it. My husband has severe dyslexia that was never accommodated for in school and pretty significant dysgraphia that was never diagnosed but is pretty clear when you look at his writing. Both in the way his handwriting looks and also the way he writes the letters themselves (a lower case 'n' is written as an arch, then he goes back and writes the straight line part of the n from the bottom up. Lots of letters written unusually) Not getting either of these things addressed/worked with was awful for his self confidence and still makes him very ashamed to this day.
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Post by ntsf on Feb 21, 2019 16:27:16 GMT
go to wrightslaw.com and start learning about ieps, requests for testing, etc. there is a process and it helps to learn how to develop a paper trail. if you can pursue private testing at the same time. part of figuring it out is is it a physical problem with producing writing? is it a mental processing issue, where you don't know what to write, what is important, blockage of doing anything ? often going to exclusively digital writing is a solution and there are software programs that help with word production (need an assistive tech assessment...from someone who know what they are doing).. if it is more mental.. the only thing that helped my child was intensive 15 yrs of intervention.. learning how to outline and then develop writing from the outline. choose topics of interest.. don't let them concentrate just on spelling.. wont help. learning how to and having others do it.. chunking work into tiny assignments. oral reporting in parallel with developing the writing. an OT assessment is also important.. see if hand strength is an issue.
so figuring out exactly why and how of the deficit is important.. then tackling it little bit by bit
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,460
Location: So Cal
Jun 26, 2014 16:42:12 GMT
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Post by caangel on Feb 21, 2019 17:01:30 GMT
Pay out of pocket for your own evaluation. There's no need to make her wait. This is what my SIL did. Nephew was diagnosed in 2nd grade. She has dyscalcula (sp) and we all think my brother has dyslexia although he was never diagnosed. We also think my mom may have dyslexia. She started working young and never completed high school because it was such a struggle for her.
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Post by twinks on Feb 21, 2019 18:27:21 GMT
I agree with ntsf in that you need to check out wrightslaw.com. I would go so far as to order the book "From Emotions to Advocacy." It helps in things like keeping a paper trail, school meetings, writing letters, etc.
I would get an independent pediatric neuropsychological evaluation. Sometimes insurance companies will pay for it in the end. You could check with your insurance company. It is beneficial to you as well - at least it helped me greatly in understanding what my DD needed for her to succeed, even at home and non-school related activities. The evaluation is also great in supporting you in getting the school system to do what your daughter needs.
I think that a verbal request is easily ignored or brushed off. A written request has to be addressed. I would list some of your observations and reasons why you are requesting the testing. I would stay away from labeling or diagnosing, even if you are very sure you know what the problem is. I would just state the facts.
Good luck. You have this and can do it.
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Post by scrapmaven on Feb 21, 2019 18:38:57 GMT
It's time to fight the system, mamabear. If you're gonna be a bear be a grizzly one!
I have dysgraphia. Way back when, they diagnosed me too late. Then they didn't know what to do w/me. It made school very hard, because of the ignorance of the district staff. Dysgraphia is centered around poor spatial relations, reasoning and visual processing. The sooner your dd has support the easier it will be for her. Your dd can get excellent grades w/dysgraphia, but she will need accommodations.
Your dd needs an immediate diagnosis and services provided by the district. If the teacher and principal won't cooperate then it's time to go the district offices. You might start by contacting her pediatrician. The more documentation and power you have behind you the better. The district should pay for testing and services, but they won't want to do so. You might need to start w/an outside educational psychologist for testing. Press the district first. Your pediatrician might be able to help facilitate things. Practice that growling grizzly bear face and be your dd's strongest advocate.
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Post by christine58 on Feb 21, 2019 21:07:32 GMT
I agree with ntsf in that you need to check out wrightslaw.com She lives in Canada...not sure that will help.
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Post by cahwoo on Feb 21, 2019 22:52:07 GMT
I have never had a diagnosis . My writing is awful. I actually have to think very carefully just to write my name. It's the only cursive writing I do. I'm 74 so of course back when I was in school everything wrong was just not working at my potential. I think all children need to be tested if their parent or teacher see a problem. Maybe if I was I could write my name.
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Post by questioning on Feb 21, 2019 23:11:02 GMT
Is there a children's hospital near you, or in your region? Contact them for advice, many of ours (US) have learning and development centers offering free or reduced testing. If they're not nearby then check the website for information, they might offer off-site clinics, at very least they will be able to help you find resources.
I know it's expensive if you have to pay a specialist, but I wouldn't waste too much time fighting the school. It's better to get your child the help they need early and let your child reap those benefits later.
ETA I looked up Regina online. It looks beautiful!
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,917
Location: PNW
Jul 20, 2014 21:57:23 GMT
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Post by breetheflea on Feb 21, 2019 23:21:27 GMT
I swear this is what my DS has (or dyspraxia) we just went through getting him diagnosed (it took 6 months, most of it was waiting...) the specialist (behavioral psychologist) decided he has ADHD not dyspraxia.
We had to go through our insurance, the school said DS wasn't behind enough so there was nothing wrong and he didn't need extra help. He gets marked down because his teachers can't read his handwriting, he writes slow and doesn't finish among other things... He had an IEP, which was going to include a scribe on state tests, then he turned 9 and suddenly it was canceled because he didn't "have anything wrong" It's been a fun journey.
Good luck!
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Feb 21, 2019 23:38:22 GMT
There’s a huge difference between having a DSM disability and having an IDEA disability and most parents don’t know the difference. They come in with outside diagnoses thinking their kid will automatically qualify and that’s just now how education works. At the end of the day, I have some quacks diagnosis crap with instruments even I had to google (like an audiologist or an eye doctoring disgnosing ADHD). If you go in trying to “fight the system” you’re already doing your daughter a huge disservice. I don’t get paid to argue with parents. I’m not sure why people think I do.
I would not pay for an outside eval if you don’t think it’ll change your personal life with her at home. Keep in mind to get an IEP, you HAVE to show an adverse educational impact as well as need for specially designed instruction. You can absolutely have a disability and not need specially designed instruction or it have an adverse educational impact. OT in schools is a related service. She cannot have OT alone, even if a doctor says she needs it.
And I would hesitate to diagnose a seven year old with SLD in writing (written expression) and most schools would. Even more, with technology accessible to most every child these days, that’s a tough diagnosis to show adverse educational impact and the need for specially designed instruction.
Call your school and ask for either the psychologist or special education lead. Express your concerns and ask for a meeting to discuss. Please do not spend thousands of dollars in a diagnosis just for the sake of school only to find we have zero legal obligation to honor it.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Feb 21, 2019 23:40:17 GMT
My daughter was diagnosed with dysgraphia AND dyscalculia (spelling. Math related) in 1st grade. At the start of 1st is when she was diagnosed with Aspergers. We had a 504 but changed it to an IEP at the end. Anyways here are accommodations she had in the begining: Oral report over written in class Tiles used for spelling words Oral saying of reports as I typed it No cursive was taught (but she was taught to read it) Notes were given to her She also had RSP Pull Out Services (district is now trying to do pull in which in mho sucks) In the RSP class she was taught hand writing without tears, saw OT for heavy work and pencil grasp as well as hand arm muscle stuff, sensory needs, she got lined paper that was bigger and had main lines that were puffy and you could feel with a pencil, eye vision therapy with OT, worked with word bubbles to get her ideas down as well as drew her ideas to help her. She also got help with math. It took her a good 5 years of hard work to be able to write a paper on her own. Do NOT wait. Have her evaluated with psych, OT preferable Sensory OT and with a peds ophthalmologist. Take that and request an IEP You cannot legally request an IEP. She has to be found eligible for one. Further, OT is a related service and they’ll do their own evaluation IF she qualifies as having a disability under IDEA.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Feb 21, 2019 23:43:00 GMT
There is a TOn of misinformation on this post.
Your state will (should) have a copy of the rights for a child with a suspected disability online—your school had a copy of they don’t. It’s probably 3,000 pages but it’s a good read if you’re new to special education.
Again, you CANNOT request an IEP and a doctor cannot “prescribe” one. That’s not how the federal law (IDEA) works.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 5:31:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 0:37:43 GMT
My daughter was diagnosed with dysgraphia AND dyscalculia (spelling. Math related) in 1st grade. At the start of 1st is when she was diagnosed with Aspergers. We had a 504 but changed it to an IEP at the end. Anyways here are accommodations she had in the begining: Oral report over written in class Tiles used for spelling words Oral saying of reports as I typed it No cursive was taught (but she was taught to read it) Notes were given to her She also had RSP Pull Out Services (district is now trying to do pull in which in mho sucks) In the RSP class she was taught hand writing without tears, saw OT for heavy work and pencil grasp as well as hand arm muscle stuff, sensory needs, she got lined paper that was bigger and had main lines that were puffy and you could feel with a pencil, eye vision therapy with OT, worked with word bubbles to get her ideas down as well as drew her ideas to help her. She also got help with math. It took her a good 5 years of hard work to be able to write a paper on her own. Do NOT wait. Have her evaluated with psych, OT preferable Sensory OT and with a peds ophthalmologist. Take that and request an IEP You cannot legally request an IEP. She has to be found eligible for one. Further, OT is a related service and they’ll do their own evaluation IF she qualifies as having a disability under IDEA. By request I mean an IEP process. With full evals then a qualifying non qualifying meeting
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 5:31:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 0:39:20 GMT
There is a TOn of misinformation on this post. Your state will (should) have a copy of the rights for a child with a suspected disability online—your school had a copy of they don’t. It’s probably 3,000 pages but it’s a good read if you’re new to special education. Again, you CANNOT request an IEP and a doctor cannot “prescribe” one. That’s not how the federal law (IDEA) works. You CAN request an IEP as in the form of evals and then a meeting. That is what many of us mean. And a doctor CAN write notes that you provide to special services that DO help get an IEP eval. It is another point on your side and against the district
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 5:31:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2019 0:42:08 GMT
OP, get an outside eval because even if the school wont help her, private OT and visual therapy will! We have both school evals and private and private and use both school and private therapy resources.
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Feb 22, 2019 0:50:24 GMT
There is a TOn of misinformation on this post. Your state will (should) have a copy of the rights for a child with a suspected disability online—your school had a copy of they don’t. It’s probably 3,000 pages but it’s a good read if you’re new to special education. Again, you CANNOT request an IEP and a doctor cannot “prescribe” one. That’s not how the federal law (IDEA) works. Thank you. I’m so tired of people assuming that just because a doctor says something, schools must obey. That’s not how it works. Schools consider a diagnosis along with other things before writing an IEP.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Feb 22, 2019 0:58:53 GMT
There is a TOn of misinformation on this post. Your state will (should) have a copy of the rights for a child with a suspected disability online—your school had a copy of they don’t. It’s probably 3,000 pages but it’s a good read if you’re new to special education. Again, you CANNOT request an IEP and a doctor cannot “prescribe” one. That’s not how the federal law (IDEA) works. You CAN request an IEP as in the form of evals and then a meeting. That is what many of us mean. And a doctor CAN write notes that you provide to special services that DO help get an IEP eval. It is another point on your side and against the district A doctors note is not “another pint on your side” especially in the case of a learning disability. why are there even sides? The only time I ever found a doctors note useful was in the case of s child with a rare genetic malformation that caused muitple disabilities that were not yet present but developing. I have never once found a doctors note useful when diagnosing s learning disability. Further, how does the doctor know that there is no exclusionary factors, such as evidence based instruction, if they’ve never observed the child in the school? Again, it’s not an efficient use of time or money unless the results will change how your parent at home. You cannot request an IEP, even if that’s what you write. It’s semantics; you’re requesting an evaluation to determine the presence of an disability that meets federal guidelines for eligibility under an IDEA category. I don’t mean to be contrary, but this is my job in which I also have advanced degrees in and training. When you spread misinformation, it just makes a very legally based process very difficult. The overwhelmingly vast majority of us do our jobs by the law. Telling parents to request something we can’t just legally give you because the doctor says your child needs it sets up a meeting with a lot of unnecessary tension.
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Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
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Post by Dani-Mani on Feb 22, 2019 1:14:52 GMT
Write a letter requesting she be tested. They don’t like testing kidscearly because it costs money for services and kids get labeled, but if you as parent thinks it is best and are sure, they will have to do it. put it in writing. Again, not true. Do you know how many parents request testing because their first grader has messy writing or writes things backwards? Do you know how developmentally appropriate that is? But isolation, it’s very concerning to parents. A criteria for IDEA for a learning disability is exposure to curriculum or evidence based learning is evident. That’s not a determination I can make after a year in kindergarten. This is why states are extending the developmentally delayed category for preschoolers until they’re older; I’m not giving a five year old a “label” for the hell of it. It’s not ethically appropriate AT ALL.
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Post by leftturnonly on Feb 22, 2019 1:35:38 GMT
Long story short from my research and intuition I'm almost positive my 7 year old has dysgraphia, her school is saying she is too young to be tested and they want to wait until she's in gr 4. I've suggested a few modifications (from what I've found online)that thankfully have been helping her at school, but I'm out of ideas on what to do next if her school won' pay for a psychoeducational exam and get her a diagnosis. Anyone else's kids suffer from this?? Anyone who had to do it from home without a diagnosis? Morgan Good.luck. Seriously, I hope you have far more luck getting the school to work with you than I ever could. I finally convinced them to test my child, and the results came back that her gross motor skills were fine. Yeah. And people wonder why I chose to homeschool! I will give you some encouragement, though. This child matured to enjoy writing even though her handwriting is atrocious. One thing that really seemed to help were good quality colored pencils (not the top line) and adult coloring books. I would also encourage teaching your child really good typing skills. We were promised by the school that my child could do work using a computer, but that was before tablets and the school was run by idiots so it never happened. When she was finally able to do schoolwork via computer, she breezed right through. I did pay for extra help while she was still in elementary school -- Sylvan (not sure if that's regional or national) -- and it didn't do squat for her. We tried counselors, therapists, psychologists.... nada. When I think back..... gurrrrlll....... I don't think people understand at all! It's hard to believe that the person who writes out the grocery shopping list each week is this same child I couldn't get to hold a pencil in class. (And I spent a good number of hours in the classroom at school working with her because no one there else would!) To sum it up --- teach good typing skills, get a tablet if possible, keep on hand a bunch of colored pencils (or pens or markers or crayons - whichever the kid prefers) and interesting coloring books. It also wouldn't hurt if you keep forgetting to pick up things at the store and could use some help remembering, if you get my drift.
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