Dyslexia & FCPS

[Anonymous]

I would make sure your tutor is trained in the Orton - Gillingham method of tutoring. It is research based.
The schools do not know how to help kids with dyslexia. Even with an IEP, they don't know what they're doing. You need someone who knows what dyslexia is and knows how to target it. Schools deny it, say "it's a broad term" ( that is a universal excuse), say they don't recognize it, yada yada yada - all designed to throw us off the scent.
How can the schools help if they don't even know what it is?Go to an expert and get your child some real help.

[Anonymous]

Language! is a new program FCPS is implementing and currently having teachers training in this program. If FCPS states they do not have this program in your school you should ask to be pupil placed in another school that has someone trained in Language! This program is a scientifically validated and peer reviewed. Language! is endorsed by the International Dyslexic Association.
Parents want to be sure to have their child in a scientifically validated and peer reviewed program in order to have data to compare their child's progress with their peers. The law states FCPS must provide benefit to enable every child to make progress to meet their peers. FCPS has a terrible habit of stating to parents that FCPS is providing their child with scientifically validated and peer reviewed strategies-This is untrue and there is no such thing! It is a program in it's entirety that is scientifically validated and peer reviewed. FCPS cannot take bits and pieces out of a program at their discression and state the bits have validated data behind them-simply not true.
I would like to know what FCPS says if you ask them about it.
I have asked them and they have no answer except to say, "What is really important here is that your child is getting the help they need." UM-no they are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Informative post 16:50. Thanks for providing it.

My DS was identified with a Specific Learning Disability and has an IEP (he also has OHI - ADHD). I don't know why it's called a "specific" LD since it's really not specific.

They call is "Specific" to distinguish it from global learning disabilities, in which all areas of cognition are effected. We don't generally uses that term in the U.S., but it would be another way of describing intellectual disabilities, previously known as mental retardation.

A child with specific learning disablities (often shortened to learning disabilities) has problems with specific discrete skills, such as working memory, sequencing, phonemic processing, but has other areas that are uneffected.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it is true that Fairfax County refuses to acknowlege dyslexia as a learning challenge in and of itself. It is unlike any other learning diability, challenge, gift, etc. There are nine states in the US that recognize dyslexia as a completely seperate learning challenge and have drawn up laws specifically to address the way students should be taught. That means having teachers who are educated in a manner that will teach a dyslexic student and not lumping these students in with other learning challenged students. Many parents/guardians cannot afford to send their children to private schools. So the state of Virginia should be stepping up and provinding students with dyslexia with an education that they are LEGALLY entiltled to. Since Fairfax county is one of the richest counties in the United States I want to know why they are not leading the way for every state in the Union to address this problem? One in five students is affected by dyslexia. Dyslexics CAN be taught! But only by teachers who are qualified and trained the skills needed to teach students with dyslexia. Does the Fairfax county school board really want to continue to ignore this problem when it affects so many students? REALLY?

[Anonymous]

Have you all read Sally Shaywitz's book, Overcoming Dyslexia. They are able to look at the dyslexic brain on brain scans and see where the specific deficit resides. I just met with my daughter's local screening team, and they also informed me that they do not recognize dyslexia - but look at higher level reading difficulties. I am going to let them do their thing, but I am also going to get an independent evaluations. Since No Child Left Behind mandates reading as a priority, we actually have power here. IF anyone is intereste in talking about this, shoot me an email at [e-mail]. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

PP - Just to warn you that even with an independent evaluation, and even if the team agrees to give services, most teachers in FCPS are NOT properly trained in remediating dyslexia and can do MORE HARM THAN GOOD. So be careful about letting the school do their thing...even though it is expensive and a shame, I would recommend looking for a good private tutor. The younger you remediate, the better the result -- and you don't want the school wasting your child's precious time.

[Anonymous]

They are able to look at the dyslexic brain on brain scans and see where the specific deficit resides.

This is not true in all cases of reading difficulties that fit the definition of dyslexia. Dyslexia is diagnosed based on functional criteria, not on the results of a medical test, as there are no reliable medical tests to confirm dyslexia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am reading this and am astounded that FCPS is behind....DCPS!? My son was acknowledged in third grade as having a diagnosis of dyslexia (though it took a speech pathologist and neuropsych testing to confirm it.) It is an auditory dyslexia - though many people think dyslexia is a visual disorder only ( it can be). However, I believe the law requires dyslexia and several other disabilities to be listed as "Specific Learning Disability" in an IEP, but the reportd use the word dyslexia. That said, I got DCPS to pay for 3 weeks of Lindamood Bell training (we had evidence that previous LB training that had worked, but DC needed one-on-one intensive and had no one in the system to do it) and for the last 2 years, his SpecEd teacher has been using the Wilson Reading Program with him. This summer, he's also been given 6 weeks of FastForWord and is maintaining grade level reading skills - so he's reading at 6th grade level even though it has been a slog. He jumped from first to 4th grade reading with the LB program.

Please know that we hired a consultant and threatened to sue - or none of this would have happened.

I have never heard of "auditory dyslexia". I am concerned about dyslexia w/ my son. His reading is OK, but his sounding out of new words is ridiculously bad. If you tell him the word, he stores it away, and can use in the same context in the future, but novel vocabulary is a problem. He often "mishears" words, but ENT says his hearing is now fine (after a long history of ear infections and tubes). What were the signs of "auditory dyslexia" for your child?

[Anonymous]

PP, how old is your DS? Our DD has a visually based dyslexia, so she has the opposite problem your DS has. She has strong phonemic awareness, but her memory for spelling irregular words is very poor. She was slow to pick up reading, but has now caught up in third grade. She has an Orton Gillingham trained tutor, and we work on sight words at home. (She needs to learn sight words in conjunction with a meaningful picture, and then she can imprint that picture with the spelling into her long term memory.). She also has difficulty memorizing math facts, lining up math problems, and generally organizing her work and reading instructions on tests. So, we are in the process of having her evaluated for visual processing disorder.

You might want to research online symptoms of auditory dyslexia and perhaps auditory processing disorder see you recognize them in your child. Also, is the situation impacting your child academically? What does the school think? If you suspect there's a problem, its best to address it as soon as possible, rather than waiting to see if your child will mature out of it. (If he has dyslexia, he won't mature out of it.) As other PPs have noted, LMB seems to have the best program for remediating issues with phonemic awareness. A good tutor could also suggest skills to practice at home, like ours did. It's made a huge difference for us.

PS, we are in FCPS and not eligible for services essentially because DD is at grade level (not failing). But the reason she isn't failing is because we weren't willing to let that happen to her. I could go on, but the good thing is that it is because of this board (not the school) that we were able to get our bearings and figure out how to get DD the help she needed. Also, getting a private dx of dyslexia can help you to get accommodations at school (if not services).

[Anonymous]

22:50, can you share the name of your Orton Gillingham trained tutor? My son has significant issues with visual processing. This has made it hard for him to memorize symbols such the letters in the alphabet (yet he knows all the sounds and can read). Same with numbers--he can do addition and subtraction, but can't come up with what the number should look like when it's time to write it down.

[Anonymous]

My child has been seeing an Orton-Gillingham tutor in Olney, MD. Not sure if you are in Ffx or not. If you're in FFX, it doesn't make sense. You can get tutors in your area by contacting Susan Barton at

http://www.dys-add.com/ and clicking on "List of Tutors." She'll email them to you within a few hours. (We also consulted her for a certified tester.)

For Dyslexia, you definitely want one of the Orton-Gillingham systems!!!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for opening my eyes to what I am currently experiencing at FCPS. I am equally frustrated and at the early stage.

In 2nd grade, my son became extremely frustrated, hated school, anger and emotions came out at home. At the same time he was complaining that letters reversed or appeared to float on the page while he was reading. This was brought up to me by the teacher and school counselor. Struggled with math visuals as well. We had a vision exam and obtained glasses for a light astigmatism. Teacher said I know visual therapists are out there. But, you'd have to look to asking your doctor. Asked doctor and was told dyslexia is a learning disability and we can't test for that. Its the school district responsibility. At the end of year, his writing journal came home with likely 4 pages of partially written pages. During 2nd grade I had him evaluated for ADD - info provided by teacher and Dr. - provided that perhaps he was just a difficult child.

Fast forward to third grade, doing much better, teacher referred him to a reading resource program, but, as of late indicated he was not completing math problem and writing assignments, tests on par with his peers. We decided to move toward another eval for inattentive ADD. Met with same dr. and teacher provided input. Perhaps a mild inattentive issue. At the same time I requested a meeting to address my concerns. My son is spelling words such as so as sow, said as sade, I could go on. He writes many words as they phonetically sound. When he writes he leaves no spaces between words and will cross out errors rather than erase (says the eraser hurts his ears). But, I've read this can be tied to dyslexia, too. Because my son has tested well on his standardized tests he's deemed on par with his peers. He does well on spelling tests. But, when writing lots of spelling errors. In the hour that I was in this meeting with 6 staff members of FCPS not one person would say the word dyslexia. I was the only one that referenced it. It was suggested that I go take my son back to an opthamalogist and perhaps his inattentive issues were related to anxiety. I felt they skirted the issue entirely. If his spelling errors when writing are on par with 3rd grade - very sad. The only thing they offered was to continue to redirect him to keep him on track, reading resource program - little detail on why he attends, and to have him meet with OT to look at the writing issue which they claim to be a fine motor issue. The kicker for me was when the school psychologist said I have to have the medical community diagnose for dyslexia. Really because they say its the responsibility of the school district as its a learning disability. Apparently it is not available due to legislative mandate.

My son does not wear his glasses at home at all. They are left at school. He didnt wear them the first 2 months of school until the counselor mentioned it to his teacher. That really tells me that he doesn't need glasses.

In my research of dyslexia all these things apply. How can a school district dance around this. I was told if I had any further info to share after seeing other professionals to bring it to their attention. We are military and moving to Norfolk. Hoping that I can find a school district that is experienced with services for kids with dyslexia.

How do I put this back to the school district. I 've relayed back to the teacher my disappointment with how the meeting went. I asked her for more info on why he was referred to the reading program, what is his deficiency, what progress is being made, etc. I also raised the spelling errors and asked what resources are available to address because I believe these to not be on par with his peers. It is through the appeal process or wait til the OT comes back and the teacher responds to my further inquiries.

Any advice on how to move through the process and be an advocate for my son is appreciated.

[Anonymous]

PP, our DD has the same issues. (I posted earlier that our DD has visually-based dyslexia.) The school offers DD no services, and I believe prior posters who indicated that even when the school offers services, they might not be what your child needs. Finding a good Orton-Gillingham tutor should help. You can also purchase the Wilson, Barton or Lindamood-Bell materials on-line and try to implement these at home, but it takes commitment on the parents' part to learn how to use the materials and implement the program.

Our school does offer accommodations that help DD to be successful in school. Do accommodations work for your DS?

BTW, our DD also has dysgraphia, which causes her handwriting to be slow, and she frequently misspells words, omits or juxtaposes letters, and forgets to capitalize/insert punctuation. We work on this at home, but accommodations (typed assignments, use of Ginger predictive spell checker, not penalized for spelling/mechanics in hand-written work) help so that the dysgraphia doesn't significantly interfere with her schoolwork.

Our DD's conditions were diagnosed by way of a private neuropsych evaluation. They conducted both educational and psychological testing, so we got a lot of insight into DD's challenges. Her main issue is poor orthographic memory and visual-motor integration. Her auditory processing is excellent. We didn't know all of this until we had the in-depth testing done. You might want to consider private testing to get more granularity on your son's areas of challenge.

[Anonymous]

Could you please tell me where you had your private neuropsych evaluation done?

[Anonymous]

We had ours done at GMU. They administered the WISC, Woodcock Johnson educational testing, the CTOPP, several tests of visual processing (the Beery and the Bender Gestalt) and batteries for anxiety and attention.