Where to send a kid with Profound Dyslexia? Rejected everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spend the summer remediating with LMB 5 hrs a day, 5 days a week for 3 months. It will make a difference.

This is the answer. If you can't move, enroll your DC in your public middle school and heavily supplement during the school year, as well. Public schools can have great special ed services but usually cannot spend the amount of time needed to really work with students who have severe Dyslexia while also teaching academics. A 90 minute Literacy class that meets 2 or 3 times a week and has 10 or 15 students will help but it's not the same as 1:1 remediation, even with a stellar special ed teacher.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the poster who said moving would be better than paying for private school. Plus, you will have equity that you can tap into later.

[Anonymous]

Look into ASDEC for a tutor and their summer intensive course.

No public system is going to be able to help with dyslexia, at least around here. Supplement with extensive tutoring using OG method. It's the only way with dyslexia.

If you can't afford extensive tutoring, look into Susan Barton's sets that area designed for at home use, a totally scripted program that is OG method. You will need to tutor them yourself, which for some can work but for others (like us with a ADHD thrown in) was fracturing our relationship so we outsourced with an A ASDEC tutor.

[Anonymous]

You have to do intensive ASDEC. I’d do public and take him 5 days a week. He needs imdovidualized support and nothing else is going to work at this age. Take a sabbatical if you have to. Move. It’s really not negotiable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This absolutely sucks, but I think you only have bad choices right now, so it may be a matter of figuring out which bad option you can swallow.

1) Find the money for Lab School even if it means asking family for help, taking on a weekend job, or dipping into retirement or a 529.

2) Home school and deal with the loss of income.

3) Enroll in public and make yourself an enormous pain their ass until they agree that they can't meet his needs and help fund something that will work.

4) Move someplace known for special education and roll the dice that they have better resources.

3 and 4 aren’t realistic and with a child in 6th grade, you don’t have this kind of time. Remediation takes years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This absolutely sucks, but I think you only have bad choices right now, so it may be a matter of figuring out which bad option you can swallow.

1) Find the money for Lab School even if it means asking family for help, taking on a weekend job, or dipping into retirement or a 529.

2) Home school and deal with the loss of income.

3) Enroll in public and make yourself an enormous pain their ass until they agree that they can't meet his needs and help fund something that will work.

4) Move someplace known for special education and roll the dice that they have better resources.

3 and 4 aren’t realistic and with a child in 6th grade, you don’t have this kind of time. Remediation takes years.

None of these options work. LAB will ask you to supplement with OG or ASDEC. So would Siena and all the other SN schools. You are going to have to do one on one ASDEC or OG. At this age we had the tutor come to house at 7-8. You could have her come from 5-6, or some other time that works. Save the money you would spend on private and do OG or asdec intensively. My ASDEC tutor worked with tons of kids at LAB Siena Diener McLean - those schools simply can’t do one on one intensive remediation which is what you need. There’s no alternative.

[Anonymous]

Also, my ASDEC tutor trained herself so she could help her kids. It’s an option - it took her some time

[Anonymous]

My son also has profound dyslexia and is at Lab- it's an amazing school. But if that's not possible, then I would recommend doing Linda Mood Bell this summer and then ASDEC tutoring. if you could also afford a smaller school like a Catholic school or maybe try Springwell in Silver Spring. they might be able to accommodate him better. But I would prioritize the Asdec tutoring over the school. i've researched every public school district in about 100 mile zone and I haven't found any that seem like they have profound dyslexia capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son also has profound dyslexia and is at Lab- it's an amazing school. But if that's not possible, then I would recommend doing Linda Mood Bell this summer and then ASDEC tutoring. if you could also afford a smaller school like a Catholic school or maybe try Springwell in Silver Spring. they might be able to accommodate him better. But I would prioritize the Asdec tutoring over the school. i've researched every public school district in about 100 mile zone and I haven't found any that seem like they have profound dyslexia capacity.

Public schools don't even remediate for mild dyslexia. The reading specialists may, sometimes, apply dyslexia-friendly reading methods, but I doubt any of them are specifically trained for it, and the sessions are vastly insufficient by themselves anyway. Same for dyscalculia and dysgraphia - my kid did not receive any type of in-school training for that. They threw a calculator and typing accommodation at him and called it a day. At home, I was the one who made him work on occupational therapy exercises, finger strength and coordination, handwriting exercises, and tutored him in math intensively. This is what saved him. And his SN-friendly private school didn't do squat either - they were just really nice to him.

Targeted therapy is much more worthwhile in the long run, OP, than private school with nebulous services. You need to allocate funds towards OG dyslexia tutoring as a priority, as often as your kid can possibly tolerate, and practice at home every single day, weekends included. It's only if you can also afford private school, on top of intensive dyslexia tutoring, that you should add this as well.

Parenting these kids is a TON of work compared to parenting "neurotypical" kids, but it's incredibly worthwhile. Now DS is in a good college and doing well. I look at his younger siblings who are just sailing through childhood, without needing my help for anything, and it's just mindboggling the difference in effort and labor that we've had to put in.

[Anonymous]

I would encourage you to look at Chelsea in Hyattsville. DS is happy and learning a ton. They specialize in dyslexia and don't restrict admission based on how many years behind a student is. It's expensive but not as bad as Lab. Call the admissions director tomorrow to see if they have openings for 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This absolutely sucks, but I think you only have bad choices right now, so it may be a matter of figuring out which bad option you can swallow.

1) Find the money for Lab School even if it means asking family for help, taking on a weekend job, or dipping into retirement or a 529.

2) Home school and deal with the loss of income.

3) Enroll in public and make yourself an enormous pain their ass until they agree that they can't meet his needs and help fund something that will work.

4) Move someplace known for special education and roll the dice that they have better resources.

I’d do #2. These kids need love and patience more than anything money can buy, OP.

[Anonymous]

I agree with those who said move to the best school district you can find.

I recommend Falls Church City although the price is high and the inventory is low. If it were my kid I'd rent anything I could get there.

FCC isn't perfect but it's light years better than many other options and you will have very easy access to staff and admin right up to the superintendent of schools. You don't get that anywhere else in a public district in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

I understand. I toured Siena in Vienna and because he is more than two grades behind I left feeling quite dejected. I’ve been trying to find an OG tutor privately but I’m hitting dead ends. Lab is wonderful but it’s too expensive. Son is in Fcps and they do their best but I am really quite lost. It’s a problem is this area that hasn’t been met. Definitely a need for mid range help for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would encourage you to look at Chelsea in Hyattsville. DS is happy and learning a ton. They specialize in dyslexia and don't restrict admission based on how many years behind a student is. It's expensive but not as bad as Lab. Call the admissions director tomorrow to see if they have openings for 6th.

I was also going to suggest this school--I don't have personal experience but I hear great things about it

[Anonymous]

Hi. This is the OP and I’m so grateful for these suggestions. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I’d hug every single one of you if possible.

DC is now enrolled in the ASDEC summer program for this coming summer. We have tried to find an ASDEC academic therapist for the last year, but no availability. We didn’t know about the Holy Child, Chelsea or Jamicy school options. We are in NoVA so logistics might be tough but we will figure it out. We can’t give up our jobs, but I am a fed, so that might work itself out anyway. DC has been tutored for OG privately for years and makes more progress that way but also loves school and is social. DC plays several sports, has a lot of friends, does scouting, loves sleepaway camp, is well adjusted and socially normal…. but can’t read or write. Is making progress (not illiterate anymore thanks to tutor) but very slowly. And is probably 2.5 years below grade level.