Why do you feel your school has failed your child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My local public isn't even serving the NT kids well, how on earth could they be serving any kids with special needs?

I think this is the elephant in the room. And also what's dividing SN and NT parents. No one is being served well.

[Anonymous]

I will say that for those who are terribly unhappy, there are two categories. Those who really aren’t getting appropriate services and those that have kids with tremendously challenging behaviors or delays that are virtually impossible to really move the needle on, but the parents struggle to accept this.

I think you’re right. But I also think people don’t recognize when their kid is in the latter category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I will say that for those who are terribly unhappy, there are two categories. Those who really aren’t getting appropriate services and those that have kids with tremendously challenging behaviors or delays that are virtually impossible to really move the needle on, but the parents struggle to accept this.

I think you’re right. But I also think people don’t recognize when their kid is in the latter category.

Meh. My kid has moderate dyslexia. Moderate. And the school couldn’t do anything with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Same. And they fail to do the simple things like extra time for a test. FCPS fails in every aspect of special education. We just pay for tutoring and count down until we are done with the school system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Same. And they fail to do the simple things like extra time for a test. FCPS fails in every aspect of special education. We just pay for tutoring and count down until we are done with the school system

And basic writing skills. Don’t forget that. FCPS does a terrible job with writing instruction across the board. My HS student didn’t learn the basics until we put him in private school. It was a night and day difference.

They also failed with clear expectations and consequences, which is much more important with my kid with SN than my kid who is NT who is still in FCPS. Teachers and admin let a lot slide behaviorally on things they should not have (kids openly leaving during lunch, coming 10 min late to class or skipping) but then came down hard on small things. This created constant behavior problems.

[Anonymous]

My school failed my kids when they viewed their disabilities as a reflection of lack of intelligence and motivation. Specific teachers harassed and bullied them. It was traumatic and had a long and deep impact on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I will say that for those who are terribly unhappy, there are two categories. Those who really aren’t getting appropriate services and those that have kids with tremendously challenging behaviors or delays that are virtually impossible to really move the needle on, but the parents struggle to accept this.

I think you’re right. But I also think people don’t recognize when their kid is in the latter category.

Meh. My kid has moderate dyslexia. Moderate. And the school couldn’t do anything with that.

What were YOU doing to help your child? How were YOU supporting this at home? I think that is often the missing piece of the puzzle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Wow. I like to think that the experience of having a SN kid makes people a little more careful of how they think/talk about others but clearly not. FYI my uncle who is a high school janitor is a voracious reader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Wow. I like to think that the experience of having a SN kid makes people a little more careful of how they think/talk about others but clearly not. FYI my uncle who is a high school janitor is a voracious reader.

I think you may have misread the post - PP was saying that their child would not have learned to read, still, in high school, had she left it to the school. Your uncle learned to read and loves to read! That’s a testament to good schooling - everyone learns to read and can enjoy a life of literature, regardless of employment. My FIL was a janitor and voracious reader, too. My dyslexic son would not have been able to read if we hadn’t hired a private tutor, though, despite all our fancy jobs and relative wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My local public isn't even serving the NT kids well, how on earth could they be serving any kids with special needs?

I think this is the elephant in the room. And also what's dividing SN and NT parents. No one is being served well.

Interestingly, the law only requires FAPE for children with disabilities. For the rest, it merely requires a place to go for 8 hours of the day, as laws attempting to ensure schools actually provide an education, or even define what an 'education' is, have been unpopular and generally unsuccessful (i.e., NCLB).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Wow. I like to think that the experience of having a SN kid makes people a little more careful of how they think/talk about others but clearly not. FYI my uncle who is a high school janitor is a voracious reader.

Junior, not janitor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Wow. I like to think that the experience of having a SN kid makes people a little more careful of how they think/talk about others but clearly not. FYI my uncle who is a high school janitor is a voracious reader.

I think you may have misread the post - PP was saying that their child would not have learned to read, still, in high school, had she left it to the school. Your uncle learned to read and loves to read! That’s a testament to good schooling - everyone learns to read and can enjoy a life of literature, regardless of employment. My FIL was a janitor and voracious reader, too. My dyslexic son would not have been able to read if we hadn’t hired a private tutor, though, despite all our fancy jobs and relative wealth.

The sad thing is, disability or not, LOTS of kids are graduating US schooling unable to read well or at all. The data from 2019 shows only 37% of 12th graders were proficient at reading, and proficiency is a low bar.
https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation/achievement/?grade=12

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I will say that for those who are terribly unhappy, there are two categories. Those who really aren’t getting appropriate services and those that have kids with tremendously challenging behaviors or delays that are virtually impossible to really move the needle on, but the parents struggle to accept this.

I think you’re right. But I also think people don’t recognize when their kid is in the latter category.

Meh. My kid has moderate dyslexia. Moderate. And the school couldn’t do anything with that.

What were YOU doing to help your child? How were YOU supporting this at home? I think that is often the missing piece of the puzzle.

Be careful with that. It's a catch- 22. Because we were doing support at home, mcps said it was unnecessary at school. But we were doing so much home support because the school failed to provide support. You can't win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I will say that for those who are terribly unhappy, there are two categories. Those who really aren’t getting appropriate services and those that have kids with tremendously challenging behaviors or delays that are virtually impossible to really move the needle on, but the parents struggle to accept this.

I think you’re right. But I also think people don’t recognize when their kid is in the latter category.

Meh. My kid has moderate dyslexia. Moderate. And the school couldn’t do anything with that.

What were YOU doing to help your child? How were YOU supporting this at home? I think that is often the missing piece of the puzzle.

There was no missing piece of the puzzle. We spent thousands of dollars in intensive private tutoring starting in elementary. Not everyone has thousands of dollars to throw at this. We’re lucky we did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has dyslexia. The schools were unable to provide appropriate instruction to teach him to read. If it were left up the school system, he would be illiterate as a high school junior.

The appropriate instruction isn’t a hidden secret. It’s readily available.

Wow. I like to think that the experience of having a SN kid makes people a little more careful of how they think/talk about others but clearly not. FYI my uncle who is a high school janitor is a voracious reader.

Who is talking about a janitor? I said junior.