Accommodations and assistance for LD + Gifted middle schooler

[Anonymous]

If your commute isn't terrible, you might consider moving to Montgomery County in MD. MCPS has a small program for GT/LD children. They are mainstreamed into general education classes, where they can choose advanced classes if they wish, but the classes they have are co-taught by two teachers and they have a resource class where they can catch up, ask questions, etc, as well as receive all the services and accommodations on their IEPs.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/gtld/faq.aspx

Requirements:
1. IEP
2. WISC-V or similar IQ test that shows at least a score of 120 minimum for either the general score or one of the subscores.

It's an IEP team decision, not merely a parent one. Usually someone from the GT/LD office will observe your child in his classroom to get an idea of his placement, and then using the WISC scores, diagnoses, IEP, and all the rest of the data, the IEP team makes a decision. You might have to call to inquire how it would work for out-of-state students: 301-279-3163

Names of schools which have a GT/LD program - if you live out of bounds, a bus is provided, but the ride can be long:

Elementary (Grades 3-5)
Lucy V. Barnsley

Middle (Grades 6-8)
Roberto Clemente
Col. E. Brooke Lee
North Bethesda

High (Grades 9-12)
Walter Johnson
Northwood
Watkins Mill

We are happy with the North Bethesda GT/LD program. Otherwise we would likely have been forced to pay for private, because even though IEPs are generally followed in our school cluster, the level of attention given to my son would not have been the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is also gifted in math and science and has dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. We found middle school very difficult, but I have heard some things have changed since then. High school (McLean) was excellent. In Fairfax County, we have a new Special Education PTA and one of the subgroups is focused on 2E. Since Fairfax County is so large, there is not uniformity so you have to look at each school.

My DC had an IEP from 2nd grade all the way through 12th grade. So, he was in a team taught gen-ed English class but then took Honors/AP for his other core classes. His accomodations were done for every class.

I can’t say f your DC’s issues would warrent a 504 or an IEP. I am surprised that you have already had accomodations from College Board since he isn’t in Middle School yet, but that should help.

Thank you! A couple of follow up questions:
1) Which middle schools do you know/ have you heard are more accommodating?
2) How did your child qualify for the IEP - did the school district itself have to test/ diagnose him in order to approve an IEP? Or did you have him independently tested and submit the reports to the special ed dept at FCPS?
Do they sufficiently recognize that a 2E kid might score 99th percentile on an IQ test but this does not mean they can do well on academics (especially reading/ writing)?

My son is already in middle school (Half way through 7th grade) and since he has evaluations from psychiatrists/ neurologists/ learning specialists, we submitted those to the college board and he was approved for SAT accommodations.

1) Since your son is already half way through7th grade, I think concentrating on HS is more important than the one year he will have in 8th grade MS. I am too far away from MS to make any real recommendations, but if you can tough out Longfellow (or go private), McLean HS was excellent for my DC. FCPS now recognized 2E students and there is more support available. What level of math is your DC currently taking?

2) DC qualified for an IEP in 2nd grade based on t3sting from the school, but we discovered in 3rd grade that it was very minimal. SO we had a private evaluation done and they found more issues and gave very spefici recommendations based on a more in depth analysis of his issues (and strengths). We did private testing from then on. He has profound dyslexia, dygraphia and dual ADHD.

3) With his accommodation in MS and HS he did extremely well academically and was well supported (once the MS Ambon board). He had a ton of accomodations and n MS took tow especially ed reading classes - one in 7th grade and one in 8th grade. We concentrated on technology after 8th grade. He received a reader and scribe and extra time for College Board tests too.

The main reason we stayed in the public schools was to support DC’s academic strengths. He is a math and science kid and there were no private schools that were as good as his public schools for those subjects. He is currently a freshman in college and is doing well so far. He has continued his accomodations in college.

[Anonymous]

Wait, what?

2E in MoCO is IQ of 120 only? Wow.

Dx = dyslexia, dysgraphia.

In APS, we have a regular IQ (WISC) of 132, and recalculated one for 144 (there's a way to calculate IQ to accomodate for inability to read/write, but I can't remember what it's called).

The principal said that he doesn't "believe" in dyslexia (thinks it's a fad) and also that "we'll see" if the IQ score stands up to the Nigiri...which is basically an Ipad game.