dyslexic freshman hitting a wall

[Anonymous]

We are also at Siena and my daughter is craving a more challenging curriculum and frankly getting tired of the small class size but I can’t figure out what the best fit would be for her. I’ve been told by other MCPS parents to avoid putting her into public school, but I worry that private school would potentially be too challenging for her. I’ve considered Fusion Academy but don’t know much about it, and she’s super social so I worry that would be too isolating for her. Would love any advice from others dealing with this!

[Anonymous]

You can get support at MCPS. Don’t rule it out.

Look at some of the Catholics. Good Counsel has Ryken program, for instance

[Anonymous]

If she’s social, public can be such a freeing and wonderful thing for them. There are tons of opportunities and activities to get involved, not to mention the diversity of kids. Ofc it does depend on the school. She will find her people.

The one thing I liked at Siena was the small class size. But my kid never did bond much with others there. It was a tough go.

[Anonymous]

Start her on transition services, prepare for trade school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start her on transition services, prepare for trade school.

Could we please stop lowballing disabled kids? There are plenty of dyslexic, dysgraphic, dyscalculic kids who are bright enough for college, and there are a zillion colleges, many of which you can go to without having earned a single A.

The repeated talk about trade school is really not appropriate, unless the kid is organically interested in something trade school teaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start her on transition services, prepare for trade school.

Could we please stop lowballing disabled kids? There are plenty of dyslexic, dysgraphic, dyscalculic kids who are bright enough for college, and there are a zillion colleges, many of which you can go to without having earned a single A.

The repeated talk about trade school is really not appropriate, unless the kid is organically interested in something trade school teaches.

Suggesting trade school is not lowball no anyone. College isn’t the gold standard or the goal for all. People don’t fail into the trades - they choose it. Your post is offensive to the many people who have made that choice. Hopefully you treat the people you hire to work on your home better than you have shown here.

[Anonymous]

Is she medicated for the ADHD?
As one of the first posters said, you can’t expect miracles if the attention and focus aren’t there. They drive everything else.

My kid did maintain all As except in math in high school, despite his abysmally low processing speed, his dyscalculia, and dysgraphia (no dyslexia). Now I grant you dyslexia worsens the entire profile, but she will do much better with meds.

My son doesn’t need his meds anymore in college, BTW. High school was the hardest slog academically, and college is easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she medicated for the ADHD?
As one of the first posters said, you can’t expect miracles if the attention and focus aren’t there. They drive everything else.

My kid did maintain all As except in math in high school, despite his abysmally low processing speed, his dyscalculia, and dysgraphia (no dyslexia). Now I grant you dyslexia worsens the entire profile, but she will do much better with meds.

My son doesn’t need his meds anymore in college, BTW. High school was the hardest slog academically, and college is easier.

He was in MCPS too.

[Anonymous]

She is medicated for the ADHD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start her on transition services, prepare for trade school.

Could we please stop lowballing disabled kids? There are plenty of dyslexic, dysgraphic, dyscalculic kids who are bright enough for college, and there are a zillion colleges, many of which you can go to without having earned a single A.

The repeated talk about trade school is really not appropriate, unless the kid is organically interested in something trade school teaches.

What an ignorant thing to say. What’s wrong with trade school?

[Anonymous]

Can you tell me more about her middle school experience? Was this at Lab or Siena? What do you think should have happened in those years that didn't? (I have a middle schooler with dyslexia still struggling to read to learn and some decoding problems persisting)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you tell me more about her middle school experience? Was this at Lab or Siena? What do you think should have happened in those years that didn't? (I have a middle schooler with dyslexia still struggling to read to learn and some decoding problems persisting)

+1 also interested in hearing more. We are thinking about moving our upper elementary DS to one of these schools

[Anonymous]

I have to say that Siena has a great marketing admissions team. My kid was behind in almost every subject when they left for high school. They also bugged me that they always canceled reading class for their gender/politics stuff. My kid (a very typical boy) hated the vibe of the school, but hopefully benefited at least a little from being there.

[Anonymous]

NP here. While Siena hasn’t been perfect, our DC has greatly improved their reading during their time in ES and MS there. This progress has been documented through independent evaluations. I’m grateful for the daily reading instruction in school because our child was getting exhausted from tutoring after school. Our child has also learned self-advocacy skills and how to use assistive tech. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Suggesting trade school is in fact a low bar and it should not be suggested any more for someone with dyslexia than not.

Good luck to the OP. My child is younger but routine, consistent tutoring outside of school is like magic for us in middle school. Will continue in high school as much as child allows. None of this is easy.