Anyone with a twice exceptiona kid (gifted + LD) who can recommend a school that "gets it"

[Anonymous]

OP: Yes, we did private testing and have several diagnoses (severe dysgraphia, dyslexia, visual motor integration disorder, slow processing speed, executive dysfunction, speech dysfluency). I already initiated the IEP process (as I have done every year, to no avail). At the first meeting, the team expressed disagreement with tester's findings. For example, their OT showed DD to be quite average on their test of visual motor integration, while private tester showed her at the 3%ile. Speech therapist disagreed with speech dysfluency as a retrieval issue and slow processing speed (measured at 1 and 3%ile on various tests) and said it was because DD gets anxious under time pressure. They also said they couldn't see the academic impact, as achievement test scores are all average or above and SOL scores are all perfect or advanced pass.

Despite the fact that I paid for extensive private testing, with the hopes this would speed up the process, they said that I had to go through an interview with the social worker, which I have done, and that my DD needs to be assessed by the school psychologist. And then, we are supposed to reconvene when that futile process is complete to discuss the possibility of an IEP or 504. Given the comments at our first meeting, I am not optimistic.

I will check out the Yahoo group to see what others say about Willow Springs. I know a few who go there, but their kids do not have "issues" and what I hear does not sound like it would be a good fit. I will also see if I can speak to Carol Horn. Has anyone dealt with her directly, or is there someone else in the office that would be good to talk to?

Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Speech therapist disagreed with speech dysfluency as a retrieval issue and slow processing speed (measured at 1 and 3%ile on various tests) and said it was because DD gets anxious under time pressure. They also said they couldn't see the academic impact, as achievement test scores are all average or above and SOL scores are all perfect or advanced pass.

Despite the fact that I paid for extensive private testing, with the hopes this would speed up the process, they said that I had to go through an interview with the social worker, which I have done, and that my DD needs to be assessed by the school psychologist. And then, we are supposed to reconvene when that futile process is complete to discuss the possibility of an IEP or 504. Given the comments at our first meeting, I am not optimistic.

OP, this unfortunately is the antagonistic process that you are going to have to go through -- it isn't just FCPS< this would happen in any public school.

In a nutshell -- your child IS performing on grade level, but because of her disabilities she could be performing higher. A school district as a whole (I'm not talking about individuals in the school) is going to focus its attention on the kids who are below grade level, not those who by their standards are doing OK.

You of course are rightfully advocating for your own child, to be working up to her potential.

I'm a former teacher who used to work in Fairfax County and I can tell you that parents have successfully lobbies to get an IEP for gifted kids who were performing at grade level. THey did it by documenting that there was a substantial discreprency between IQ scores and performance scores, if I recall correctly -- but I know they fought tooth and nail for the services and it wasn't very pleasant. The school districts do not want to pay for this kind of extra help, but if you force them to do it they will do it.

I think your best bet for getting good services for your @E child would be at a center school, because they would be most likely to have other students who fit the same profile as your child. But I admit I don't know for sure.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input as a teacher. I am exploring the possibility of transferring to my center school, Willow Springs, but I also want to try to figure out how hard it would be to get services or accommodations there. So if anyone has any experience as a 2E there or experience with pupil placement, or a good 2E educational consultant, that would be so helpful for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for your input as a teacher. I am exploring the possibility of transferring to my center school, Willow Springs, but I also want to try to figure out how hard it would be to get services or accommodations there. So if anyone has any experience as a 2E there or experience with pupil placement, or a good 2E educational consultant, that would be so helpful for me.

There don't seem to be a lot of people on this forum who have personal experience with schools, or if they do they aren't sharing.

I assume you have found this yahoo group, but if not:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fairfaxtwiceexceptional

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP -- also I'm not a Rich Weinfeld booster or anything -- I have no experience with him, I just know his organization through reputation.

But I see that the yahoo group I linked to, above, was founded by this woman...

http://www.richweinfeld.com/diamonds-lorentzen.html

who did some kind of presentation with him? Not sur etheir association -- but she seems like she'd have some good knowledge of the state of FCPS 2E instruction.

Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have checked out the 2e yahoo group and I'm on the listserv, but it seems more as a means of distributing generic info about meetings and articles, rather than an interactive site. I've also attempted to email Connie Lorentzen, coordinator of the 2E Fairfax group with some questions, but she never responds. I wish the Fairfax 2E group were more interactive and had a more responsive leader. Do you know of any other 2e groups?

[Anonymous]

No, I'm so sorry I don't.

[Anonymous]

OP, is it possible you might get more responses if you post your question on a different forum? Either Older Children or Schools, for instance? Perhaps parents of 2E kids in Fairfax County just don't read this forum?

[Anonymous]

Have you tried posting a question at FCAG? There are a lot of 2E parents there.

[Anonymous]

Yes, just posted there yesterday.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about Ffx cnty, but MoCo has a GT/LD program that tracks 2E kids through HS. It's very difficult to get in, and we needed to hire a consultant (Michelle Davis's group, and they were fantastic).

It's not so much that it is a competitive program, like a GT center, but it is very small. There are only two ES centers in the county which serves about 35 kids total. These are very high maintenance children, and I know that my son needs a lot of supports to work at his potential. He loves it, and feels comfortable there as all the kids and the teachers "get him". If we hadn't gotten him in, I think I would've ended up homeschooling, as we can't afford Lab or Sienna, etc. It is so important to recognize the uniqueness of these kids, and to celebrate their gifts, which can be hard when you are dealing with their differences at the same time. Seriously, it blows my mind sometimes that my 99% nine year old still can't get himself dressed in the morning! I keep reminding myself that he's too busy figuring out the time/space continuum, or something like that.

Good luck, and do all you can. It's worth it.

[Anonymous]

PP here again - be persistent with the county. While the process was never overtly contentious, we definitely had to fight fight fight to get everyone on board. Best advice I can give is for you to hire a consultant. Best money we ever spent. Rich Weinfeld and Michelle Davis are top in the field, although be aware that they often farm out cases to associates, and don't manage them themselves. But we were very pleased, and obviously got results.

[Anonymous]

OP here Thanks for sharing about your experience with Michelle Davis and congratulations to you in getting in to the 2E program. I have heard great things about it. I live in Fairfax, and wish they would adopt a similar policy here. I talked to Tessie Wilson, who is on the school board in Fairfax County and admittedly raised a 2e kid, and she told me that Fairfax looked at the Montgomery program at one time and decided it doesn't work and the 2E kids are better served in the regular classroom. I wonder if Montgomery has any data to refute this. I also wonder why a mom with a 2e kid who serves on a school board isn't more sensitive to those kids needs....but that is a discussion for another forum!

I did contact the Weinfeld group -- my concern is that even though they do work in Fairfax, they are based in Montgomery County, so it may not be the best choice for me.