Dyslexia and DCPCS/DCPS schools

[Anonymous]

DH has dyslexia. I recently learned that this means that DS has a 50% chance of having dyslexia -- not a guarantee that he will have it too but I was surprised to learn that is a 50/50 chance either way. We are currently looking at DCPS and DCPCS schools. If you have a child with dyslexia, where did you have a good or bad experience with how the school handled it? (Please name the school to be most helpful). And what did you like or dislike about what the school did to support your child w/ dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

You might also want to cross post on SN.

[Anonymous]

Would this be a case for Early Stages? Have him/her evaluated by Early Stages and let them help you find a school with a good fit. But I'm no expert, maybe it's too early to tell.

[Anonymous]

OP - how old is our child?

[Anonymous]

I have dyslexia and on the watch for whether or not my kindergartener may or may not have it. First thing - if you aren't familiar with it, take a deep breath (and remember there's a 50% chance your child does not have it). It can range from pretty mild to moderate to severe - and most people who have it function just fine. Not sure what your DH's experience with it was -- I went to school when there weren't even special accommodations for it. I did grow up to be a pretty successful professional. Even Supreme Court justices are dyslexic. I have talked to some professionals about it & it can be very hard to diagnose the mild to moderate dyslexia before first grade. Early signs of more severe dyslexia can be things like being slower to recognize letters and trouble with rhyming games or being able to copy direction of diagonal lines. Things like "mirror writing" of reversing letters is actually very common in many kids until 2nd grade - so that's often not a tell. Some schools, like the Lab School - have specialties in dealing with dyslexia. First thing would be based on your kid's age about getting screened. Even services within a particular school may or may not be the best match for whatever your child's needs end up being. If he/she needs some specialist time - or if its more severe - it's hard to say exactly what school or services are going to be a good match - and also the specialists do turn over.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP, this is very helpful. It seems dyslexia is less common than I think since few people have responded about actual schools where they had a kid that needed dyslexia support.

Any suggestions from anyone as to where I could get my child screened? He is only 4.5 years, though, so I think that we may have to wait until a bit later to get him screened for dyslexia. I would appreciate any insights on that process.

[Anonymous]

We used this provider - suggest posting on the Special NEeds board to get more recommendations.

https://www.mindwell.us/psychoeducational-testing/

Also he ends up having dyslexia (or any other learning disability) the Lab School posts and maintains a list of certified educators who work as tutors for kids with these issues.

[Anonymous]

OP,
The short answer is no, because public education does not use the term "dyslexia." Officially, dyslexia is part of the category of Specific Learning Diasabilties (SLD). The only way to guarantee services is for your child to be diagnosed with a disability through a neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation. DCPS is supposed to provide this at no cost if parents ask. http://www.earlystagesdc.org/for-families/make-an-appointment If the child is eligible for additional services, then an individualized plan or IEP will be created by DCPS.

Special education is a slippery slope into frustration in DC. Sometimes it works out fine, but there's no consistency in the quality of support. A lot depends on the principal's understanding of dyslexia and related language-based learning challenges that aren't primarily based on cognitive delays or social-emotional context like autism

In other words, there are a lot of bright people who are not on the autism spectrum, but who have challenges with reading and writing. Good educators know how to spot it early in K or 1st and adjust teaching or offer tutoring. DCPS claims to have two elementary schools that have dedicated classrooms for SLD, Garrison (more for autism) and Murch (New this year). But your child can only be placed there if they have an IEP with a diagnosed disability.

Clear as mud, right?

There are varying degrees of dyslexia and learning differences. It often coexists with ADHD, above average intelligence, and considerable creative talent. Ask your DH and other family members about what worked, or didn't, for them in school. Do a little reading about the neuroscience of reading and learning. Feel free to ask schools what their experience is with kids with LDs.

www.understood.org
www.smartkidswithld.org
http://www.greatschools.org/gk/tag/dyslexia/

[Anonymous]

Adding to what PP said - comb through this document to see what special supports are offered DCPS wide. But all of this would require a diagnosis and placement through the central office http://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/GAGA-2015-R0046-AttachmentJ9OSI14-15ProgramsandResourcesGuideforStaff.pdf

[Anonymous]

I would steer clear of DCPS if your children have learning disabilities. I am a former DCPS teacher. My school's literacy specialist/coach informed me that "dyslexia is a myth and a crutch." Most schools use "balanced literacy"- things like Jennifer Seravallo, reading recovery and Fountas & Pinnel are extremely popular in DCPS despite mountains of research showing how damaging they are for any kids, but especially those who don't learn how to read quickly or easily. These programs do a lot less damage if parents pay for outside tutoring. In my opinion this is a violation of students' civil rights. Teachers at my old school still tell me they do not see the value of teaching students letter sounds. This is a crisis- but mostly for those who are poor and disenfranchised already.

[Anonymous]

There are two hurdles. 1) getting approved for services 2) getting the services you were approved for. No school does it well. You can have good and bad years at the same school.

Just budget for a tutor, about 8 grand a a year (100 a hour 2-3 hours a week). Work with whatever school you are in but don't count on them. I agree that kids with learning disabilities from poor families are left behind. There was some shocking research on the literacy rate of people who are incarcerated. If we could remediate learning disabilities and properly treat mental illnesses, our prisons would be so so empty :{

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might also want to cross post on SN.

Cross posting is against forum rules and one post would be deleted.

[Anonymous]

We really needed to open up a 5 year old thread?

Curious why you felt the need

[Anonymous]

Which Supreme Court justices were/ are dyslexic? Honestly interested not trying to doubt the premise. We must all remember that every individual has a different story.

It’s okay to open an old thread. People try to dictate you should search the archives. So let people restart old threads.

[Anonymous]

Well for what it’s worth DCPS is better than MCPS because they send teachers to ASDEC for training which is located in Rockville! MCPS only does internal training - and this is why only 35% of 4th graders read at grade level in MCPS...+1 on paying for your own tutoring. The trick will be to find a good one. ASDEC has a referral service - don’t be afraid to dump the tutor if they don’t mesh.