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Kids With Special Needs and Disabilities
Reply to "Certificate of completion in public schools vs. High school diploma/GED"
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[quote=Anonymous] OP - I read your post before I dropped my daughter off to volunteer and came back and started out by looking at Diploma options in the State of Virginia which you can find at Virginia+Diploma Options for Students with Disabilities 2015. - Bottom line is that if any high school student has an IEP and is working under the goals of his/her IEP that one should qualify for and Individualized Education Diploma. I understand that as a Certificate of Completion it would not represent a regular high school diploma. HOEWEVER, a- You want to always keep his IEP in force so that as mentioned above you can develop an educational plan that will go beyond the typical high school 4-year program as appropriate. b- Thus, despite whatever grades your son may have or lack of credits, when he completes his educational sequence following his IEP goals, he ought to receive an IEP Diploma or perhaps called Special Diploma. [b]In my estimation this diploma more accurately reflects his ability and the effort which he has made despite his disability to meet educational goals. [/b] A Certificate of Completion in my opinion can denote simply "a seat holder" that a school division has done all it could to just keep in school to keep dropout rates lower. - Transition Goals as mentioned in earlier posts will be the driving force guiding your son's IEP, and I would strongly urge you to not just look at goals in the typical academic sequence. - It sounds as if you have been able to give him all of the advantages to try to bring his language arts skills up. You are correct to note that being at least two years of reading/writing skills below grade level that private school might not accept him because research shows that students with this gap are usually not able to comprehend ccourse materials presented on grade level in other subject areas. However, since he is just in 9th grade and could even repeat some courses if needed some questions: a- Have you had him evaluated for processing disorders or how he learns - meaning is he a visual or auditory learner? Also an evaluation done to see if assisted technology devices using a computer might help him in the area of composition and testing. b- If as it would appear his auditory skills might be stronger, have you ever asked to have access to Reading Ally - formerly Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic at https://www.learningally.org/ to see if having his classroom materials on tape might help him? c- The idea of his being able to have all testing done orally also sounds reasonable. - On gaining reading skills, my personal experience has been with a daughter with a moderate cognitive disability - meaning a solid IQ of 55, but with scattered subskills in reading at times in the 60s or even a 70 here and there over the years. What it showed was she was a visual learner and with a good memory was going to be able to read. And today she could read and get a good idea about what I am typing in on this board. [b]The key point for me was that the appropriate reading program was used with her class early on, and I made sure that it was continued up to early high school years for her self-contained class. It was called Distar or SRA - a direct indtructional method and based very much on phonic.[/b] I wonder if your son has had more than one reading instruction approach and perhaps could still benefit from finding or returning to the one that works best for him. - Back to Transition goals - While you are correct to worry about the doors that will be closed to your son if he does not have a high school diploma or a GED, I do think that you need to realize he can have up through age 21 to continue to reach educational goals - which if the need be could also include some vocational assessment and training. Getting an assessment of his skills and interests might open up a non-traditional, but still lucrative career option in a trades field. - Beyond High School - If despite all efforts and suggestions, his academic performance does not measure up to him obtaining the credits for a Standard High School diploma, then I would also seek to give him a broad base array of opportunities through volunteer work, summer jobs or internships to explore different sectors of the work world, especially the business world if he should show an interest in that arena. Why - because you would not need to necessarily have a degree to own and run your own business. He may well just be a bright, intelligent young fellow who if you can develop good people, customer service and soft work related skills could still find his niche in the business. world. Money that you might put aside for a sibling's college education might be in the future directed towards a small business for him. - Community College - I have mentioned in other posts that one should not discount the options of going there. And in our area there is a very strong community college which offers non-credit certificate programs in various aspects of job skills. You might just research if there are any kinds of certificates which do not need a high school diploma to take and find a job in. For example the area of viticulture is strong here or wine making. - The agency that may be most important to serving your son in the future will be the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). This was formally the Department of Rehabilitative Services. In our area the agency has a counselor assigned to each high school. You might look into it now as well as what the broad range of all courses are at your local high school. Given the idea of continuing maturation, there is time to still find a way to perhaps more evenly match your son's language arts skills and abilities. I do think if he finds school a struggle that giving him other opportunities to be with his peer and enjoy these years is very important through sports, volunteering, a part-time job etc. [/quote]
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