Reply to IEP for emotional disability vs. OHI?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]1) Look for significant discrepancies both within the IQ, between the IQ and various achievement tests (WISC vs. WJ comparison) and between the various achievement tests (WJ vs. WJ comparison -- like how can a child score high in WJ -- reading comp but have a significant discrepancy with WJ - Reading Fluency? this would suggest a problem in one specific area of reading that should be addressed even if the overall reading composite does not have a significant discrepancy from IQ.[/quote]

It's pretty clear that anything requiring speed is a weakness for her. On the WISC, her Processing Speed subtests were by far her lowest scores, and the Working Memory subtests were also relatively low. This was noted in the report and also by the school pyschologist.

I honestly don't really know how to interpret the WJ subtests. You're welcome to see if you can make some sense of these. I have bolded the discrepancies I find illustrative of her issues.

SUBTEST, Standard Score, Age Eguivalent
Letter-Word Identification, 116, 16-2
[b]Reading Fluency, 122, &gt;30[/b]
Story Recall, 124, &gt;20
Understanding Directions, 142, &gt;21
[b]Calculation, 145, &gt;23
Math Fluency, 111, 15-1[/b]
Spelling, 133, &gt;30
[b]Writing Fluency, 115, 18-11[/b]
[b]Passage Comprehension, 113, 21[/b]
Applied Problems, 127, &gt;30
Writing Samples, 116, &gt;30
Word Attack, 113, &gt;30
Quantitative Concepts, 127, &gt;30

[quote]If your tester would not give a FSIQ that is VERY significant (and not in a good way...) The tester should have calculated a &quot;general ability index&quot; or GAI that you can use instead of the FSIQ to compare for &quot;significant discrepancies&quot;[/quote]

Yes, she did give a GAI. And she did suggest the school test for speech. Unfortunately that recommendation came after the LSC meeting and the school already had a test list. They had speech on the list, so they did what they did, but it was truly an after thought at the Local Screening Committee meeting to even put it on the testing list. Our IEP qualification meeting is this week. I am wondering if I can request additional testing at that meeting?

[quote]I don't understand something -- you said your child had an IEP early on for speech, then was dismissed from that to a 504 plan in 3rd grade, and now the school is suggesting an IEP. Did the school system do an IQ test when your child had a IEP for speech? Did they do an IQ test in 3rd grade? If so, how were the results different from the recent test? 
[/quote]

Sorry, that was confusing. She had an IEP for expressive language delay from Child Find. That was from about 20 months to age 3.5, when she was &quot;cleared&quot;, or whatever it is called, from services. IN retrospect, I can see we didn;t fully understand all her issues around speech. Then in third grade, she got a 504 plan for generalized anxiety disorder. She had that through this year (7th grade) and it is still in effect. A few months ago, the MS school counselor suggested testing to qualify her for an IEP. Her most recent testing was indicative of ADHD-combined. She has always struggled with organization, but it really wasn't until this year that it became a problem. We've implemented several new org systems and that is helping. Her grades are still good (As and Bs) but the school recognizes that there is a definite discrepancy vs. testing levels.

To be more clear, her 504 accommodation to leave the room is MEANT to be used before she melts down. We have had a great deal of trouble convincing her to actually use this accommodation. And often she doesn't realize that she is ramping up, until she's already there. Several teacher have commented that part of the issue in the classroom is that it seems to come on very fast. She will seem fine (to them) and then without warning (to them), she's under the desk or on the floor crying. That is something she is working on with her therapist. And unfortunately, one of her teachers made a disparaging comment about this accommodation (and of course, it's the class she REALLY should be using it in) and that has made her even more reluctant.

[quote] &quot;Feeling overwhelmed at the complexity of a task.&quot; is CLASSIC ADD/Executive dysfunction marker! Students with executive dysfunction need &quot;special instruction&quot; in how to breakdown a task.[/quote]

Yes, I agree and I plan to ask for this in the IEP.

[quote] &quot;Feeling like she isn't doing well on a test/quiz&quot; can be a speech issue -- not understanding the question or finding it hard to articulate an answer in writing or not finding the answer the way you would express it as one of the answer choices. [/quote]

I would agree, except it happens before she even sees the test! Or when the teacher is handing back the test, but before she sees how she actually did. I think it is the combo of anxiety and ADD at work here.

Her writing issues also seem to stem around planning her work. How to structure her responses, and lay them out on the page. When she actually writes, it's fine. But she definitely needs a lot of help around planning what to say and how to say it. But once that is clear to her, she has no problem.

[quote]ways to structure the class so that the panic triggers are minimized. There also needs to be a supported approach to dealing with panic. [/quote]

To clarify again, her 504 says she can leave to pull herself together and if she can't do it on her own, she can go to the counselor or school psychologist. With the IEP we can add the spec ed teacher and hopefully there will be a push in spec ed teacher who can be a resource for her in classes that are a particular issue. This year there is one class that is particularly problematic and no surprise it's a class where the teacher is a very scattered herself and communication about assignments is lacking in general. This class is very stressful for her.

[quote] The school hasn't even acknowledged that she needs any special instruction to figure out how to manage her work, and instead is just giving her accommodations like extra time.[/quote]

I do think this is partly why they want the IEP. They want to provide that support. Some teachers do this for her already just because they know it's what she needs. But it would be great to have this as part of an instructional plan for her.

Again, thanks for all your help![/quote]

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