If your DC ultimately qualifies for an IEP, they will not receive services in a private school other than from an SLP, but SLPs in schools do not address reading. Of course, it is worth knowing if your child has dyslexia and needs more support. An SLP can assess and treat dyslexia private, but then you will not know whether there is anything additional going on related to things like processing speed, memory, and attention, each of which can negatively impact the ability to learn to read.

OP again. I will try the reading in one minute test with him. This is similar to what the teachers showed us to report on his progress. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was supposed to be about 50 words for grade level, and he got 20-something.

There's no doubt he is not reading the number he should be. The question is why and what to do about it. What's confusing is that when I read stuff about dyslexia, it doesn't seem to fit. He comprehends remarkably well - he may struggle with a passage but then get to the end after sounding out a lot of words and taking a long time, but he'll know what it was about (way better than my other kid who learned to read with little trouble). He can sound things out decently. He just seems to not have the knowledge base of the content. He is getting there with it but slowly.

A colleague of mine has a kid with dyslexia and recommended some organizations that I reached out to. I still don't really understand what I am looking for in an evaluator - a neuropsychologist? We are set up at CAAT for one with our older kid. It's a huge process with tons of forms and parent interviews. I just don't feel like our other kid needs that kind of thorough process. I'd really just like someone knowledgeable to assess how his reading is going. I'm not opposed to something else, but it's way overkill for a kid otherwise doing well socially, behaviorally, and attention-wise at school.

My child was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD. He does not have an IEP but does have a 504. However, he is mostly reading on grade level according to i-ready (not in all areas), which is why they won't do an IEP. It is really difficult to get an IEP in my district.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From experience, you need to be significantly below grade to qualify for IEP. I would do a private assessment, get on waitlist now. You can always cancel if you don’t need it.

An IEP requires a diagnosis. Unable to read is not a medical condition

Dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities are brain-based disorders. So is ADHD. They are disorders that satisfy the first prong of an IEP test. The second prong is "adverse impact on education". A student doesn't have to be a certain number of grade levels behind - yes, many schools say 2 grade levels but this is legally incorrect, IDEA specifically states no single criteria can be used to determine eligibility. Certainly a diagnosed student who is one grade level behind in reading is experiencing "adverse impact". The final prong of an IEP is "needs special instruction". A kid who has had general education and is not progressing and has dyslexia or ADHD definitely needs special instruction. It has already been shown that general instruction is not successful.

OP's does not know if their kid is dyslexic or has ADHD. All that they know is that the kid is behind. The first prong has not been satisfied

Yes, OP doesn't have a diagnosis because OP has not gotten a psycho or neuropsychoed assessment, that is why OP is being advised to get an evaluation - a neuropsych or school-based assessment should run the full. battery of tests - IQ, achievement testing in all areas (math, reading, writing, etc.), other language processing testing, attention & executive function testing (computer-based or checklist), etc., to see if there is a diagnosis or disorder that would satisfy prong 1.

A parent doesn't have to have a diagnosis in hand to start the IEP process. The public school has a "Child Find" obligation, which obligates them to seek and find all disabled children within their district. Thus, when presented with a "reasonable suspicion of 1) disorder 2) adverse educational impact and 3) need for special education, the school district must provide a free and full assessment. If the parent disagrees with that assessment, they are further entitled to an IEE (with some caveats).

Here is a copy of the DIBELS for second grade. You can use this one that I just googled DIBELS second grade or find your own (https://www.madera.k12.ca.us/cms/lib/CA01001210/Centricity/Domain/1246/Grade%202%20DIBELS%20ORF%20Progress%20Monitoring%20Tier%202.pdf)

Take this sheet and print out two copies. One for you and one for your son. When he is rested like maybe on the weekend or before school tell him you want to hear him read for one minute. (it would be good to record him on your phone but don't let him see you doing it so he doesn't get nervous).

Report back how many words he read correctly in one minute and people will have a better idea of how to help you.

Anonymous wrote:Stop taking public school resources away from public school children. If you can afford private school, you can afford a tutor.

That's not how it works. The public school resources are for all the kids not just those in public schools. OP is a tax payer and is just as entitled to those resources as anyone else.

Stop taking public school resources away from public school children. If you can afford private school, you can afford a tutor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From experience, you need to be significantly below grade to qualify for IEP. I would do a private assessment, get on waitlist now. You can always cancel if you don’t need it.

An IEP requires a diagnosis. Unable to read is not a medical condition

Dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities are brain-based disorders. So is ADHD. They are disorders that satisfy the first prong of an IEP test. The second prong is "adverse impact on education". A student doesn't have to be a certain number of grade levels behind - yes, many schools say 2 grade levels but this is legally incorrect, IDEA specifically states no single criteria can be used to determine eligibility. Certainly a diagnosed student who is one grade level behind in reading is experiencing "adverse impact". The final prong of an IEP is "needs special instruction". A kid who has had general education and is not progressing and has dyslexia or ADHD definitely needs special instruction. It has already been shown that general instruction is not successful.

OP's does not know if their kid is dyslexic or has ADHD. All that they know is that the kid is behind. The first prong has not been satisfied

Op, my three kids are mainstream private schools in MoCo. Our oldest has mild dyslexia and ADHD. They (painfully) learned to read and were on grade level in 2nd grade but we felt confused about why reading and writing were so hard for DC so went ahead and did the neuropsych. DC got the dyslexia diagnosis and remediation (that we paid for privately) has been very helpful.

I know other families in mainstream private schools who did not get a dyslexia diagnosis until 3rd or 4th grade because their schools really do try to support kids academically, especially if they are well behaved kids (and even if they aren’t!), so the kids aren’t failing until the academically ramp up in upper ES it MS.

My child with mild dyslexia did not present in the normal way - they could read, just slowly, painfully, and got stuck on more complex words. A night and day experience compared with my child who does not have dyslexia. The testing showed the gaps, and it was worth the $5k for the diagnosis to go from hating school to enjoying it once the remediation was complete.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the input. What type of private evaluation are we talking about here? I'm resistant only because I went through a huge process of trying to figure out where to get him evaluated for dyslexia and ultimately found nowhere!

Our other child has had a full neuropsych and is scheduled for an update this spring. I just don't see anything concerning at all with our other child except reading level, so I feel like a full neuropsych is just throwing away an additional $5k on top of the $5k for the update for our other DC.

The teachers say he is progressing and they expect a moment where it will all click. If he weren't making progress, they would be concerned, so it seems more like "we would have expected more progress by now, but he is progressing." He's tired at the end of the day, so additional at-home work is a major struggle and doesn't seem to be productive because he doesn't seem focused on it. On days when he's at home and we work on things in the morning, he is often much stronger in skills than later in the day. He seems to be able to sound out words, figure out context clues, etc - just not really memorizing irregular words so he sees them and gets it a day or two later.

We contacted our pediatrician and were told they had no idea who could do an eval for this. Teachers seem to think the public school can if we start an IEP process, but that will be a year or more. Where can we go sooner?

Lady! Please read in between the lines. Your private school is saying he is fine but recommend you go get a evaluation for an IEP so that they can then say they dont have the necessary services for him and push him into public school. This happens a lot! Get your kid evaluated and get him help. Private schools want above average students. They dont want on grade level and for sure dont want below. Nothing will click with your child. That does not make sense. He will “click” for second grade material finally when he is in the fifth grade?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the input. What type of private evaluation are we talking about here? I'm resistant only because I went through a huge process of trying to figure out where to get him evaluated for dyslexia and ultimately found nowhere!

Our other child has had a full neuropsych and is scheduled for an update this spring. I just don't see anything concerning at all with our other child except reading level, so I feel like a full neuropsych is just throwing away an additional $5k on top of the $5k for the update for our other DC.

The teachers say he is progressing and they expect a moment where it will all click. If he weren't making progress, they would be concerned, so it seems more like "we would have expected more progress by now, but he is progressing." He's tired at the end of the day, so additional at-home work is a major struggle and doesn't seem to be productive because he doesn't seem focused on it. On days when he's at home and we work on things in the morning, he is often much stronger in skills than later in the day. He seems to be able to sound out words, figure out context clues, etc - just not really memorizing irregular words so he sees them and gets it a day or two later.

We contacted our pediatrician and were told they had no idea who could do an eval for this. Teachers seem to think the public school can if we start an IEP process, but that will be a year or more. Where can we go sooner?

Any neuropsychologist is qualified to diagnose dyslexia or ADHD - not sure why you are saying you can't find anyone?

Write a letter to the appropriate person for private school parents in the public school system and state, you suspect 1) that your child has a disorder like dyslexia or ADHD inattentive that is 2) causing an adverse impact on education as evidenced by the fact that the student is one full grade level behind in reading and that his writing also appears to be below grade level and 3) you think DC needs specialized instruction. Therefore you are asking that the school system, under it's Child Find obligation, provide a full assessment for your child and consider whether he/she is eligible for an IEP.

Your school system must schedule an IEP screening meeting in 30 days. This is a meeting to determine if there is a "reasonable suspicion" of an educational disability that is adversely impacting education and necessitates special instruction. Come to the meeting with evidence if the below grade level reading - testing school did, letter from teacher stating reading level, etc. If you do all this, the school will be obligated to provide an assessment which they must complete and share with you and schedule the "eligibility determination" meeting within the next 60 days. If they determine you eligible for an IEP, then the team has another 30 days to write the IEP and meet with you again.

I don't know why you think the process takes a year? It's 120 days max from written letter to first (and perhaps final) draft of IEP.

Finally, the fact that your kid comes home exhausted every day is a major red flag - he is compensating mightily for something at school. Kids with dyslexia find reading extremely cognitively taxing to the point that it is exhausting. Kids with ADHD and anxiety are also compensating and masking in ways that make them physically exhausted.

Yes, it's a lot of money. Getting the school system to do it is one way to try to save, but it can come at the cost of very poorly done evaluation. Yes, you have an option for an IEE if you don't agree with the public school evaluation, but that is also just more process.

Another option is putting your oldest's neuropsych update off for a year and doing the youngest one's this year. Why are you doing the neuropsych update? How many years has it been since the last? How old is your oldest DC?

Also look into what portion the health insurance will pay for - ADHD and anxiety are medical diagnoses and insurers typically pay for some portion of a neuropsych evaluation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From experience, you need to be significantly below grade to qualify for IEP. I would do a private assessment, get on waitlist now. You can always cancel if you don’t need it.

An IEP requires a diagnosis. Unable to read is not a medical condition

Dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities are brain-based disorders. So is ADHD. They are disorders that satisfy the first prong of an IEP test. The second prong is "adverse impact on education". A student doesn't have to be a certain number of grade levels behind - yes, many schools say 2 grade levels but this is legally incorrect, IDEA specifically states no single criteria can be used to determine eligibility. Certainly a diagnosed student who is one grade level behind in reading is experiencing "adverse impact". The final prong of an IEP is "needs special instruction". A kid who has had general education and is not progressing and has dyslexia or ADHD definitely needs special instruction. It has already been shown that general instruction is not successful.

OP here. Thanks for the input. What type of private evaluation are we talking about here? I'm resistant only because I went through a huge process of trying to figure out where to get him evaluated for dyslexia and ultimately found nowhere!

Our other child has had a full neuropsych and is scheduled for an update this spring. I just don't see anything concerning at all with our other child except reading level, so I feel like a full neuropsych is just throwing away an additional $5k on top of the $5k for the update for our other DC.

The teachers say he is progressing and they expect a moment where it will all click. If he weren't making progress, they would be concerned, so it seems more like "we would have expected more progress by now, but he is progressing." He's tired at the end of the day, so additional at-home work is a major struggle and doesn't seem to be productive because he doesn't seem focused on it. On days when he's at home and we work on things in the morning, he is often much stronger in skills than later in the day. He seems to be able to sound out words, figure out context clues, etc - just not really memorizing irregular words so he sees them and gets it a day or two later.

We contacted our pediatrician and were told they had no idea who could do an eval for this. Teachers seem to think the public school can if we start an IEP process, but that will be a year or more. Where can we go sooner?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From experience, you need to be significantly below grade to qualify for IEP. I would do a private assessment, get on waitlist now. You can always cancel if you don’t need it.

An IEP requires a diagnosis. Unable to read is not a medical condition

No it doesn't.

To get an IEP, a child must have a disability that adversely impacts their educational performance. That child must need special educational services in order to receive an appropriate education. Slow reader is not a disability under IDEA

You should get a formal evaluation to figure out what is going on. Our private evaluation was far superior to the public school one, so even if you can get the school district to provide one, I would just get a private eval (I’m assuming that finances are not an issue because you’re in private school).

The evaluation will help you figure out what is going on and the best intervention and school setting.