HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight Watchers®.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


Understanding The Report


"No thank you.  Don't bother to send me the report about the testing results.  I won't understand it anyway.  I'll just listen at the meeting."

Those were the words of more than one parent I spoke with whose children had been tested to see if they  needed special education services. I could always hear the  discouragement in their voices as they spoke.

I heard the same tone of voice in a person a little closer to home just recently.  A relative of mine has a son  who has just been evaluated, and the parents had been given  a copy of the report.  He and his wife both have college  educations, and they still had difficulty understanding what  was being said.  He looked totally helpless as he showed me  the paperwork.

It's important to realize that every occupation in life has it's own terms, and special education is no different.   Unless you work in that occupation on a daily basis, you can't  be expected to know what those terms mean  -  not much  consolation when it's your child's education and success that  are at stake.

The good news is that there is help out there.

Here are some suggestions for how you can become an informed, active participant in the meeting:
 
 1)  Contact the special education office in your school district.  Either  someone there can explain  it to you, or they can tell you who to talk with to  help you understand the report.

 2)  Set up an appointment to speak with the special education person in your child's school.

If you can't get the information you want through the special education office for some reason, call and  decide on a mutually convenient time when you can meet  with the special education teacher and discuss the results.   Perhaps you can even discuss what the recommendations might  be regarding the best placement and the best program for  your child.

This way, when you go into the meeting, you will be more prepared.

 3)  Take notes as you discuss the report. If you take notes from the discussion, then you will have ready  information to take into the meeting, and you won't  be bogged down having to find the information in  the report.

 4)  If you still have trouble understanding, you can contact your state Learning Disabilities Association.  They will have answers for you and they may be able to  suggest someone to go to the meeting with you to help  you understand what is going on.

 5)  Know that it's okay to take someone into the meeting with you for support. Facing a group of  professionals can be scary, whether you have a  college degree or not. Having support with you can be  very comforting, and if that support is someone who  understands the process better than you, that's  a bonus!

Remember, you are NOT alone in this process.  You have a team of people who are there to help your child be successful.  And working together as a team is the best way to make that  happen.  But, you have to play an active role in that team in  order for your child to get the best services possible, and  that may mean searching out people who can help you understand  and take charge.

For more plain talk about learning disabilities, please visit us at www.ldperspectives.com.

About the Author
Sandy Gauvin is a retired educator who has seen learning disabilities from many perspectives - as the parent of a  daughter with learning disabilities, as the teacher of  children with learning disabilities, and as an advocate  for others who have diagnosed and unrecognized learning  disabilities. Sandy shares her wisdom and her resources  at www.LDPerspectives.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

ABC News

Autumn Babies More Prone to Asthma
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 4 hours ago
21 (HealthDay News) -- The season of a baby's birth may help predict that child's risk of asthma, new research suggests. Babies born in autumn -- about four ...
Fall Babies May Have Higher Asthma Risk ABC News
Autumn babies at greater risk of asthma: study Reuters
Fall Babies at Higher Risk for Asthma WebMD
eFluxMedia - MedPage Today
all 118 news articles


Marie Claire.co.uk

Study: Forward-Facing Strollers May Harm Babies Emotionally
FOXNews - 3 hours ago
Pushing babies in forward-facing strollers may harm them emotionally due to the lack of face-to-face contact with the parent pushing them, a British study ...
Babies stressed by forward-facing buggies: British study AFP
Forward-facing carriages slow babies' development: study CBC.ca
Type of buggy can affect baby development, study finds guardian.co.uk
National Post - U.S. News & World Report
all 60 news articles


CTV.ca

Over 1000 melamine babies still in China hospitals
Reuters - Nov 20, 2008
Door-to-door screening of more than 307000 Beijing families with children under the age of three found that over 75000 babies had been fed contaminated milk ...
Battered Chinese Dairy Industry To Undergo Major Overhaul AHN
Over 1000 melamine-affected children still in Chinese hospitals RIA Novosti
Gov't shows milky way to troubled dairy firms China Daily
Xinhua - The Associated Press
all 338 news articles


Study: Away-facing strollers stress babies
CNN - 7 hours ago
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Parents who choose a stroller that seats their baby facing away from them could risk long-term development problems in their ...


MSN UK News

Away-facing buggies 'hinder babies'
The Press Association - 14 hours ago
Babies pushed in buggies facing away from their parents could suffer lasting psychological harm, scientists have claimed. The "emotionally impoverished" ...
Warning on buggies that 'stress' babies Metro
Buggies 'can cause babies psychological damage' Mirror.co.uk
Pushing in the wrong direction Channel 4 News
all 120 news articles


'Take care of my babies,' suspect pleads
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 16 hours ago
"She said, 'Take care of my babies,' " said Darlene Wakmunski, who spoke by phone Thursday with her sister. "She felt bad for the agent and his family. ...


Hospital Welcomes ‘Miracle Babies’ Home
Queens Tribune, NY - 23 hours ago
By Nicole Alibayof The monitor was showing a flat line and the baby wasn’t breathing. Nineteen minutes later the doctor was still trying to resuscitate him ...
Infant child care is scarce in Central New York The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com
all 2 news articles


TheMedGuru

Early HIV Treatment Best for Babies
U.S. News & World Report, DC - Nov 19, 2008
19 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finalizes research that changed guidelines around the world regarding when HIV-infected babies should begin drug therapy. ...
Rapid care 'cuts baby's HIV risk' BBC News
Early HIV Treatment Cuts Babies’ Death Risk eFluxMedia
Treat HIV-positive babies from the start Science News
Business Day - Reuters India
all 66 news articles


Health Tip: Signs of Celiac Disease in Children
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 7 hours ago
Among babies, symptoms may include pain in the abdomen or diarrhea that may be bloody. Babies may also stop growing and fail to gain weight. ...


Coroner rules babies deaths accidental
WHOI, IL - 21 hours ago
By Blake Long Both babies, 5-month-old Jaylin Maxison, and 2-month old Kendrick Franklin Jr. were co-sleeping with adult caregivers on adult beds. ...

babies - Google News