The test results are in, these set of tests were to determine 'IF' there is a learning difficulty (difference, disability). This would be hoop #1. We already know that there is a difficulty, and most likely what it is, but you don't get answers or help by knowing anything. I am not surprised by what the results told us, but I am surprised by the actual numbers. I am even more surprised by the next few steps of 'action' that the school board plans to take. The first two tests determine what Diane is capable of, how she would test if there were no neurological blockages.
PPVT is a designed to test her overall literacy, she scored in the 90 percentile for vocabulary
RAVENS is designed to test her mathematical ability, she scored in the 58th percentile for comprehension
The last test is one that assesses what she is actually able to do. When there is a large gap in these percentages, then it becomes obvious that there is a learning difficulty.
KTEA II tests her actual ability, what is is currently able to do:
Reading: 10th percentile
Writing: 2nd percentile
Math: 6th percentile
Now that we know what she is capable of and what she is able to do, the school will arrange a meeting of a select group of people. I don't mean to sound cryptic, but that's pretty much all I got from the Resource Teacher. Sounds like some people from the school board and teachers.
The next step is to come up with an Individualized Learning Plan (IEP). Basically what this is a document that allows Diane to do half the work and get the same grade as students who do all the work. As much as this seems like a solution, it is not. This may get her through grade 12 and maybe a little college, but that's where this stops. Would you want your Pharmacist to only have completed 1/2 the work expected of them? How about your nurse in the ER? Police officer? I don't think I need to go on. As you look at the career options of someone who cannot study and learn, it becomes obvious that we could be severely limiting her. Now if this program works after a time (again, no real answers) maybe a few months to a couple years, than the board calls this a success and makes no changes. Only if this program fails will they consider setting us up with the school board NeuroPsycologist. And by the way, there is a lengthy wait!
If Diane still cannot learn with this plan than we move to the Modified Learning Plan. This then takes her completely off the normal learning channels and still allows her to graduate. She will have learned even less than on the previous system and will still not have learned how to read and comprehend what she is reading at any sort of acceptable level. But 'yippie ding!' the BC school board has one more graduate to add to their ever increasing list of young adults who cannot learn.
I still cannot believe that this is the regular accepted practice in BC.
I look forward to finishing up the tumultuous school year. We will have fun this summer. We plan to do a lot of simple outings, nature walks and lazy days at the beach. Then in September we will start grade 3 1/2. The plan is to dedicate a lot of our energy to the Susan Barton program while we do a mix of grade 3 and grade 4 curriculum.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
The Journey Continues
Milk intolerance. How do you deal with it? Do you make sure you drink milk more often? Maybe you should just drink it a little slower, try more milk products. No, if you suffer this pain, you avoid dairy at all costs. When you realize that you need the nutrition of it, you find other sources.
What about if it is painful to read? Do you do it more often? Maybe go a little slower? No, you avoid it at all costs. This is how many people with learning difficulties deal with it. They memorize everything they can to avoid having to read it again. Being unable to decipher alphabet and phonetic code is not an indicator of a low IQ.
After weeks of 'learning assistance' I've realized that we are achieving nothing. It's like talking to someone with a language barrier. Why do we get louder and slower???? They are never going to understand. Learning assistance is just that. Ridiculous.
When we changed schools, it was because we were looking for a way to get answers. I was very clear with her Learning Assistance teacher that I wanted to know if she did in fact have Dyslexia or if she's not reading well because of other reasons. Mr. Roberts told me to my face that he knew nothing about Dyslexia. How in the world do you become a Learning Assistance teacher without learning about Dyslexia? It is a neurological learning difference that affects 1 in 5 people! Because it is a spectrum disorder it looks different with each person. It is also hereditary. People who never forget anything may have it. Also people who are 'sight readers' most likely have it in some form or another. It is not just the reversal of letters like b and d.
So now I ask myself. Why are we in the public system? Finally, I pushed Mr. Roberts enough that he is willing to test her for 'learning difficulties'. Really? Didn't we determine that already? But the wonderful public education system has set up certain steps to take. Let's refer to them as hoops.
Here is a copy of the email I received from Mr. Roberts on Monday:
Unfortunately we do not have any tests here that can diagnose her with dyslexia; however, I can conduct a couple of tests that may or may not suggest that she has a learning disability. If we find out that she does have a learning disability (and it could be related to her dyslexia), then we will talk about her at a School-Base Team meeting to decide what kind of support she needs, such as adapted learning and additional learning support. If we do decide that she needs learning support, then we can decide when would be a good time for her to come in where I can offer her some support in her studies. If she continues to struggle with adaptations and learning support, we can then proceed with more in-depth testing from the school's psychologist; however, to get this testing done, we do have to show her achievement history, what kind of screen testing has been done and what kind of adaptations have been put in place. Furthermore, the waitlist to get this testing done is quite long.
This does not sound very encouraging to me at all. While in Kelowna this past weekend I was renewed and challenged at the Christian Homeschool Conference. I attended a couple workshops on the Susan Barton System of learning as well as Fast ForWord. I will include links at the bottom of this page.
Maybe some people would stop here and not try to figure this out. It can be emotionally and mentally challenging. It is my responsibility as her parent to do what I can for her. It's true that many people can become quite successful in life without learning to read. But why would I set her up for potential frustrations for her whole life, when I have the resources available to me.
I met a woman trained in the Susan Barton program (Rita Pape). She is a wonderful Christian woman who has been commissioned by Heritage Christian Online School to support families like mine. We spoke at length on Tuesday about what she can do to help us along this journey. She was quite surprised that we had opted to leave HCOS for a public school in the quest for help. Apparently HCOS has an amazing system set in place to help families with LD children. It seems that we 'fell through the cracks'. Of course I feel beyond frustrated. I can have free access to Rita's knowledge and the Susan Barton program. She suggested I pray about returning in the fall to HCOS.
So here we are, at another crossroads. Mike supports whatever decision I make and he thinks we should go back to HCOS with a new support teacher. Diane loves her new school and enjoys the social aspect of it. But, truthfully, there are many years ahead of her for social time.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Susan Barton Program
http://www.dys-add.com/
Fast ForWord
http://www.scilearn.com/products/
What about if it is painful to read? Do you do it more often? Maybe go a little slower? No, you avoid it at all costs. This is how many people with learning difficulties deal with it. They memorize everything they can to avoid having to read it again. Being unable to decipher alphabet and phonetic code is not an indicator of a low IQ.
After weeks of 'learning assistance' I've realized that we are achieving nothing. It's like talking to someone with a language barrier. Why do we get louder and slower???? They are never going to understand. Learning assistance is just that. Ridiculous.
When we changed schools, it was because we were looking for a way to get answers. I was very clear with her Learning Assistance teacher that I wanted to know if she did in fact have Dyslexia or if she's not reading well because of other reasons. Mr. Roberts told me to my face that he knew nothing about Dyslexia. How in the world do you become a Learning Assistance teacher without learning about Dyslexia? It is a neurological learning difference that affects 1 in 5 people! Because it is a spectrum disorder it looks different with each person. It is also hereditary. People who never forget anything may have it. Also people who are 'sight readers' most likely have it in some form or another. It is not just the reversal of letters like b and d.
So now I ask myself. Why are we in the public system? Finally, I pushed Mr. Roberts enough that he is willing to test her for 'learning difficulties'. Really? Didn't we determine that already? But the wonderful public education system has set up certain steps to take. Let's refer to them as hoops.
Here is a copy of the email I received from Mr. Roberts on Monday:
Unfortunately we do not have any tests here that can diagnose her with dyslexia; however, I can conduct a couple of tests that may or may not suggest that she has a learning disability. If we find out that she does have a learning disability (and it could be related to her dyslexia), then we will talk about her at a School-Base Team meeting to decide what kind of support she needs, such as adapted learning and additional learning support. If we do decide that she needs learning support, then we can decide when would be a good time for her to come in where I can offer her some support in her studies. If she continues to struggle with adaptations and learning support, we can then proceed with more in-depth testing from the school's psychologist; however, to get this testing done, we do have to show her achievement history, what kind of screen testing has been done and what kind of adaptations have been put in place. Furthermore, the waitlist to get this testing done is quite long.
This does not sound very encouraging to me at all. While in Kelowna this past weekend I was renewed and challenged at the Christian Homeschool Conference. I attended a couple workshops on the Susan Barton System of learning as well as Fast ForWord. I will include links at the bottom of this page.
Maybe some people would stop here and not try to figure this out. It can be emotionally and mentally challenging. It is my responsibility as her parent to do what I can for her. It's true that many people can become quite successful in life without learning to read. But why would I set her up for potential frustrations for her whole life, when I have the resources available to me.
I met a woman trained in the Susan Barton program (Rita Pape). She is a wonderful Christian woman who has been commissioned by Heritage Christian Online School to support families like mine. We spoke at length on Tuesday about what she can do to help us along this journey. She was quite surprised that we had opted to leave HCOS for a public school in the quest for help. Apparently HCOS has an amazing system set in place to help families with LD children. It seems that we 'fell through the cracks'. Of course I feel beyond frustrated. I can have free access to Rita's knowledge and the Susan Barton program. She suggested I pray about returning in the fall to HCOS.
So here we are, at another crossroads. Mike supports whatever decision I make and he thinks we should go back to HCOS with a new support teacher. Diane loves her new school and enjoys the social aspect of it. But, truthfully, there are many years ahead of her for social time.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
Susan Barton Program
http://www.dys-add.com/
Fast ForWord
http://www.scilearn.com/products/
Thursday, May 3, 2012
First Success
Today I weighed in. I lost 5.3 pounds in the last 2 weeks and I'm feeling very good about this journey. I know there will be dissapointments down to road, but today I feel fabulous! Yay me.Tuesday, May 1, 2012
It's Time
Over indulgence. Something we overlook in our society. For some it is a socially acceptable way of life. We look upon those who have an abundance of 'stuff' with envy. I want the bigger house, the newer car, the updated wardrobe, the self indulgence. For others' the indulgence is looked upon as contemptible. For me, it's food. My lack of self control is glaringly obvious to anyone who sees me. I've fought this battle before. I've had victories and failures. I go around and 'round this issue.
The time is now. No more will I continue to eat until I am beyond stuffed. I will not serve self. I will honor my body. I want to live healthy. I don't want my family to suffer if I become diabetic, die of heart disease or any of the other health related issues associated with obesity. There I said it, obese.
Years ago, I noticed that my family doctor had written the word 'obese' on my patient file. I was offended. Okay, so I'm a little overweight. Soft, fluffy, curvaceous, insulated, voluptuous, warm... The best adjective in the world does not cover the fact that I am obese, fat, a BMI of 36.7. No more fun adjectives. No more excuses. The time is now.
I am now two weeks into Weight Watchers. This is my 3rd time through. This time I will not quit when it gets hard. I won't make excuses for skipping the meetings. My time on this planet is short and I want to spend it enjoying the family God gave me. I want to walk and not be weary, to run and not faint. To be a new me. A new me more energy.
If you don't want the details, stop reading now. When we got married I was overweight at 140 lbs. When I had Diane I was 250 lbs. Now at 38 years old I am 227lbs. My healthy weight is suppose to be between 124-155lbs. That is 72-103lbs to lose. I'd love to reach my healthy weight by my 40th birthday.
This journey is about a lot more than eating right. I have to stop eating in secret. To stop wolfing it down. this is not a race, I don't need to 'git 'er done!'. I need to stop eating something so it won't go to waste. I couldn't tell you how many times I've eaten something that I don't enjoy, just so it won't end up in the garbage. I AM NOT A GARBAGE. I will savour what I eat. I will enjoy it on a whole new level. I am not going to eat lima beans though, I never will. Lima beans, mushrooms and tofu. These are all, and will always be, on my DO NOT EAT LIST.
The time is now. No more will I continue to eat until I am beyond stuffed. I will not serve self. I will honor my body. I want to live healthy. I don't want my family to suffer if I become diabetic, die of heart disease or any of the other health related issues associated with obesity. There I said it, obese.
Years ago, I noticed that my family doctor had written the word 'obese' on my patient file. I was offended. Okay, so I'm a little overweight. Soft, fluffy, curvaceous, insulated, voluptuous, warm... The best adjective in the world does not cover the fact that I am obese, fat, a BMI of 36.7. No more fun adjectives. No more excuses. The time is now.
I am now two weeks into Weight Watchers. This is my 3rd time through. This time I will not quit when it gets hard. I won't make excuses for skipping the meetings. My time on this planet is short and I want to spend it enjoying the family God gave me. I want to walk and not be weary, to run and not faint. To be a new me. A new me more energy.
If you don't want the details, stop reading now. When we got married I was overweight at 140 lbs. When I had Diane I was 250 lbs. Now at 38 years old I am 227lbs. My healthy weight is suppose to be between 124-155lbs. That is 72-103lbs to lose. I'd love to reach my healthy weight by my 40th birthday.
This journey is about a lot more than eating right. I have to stop eating in secret. To stop wolfing it down. this is not a race, I don't need to 'git 'er done!'. I need to stop eating something so it won't go to waste. I couldn't tell you how many times I've eaten something that I don't enjoy, just so it won't end up in the garbage. I AM NOT A GARBAGE. I will savour what I eat. I will enjoy it on a whole new level. I am not going to eat lima beans though, I never will. Lima beans, mushrooms and tofu. These are all, and will always be, on my DO NOT EAT LIST.
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