Christy McGuire

Hi! Some things I would look for are trouble with reading comprehension, trouble with writing at grade level, difficulty in math class. To be more specific, I would need to know what grade level you are looking at.

One thing I would be doing right now is investing what is available at the school. Will they need to contract an outside professional to meet these goals?

Hi! I am an Associate member of the Orton Gillingham Academy and have experience as a high school Physics teacher. I have trained specifically in the Concrete, Representational, Abstract math approach, and other methods appropriate for students with specific learning disabilities. I offer one to one tutoring in both reading and math (on-line and in person), and mentoring for parents who wish to teach their own child math in a systematic, multi-sensory way. More information at www.ThrivingSTEM.com

I don't know if you've found anyone yet. I don't know of anyone in CA, but you can check out Lisa's new coaching course. It will give you some good guidance on what to do.

Hi! We found that the teachers in our district were severely undersupported. We were able to work with the existing PTA to just lighten the load and provide some resources. That helped in the moment, and bought us the trust of the teachers, which is really valuable. Frankly, it shouldn't have been necessary, but it was an opportunity to show we were there to help. I have found in our district that if you can get the ear of school board members or members of administration, they really appreciate keeping feedback private. So, as long as I feel that they are taking issues seriously, I try to respect that. I have walked up to an admin at a public meeting (on the side) and said, "What can we do about x?" She knew that I was there to help not to criticize, and she told me what was actually needed, which I could then go work on. Also though, we communicate, communicate, communicate as parents. That has helped the leadership understand that we are not "just that mom" and that they need to take any of us seriously when we bring up issues that we see. Finally, you have to separate advocacy to change the district from advacocy for your child. It might be the legal aspect, I'm not sure, but administration will always clam up if it's about your child. You need to make it abstract in order for them to engage, at least that's very consistently been my experience. Best wishes on your meeting!

Hi! My first question is, how qualified is the last OG tutor that she worked with? I would want my child evaluated by a Fellow of the Orton-Gillinhgam Academy or a fully certified CALT before I settled that we had done everything there was to do. OG should take 4 years at max to get the child to an appropriate level. Frankly, I am suspicious of the school's story there. That said, yes, a student can learn to read and still have low oral fluency. A good SLP may be able to help with this. EF is part of Dyslexia, so I'm not sure what where they are going with that particular argument. As for the Anxiety, I would go with your mom gut. For our family, Polyvagaal or Demartini based therapy has been much more effective than the more commonly available Cognitive Behaivor Therapy. The CBT amounted to "try harder" which clearly wasn't the issue. But again, you and she know more about her feelings than they do. If she doesn't think she's anxious, and you don't that's it, it probably isn't. I hope that helps.

Hi! In my state, public school does not help with Dyslexia for homeschoolers. I would verify that your state is different before I put too much more effort into testing. There are several good programs that are available that you could use in your homeschooling. Heggerty, Logic of English, All about Reading, Sunday are some that are popular in the Homeschool community and often work well.

Yeah, I agree, I didn't want my child to "be the best". I will admit to wanting them to have the best, which in my mind was eauivalent to happy. I haven't met many Dyslexic families who feel the dyslexics faced only "some" struggle though.

Lisa, I see it from my desktop, but not my phone. That was the issue.

Yes! There is so much more to it than just basic reading, isn't there? And, yes, it can be emotionally taxing. Society just doesn't make room for these kids like it should.

Hi! If all the IEP says is "test read to her", then using the computer reader does count. Now, that doesn't mean that you accept this situation. I would start by emailing both the spec ed teacher and the classroom, and nicely explain that you feel that the IEP needs to be updated. Explain that she is developing anxiety because of taking longer. Suggest that her IEP be amended to state that she tests in a private setting. In my opinion, getting the extra independence of the computer reader is a good thing. Children with SLD should be working independently using tools. If she's having anxiety, I would concentrate on getting that resolved. I hope that makes sense with your situation.

The article really resonates for me. What else do you think people don't realize about raising kids with Dyslexia etc? https://www.understood.org/en/articles/7-things-i-wish-people-knew-about-parenting-kids-with-dyslexia?_sp=78baebda-7e93-419b-b416-ffeafbf7914f.1665544102116

I would go ahead and ask for an evaluation. Either the full eval, or individually for math. This does sound like a math related issue. Struggles in math actualy cause anxiety, so you don't want to let that sit.

What specifically makes you think he needs an IEP? They may be appropriate for ADHD, but in my area, usualy students with ADHD get 504's. What's going wrong? Maybe we can help from there.

Hi! Are all those things in place or being offered? I am hearing 2 main problems in your post. 1) He's getting notifications from all over the place. He should come home with a consolidated list. The homework check in should be helping with this. That teacher should help him get everything in one place and priortized. I would ask that she also help with estimating how long each task should be taking and how to split them up through the week. 2) He's overwhelmed at home. Unfortunately, this is kind of yours to deal with as the parent. I have found ADHD Dude to be a good resource, and I think his course on helping ADHD kids through homework is probably the best comprehensive take I've seen. You might like to take a look at it. I have found that for my kids, eating the frog first is not a good plan. They should start with a short acitvity that excites them. Then "eat the frog".

Hi! Can we have discussions inside the clubs? I can't seem to figure out how to do that. If not, what are they for?

My kids have SLD, so a slightly different situation. However, I found that they transitioned to kinder best based on having had the preschool experience that was most tailored to them. Other students who had been in the school prek actually struggled more with behavior. I would say do what makes your child thrive.

I would add that it is significant that they came to you to ask that he not miss recess. That means someone saw this as a problem and is trying to fix it. As a side note, accross settings can be really important and effective. I have noticed that my kids can often produce the right sounds in therapy, but not elsewhere. This change may be beneficial a couple of ways.