How quickly can a teacher assess a student's special needs when they first go to school?

Question

I have a nephew who just started Kindergarten. His speech is quite a bit behind for his age and I was just curious when a teacher would say he needs some sort of special class or therapy? would they wait and see how he held up with the rest of the class first?

Answer 1

You don't have to wait for the teacher to bring it up.

Schools only help kids with special problems if they are in special ed.

If not, they don't have to do anything.

Special ed in schools is mandated by IDEA law 'individuals with disabilities education act'

The best site to learn about these laws is www.wrightslaw.com

You have to learn the laws and follow them.

The first thing to do is to write to the district sped director and request an 'initial full educational evaluation testing in all areas of suspected disabilities to determine if my child can qualify for special ed services as specified by IDEA law. Please consider this letter as my written parent consent'.

You have to use these words.

Now I have to tell you, most schools will fight or ignore you.But you have the laws on your side.

They HAVE to have this  eval completed and hold an eligibilty IEP meeting within 60 days from your dated parent consent. The letter above is counted as this. Please date the top of it and keep a copy for yourself.

If they ignore you or refuse, you then file formal state complaints.

They will tell you things like they have to do an 'assesment' first to see if he can have the evaluation done- ILLEGAL

They will tell you the child has to be in the schools 'intervention program' first - ILLEGAL

They will tell you he'll grow out of it, he's not old enough, etc.

ALL of it is ILLEGAL because they HAVE to do the eval.

Answer 2

Too bad he did not qualify for services younger or they did not pursue it - many times early intervention has students close to peers by the time school starts with some concerns.

You have 2 choices.  Wait and see how it impacts his learning - how different from his peers is he speaking, he may not be as behind as you think  - or he may be and the teacher will notice.  HE/SHE would bring him up at a child study meeting and things would go from there.

Choice 2 is to have the parent request that Special Education look at the child based on some speech concerns.  They will and suggest a course from there thay would likely include an evaluation and the student would have to 'qualify' or meet criteria that is set up by the State and Federal Government to get speech services.

So there are several options to consider - do what feels like the best fit for your situation.

Answer 3

my son was special Ed and they have a battery of tests that they can give to tell them quite a bit

Answer 4

There are many early signs of a learning disability like dyslexia, and speech is just one of them.  Here is a list of signs in kindergarten and first grade children:  

Kindergarten and 1st Grade

When a child is in kindergarten or first grade, beginning to read, you might see these dyslexia symptoms:

    * Slow to learn the alphabet

    * Difficulty learning letter names and sounds

    

* Begin to show frustration and anxiety, as he realizes he is lagging behind his peers

    

* May exhibit health or behavior problems, emotional difficulties or want to avoid school

    

* Difficulty recognizing and making rhymes

    

* Lack of phonemic awareness (understanding that letters represent speech sounds in words)

  

* Difficulty recognizing common words by sight, or automatically (i.e. family names, names on common signs on cereal boxes)

    

* Difficulty spelling words phonically, so they can be figured out by the reader

Schools are often reluctant to test children that young and therefore may delay providing the special services and early intervention that can greatly reduce the severity and length of problems later on.  

This is more information than you asked for, but it's my passion, so I just couldn't resist giving you all this info.  Hope it helps.

Answer 5

Your nephew's parent(s) should speak to the teacher as soon as possible after school starts, and let hir know that they have concerns about his speech. That way, the teacher can start the process of referring him for an assessment.

In addition, they should talk to his family doctor about having his hearing tested. Delayed speech is often a symptom of hearing loss, and it's often treatable in young children - but it should be done as soon as possible.

The usual process (in my area) is referral to a Speech Language pathologist, then therapy as needed. Some districts routinely screen all kindergarten children.

Answer 6

for developmental delays such as language--the criteria in my state is a

25% delay in 2 or more areas (speech, motor, cognition, self help, social/emotional)

or a 33% delay in one of those areas..

if there is any concern at all--the parent shoudl send a letter to teh special education office requesting the child be evaluated for services.

If speech is educationally necessary, but the child does not need special education, therapy can be provided through a 504 plan