My daughters school in putting her in special ed.?

Question

they are not saying she has a disability and she was never diagnosed with any type of illness like ADHD, for example. why else would they want to put her there? we are having a meeting about it next week. is special ed for children with disabilities? or what other reason could it be? because there is no learning disability either... thanks!

Answer 1

As a teacher in special ed with a master's degree, I can offer you the following questions to ask:

1. has there been any formal evaluations? (i.e. Keymath, Woodcock-Johnson reading mastery tests)

2. What is the SPECIFIC reason that you  are putting my child in special ed?

3. Is this meeting an initial IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting? (If so, what documentation/assessments have been collected?)

Sometimes it is recommended that children get additional help from the special education teacher. I have several children who come to my classroom for services that are not labeled "special ed", but do need additional instruction in areas such as reading and math. As a parent, if your teacher is telling you this, you do have the right to limit the amount of time your child sees the special ed. teacher or completely refuse to have your child receive any services from the special ed. teacher. If the meeting is an IEP meeting, you also have the right to refuse special education services, but if the teacher is recommending that your child be placed in spec. ed, I would look into doing several assessments (which the schools have to provide) to make sure that she doesn't need the extra assistance. By the way, how old is your child? Most special ed. referrals happen in elementary school. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

If there's not a learning disability, then that's a good question.  You should have a choice in whether she goes there.

My brother had a reading difficulty - he'd be reading across the page and get a few words from the first line, a few more from the second line, and the last few from the third line.  They worked with him to learn how to overcome that, and it REALLY paid off for him.  She could simply have a problem like that.

Answer 3

There is so much the school is doing illegal here it aint' even funny.

1. Did the school do formal educational testing to determine if she qualifies for special ed?

2.Did you give WRITTEN consent for this evaluation to be done?

3.Did you have an official IEP meeting AFTER this evaluation was done to discuss eval results and discuss WHY your child qualifies for special ed?

4.Did the school give you 'prior written notice' stating their reason for putting her in special ed?

If any or all of these were not done, your child can not LEGALLY be put in special ed.

If everything WAS done right, you can STILL decline special ed.

  If you DON"T want her in special ed, all you have to do is write a letter to the district sped director listing all I have written above and state you do not want your child in special ed  AND that the district did NOT follow the legal process specified by IDEA law to qualify your child for special ed services.

A school can not MAKE a child be in special ed, this is the PARENTS decision. YOu have to to decline services IN WRITING.

Answer 4

find out why they would say that and then go from there

Answer 5

my daughter was put in special ed too, and she does not have any mental problems either. she just started doing a poorly in classes, so the school thought that it would be easier for her their, were there r smaller classrooms, and she would get more attention from teachers.

parents always have a choice, so if u disagree, let them know. it helped my daughter greatly, and after proving that she could do good in that class, they moved her up to a regular class.

Answer 6

What state do you live in? How old is your child?  

You have many options -- remember, your child is YOUR child. YOU decide how her education is to proceed!

Answer 7

The possibilities include

cognitive impairment

specific learning disability (language, reading, math, writing)

emotional disability

other health impaured

autism

multiply handicapped



as well as some that are often better served with a 504 plan (accomodations such as braille, personal aid) like

visually impaired

hard of hearing

othopedically handicapped

http://www.coolnurse.com/consent.htm

Have they given you a clue what their concern is?  Did they test her yet?

Answer 8

Special education is for children with learning disabilities and behavior disorders.  Is your daughter far behind in her class work?  If you disagree, you do not have to allow them to put her into special ed.  They can't force you.  Go to the meeting, and see what they tell you and ask as many questions as you can.  Let me know if you need any help with anything - I've been teaching for 5 years and something about what you're telling me here just doesn't seem right.

Answer 9

I would just go to the meeting and see what they say. If you are not sure about whether to agree or not, don't sign any agreement, but ask to think about it.

Your daughter is very young for knowing whether she has a disability or not, but maybe your daughter is struggling while learning to read, maybe her learning curve is slower than other children's. In case of reading difficulties, phonemic awareness instruction will help her go forward. If your school suggests that, I would agree, because prognosis are much better when the intervention comes early, especially if the child has difficulties in learning to read.

Special education is not a bad thing, even for "normal" kids. If your child struggles, this can be the push that lets her take off.

Answer 10

I think you need to go to the meeting and find out what they have to say before you jump to conclussions.  there is a possiblity that there is a delay in some part of her education and it is better that it is caught and worked with now than when it is too late to correct it.

Just so you know, special education covers a large area of education from the gifted programs to the children who are special needs.

Answer 11

At the meeting next week you will be told all the details of how she qualifies for it, if she does. She might have a learning disability, but if not, she may have a speech problem, a vision or hearing problem, an orthopedic problem, Mental Retardation, an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emotional Disturbance, Traumatic Brain Injury, or something else!

If you are not satisfied with what you are told at the meeting, refuse to sign the IEP paper, and she will not be put into Special Ed.

Answer 12

Go to the meeting and find out what their reasoning is. If you disagree with them take her for a medical evaluation.

Answer 13

all special ed is for some more help that the teacher cant do. you should say yes. its not a bad thing