Children with learning challenges: Working with schools and the law
By Kimberly Rptundo, MED, and Diane M. Geiger, PhD, CCC-SLP
Recent data from the U.S. Department of Education supports common beliefs that parent involvement in schools is linked to positive student learning and performance. In their efforts to collaborate, parents of a student with learning challenges describe frustrations working with their child's school.
The American Family Physician Journal reports that as of the year 2000, 16,000 children in the U.S. had been adopted internationally. Of these children:
- 85% experience developmental delays
- 56% of these delays are in the area of speech and language
- 80% of children with speech and language delays also demonstrate significant reading and writing difficulties
In 2002, a special educator and speech pathologist from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center became frustrated with the lack of unified services for children with language-based learning problems and they developed an intervention program. While providing reading and writing interventions, the program also modeled positive interactions and social skills that children with language-based academic difficulties encounter. This program supported the need for interdisciplinary cooperation. Parents can use the lessons learned to assist school officials in developing an academic plan that can work for their child.
Learn the Rules
Regardless of a disability diagnosis, parents must be knowledgeable in the laws governing schools. Both state proficiency testing and federal laws such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Patriot Act have academic provisions. The web site www.wrightslaw.com and accompanying book by Pamela Wright and Peter Wright offer a wealth of information and resources for parents navigating school services.
It is important to note that NCLB has dramatically changed "intervention services" for all school-age children.
Use Intervention Teams
Parents and teachers struggle to investigate the reason for a child's poor school performance. With NCLB and changes to educational law, the previously-used formalized process is not always the first course of action. "Response to Intervention" (RTI) has been proposed as a model that does not require formalized testing but addresses problems as they arise. The RTI or Intervention Team is convened to implement the services that best match the student's problem areas. Members of the intervention team include:
- A parent or guardian
- Child, if appropriate
- The child's teacher
- A special educator
- Others with knowledge or expertise about the strengths and difficulties of the child
Parents should let the team know as much of the child's history as possible such as:
- Prenatal and birth information
- Learning struggles of biological family members
- Age when language developed
Propose a Solution
Understand that schools are not expected to treat problems unless they "specifically hinder the child's learning." "Specifically" is the key term and can be confusing to parents who have been denied services but continue to recognize academic struggles. Although school problems can be challenging, it is with communication and novel problem-solving that every child can succeed to the best of his or her ability.
