amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

Woodwoman · 02-04-2009, 01:56 PM

I got some paperwork, that my daughter must be tested by them (school), because she can't read yet. She is 8, but was homeschooled. She lacks in reading.
But why do you need to be tested psychologically and emotionally then? I am from Europe, so i don't understand the whole procedure. Until now, i refused to sign the paper, because with the paperwork came an information flyer, for parents of children with disabilities, which i found very insulting.

juliebelle · 02-04-2009, 02:28 PM

sorry you were insulted by the reference.

i believe that testing is often done by a school psychologist...is that what they meant. i'm sure they are wanting to find out what if anything they can do to help your daughter with her reading.

when you say 'she can't read yet'...does that mean she isn't reading on her level or is she not reading at all?

TeriMomOf4 · 02-04-2009, 03:36 PM

Typically, they will assess functioning in multiple areas. It helps to determine WHY she is not reading.
In the case of my daughter, there is a 50 pt. discrepancy between her cognitive level and her reading ability, so her inability to read is not because she is not "smart" enough. This is classic for dyslexia.
On the other hand, if a child's cognition and reading ability are close (as in they are both below age level), then there might be another explanation for the inability to read.
Social development would be assessed to rule out other disabilities. For example, I child who has ADHD would score radically different than a child that does not have ADHD.

It is definitely to your daughter's benefit to have all of the testing done. It really doesn't help to have diagnostic testing that only looks at one area because they wouldn't necessarily have the information they need to address the area of concern.

I am sorry that you were offended, it is not supposed to be offensive. A lot of parents have negative reactions to it though because it implies that there is something wrong with their child or that they did something wrong. That's an unfortunate side effect of the law and how things have to be addressed, I think.
My son received some limited services when he was in public school through "special education" because he had some vision issues. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his cognitive functioning and he is actually extremely bright. The accomodations were made so that he could continue to be successful in school.