Today was the day we had our evaluation meeting for Joshua's case study.....this was the meeting in which we were to find out if he did in fact have a learning disability and if he qualified for special education services.
I must first admit that thanks to a friend's recommendation we actually met with the school psychologist on Friday to hear what the IQ testing revealed. I was so thankful the psychologist was willing to take extra time with us. It was much less intimidating to get that information in a more intimate setting and, have time to process the information prior to sitting in another conference room full of educational professionals.
In order to identify the problem they do multi level IQ testing. They test Verbal IQ, Nonverbal, Memory, Visual and so on.....then when they look at all the different scores hopefully they can identify the weakness. So, Joshua scored very well in many of the categories with the exception of visual processing. Because he scored so much lower in that category they call it a "relative weakness". Relative, meaning relative to him and how he scored in all the other categories; it was easy to see his weakness. This means that he sees things the same way we do, it just takes his brain longer to decode it. Hence the slow reading and difficulty with fluency. Josh did test really high in comprehension. So, even though it takes him longer to read it, he does understand it.
Today's meeting was to write his IEP, or Individual Education Plan. Based on the findings of the case study, now they were recommending that Josh is eligible for Special Education services. I must say I was really fighting some denial. I know much of what the testing revealed was not a surprise and made so much sense to me. However, to fully accept that my child has a "disability" is hard!! It is like I understood what they were saying but, still not fully accepting that there is a true defect in his brain. We talked about setting goals for him, one of which was to be reading 90 words per min by the end of first semester next year. That is second grade reading level. He will be in fourth grade. I shared concern with them and they said "we must be realistic in setting goals. If the kids were running a race and one had a broken leg we would make special accommodations for that child. That is what we are doing for Josh." whoa!! I am still struggling with completely accepting it.
One of my main concerns was Josh's reaction to this. What to tell him and how he would respond to the new plan. He will stay in his regular classroom for core instruction. He will go to the Resource room (Special Education services) for more intense reading instruction and will be able to get one on one help with reading assignments, be able to read them aloud to someone, and will also be able to take his tests in there and have extended test time. The main goal is to modify his workload, work through his strengths, focus on fluency, and work on helping him succeed overall and rebuild his confidence.
When I picked him up from school today he asked about the meeting this morning and what the teacher had to say about him. I told him about his strengths and how great he is with comprehension. I also told him we came up with a plan to help him get better grades and improve his reading. When I asked him is he had ever heard about the "Resource room" His eyes lit up and he got very excited. He said, "Yeah, they introduced me to it today. The teacher is really nice!" I told him a little more about it and how he could take test in there and they were gonna help him get his grades up. He says, "I think this is gonna be a good thing! I am Unique cause I have good comprehension, there are some kids who don't have that. I just need help with my fluency."
I cannot express the joy in my heart to see his positive receptive attitude! I could not help but praise God for that and the grace He has given us through this.
Tonight as I reflect on the day I cannot help but think about the scripture God gave me at the beginning of all this, 2 Corinthians 12, where Paul is talking about his "thorn of the flesh". The verse that sticks out to me tonight is:
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (even relative weakness) 2 Corinthians 12: 9
You are a great mom...don't give up hope on your faith and your inner "powers" of mom-hood (for a lack of a better phrase)...work with him what you can this summer, and he will thrive, because he has your (and your husbands backing) and he knows that there is no "stigma" to getting extra help...well done to you momma!
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