Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

My dd has adhd. Last year she received OT through cpse. Through CSE she receives no services. She met most of her goals. She struggles with numbers and letters and all of her friends are academically advanced compared to her. I don’t realize it till we are with friends what they know compared to her.

She’s being put into general Ed and I’m getting really worried. The district we moved out of and the district we moved into said let’s wait and see how she does. She’s been in daycare since she was 12 weeks old and attended a full PreK last year that all agree she’s academically behind.

The wait and see protocol has me really worried. I don’t want her to feel dumb or get made fun of. She’s extremely social but the academics are a huge concern.

On her intake form I put adhd but do I speak with her teacher beforehand?

Message edited 7/20/2018 10:10:08 PM.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

You can definitely speak to the teacher about your concerns, you should have lots of communication with them, throughout the year.
But I wouldn't be overly worried quite yet
Dd learned so much in Pre K and went in pretty well prepared, but at the end of the day, they re taught everything in K. She was relearning it all. Not every kid comes in to K knowing everything. That is the job of the K teacher....to teach them all that. She might surprise you too...there is a huge difference developmentally between Pre K and K imo.

Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Kindergarteners are all over the map in every area. I never saw or heard about any teasing when dd was in prek or kindergarten whether it was a kid who struggled academically, socially, had bathroom accidents, went to speech, etc. I probably would try too reinforce at home during the summer but hopefully it will all click for her at some point.

Dd was similar in that she had gotten pt and ot through cpse but I didn't pursue it for kindergarten. She was already out of pt by June and her occupation therapist didn't think she'd need it but then started changing her tune in the summer when it was too late to even try. It stunk bc I was told it's harder to qualify and takes time if you're not rolling straight from cpse to cse. Ultimately, I waited maybe two weeks into the school year and then called the teacher to inform her of her history, my concerns, request that she use a pencil grip, etc. Her teacher was very responsive and even said she'd start keeping data in case I wanted to refer her again. In the end, dd did well and I never pursued it. Academically she has always done well, but dd2 is the one who worries me in that area so I can relate there too.

Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

What specifically is she struggling with? Entering Kindergarten they should know how to write and spell their first name, recognize letters and their sounds, recognize numbers 1-10, and know their colors. You have kids from all different academic backgrounds (daycare, pre-school, no school) coming together. I definitely wouldn’t worry about her being teased for it. Give a head’s up to the teacher a few weeks into the school year regarding your concerns.

Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

i would give her kindergarten teacher a head's up, since she's been in a full time preschool and they noticed that she's a little behind. that way the teacher knows to keep an extra eye on her and that theres a little bit of a "history" there. and then just keep in touch with the teacher to see if you need to do anything else. and obviously in the meantime just do what you can to work with her at home, too.

Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

See about getting her a 504 plan if you’re concerned.

From what my SIL - a kindergarten teacher - said, kids in K are all over the place in terms of ability so you probably don’t have too much to be concern d about yet. If the teacher thinks your child is behind, they will have her tested.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Did they screen her?

There is a huge variation with what Kers come in. I would say very few can read or write. They all know how to write their name... but it’s more like a picture.

I’d let the teacher know early on that you are concerned... I’m sure they will devote resources to her.

ETA: they don’t tease about anything til about 2nd grade.

Message edited 7/21/2018 5:13:10 PM.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Talk to the teacher to make them aware and I don't think you have to worry about her being teased. See how she does and if she doesn't do well maybe hold her back.

My son in prek received services for speech, OT and got a SIET. He is def. Academically behind (IMO though I don't think I give him enough credit) and maturity wise behind. CPSE actually did recommend holding him back since he is a Novemeber baby however I decided to send him because I was advise by parents and teacher friends that its better if he gets services in the school and if anything just hold him back in K.

So he is going. They did however put him in a 15:1:1 class, gave speech,OT and he will have an aid. The aid is for potty training issues and because I think his Prek teacher embelshed his behavior for me to get more services. I do have a feeling however he will not qualify for an aid after this year and maybe even a 15:1:1 class.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Ive done the Kindergarten thing twice now. I also have a child who has adhd and an IEP. I'd get a 504 now before school. Preschool is very different than Kindergarten. A lot more is expected of them and I'm not just speaking of the academics. With adhd the amount of time they must sit and focus can be tough. You may want accommodations for your child later in the year. Did she go through screening? Kids enter Kindergarten at all different stages. They really do spend the beginning of the year reviewing. You should contact the teacher early in the year to let them know of her diagnosis and your concerns.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

I'm a special ed teacher and a parent (1 of my children has a 504 plan for a visual impairment)...go with your gut...I wish that I had...everyone talked me out of my concerns and it took until 3rd grade for me to just do what my gut was saying and get my daughter what she needed. You can at least call the special ed office and speak with someone there about your concerns. I would also reach out to the teacher/school so that they are aware...I am one of my building's Academic RTI case managers and in my experience, a lot of times kindergarten teachers give kids time to adjust and the year ends without kids moving forward with getting the help they really need.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Please go see a developmental optometrist!!!

Vision is much more than 20/20 acuity. They will do an extensive eye exam and test for depth perception, see if her eyes work in tandem, binocular vision, and visual processing, etc. You can't expect someone to know output like letters, numbers, etc if their vision input is off.

80% of children's learning happens through vision. Healthy eyes are vital! My LO has 20/20 vision and still has handful of vision issues that were never caught during his routine eye exam.

It's sad because most of the time it doesn't get caught until the kids are already 1 or 2 grade levels behind.

FYI- convergence insufficiency (google it) mimics ADHD.

Also, if she gets re-evaluated by OT have them check for retained reflexes. Be sure to get evaluated by someone who has experience in this area.

www.cvod.org

Message edited 7/24/2018 9:47:36 AM.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Posted by blu6385

Talk to the teacher to make them aware and I don't think you have to worry about her being teased. See how she does and if she doesn't do well maybe hold her back.

My son in prek received services for speech, OT and got a SIET. He is def. Academically behind (IMO though I don't think I give him enough credit) and maturity wise behind. CPSE actually did recommend holding him back since he is a Novemeber baby however I decided to send him because I was advise by parents and teacher friends that its better if he gets services in the school and if anything just hold him back in K.

So he is going. They did however put him in a 15:1:1 class, gave speech,OT and he will have an aid. The aid is for potty training issues and because I think his Prek teacher embelshed his behavior for me to get more services. I do have a feeling however he will not qualify for an aid after this year and maybe even a 15:1:1 class.

Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

I just called the district and they advised writing a letter to have her tested through the new school district. They gave me the name and number of the contact person to write a letter to in order to request testing and will have the psychologist call me tomorrow.

Any words of advice what to say in the letter? I’m flying blind here.

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

I taught Gen Ed K for years and now K is one of the grades I service as a remedial reading teacher.

I can tell you that kids come into K allllll over the place--most can recognize their name if they see it written, some cannot. A lot can write their first name, but not all. Some can use scissors and cut patterns, some can't. Some recognize all letters/sounds, just letters and no sounds, some letters/some sounds, no letters/no sounds, etc. It is one of the toughest grades to teach not just because of the age, but also because of the range of abilities. It is one of the most rewarding though because they learn SO much!

I would definitely speak with the teacher beforehand and express your concerns. Tell her that she received services but has been declassed. Teachers don't know if a student had pre-school services or not--those records are sealed. You can give consent for them to be unsealed if you wish for the teacher/school to have access to her pre-school records.

I wouldn't worry too much yet. Good luck!

Re: Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Speak to the teacher and definitely stay on top of them. But there is a wide variety of skill levels in kindergarten, and the schools/teachers expect that.

As far as teasing goes, that will not happen in kindergarten so don't even worry about that. DD had to be pulled out for math extra help and the kids don't even realize what that means at that age. Even DD didn't realize it meant she was behind the other kids.

Worried about my 5 year old going into kindergarten being academically behind

Her OT teacher helped me draft a letter and email. Email sent yesterday and mailing letter tomorrow.