Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Please don't quote. My pre-k'er isn't doing so well. He had a speech delay and receives services but it took some time. He talks often now and without issue although he still needs some tweaks.

Anyway - his teacher expressed some worries. He doesn't know his numbers or letters all the time, but sometimes he does. He still has issues writing his name. He's only in pre k for a 2.5 hours a day. He didn't go to pre school before this.

My older child is doing great in school, so this caught me off guard. We have been working with him a lot, but it's not easy. It's like he doesn't "get it," you know?

He's bright in other ways that I see. The teachers just worry about next year. They had a SE informally watch him in class and she saw issues too and we had a little meeting.

My question is this: if your child was "flagged" in pre k.. What ended up happening? What do you wish you would have done if you could go back and re-do things? Looking for experiences, advice, anything. PArt of me worries... The other part thinks .. Well, he's only in pre-k. Feel free to fm.

Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Wanted to add ... He's an "older" pre-k'er. He's about to turn 5 soon.

Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

He will likely need special education services next year in Kindergarten. Maybe Resource Room, or even inclusion depending on his needs. Meetings usually start in the Spring for services required in the fall, so I would get the ball rolling on that. Better soon than later. If he has a learning disability, there is nothing *you* could've done differently, you will just have to advocate for him going forward

Message edited 1/5/2016 10:16:09 PM.

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Agree with the above post. I would get things started sooner rather than later, call your district's special education office to get the process started.

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

I would call your district now and get him evaluated. My dd received services due to fine motor delays which affected her ability to write/cut and made her very frustrated. She went to a special education prek for 2 years and it was the best thing for her. She did amazing in prek. Going into K we had a ton of help awaiting her. You don't want to waste time once they get to K. I'm sure you have heard it but K is not what it use to be. It's much more intense. My dd is courting by 2's and 10's and adding in Nov. They are expected to read and write sentences. If you get the ball rolling now you could get some help before K starts and than your ds is on the schools radar if he needs additional services or a special education classroom for the fall.

Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

I agree with PPs on starting asap on scheduling an eval with the district. In the meantime I would also get a private evaluation, and you can start services asap through your insurance if possible. Not sure if it's convenient location for you, but More Than a Gym in Syosset has therapists who work with various issues and depending on insurance it can be covered. The initial evaluation may have to be paid out of pocket though. Here is the site if you are interested in checking it out. The director Yelena Bash is so sweet and kind you will love her! http://www.morethanagym.com/

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

The opposite actually happened to me. My DS excelled in prek. K was a RUDE awakening.

Now, he's in third grade, he has formally has had an IEP since second grade and was diagnosed with dyslexia this school year. Until his diagnosis he was just a child with a learning disability.

Call and get him evaluated, I wish that I had been able to start this a year earlier

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Posted by BargainMama

He will likely need special education services next year in Kindergarten. Maybe Resource Room, or even inclusion depending on his needs. Meetings usually start in the Spring for services required in the fall, so I would get the ball rolling on that. Better soon than later. If he has a learning disability, there is nothing *you* could've done differently, you will just have to advocate for him going forward

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Posted by SecretTTCer

Posted by BargainMama

He will likely need special education services next year in Kindergarten. Maybe Resource Room, or even inclusion depending on his needs. Meetings usually start in the Spring for services required in the fall, so I would get the ball rolling on that. Better soon than later. If he has a learning disability, there is nothing *you* could've done differently, you will just have to advocate for him going forward

I think that is really presumptuous based on what the original poster wrote. Until a psychoeducational assessment is done and a LD is diagnosed, you have no idea what is going on with this child. He just started preK having never had schooling before. Give the kid a chance!

Message edited 1/6/2016 4:43:10 PM.

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

If he receives speech services now is it through CPSE? If it is, you will have a meeting at the end of the year with CPSE and they will determine if his needs warrant a referral to CSE which would then determine if he needed any services in K. Depending on his needs it could be just speech or also include educational services. He should have had an education evaluation done when he was originally classified. Did he have one? You could bring your concerns to CPSE and request an updated educational evaluation. That would give you more information about what might be going on.

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

I would definitely call your district now and have him evaluated now. They will test him and if there are delays, the sooner he receives services, the better. If he doesn't qualify, then at least you'll know. The problem with waiting to see how he does the rest of the year and into Kindergarten is that once he begins Kindergarten and is no longer a preschooler, it's a lot harder to get evaluated in order to receive any services. The teacher will be required to provide interventions in the classroom throughout an extended period of time, and those interventions will first need to have failed in order to be tested for Special Education services. This process can take a long time, sometimes an entire year.

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Posted by SecretTTCer

Posted by BargainMama

He will likely need special education services next year in Kindergarten. Maybe Resource Room, or even inclusion depending on his needs. Meetings usually start in the Spring for services required in the fall, so I would get the ball rolling on that. Better soon than later. If he has a learning disability, there is nothing *you* could've done differently, you will just have to advocate for him going forward

I think that is really presumptuous based on what the original poster wrote. Until a psychoeducational assessment is done and a LD is diagnosed, you have no idea what is going on with this child. He just started preK having never had schooling before. Give the kid a chance!

Message edited 1/6/2016 6:23:12 PM.

Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Thank you all so much for your advice! I totally agree with getting the ball rolling - which is sort of what we have been doing.

Pre-k is his first venture so to speak, as he never went to preschool or daycare before this. He has been getting speech for awhile now. I had assumed all was going well, until his parent/teacher conference in the beginning of Dec. That's when the teacher expressed concern, and then we had a meeting with the special education Dr. at the school.

So now I'm waiting to hear what the next step is.

It *did* take me by surprise that there was such concern, because, in my mind, he's only been in school a couple hours a day for 3 months. But, I'm not an educator and I *do* know that there are higher expectations nowadays.

There was even a little discussion about maybe thinking about having him held back and repeating pre-k next year (which..I'm not going to do.) I think the big issue is that he's one of the oldest in the class as it is, so....

We will see. I'm hoping he qualifies for some services and maybe I can get someone to help during the summer, too. I appreciate the insight and advice! In the meantime, I've been working hard with him at home. Fingers crossed.

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

Re: Learning disability in little kids? Come in if you have experience

If you think he has issues, I would get him tested. My son has dyslexia. He also has a Mensa level IQ. So for us, it was masked and not discovered until second grade. He is now in an Orton Gillingham class and it has done wonders for him. His confidence level is back, he enjoys school, and he is making progress. So, if you think there is an issue, I would get him tested.