Looking for the experiences of dyslexic students in public schools

[djheater]

I'm considering moving my dyslexic daughter from a private school to public and I don't have a clear idea of what her daily school experience woudl be like.
I have a couple of e-mails out to school personnel, but would love some anecdotal experiences.

The school is in the top 15% of middle schools in the state, so I know they have resources for LD kids, but from my reading I think it may be a crapshoot whehter they offer dyslexic specific services.

Thanks for any replies.

 

[nanette1985]

I'm a Special Ed Advocate in our school system. What specific services are you looking for? Definitions of dyslexia vary widely. What exactly are your daughter's challenges? And, what things help her?

Does she have a DSM-IV diagnosis - dyslexia isn't a specific diagnosis, but some common ones are "reading disorder," "expressive language disorder," and "disorder of written expression"? Does she also have dysgraphia and/or dyscalculia? It is extremely common to have multiple issues - looks like the three big dys-es affect similar parts of the brain.

Does she read and comprehend perfectly well with help - extra time, etc. Or does she need her classwork to be modified - does she still not read well even with help, or does she have trouble understanding what she reads, needs to have her schoolwork changed so that she can do it, and so on. Does she also have trouble writing, or is she a good writer? How is she with math - some people can read numbers but not words, some people have as much trouble reading numbers as words.

Does she find it helpful to do things like take notes with a voice recorder, to use talking books and to have people read to her? Has she been in special classes? What kind of specialists have you seen and what has helped?

Does she have an IEP? If so, do you feel that it helps?

You'll find it much easier to get help if you can be very specific in what you need - and of course, you have documentation (from MD's and from her current school) that backs you up.

In my school system, dyslexia is easy to get help for. Hope yours is similar.