I am concerned when a parent tells me the public school wants their child to repeat a grade, especially if the child is a “special ed” student.
Too often, the attitude toward our struggling child at this age is “wait and see”. I have met too many parents over the years who went along with “wait and see” only to watch the years pass by and have a child much older than his classmates in middle school.
“Wait and see” is often a result of poor programming by the school for our child. Perhaps assumptions were made about the child, or the child’s disability, by those who plan the child’s education. Parents need to make sure to bring to the IEP meeting folks who know about the disability of the child so that the school can be brought up-to-date on how our child learns. This is especially true for children who have invisible disabilities, such as Aspergers, head injuries, etc.
Parents can be proactive and insist on further testing by the school in order to get information about the child’s learning styles and abilities. Parents can also ask to see the data collected by the school that either supports or undermines the school’s contention that the child needs to repeat.
Advocates at theiepcenter.com are available to go to school meetings with parents in MIssouri and Kansas, and available for telephone consults.
Missouri Special Education Advocates 