Learning problem's with school work - 5 year old

........

Hi PinkCupcakes,

That is absolutely atrocious of the school teacher to basically say that "he is dumb". I am apalled. He is only 5 for goodness sake. It is their job to assess, find these kids who may learning difficulties (if any) and then do something about it. Offer advice and support, not condemn them. Just so he/she has a learning difficulty does not mean that they are going to be an outcast of society. They just may learn differently and need some extra help. I can't believe it.

I am very very angry here. I am tapping these keys quite hardly to release some of my anger. I would report the teacher to the Principle or even the department of education. That is no way a parent should be told about their kid. How can a school not deal with kids who have learning difficulties, that is definitely no excuse esp. if you live in the country and don't have access to the number of schools that we have in the burbs. I would call the Department of Education and tell them your story, they will be able to help you out.

As far as testing goes... i don't know. But i did get my DS to have an IQ test and that test showed not only IQ level but picked up on several other things he had problems with such as "he may need his eyes tested" and that he may need behavioural optometry sessions and that he has very poor fine motor co-ordination. He did need glasses, didn't need behavioural optometry, but sees an Paed Occupational Therapist for his fine motor skills. May be that me the go for you.

There is a post here in this section from Pink Butterfly about a learning difficulty in her DD, check that out too.

Take care..

So was there any reason why you thought he would do better at school than being homeschooled? Some kids just don't do well in mainstream schools. I do agree, that is an appalling way to treat him and speak to you. I think he needs a bit of time to adjust to the whole concept of going to a mainstream school and I think she is forgetting that the other 5yo's who started this year would have been exactly the same. I think you need to speak to the principal about it and also seek some independent help in regards to his possible dyslexia. You could probably do that by contacting the local community health clinic as they often have visiting services to rural areas. Not sure how small your town is, but often you will have to travel outside of the town to get help. I don't agree with IQ testing young children as there are other ways to assess where they are at and pick up on areas that they struggle with and an IQ test score puts a 'label' on them which you really don't want kwim?

But I do think it's fair enough that he doesn't participate in the recital if he doens't know it properly (and how could he be expected to know it as well as the others already kwim? It's not his fault) but it's not fair to exclude him completely - he could at least still go.

.......

Oh, so angry as well over here.

There is a MASSIVE change in attitudes at most schools with regards to learning difficulties. They can easily identify where children have problems and put in place learning plans to suit individual childrens needs. What is sounds like is the school is maybe small and understaffed and as such it is easier to not get the child assessed and make the effort. (IMO)

Like the others suggested, call the Dept of Ed and get some help from them but first take it to the principal. DofE likes to go through all the correct channels. There are so many things they can do to help and excluding your DS from the excursion is going to reinforce to him that he is different to other children and that is just not fair or right. If it helps, ask for a meeting, write down everything you want to say and then speak to them about it. If nothing happens at least you have info to take to the DofE to support your case.

GL

We have had to go through a Paed to get CJ assessed for the school to get extra funding based on his own learning difficulty. Not 100% sure what state you are in, but thats the requirements of NSW Department of Education to get special needs assistance.

Hope this helps.

Hmmm it is no wonder us teachers get bad names, when there are some teachers out there that treat students like this. A teacher has no right to talk to a student like this ever, it is unacceptable, and if it happened to a child of mine I would be in the principals office demanding an explanation.

Dyslexia is something that is VERY difficult to test for, I have had a couple of students over the few years that might have been dyslexic, but like I said it is so hard to find out for sure. There could be some other explanations including some sort of processing disorder.

Now I am not sure what state you are in, but I know that we have to have some very very firm reasons for excluding a student from an excursion, and the fact they can't memorise a poem would certainly not wash as a valid excuse in any school I have ever worked in, so if I were you I would not be accepting that.

Country school or not every school has to cater for a student at the level they are at, if they are what we term as SAER (student at academic risk), be it because of learning difficulties, attendence, behaviour, or being especially clever, then if is our job as a teacher to write a special plan for the child stating how we are going to assist that child to meet their learning targets, we meet with the parents to discuss it with them, and we review them periodically.

As for getting assitance, all schools should have access to a school based pysch. who can arrange for testing and, and then help to access any other services you may need.

Remember that you have to be your child's advocate, a good education is the MOST valuable gift you can give to your child, so do not take this laying down- keep going back until someone starts to listen. If he does have some sort of learning problem, the sooner it is recognised the sooner strategies can be put into place to help him learn in a manner appropriate to him.

And most of all give your baby a great big hug and tell him how special and clever is his, and make sure he understands that no one should ever make him feel bad about himself!

Good luck!

...........

good luck with it all- I guess it is up to you whether or not you say anything or not, if it were me I would probably say something, even if it is just about the way she spoke to your DS, as if she speaks to him like that, imagine how she speaks to other kids in the class.

The thing that astounds me even more, is that if he is only in kindergarten, then she is expecting way too much from him- it is not untill late pre-primary early year one that children are really expected to start understanding about counting and collections.

My advice for looking for a new school is to ask about what provisions are made for kids with potential learning difficulties before choosing where to enrol him. I hope that you find someone to who is able to help, and remember he is only so young still, he is still learning how to learn!

Kindy really is just a period where they get used to what school is all about. At least, that is how it is run where my kids are. Sure we have home readers and they cover the basics, but that is all a part of the learning experience.

Sams kindy teacher summed it up beautifully last year. "In kindy they learn about school so that starting in year one, they are learning in school".

I would definitely be giving the new school a good grilling. Mine and DHs move was based on getting the kids into a better school too. We ended up moving 3 hours north. See if you cant work out the areas you are looking at and try and find some feedback on the schools. There is a lot of mums here for a start, and google is always handy! I also have contacts at the NSWAGTC who might be able to give me some feedback on how certain schools deal with kids who learn differently.

Wishing you all the best luck.

In WA the teacher refers the student to the school psych (appointed to an area not just one school so sometimes there's a bit of a wait) for assessment. Once this assessment has taken place there should be an individual education plan put in place and reviewed regularly.

Speak to the principal. He should know what the procedure is in your state.