Does Your Child Have a Learning Challenge?

It happens every school year in first and second grade classrooms all over the country. As soon as the curriculum begins to focus on reading, writing and math, parents are called into school to discuss the possibility that their child has a learning challenge. If you’re one of these parents, perhaps you got the call because your child isn’t reading on grade level. Maybe your son has a short attention span and is having difficulty sitting in his seat. Perhaps your daughter isn’t getting along with her peers. Whatever the reason, the teacher is concerned and suggests that you have your child “evaluated.”

Academic evaluations are routinely done by public school at no cost to parents, or may be done privately by professionals specializing in educational evaluations. The latter can be very costly. Either way, the process can be stressful and overwhelming.  If your family is in this situation, here are some steps you can take to make things easier.

Take a deep breath. The first thing to do is to relax and realize that many children this age are evaluated.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that your child has a learning disability such as dyslexia or is ADHD, even if your teacher has suggested that. Many children are late bloomers and enter school on the young side and just need time to catch up.  Academic levels are just state guidelines. Not every child reads and develops according to a chart. It’s okay if your child doesn’t start reading exactly when his peers do.

Consider testing to ease your mind. If you are in the public education system, the school will do all the testing at no charge to you. If you are not satisfied with the public school’s testing or if you don’t want them to do it, you have the right to get your testing done privately and submit the results to your school at your own cost. In either case, doing some type of testing will help you possibly understand what is going on with your child and determine if there is a learning issue. Acquiring different types of assessments by a variety of professionals will also give you more results and information about your child that will help you come to some conclusions. This too, will make you feel better, as the more you learn the more confident you will become and the more successful you’ll feel when talking to your child’s teachers and school administrators.

Bring everyone into the loop. It’s important to involve everyone who works with and knows your child into the picture. Remember, the school only has her under its care for about six hours a day, but you know her better than anyone else—and you’re her strongest advocate. Therapists and evaluators see the short picture. Depending on your child, she could have had a good day or an off day when the testing was done. Everyone involved should present their professional opinions, gathering final assessments, your child’s social history, test results, classroom observations and, most important, parent input. As a team, you’ll be able to approach the situation positively and draw educational conclusions and recommendations to help you assist your child.

Be your child’s advocate. You are your child’s best advocate! Be all you can be. You know more than you realize about your child and you can best express his strengths and weaknesses to his school. Don’t be afraid to disagree with his teacher or any other professional. Bring forth any information that you feel is relevant to his learning. Go to the school and observe in his class. You are entitled to observe any class and you can call for a meeting with anyone at any time. You’ll feel empowered as you get more involved with his school, his teachers, specialists and other parents.

Don’t deny any real problems. Nobody wants to hear that their child has a learning issue, but there are times when you need to really listen to what the school and professionals are saying. At the moment that it happens—as a team of professionals is telling you that your child needs to be placed in a special education classroom—your mind says, “no.” A decision does not have to be made right at that moment. The best thing to do is to go home and digest all the information and then get back to the school. You can always call a follow-up meeting. Take the time to understand all the jargon, test results and educational goals in the reports and supplementary materials. If you have questions, call the special education person in your school and ask questions. When you feel ready, things will become clearer and you can move forward.

Remember: Everything’s going to be OK. Know that there are many people out there to help you. You are not alone. Use the resources both within your school and outside of it. Talking to other parents who have or are going through the same process is beneficial and can provide you with a great support system. When you feel confused and down about your child’s progress in school, try helping another child or parent. You will find there are so many families facing special-needs issues who would love to have support too. Volunteering in the classroom, participating in school activities or just having lunch with another parent will help you connect, understand and enjoy your child’s school year. You will make wonderful relationships and learn a lot. At the end, believe me, everything will work out!

—Roberta Zarchy is a Chicago-based school administrator with multiple degrees in education. A graduate of Teacher’s College, Columbia University, she serves special needs students and their families in both public and private schools.