School/Special Education Misc

“Ongoing Themes: #Dyslexia #ADHD #LD Discrepancy #504 #Parenting”

by | Mar 22, 2024 | , , , ,

Those of you following this blog for some time know there are some recurring themes in these posts (that mostly irritate me).

For others  newer to these posts, I will help to bring you up to speed with some of the predominant ones.

  1. The LD-Discrepancy Model: Easily the number one issue that gets under my skin is the LD-Discrepancy model used in many states (New Jersey being one) to classify children in special education as learning disabled.  I discussed it in my recent blog post  (https://shutdownlearner.com/ineffective-inefficient-irrational-immoral-and-indefensible/), but if If you need a primer on the LD-Discrepancy model, this is a great overview: (https://www.understood.org/en/articles/the-discrepancy-model-what-you-need-to-know). 
  2. Pathologizing Childhood: Not all child problems are neurobiological (i.e., “brain-based”) disabilities.   Some issues are just kids being kids. (Please see my blog on boy executive function deficits: https://shutdownlearner.com/?s=hypothetical ).  Also, sometimes the material being given to them is inappropriate to their level of reading ability.  That is not an “in the head” problem.  It’s a curriculum issue.
  3. “Diagnosing” ADHD Based on Small Data: Checking a few items (e.g., “Easily distractible….Inattentive, etc.”) on a rating scale like the Vanderbilt given in the pediatrician’s office is not enough.   There are a multitude of factors that could be producing the distractibility.  Many of these factors should be understood before putting a child on medication for ADHD.
  1. “We can’t diagnose dyslexia – you need to see a neurologist.” Parents are reflexively told this by the school when they raise concerns of dyslexia.   Seriously, how many neurologists or pediatricians that you know give a battery of reading, spelling and writing tests that are necessary to assess dyslexia?  At its core, dyslexia is a reading disability.  How can this be determined without a battery of reading measures?  Stop telling parents it is a medical condition.
  2. “This or That Thinking:” “I just want to get to the bottom of it,” parents will say.  “I just don’t know if it’s ADD or laziness.”   The problem as I see it is that there rarely is a bottom.  The truth is it’s almost never,  “this or that.”  With most kids it’s almost always, “this and that and that.”
  3. Overplaying 504 Plans: Listen up, gang. The reality of 504 Plans is that they do not do that much.  504s do not offer services, but basic accommodations (e.g., extended time).
  4. “Hey, Bud” Parenting: I hate to break the news to parents out there, but they are your children.  You don’t set limits with your buddies.  You set limits with children.
  5. Screen Addicts: I get it.  Times change.  I don’t get the newspaper delivered any more.  I have my phone with me most of the time and am in a froth when I can’t locate it.  With that said, kids care about little else than their screen time.   They are becoming addicted.   We’re not facing it.

 Takeaway Point:  I understand that some may think that I am just saying these things because I am at the “get off my lawn” stage of life.  Maybe it’s compounded by that fact, but I have been repeating these theme to parents for many years.

Perhaps getting it off my chest helps –  it’s still cheaper than real therapy!!!

Feel free to make comment below. 

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email: shutdownlearner1@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

 

“Ineffective, Inefficient, Irrational, Immoral and Indefensible”

by | Mar 8, 2024 | ,

Most of you understand the concept of standard error of measurement (SEM).

In a nutshell, SEM tells us that on any given day that you can be within an interval of confidence that an obtained score is accurate.

For example, if the obtained IQ score is 100, you can have about 99% confidence that with repeated administrations the score would fall within a range, say between 95 – 105.

For standardized tests such as the WISC-V (the gold standard cognitive measure used in special education assessments), there is no such thing as a “true score” as there is always the standard error of measurement to consider.

That explains the fury when a parent was told that her clearly struggling child was not eligible to receive services because the child missed eligibility by one point.

This is what occurred with 10-year-old, fourth- grader, Charles,  who has been struggling greatly with his reading, spelling and writing since kindergarten.  Some months before his special education assessment, I  had conducted a dyslexia screening with Charles,  which showed clear indicators of concern.

The school conducted a comprehensive special education evaluation that also identified significant issues with word identification, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, spelling and writing, which are the typical academic indicators for a learning disability, such as dyslexia.

When the school met with the mother to review the findings, stunningly she was told that the child was ineligible for services. That is, he would not be classified as eligible for an IEP.

As told to the mom, Charles fell short by one point, which did not meet the very strict standards of the discrepancy model utilized to determine eligibility.

Along with a few other states in the country,  New Jersey uses and outmoded model that often leaves children like Charles struggling without any support or direct remediation.

This model requires there be a statistically significant difference between the child’s Full-Scale IQ and an overall score in reading.

When a pure quantitative discrepancy model is used, as it is in New Jersey, many kids are left completely in the lurch.

In an article written by Emerson Dickman, a special education attorney and former president of the International Dyslexia Association, he quoted leading experts regarding the use of a discrepancy model.

Here are a few choice ones:

“For 25 years we have used  the IQ-achievement discrepancy model, a wait-to-fail model that is known to be ineffective, inefficient, irrational, immoral and indefensible.”  (Dr. Douglas Carmine presentation during testimony to Congress on reauthorization of IDEA.)

“The formula is a “wait and fail” model and is immoral.”  (Dr. Thomas Hehir, Director of Special Education Programs during Clinton Presidency.)

“IQ-Achievement discrepancy is not a valid means for identifying individuals with learning disabilities Robert Pasternack, Assistant Secretary for Office of Special Education)

Not only is the model unfair and immoral often offering no support to struggling children,  it also leaves everything entirely up to parents to try and find outside services like tutoring that are never covered by insurance.

Basically, the unstated message given to parents  with a struggling ineligible child is something like this, “Sorry, we’re done.  Maybe you should talk to your pediatrician.”

As you can imagine, this is infuriating to parents.

(In next week’s post, we will elaborate on this point.)

Feel free to make comment below. 

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email: shutdownlearner1@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

“Homework??? That’s So Yesterday.”

by | Mar 1, 2024 | , ,

More and more, parents tell me that their children never get homework.

When there is homework, it is often a battleground.  Refrains such as, “It’s stupid,”  “I hate it,”  “It’s not fun,” and variations on these themes occur across the country starting in the afternoon, continuing through until about 8:00 at night.

Of course, there are the dutiful soldiers who don’t complain (rarely the boys), getting started on their own, completing the assignment (putting a check next to the completed task in their assignment book) and even putting it  back in their backpack so it can be found the next day in school.

I never have known whether homework has legitimate value as a learning tool for reinforcing or broadening skills. However beyond the potential reinforcement of skills, I do think homework has symbolic value.

Without stating it directly to children, the symbolic value can be summed up quite simply.   It goes something like this:

“In order to be a functioning member of society you need to learn a few things, like getting out of bed and showing up on time.  As adults you will probably have deadlines for different tasks doing this thing we call a ‘job’ and it is in your interest to meet the deadlines.  Just going on YouTube, TikTok or playing video games for hours on end is not going to cut it.”

If kids are given a message like this directly it would likely  be tuned out, with the child staring into the attention-deficit ether, not hearing a word of it.

Homework conveys this message indirectly, starting in first grade continuing through high school and even into college.

With the current trend that homework has no value and is seen as purposeless, how will this message be delivered?

Probably not through TikTok or Fortnite.

Feel free to make comment below. 

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email: shutdownlearner1@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

 

Fillin’ the Cracks

by | Sep 21, 2023 | ,

Anxiety over your child’s school-based problems can start very early. A mom recently contacted me after reading The Shut-Down Learner.

“My son is drowning in school. Do you think he could be a shut-down learner?”

After asking a few more questions, I was struck by the fact that the child in question was only five and in kindergarten.

When I wrote the Shut-Down Learner I was largely envisioning a disconnected, shut-down adolescent.

However, as I gave more talks to the parents, so many of the concerns being raised involved young children.

To help explain things to parents I created a formula:

Early Cracks in the Foundation + Time + Lack of Understanding + Widening cracks + Family tensions increasing = Shut Down Learner

So, while the child of concern may only be in kindergarten there are cracks that can be identified.  Time goes by quickly and with a lack of understanding how to address them, they widen with family tensions arising around the school issues.

Takeaway Point

There’s no gain in waiting.  Do what you can to fill the cracks.

Feel free to make comment below.  To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email – rselznick615@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

 

Sharks & Minnows – Part II

by | Sep 15, 2023 | ,

Last week we talked about the law of the playground  (and the jungle), that in spite of well meaning attempts to extinguish the phenomenon of “sharks” picking on the “minnows,” the law of the playground persists (Sharks & Minnows (Part I).

Picking up on the smallest drop of blood, the sharks jump in.  It really doesn’t take much to get things going in a not so great direction.

It may not be overt or aggressive, but the minnows feel it.

“She can’t even read – she’s so stupid,” Claire overheard from one of the sharky kids snickering to a few other sharky types in the lunchroom as she walked past them.

Sometimes the minnows unknowingly hand it over to them, by acting too silly or too over the top, like young Nicholas who is always making “knock knock” jokes that no one wants to hear.  (I say these kids can be “too too.”)

So, if it’s an immutable law, what’s to be done (keeping in mind that there are no easy answers to any of it)?

Here are  a few points:

  • Watch overuse of the word “bullying:” As noted on stopbullying.gov.  Bullying represents unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.  

Others may disagree, but I don’t think Claire’s situation above would qualify as bullying.  If that type of interaction is repeated over time, that’s a different story and the school should be notified to address the issue with their HIB policy.

  • Sensitizing the Minnows: This is much easier said than done.  A young man I work with mentioned above, Nicholas, is a great kid, but he can set himself up unwittingly to be shark chum.  I try (the best I can) to help him to turn his dial down a little in group situations  Not blurting out the first thing that comes to your mind, being mindful of side behaviors like cracking knuckles, making jokes or tapping too much are small examples.  There are many other behaviors like these that get the sharks going.  Having a child like Nicholas get feedback in therapy about their social behavior can be helpful.
  • Sensitizing the Sharks: When I worked in schools, I’d like to believe I could sensitize the sharks to some extent, not by “getting in their grill,” but by talking to them in plain, direct language.  “Listen, man, I saw you giving Nicholas a hard time the other day in the playground.  I know he gets on your nerves, but it’s really starting to bother him.  I’d appreciate it if you backed it down,” is the type of thing I would say to a shark.  Most of the time, talking to the shark directly worked more often than not.

Adult involvement is key with any intervention.

Without adult involvement, neither the sharks nor the minnows will alter their behavior, or to borrow another metaphor – “Leopards don’t change their spots.”

Feel free to make comment below.  To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email – rselznick615@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

 

All Aboard the Curriculum Ship

by | Aug 3, 2023 | ,

Is your child falling off the Curriculum Ship?

The Curriculum Ship  leaves dock in early September and starts steering its course until mid to late June, when it arrives at port somewhere on the other side of the ocean.

Not slowing down even when some passengers are falling off the side of the boat, the ship must go full steam ahead.

Marianne, age 9, is barely treading water while she watches the ship leave her behind, having fallen off the ship in early October.

Upset by what is happening in school, Marianna’s mom said, “This week they are reading science stories about photosynthesis. Photosynthesis,” she exclaims, “she can’t read or pronounce the word!!!! She has no idea what’s going on.  Yesterday she got a worksheet packet all  marked wrong. Marianne was beside herself, feeling horrible. How  does a 9-year-old deal with all this failure?”

Looking at the worksheet packet, I could feel my blood pressure rising. Beside “photosynthesis,” there were many other words on the page that Marianne could not read on her own.  Yet, that was what she was being asked to do.

Clearly she was in over her head and quite frustrated.

I tell the mom the work is simply too hard and that it was analogous to asking someone to lift 50 pound weights when they could only lift ten.

“I know,” she responded.  “It took her two hours to complete the worksheets last night and she still got an F along with those frown faces at the top of the sheet.”

I tell her, “It’s the Curriculum Ship. The message is swim harder if you want to keep up with the ship.”

Children face rough waters when they are not in the green zone (See last week’s post:  Green-Yellow-Red Zone)

The Curriculum Ship doesn’t bother to consider which passengers have fallen over board and need to be rescued.

The ship must reach the other side.

That is its mission.

Takeaway Point

The Curriculum Ship is tough to deal with.  Advocate where you can by having an open relationship with the teacher.  Point out where your child is in over their head.  Ask to cut back on the “frowny faces,”  especially when good effort is shown, as in the case with Marianne.

(There’s a lot more that can be said about this, but it’s a start.)

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

 

“504 Realities (Part II) – Raising My ‘IQ'”

by | Jun 16, 2023 | ,

In last week’s post we talked about some of the basics involved with 504 Plans (504 Plans – The Reality : Part I ).

Remember, that a 504 does not offer any interventions,  but accommodations. It is intended to provide equal access to the mainstream to those identified as having a disability.  By far, ADHD is the disorder that receives the most 504 plans in school.

Of the things (among many) that raises my “IQ” (i.e., Irritation Quotient), are 504 accommodations that seem rubber-stamped or given by default.

A classic example is the provision of extra time, which is the top of the list of accommodations typically offered to ADHD children. (Not sure I’ve ever seen a 504 Plan that doesn’t give extra time as its top accommodation.)

To illustrate and expand upon my irritation, let’s look at Carl, an impulsive child who rushes through his work (and practically everything else he does).  Diagnosed by his pediatrician with ADHD, the parents took the physician’s prescription with a request for a 504 to the school.

The team met with the parents and set up a 504.  Among a few other accommodations at the top of the list was the provision of extra time (i.e., double time) on tests and classroom activities.

Given Carl’s characteristic impulsive style, the last thing Carl needs (or wants) is extra time.

As Carl blitzes through everything, it’s unclear how double-time helps Carl, as he is finishing a typical fifteen minute task in under three minutes (without checking any of his work).

Perhaps, rather than giving Carl extra time, which doesn’t help him at all, they can have the teacher’s assistant slowly go through his answers to help him to double check them, something he rarely to never does.

As you go into yo.ur 504 meetings  try and have an open and honest conversation (admittedly, not easy to do) regarding your child.

To guide the discussion there should be one central question.   That is, “What are the few things that can be done  to  help the child to function more effectively in the classroom?”  If time extension isn’t helpful, then don’t put it in the 504.

Takeaway Point

Be practical and realistic.  Come up with two or three things that you think would legitimately help your child

Keep it simple.  Keep asking the central question.

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

504 Plans – The Reality: Part I

by | Jun 9, 2023 | ,

Parents will come to me loaded with terms only partially understood,  like referring to “504 Plans.”.

I will hear things such as the following:

“We just need to get him a 504.  so he can start reading better.”

“Yesterday, she had a meltdown in school and no one wants to play with her.  The 504 just isn’t working.”

Listen folks.  We need to get real.  Even if you are able to obtain a 504 Plan, that does not result in giving the child the help that may be needed.

It’s not the purpose of a 504 Plan.

Tack this on your office wall and repeat it as a mantra:  A 504 does not provide any service or intervention!!!  

This point is absolutely essential to keep in mind.

The notion of the 504 is that the child identified by an outside professional as having a disability necessitates developing reasonable accommodations so that the child can function as free as possible of any handicapping barriers  in the mainstream setting.

The word “reasonable“ is  open to a great deal of interpretation.

So is the word “adequate,” which comes up a lot in special education lingo.

Second mantra to post on your wall:

“Schools are not required (by law) to provide the “best” education when it comes to special education, but an adequate one.”

The Toyota – Lexus analogy has been used frequently to explain this.  While the Toyota may not have all of the features of a Lexus, it certainly is adequate to get you from here to there.

Takeaway Point

504 Plans do not offer services.

504 provides accommodations, not interventions.

More next week.

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

“Common Sense & ‘Passing the Smell Test'”

by | Apr 21, 2023 | ,

Last Sunday there was a feature article in the New York Times on the science of reading emphasizing that “science” has confirmed the need to teach children phonics. (Science of Reading – New York Times)

While this comes after decades of debate, the article notes that the “science of reading” has determined (finally), that there is a correct way to teach reading and it looks like phonics instruction has been declared the winner.

(Not to mention that this was already determined by researchers under the Bush Administration with Reading First and Leave No Child Behind.)

Once again, though, the determination that phonics is the winner, on some level, does not make common sense and does not “pass the smell test.”

The question is not whether phonics instruction is the best way to teach reading, but whether or not the child needs it.

Let’s put it this way.

About 70% or so  of six- and seven-year-olds get on the “reading bike” in kindergarten and first grade without much trouble and before you know it they are reading pretty fluently.

Fortunately for this group their  “reading brain” kicks in, mostly through a type of reading osmosis, such as interacting with books in early childhood and being read to regularly by their parents and other adults.

There was little to no formal phonics instruction, yet they became adequate readers.

For the wobbly remainder, the 20 – 30%, many of whom have a learning disability like dyslexia, the natural interactions did not take hold. There was no reading by osmosis.

Guess what they need?

That’s right –  phonics-based instruction.

Unfortunately, by and large over the last 30-40 years that’s not how it’s gone in the schools.

Common sense did not govern instruction and most kids received a model of reading (often referred to as “top-down”) emphasizing reading comprehension.  Phonics instruction was deemed as “so yesterday” and virtually eliminated.

Top-down approaches became the rule of he land.  For the 70%, for those who already know how to read, that is fine.

For the remainder, they wobble along making little progress with such approaches.

Makes common sense, right?

And it even passes the smell test!

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

 

“‘What’s Your Mom Gut?'”

by | Feb 24, 2023 | ,

As part of the assessment process, I always conduct an interview (usually with the mom) to get an overview of the issues of concern.

Typically, there will be multiple disorders that have been raised by other professionals along with the parent diagnosing by Google.

A mom recently said something like the following:

“When I asked about dyslexia, the teachers raised the question of either dysgraphia or dyscalculia.”

“Phonological awareness/auditory processing disorder was raised by another.”

“My sister thinks he has an oppositional defiant disorder and is sure that there is an attention deficit disorder.”

“My therapist raised the issue of an emotional dysregulation disorder.”

“My husband thinks he is spoiled and just needs more discipline.”

At some point when I feel my eyeballs snapping as they often do when I am in the midst of “disorder speak,” I try and cut through it with a simple question:

“Without any psychological explanation, what’s your mom gut?”

Since no one’s asked the mom this question before, typically there is  a moment of being slightly surprised that someone wants her opinion stated in this way.

“Well, I think he has a reading problem and he hates doing it, because it embarrasses him.  He will do anything to get out of it.”

“Sounds pretty on point to me,” I respond.

Takeaway Point

I have learned to trust “mom gut” over the years.

About 99% of the time they are on the money.

(The dads are another story.)

***(Please Note:  The comments section has been turned off.  If you have a comment or question, please email rselznick615@gmail.com.)

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

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