Blog
Dr. Selznick’s blogs are written to help parents navigate the difficult waters of raising children struggling with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, as well as ADHD and deficits of executive functioning. His overriding mission is to speak to parents in “down-to-earth terms free of jargon.”
“Ineffective, Inefficient, Irrational, Immoral and Indefensible”
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.
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Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D. 2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.
“Homework??? That’s So Yesterday.”
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...
Podcast Interview Released
As a changes of pace, I am excited to share a recent interview that was conducted with me by "Beautifully Complex: Navigating Neurodiverse Parenting." The interview is only about 30 minutes. Would love to get your feedback on it. If you enjoy it, please share it...
Remember the Child’s Primary Motivation
Understanding what children want can bring about a major shift in your thinking. If you embrace this concept, I predict your perceptions will change for the better, which then will impact your child. So, what is your child's primary motivation? At the root of most of...
“Math Disability? Not So Fast”
Not sure when the reverence for word problems emerged, but it seems that children are almost exclusively taught math through word problems. I believe it’s linked to the theory that math should always be enhancing “higher order thinking.” Let’s look at Chris, age 7, a...
“Pictures Telling the Story”
Largely supported by the medical model, when parents have their child assessed they are often focused on “the diagnosis.” Such a model embodies a, “Yes, they have it,” or “No, they don't have it,” (whatever "it" is) perspective. In my corner of the universe, I...
“And Now, For a Change of Pace”
My marketing manager (my daughter Julia) has been pushing me to create more short videos to spread around. So, as a change of pace here are two that were posted to YouTube. TRUST ME. THEY ARE VERY SHORT!!!! Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think. The first one...
“Does Spelling Matter?”
Let’s say your 12-year-old sixth grader spells the following words: (brief) bref (should) shood (grown) gron (success) susess (educate) edcccate (result) resolt (kitchen) kicten Then the child writes the following story to a prompt: “Once a o pon a...
“Floaters”
A common concern raised by parents (well, mostly the moms) is their child’s lack of what they label as “executive function deficits (EFD).” With EFDs there’s always the underlying question of whether these issues are a biproduct of immaturity, skill deficits or a...
Turning Down the Parental Heat
Parents do various back flips to address meltdowns and school avoidance. Mostly, parental responses are reactive, delivered in the heat of the moment (e.g., “That’s it!!! You’re not allowed on your iPad for the next two weeks,” after the child has rolled around on...
The Baby is Birthed!!!
I am excited to let you know that the new baby, "Beyond the Power Struggle: A Guide for Parents of Challenging Kids," has been officially birthed!!! After endless doing, redoing, tweaking, feeling frustrated with it, filing it away, bringing it back out again, I am...
Amelia Ignores Her Mom
Eight-year-old Amelia goes about her day mostly ignoring her mom, Andrea. While Andrea tries to get Amelia to comply, she largely talks to her in an insecure and hesitant voice, with words that do not get Amelia's attention. (“Now, come on Amelia, how about we start...
“Beyond the Power Struggle: A Guide for Parents of Challenging Kids”
Exciting News!!!!! Over the next few weeks, my latest book, "Beyond the Power Struggle: A Guide For Parents of Challenging Kids" is scheduled to be released. If you are a beleaguered parent or know a beleaguered parent, you might want to get a copy. Here's a link to...
“Beyond the Power Struggle” (Structure & Leverage)
As noted in the previous blog, with children showing challenging behaviors causing you tremendous stress, you were encouraged to adopt a mantra helping you remain in your center, as you speak one “Didja” (e.g., “Didja you do your homework?”) after another. The mantra...
“They Need Structure…I Need Leverage”
Following up on last week’s Selznick Poll discussion on what percentage of boys show signs of “executive function” deficits (click here: See "A Hypothetical Poll") ,let’s emphasize some points: • Using a bell-shape curve perspective, if about 85% of the boys in the...
“A Hypothetical Poll”
Let’s take a random group of 100 boys, roughly between ages 10 – 14. You know nothing about them, but their moms are asked a simple poll question: On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the most negative) how would you rank your son on his taking initiative, organizing...
“‘Come on, Doc. Tell It to me Straight'” (#Assessment)
Whenever I do an assessment I know that in many ways I am swimming against the tide in my approach and perspective. Hopelessly mired in identifying the the “soup-pot” of variables interacting, I rarely see things as one way or another. Parents are typically focused on...
Family Matters #Dyslexia Talk – (Link to the Talk)
I recently had the honor of presenting an overview of dyslexia, shut-down learner and executive functioning to Family Matters: Parent Training and Information Center. Based in Illinois, they have great workshops and material on their site and I would encourage you...
Follow-Up to “ADHD? Perhaps”
In last week’s post we noted that there were many factors that can lead to erroneously hypothesizing that a child has ADHD/ADD. https://shutdownlearner.com/adhd-perhaps/ There were a number of comments posted. Dr. M., a developmental pediatrician, reminded us to...
ADHD? Perhaps.
Practically every week I hear an array of concerns regarding distractibility and inattentiveness. There's always the question of, "Does my child have ADHD/ADD" lurking. While talking to parents I try and broaden the narrative, reviewing other factors that may be...
Fillin’ the Cracks
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...
Sharks & Minnows – Part II
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...
“Sharks & Minnows”
Out in the playground, in the lunchroom and on the school bus – really in every possible school situation – group dynamics are always at work. There will be those in the group who are more assertive (sometimes aggressive), and those who are not. Many will be in the...
“Boy, You’re in Hot Water”
Recently, 8-year-old Marty showed some signs of misbehavior when his mom exclaimed, “Boy, you’re in hot water now.” Marty started having a meltdown, screaming and crying, “I don’t want to be in hot water!!!!!!! I It will hurt me!!!” Seven-year-old Marissa became...
“Brief Tip: Getting Clear on Remediation”
Most children referred for assessments are related to struggles with reading, spelling and writing. Parents feel a sense of desperation and don't know what direction to go. Once the issues are identified, the remediation, unfortunately, can be a bit scattershot. This...