The first quarter is probably half over and interims are about to come out. If your child is struggling with any subject, don’t wait until the report card to act. If your child still has not learned to be her own self-advocate, encourage her to visit the teacher for extra help. Perhaps some before or after school tutoring may help. Or have her ask her counselor how to get a peer tutor. If none of these are an option, find a professional tutor. A professional tutor should be someone who can work with all learning styles, is willing to listen to your child’s concerns about the subject she is struggling with, can offer good study strategies, and will communicate with you and the school. If you need a list of professional tutors, check my website at www.ruthbrodskyconsulting.com.
If your child has an IEP or a 504 Plan, then he has a case manager who monitors it. Does he know who this person is? Does he have a relationship with her? If not, he should set up a meeting with her immediately! This can be a step towards increased self-advocacy. This is the person with whom your child should discuss his academic and/or social needs, any accommodations he should be receiving, obstacles that he may be encountering, or successes that are being achieved. The case manager should be the liaison between the student and other teachers or guidance counselors. If no one even knows who this person is, you as the parent can call the guidance office, special education department, or grade level administrator to find out. Then help your child be the lead in making the contacts throughout the year ahead.
If you’re sending your child off to college for his freshman year, make sure you have done all your homework. Have you taught him how to sew a button or mend a seam? Does he know how to sort and wash laundry? Can he iron a shirt or pair of pants? Think about teaching him kitchen basics including how to boil, broil, bake, and clean up. How about balancing a budget or checkbook? If you haven’t been teaching these little by little over the past few years, you may have to consider a crash course in one or two of these areas. Get cracking!
Use the hot summer months to make sure all your paperwork is in order. Do you have the most recent signed IEP or 504 Plan? Is your child’s psycho-educational testing up to date? If your child has an IEP, public school systems are required to review a student’s eligibility for special education services every three years. Do you have the necessary papers that show this has been completed? If your child is approaching senior year, make sure you ask about a meeting with the local Department of Rehabilitative Services to determine any services he may qualify for. Make sure the Department of Special Education at your local high school has been keeping up with the Individual Transition Plan (ITP), and is preparing the Summary of Progress (SOP) prior to graduation.
If your child attends private school, make sure the current psycho-educational report supports the necessary accommodations needed for any upcoming college entrance exams, such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT. Most of these exams require testing within five years. And if your child is in his senior year, make sure the current test reports have been completed within three years, which most colleges require. If you have questions, please send me an email through this website.
Colleges offer many forms of assistive technology for students who need support in reading comprehension, writing papers, taking notes, and studying. Use the summer to explore various forms of assistive technology to enhance your child’s learning while he’s still in high school. Voice recognition software and outlining programs can help your child organize and write papers. Check into text-to-speech software to help him increase reading comprehension and note-taking. Simple devices such as a “smart pen” which links audio to the written word can improve note-taking and study skills. If your student can find what works best for him, and practice with it while in high school, he will be more likely to take advantage of all these learning opportunities in college. Read my blog to find out more.
Your student is a rising junior and will be taking the PSAT in the fall. Does he use accommodations to support his learning needs in school? If so, he may also need those same accommodations to take the PSAT. He should check with his case manager if he attends public school or the learning specialist if he attends a private/parochial school, about applying for accommodations on the PSAT. Do it soon, because the process takes awhile and if an appeal is needed, you want everything in place before the test date. Read my blog to learn about common accommodations for the PSAT, SAT, and ACT.
If your child is a rising junior, has a learning disability, and is considering college for Fall 2012, then you want to make sure that his or her psycho-educational evaluation is completed between Summer 2010 and Summer 2011. When students ask for accommodations in college, the Disability Support Services generally want current testing, within three years. If your child has psychiatric problems or medical concerns, colleges want to see current testing within one year. If you have other questions, concerning this general policy or need referrals to reputable psychologists who do this type of evaluation, please use my contact form to get in touch.
How does your child learn? Is he more auditory, visual, tactile, kinesthetic, or a combination of these? Maybe he doesn’t know the meaning of these terms, but can he explain how he studies or how he is able to attain information in a classroom setting? Does he rely on discussions, teacher explanations, models, or printed directions? Does he work best with a study partner or does he work better by himself? Does he need absolute quiet or background noise? Knowing the answers to these questions, among others, can determine how successful he is in school. Read my blog-----
Good study skills can help a student become more successful. Make sure these skills are practical and used on a daily basis, at home and at school. Organizational skills could include a well-arranged notebook, a daily/weekly/monthly calendar, and accessible writing tools. Good study habits should include knowing how to take notes from various sources, keeping the notes in an accessible place for future use, and studying on a daily basis. Learning how to manage time to complete homework and long-term assignments is a skill that should be practiced well before the college years start. Check out Ruth's Blog Page for more on this vital topic.
Your child is the key player in this process and leaving him out of the meeting, is doing a disservice to him. Participation will increase self-advocacy skills, self-esteem, and self-confidence.