Grandparents Raising Children Support Group
This community is dedicated to grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. In cases where the parents are not willing or able to provide adequate care for their children, grandparents may take on the role of primary caregivers. Join the support group to find support, share your experience, and get advice from other members.
I just wanted to update everyone on what I found out from the school today about our 7 yr old gd that we are raising.
According to the Academic Achievement test and the IQ Test, she does NOT qualify for any Special Ed help at this point in time. The majority of her scores fell right in the average range with a few even in the above average range, which is all good. They did identify a few areas where she is weak in and they will try to work with her on those areas to improve things there.
She was also tested by the OT for the school district. That was a slightly different story. Her cutting abilities are great as long as she takes her time and doesn't try to rush her cutting. Her problems comes when it gets to the perception/motor skills areas. Here she does qualify for help. Unfortunately, the district can only give her 1 hr per month split into 30 minute sessions every other week/ 2 per month.
The OT is going to be working with the classroom teacher on trying something to help her focus better and to try to stay on track more. Every one was in agreement that they have seen signs of ADHD in her but we do not have a diagnosis of such at this point in time.
It was also agreed that gd does a lot better in a very structured setting then in a free choice setting. They are going to try to work with her on being able to settle herself down after such changes....after lunch,recess,etc. She also loves to fidget with things. This is another area that OT will help address in time.
As far as on the home front, it was suggested that we use a chart with her "chores" on it so she can visually see what she needs to do. I was also told that we need to break things down into small portions at this time. Telling her to "clean her room" is to overwhelming for her. Telling her to " go pick up your dirty clothes and put them XXXX" is doable. Telling her to put her toys away is also doable but may require that we be in the room to help guide her where the toys need to be placed,etc.
The OT described it as "her brain has problems tracking everything all at once, so she needs it broke down into small parts until she learns how to do it." I was also told to try not to engage in arguing with her to which everyone agreed that is sometimes easier said then done with your own kids.
I left the meeting with mixed feelings. Glad she is doing as well as she is; glad she is for the most part on grade level with her work; glad she doesn't qualify for Special Ed; yet kind of sad in some ways as that still leaves a lot of unanswered questions for me/us.
I will continue to work on seeing if we can get her seen at the FAS Clinic but with the IQ scores,etc as they were; I kind of have my doubts she will be allowed to go for a screening. I mean that is a good thing if she doesn't have FAS or anything along that line.......but it just leaves us wondering how do we handle her and improve things at home?
Thanks for all the support and suggestions!
According to the Academic Achievement test and the IQ Test, she does NOT qualify for any Special Ed help at this point in time. The majority of her scores fell right in the average range with a few even in the above average range, which is all good. They did identify a few areas where she is weak in and they will try to work with her on those areas to improve things there.
She was also tested by the OT for the school district. That was a slightly different story. Her cutting abilities are great as long as she takes her time and doesn't try to rush her cutting. Her problems comes when it gets to the perception/motor skills areas. Here she does qualify for help. Unfortunately, the district can only give her 1 hr per month split into 30 minute sessions every other week/ 2 per month.
The OT is going to be working with the classroom teacher on trying something to help her focus better and to try to stay on track more. Every one was in agreement that they have seen signs of ADHD in her but we do not have a diagnosis of such at this point in time.
It was also agreed that gd does a lot better in a very structured setting then in a free choice setting. They are going to try to work with her on being able to settle herself down after such changes....after lunch,recess,etc. She also loves to fidget with things. This is another area that OT will help address in time.
As far as on the home front, it was suggested that we use a chart with her "chores" on it so she can visually see what she needs to do. I was also told that we need to break things down into small portions at this time. Telling her to "clean her room" is to overwhelming for her. Telling her to " go pick up your dirty clothes and put them XXXX" is doable. Telling her to put her toys away is also doable but may require that we be in the room to help guide her where the toys need to be placed,etc.
The OT described it as "her brain has problems tracking everything all at once, so she needs it broke down into small parts until she learns how to do it." I was also told to try not to engage in arguing with her to which everyone agreed that is sometimes easier said then done with your own kids.
I left the meeting with mixed feelings. Glad she is doing as well as she is; glad she is for the most part on grade level with her work; glad she doesn't qualify for Special Ed; yet kind of sad in some ways as that still leaves a lot of unanswered questions for me/us.
I will continue to work on seeing if we can get her seen at the FAS Clinic but with the IQ scores,etc as they were; I kind of have my doubts she will be allowed to go for a screening. I mean that is a good thing if she doesn't have FAS or anything along that line.......but it just leaves us wondering how do we handle her and improve things at home?
Thanks for all the support and suggestions!
daisydduck
You have a lot of insight now and thAt is good. The school is limited on how they can help as their job is to educate, not fix mental health problems. I am not familiar with organization you refer to but follow through to see what they can do. In the meantime check with your lo all mental health organization too see what they can offer. It's highly unlikely you can resolve these issues by yourself. You need professionals involved ed for guidance and support. They have given you some good suggestions. Start with that. Go slow. It also take a lot of time and patience. She quickly get overwhelmed. One small task at a time. Accept any little improvement. Read up on parenting skills to aid you in establishing a home environment you all can live with. I give you this advice both from education and experience in raising our grandson.. it was hard but our efforts paid off. God bless you on this path you did not choose to follow. You can do this.
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