Students Deserve More Than “Just getting by”
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Recently I read an online article by a distraught mother about her bright, seemingly intelligent sixth-grade boy with ADHD and dyslexia, still reading at a first grade level.
Given his average profile from testing, he was receiving accommodations only and struggling with a daily stress producer called school.
Her story was painful to read, though the storyline is not uncommon.
This developing drama could have two very different endings. One tale is of a parent who stays the course, down a gut-wrenching road with school personnel and her increasingly distraught and dejected son. Todd Rose, high school dropout/Harvard PhD speaks to this path in his book, Square Peg, a must-read if you are a parent in this situation right now.
The other ending, which I suggest, could feel both daunting and freeing at different times, and would be far more productive. It is of a parent(s) who decides, respectfully, that it will no longer be acceptable to allow her son to “just get by” working on homework for hours a night with mom sitting by his side as reader, scribe and weary cheerleader.
Honestly, I wish I could say that the second scenario would immediately change this young man’s educational existence upon mom’s epiphany, but that is very rarely, if ever, the case. However, coming to the realization that something must drastically change in the academic environment is an important and very powerful step, for sure.
After that comes the hard work of getting support, possibly from an objective, outside agency, to demystify the complexities of the child’s learning profile.
How can a child find academic success if school support is not directly linked to breakdowns in learning? If you find it troubling that you can’t answer the question, “What interventions are in place to support areas of the learning profile that show discrepancies in overall performance?” You may want to go on a fact-finding mission.
With this knowledge in hand, mom calls a meeting of all of the school professionals who see her son on a daily basis. She may need to take support with her to the meeting, in order to clearly discuss current findings, assertively forge a plan of action, and determine what and when data will be gathered and discussed.
It is at this point that, with the child clearly at the center, decisions can be made to determine what is best for the child moving forward. Whether this means more targeted interventions, closer monitoring of progress and scaffolding of support, or a more appropriate learning environment, it is a vital piece of the work that needs to be accomplished for a different outcome to be achieved.
It is never too late to get help, but earlier is always better. I would suggest that every year after third grade makes the work more complex, thus, all the research points to the importance of early intervention.
The moral to both endings of this young man’s story: If it feels overwhelming for the parent, imagine what it must be like for the child. Seek support, and push up against the notion that “just getting by” is good enough.
Guest blogger Barbara Hunter is an expert in learning disabilities with more than 30 years in the field. She is the owner of Integrated Learning Designs where she coaches college students and adults with ADHD. Visit Integratedlearningdesigns.com to learn more.
