Read on to find out when to seek a second opinion on your kid's learning disability.
Finally you have the answers for why your child is not succeeding in school. You've gone through countless meetings, and you think that you are on the right path for your child's success. However, once your child is in her new school program, that meets her needs, she starts to have problems succeeding in her new program. Then, you start having doubts again because the program is too easy for her or she's sequestered to a resource room with other kids who have worse disabilities than she has. Or worse, she's simply not learning the basics in reading and writing.
That's when you know that it's time for a second opinion for your child's learning disabilities. Three areas that should alarm you that it's time for a second opinion on your child's disability is when she is still not succeeding in school, she's sequestered to a resource room, and when there isn't a plan for future success in school and in life.
You should seek a second opinion for your child's disability when she is still not succeeding in school. If your child's grades are not picking up, she still forgets to hand in her homework, or that she doesn't want to go to school are all signals that her education program is not right for her. Whoever originally tested your child could've misdiagnosed your child's disability or prescribed the wrong medication for your child. You need to advocate for your child's educational welfare, and that sometimes means looking for a new specialist to test your child for learning disabilities.
You should be suspicious of your child's diagnosis if your child is limited to the resource room with other students who have more severe disabilities than she does or if she isn't periodically mainstreamed to regular classes. For example, you learning disabled child, unless she is physically unable to, should be allowed to attend a regular physical education class. Additionally, other secondary courses like music, homeroom, and art are good starting places for a learning disabled child to be mainstreamed. If that doesn't happen, you may want to get a second opinion on her diagnosis.
Lastly, you should be concerned and want a second opinion if your child's education plan doesn't include future plans for her success in life. Your child's education plan should include goals for each school year. Additionally, long-term goals should be listed every time your child hits a major educational milestone. These milestones include moving from elementary school to middle school; middle school to high school; and high school to the working world.
It's essential once your child enters high school years that there is an emphasis on life skills. These life skills include time management, balancing your checkbook, and how to get a job. Once your child is in her senior year of high school, there should be a plan in place for counseling and mentoring centers that assist adults with learning disabilities. If these plans are not mentioned in your child's education plans when she is a teenager, then it's time to make an appointment with your education psychologist to retest or reevaluate your child.
All parents, whether their children has learning disabilities or not, need to be advocates of their children. Parents with children who have learning disabilities have to be especially diligent to ensure that their children are properly diagnosed, are succeeding in their new education program, and that there are plans in place for future their success as adults.
