The goal of special education is to allow students with special needs to achieve all that they can in school. If your child is struggling in school, determine what, if any, special education accommodations can be obtained to help your child. Accessing help through the school can enable your child to make the most of the school day, and allow you to determine what you can do to help your child succeed.
Qualifying Disability
Any child with a qualifying disability that effects their progress in school is entitled to an evaluation for services. Qualifying disabilities include autism, developmental delays, intellectual impairment, sensory impairment (vision and hearing problems), neurological impairment, emotional impairment, communication impairment, physical impairment, health impairment, or specific learning disabilities. Sometimes a school will try informal methods of correcting these problems before referring a child for evaluation, such as suggesting that a parent take the child for a vision or hearing test. Other informal methods of addressing a problem prior to a formal evaluation include moving a child's seat so that they are near focused children, closer to the teacher, or far from bullies. Once informal methods have failed to produce the desired results a formal evaluation is necessary.
Evaluation
Every child that is referred for evaluation for special education services is required to be evaluated. A referral can be made by anyone involved in the education of the child, including school personnel, teachers, and parents. In order to refer your child for an evaluation you should contact the principal of the school or the school's administrator for special education. If someone else refers your child for evaluation, the school must contact you within five days of the referral. The school cannot evaluate your child without your written permission.
The law in most states requires that an evaluation be done by a qualified individual. Most of the time this means that the child will be evaluated by an educational psychologist, or at the very least a psychologist with experience working with children.
Do not fear a stigma associated with the diagnosis of a learning disability or other problem. Early identification of the problem can enable the child to make the most progress and achiece his full potential.
Individualized Education Program
If a qualifying disability is found to be hindering a child's progress in school the school is required to formulate an individualized education program (commonly referred to as an IEP). The student should play as large a role in the development of the IEP as possible, regardless of their age or level of disability. The child is often the person most aware of what is causing their difficulty in school, and is best equipped to help the school system, teachers, and parents address the problem.
