The route to finding help for a child with learning problems is simpler than many parents imagine. If the child is not old enough for school, your pediatrician is the first line of defense. If you suspect a problem, don’t be afraid to bring it up. Your child’s doctor may not be an expert in these areas, but he can refer you to someone who is. He will at least know the basic checks and tests for some of the more impressive disabilities.
If your child is of school age, then the teacher is the next person in line. His classroom teacher will be able to tell you if she sees a problem. She can be put on alert to watch for signs, and she can be asked to report on a regular basis on the child’s progress. You have a right to ask for these things.
The school nurse is another person you might want to contact. Again, some disabilities are difficult to assess without testing, but a child who spends an inordinate amount of time in the nurse’s office might be a candidate for further appraisal. Stress can cause the tummy aches that plague many young school children. Headaches could mean a vision or hearing disturbance.
Finally, there will be a team of experts (often called a Child Study Team) in the district to whom you can appeal for testing for your child. This is not as cut-and-dried a process as it has been in the past.
Too many left behind by NCLB?
The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has forced many child study teams to stop classifying students in certain categories and to use a much narrower limit for determining when a child crosses the line into disability. Still, it is the job of the team, funded by your taxes, to be available to test your child if he meets certain basic qualifications.
Remember that the federal government, while capable of legislating the means and methods which will be employed by the states and, in turn, the educational system, is in no way suggesting that it will take responsibility for a misinterpretation of the regulations. If budgetary constraints or an error in application of the law are keeping your district from making all of the educational possibilities available to your child, you are welcome to take your case to “due process”. In other words, you can sue the school district if you feel they have been unwilling to cooperate.