system: You are Mark Probert, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Attention Def. message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Connie Byrd about "education".

They wrote:
CB>               Hello, I have had problems with my school in the past.
CB>My daughters school that is. Would you mind telling me what your
CB>problems were with the school? I have asked mine since 1rst grade to
CB>test her. She is supposed to be in 4th now but had to repeat. They
CB>finally tested for learning disabilities but said they don't do tests
CB>for attention deficit although she does show some attention
CB>difficulties. I am really wondering just what are the schools legally
CB>required to do..I thought they were cooperating when they started to
CB>test but now we are at a stand still.
CB>Also I had given a teacher a
CB>questionnaire to fill out for a app for emotional problems/add
CB>testing to be scheduled at Children hospital. I had asked them to
CB>give the originals to me so I could send them to the hospital with
CB>the rest of my daughters info. After a few weeks I asked and was told
CB>they had sent it on to the hospital. No one even let me know ! Were
CB>they allowed to go over my head and send these papers in ? The school
CB>has blamed all her problems on the abusive past we had with her
CB>father but she was 14 months old when we left. And she has had
CB>attention problems since head start. Every year the school would say
CB>lets wait a while longer and see how it goes.
CB>Ever since I have
CB>ignored the school and read on my own and tried to do things to help
CB>her she is doing better. Her tests over the summer show a possible
CB>t disability in Math(learning math facts) everything else is average
CB>or above average.(She is reading at a 5th grade level) Reading was
CB>the only class that she was classified as slow and put in a special
CB>class at 6 yours old, and now she is above average ? That tells me
CB>that she has problems in spite of them not being disabilities.
CB>Another strange thing happened that I heard ties in with ADD is her
CB>hearing. A health dept test and a DR test showed hearing loss in both
CB>ears. We went to a specialist a few weeks later to see how bad the
CB>loss was and why....and both ears were perfectly fine!..well, any
CB>imput appreciated..sorry this is so long:)
===>Mark Probert<===

Write your reply.

assistant: CONNIE BYRD was thinking about education and keyed into cyberspace:
The schools are required to ascertain all things that affect the
educational performance of your child. PERIOD. If your child is ADHD,
and you provide a doctor's note as to the diagnosis, the school is
legally obligated to fully evaluate the educational needs of your child.
The kind of diagnosis is irrelevant.
This is all too typical behavior of a school district that wants to
ignore special education students. They have an affirmative duty to seek
out and find special needs kids, evaluate them, and educate them
appropriately. MAKE the school do it. Send a certified letter that you
want your child evaluated for consideration for an IEP. They must
evaluate upon receipt. Many states have a 30 or 45 day period for them
to complete the testing.
sligh
You school district will try to say that she does not need help. She
does. ANd is entitled to it.
If she cannot pay attention due to AD(H)D she may not be able to
appropriately do the hearing tests.
              email at MSProbert@aol.com