School should be a time of excitement, but for some children, it can be a bit frightening, especially for those kids who are struggling to keep up with their peers in the classroom.

Roughly 90% of children who receive special education services do not have cognitive problems, according to the U.S. Department of Education. This means that they are as intelligent as their peers, but they simply learn differently. Because of this difference in learning, the method of instruction plays a crucial role in determining if a child learns appropriately, experts say.

The first thing parents should do if they notice their child is struggling is contact the student’s teacher, said Noreen O’Mahoney, a parent and licensed social worker who has worked in the field of disabilities her entire career. If that doesn’t work, you can try the principal or someone at central office.

This year, Darien hired seven special education student services facilitators, or SESSs, to manage each school’s special education implementation. Contact information is available at DarienTimes.com/tag/school-contact-info

One of the things Darien implemented to try to catch kids who begin to show signs of struggle is what’s called scientific research-based intervention, or SRBI. This program has three tiers, with increasing levels of additional help.

“This instruction needs to be designed on an individual basis and carefully monitored by data analysis to ensure progress,” said O’Mahoney, who is director of Collaborative Advocacy Associates in Westport.

However, districts cannot use SRBI to delay or replace the provision of special education services, notes Faith Filiault, a special education advocate. Investigations last year found that the district might have used SRBI to delay providing services.

Individualized  Education Plan

A parent has the option at any time, regardless of whether SRBI is working, to request an evaluation to determine if the child requires specialized instruction. If the child is found eligible, then the district, in concert with parents, would develop an individualized education plan, or IEP.

Federal law states, however, that a person’s disability doesn’t necessarily mean they qualify for special education. The disability must impact the student’s ability to learn.

Parents are invited to be involved in the planning and placement team meeting, or PPT, which includes special ed professionals, and meets at least once a year to develop a child’s education plan, or IEP.

The IEP should detail the following: what are the child’s identified special needs; what services will be provided to address those needs and where, and when and how often they will be provided; what goals and objectives the child should be able to achieve at intervals throughout the year, and what data will be collected to measure that progress; and what consultation or training the school team may require to implement the program.

Evaluations/504

If an evaluation finds the student does not need an IEP, parents have the option to seek a second opinion. This “independent evaluation” is supposed to be paid for by the schools, however, they don’t have to agree to perform one.

Darien reconfigured its protocol for agreeing to independent evaluations last year, after reporting that many parents were seeking second opinions. The schools also need to agree on who would perform the independent evaluation.

O’Mahoney said there are numerous evaluators out there, and parents “really need to do their homework on which ones can provide them with the most thorough, useful and truly ‘independent’ assessment of their child’s needs.”

If the child is again not found eligible for an IEP, it’s still possible to get some extra help through a 504 plan, which is named as such from a section of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It typically includes classroom modifications or accommodations such as preferential seating, extended time for testing or modified assignments, which could be needed for a student to access an education, O’Mahoney said.

But one of the most helpful professionals for parents is your pediatrician, according to advocates.

“If you have concerns, discuss them with your child’s pediatrician, request information regarding your child’s challenges and research online as much information as you can find about your child’s needs and diagnosis,” O’Mahoney said.

Disagreements

If a child gets an IEP but continues to show signs of struggle, this is where things can get difficult, for both the school district and parents. Emotions can run high on both sides, and parents are often tasked with discussing education data and terminology with professionals who are accustomed to such talk.

If a parent finds that the IEP is inadequate, he or she can call for a planning meeting to discuss their concerns.

“Sometimes knowing what to ask for, and how to ask for it is the key to getting the right services in place for the child,” O’Mahoney said.

If parents and the district continue to disagree, each has the option to file for due process with the State Department of Education. The state can act as mediator to help both sides reach an agreement. If that doesn’t work, parents have the option to file for a legal proceeding called a due process hearing to have an independent hearing officer determine if the school’s program is appropriate or not.

Parents also have the option to file a procedural complaint, which is what happened in Darien in March 2013, although it was filed by 24 parents.

If a child is on a 504 plan and is not making progress, there is a different process involving the federal Office of Civil Rights, because these services are under a different federal law.

“Our experience working with more than 2,000 families has made one fact very clear,” O’Mahoney continued. “Unless parents clearly understand their child’s learning issues, what the effective teaching methodologies are to address those issues, and the intricacies of the process they need to use to ensure the school provides those services, there is a strong likelihood that their child is being under-served.”

New year advice

Filiault, the special education advocate and owner of Advocate with Faith, agreed. She advised parents who already have education plans for their students with special needs start the new school year by requesting progress data and grade-level curriculum to prepare for the coming year.

Parents should request monitoring data from the last school year quarter and data from summer school, if pertinent, and compare it with the progress report and baseline data, which the district should provide, Filiault said.

Through the Family Educational Rights and Protection Act, or FERPA, parents have the option to request all records related to their child’s education.

Kathleen Casparino, a former special education teacher who later became an advocate, said that parent involvement is key at every turn.

“The overarching theme should be informed parental involvement,” Casparino said. “It is an intimidating process and parents should know they have the right to be included as full team members. This includes the right to ask for clarification when they don’t understand something.”

“I cannot underscore enough the importance of parents reading and understanding their child’s IEP,” she continued.

Parents can also get help through the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (cpacinc.org), a state-supported organization that offers information and support, such as pro bono legal help, to parents of children with disabilities. They can be reached at 800-445-2722.

In Darien, the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee, or SEPAC, offers a place for parents to work together on special education-related concerns. Committee Chairman Courtney Darby can be reached at CourtneyDarby@yahoo.com

Outside school help

There are also many tutoring centers around that offer additional help for parents, such as the Darien Sylvan Leaning, A Way to Learn in Westport, Mathnasium Darien, Chyten Educational Services, and many others.

For reading help, Gerri Fleming, a former high school history teacher turned special ed advocate, advised finding a tutor who is proficient in the Orton-Gillingham method, which utilizes a phonics-based system, teaching word formation before word meaning.

A similar program that has shown success is the Lindamood-Bell method. Students move through a series of steps to learn how their mouths produce the sounds of language, states the group’s website. This feedback attempts to enable them to verify the identity and sequence of sounds within words, and to become self-correcting in reading, spelling and speech.

This method is employed by the Villa Maria School, a private school in Stamford that specializes in teaching children with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.