Who benefited from the No Child Left Behind?

[epchick]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Also, if he's legally deaf, does he get a sign interpreter? Does he read lips? What's his retention rate? It seems odd they'd throw a deaf kid into class to just sit there and watch.

Long story short: because he can barely hear out of one ear--he's not "deaf enough" to need anything else but hearing aids which, after his big fall last year, don't work very well anymore. The teacher uses an FM trainer which is just a microphone she wears to amplify her voice. It works well at times, but this teacher has gotten into the habit of speaking too fast and moving through the material too quickly. My aunt has gone to talk to her numerous times, and the teacher supposedly is aware of what she is doing and always promises to fix it....but she never does. They've taken a few benchmark tests (they are like practice tests to gauge how the students are doing) and he's scored EXTREMELY low (but apparently not enough to be worried?)

If there is a substitute, well forget the FM trainer being used (some subs have refused to use it, some say they "prefer not to"). So whatever lesson is being taught for that day, pretty much is useless to him because unless the sub spends some time with him, my cousin isn't gonna learn crap from that day.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by epchick

Long story short: because he can barely hear out of one ear--he's not "deaf enough" to need anything else but hearing aids which, after his big fall last year, don't work very well anymore. The teacher uses an FM trainer which is just a microphone she wears to amplify her voice. It works well at times, but this teacher has gotten into the habit of speaking too fast and moving through the material too quickly. My aunt has gone to talk to her numerous times, and the teacher supposedly is aware of what she is doing and always promises to fix it....but she never does. They've taken a few benchmark tests (they are like practice tests to gauge how the students are doing) and he's scored EXTREMELY low (but apparently not enough to be worried?)

If there is a substitute, well forget the FM trainer being used (some subs have refused to use it, some say they "prefer not to"). So whatever lesson is being taught for that day, pretty much is useless to him because unless the sub spends some time with him, my cousin isn't gonna learn crap from that day.

That sucks - it kind of ruins the entire point of having a legally-defined standard for "deaf" huh? Wow.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

That sucks - it kind of ruins the entire point of having a legally-defined standard for "deaf" huh? Wow.

yep, but our family is kind of used to it. He wasn't diagnosed until he was almost 3, and they still want to give the family a run around as to what kind of "treatment" is available for him.

After he took a fall on the playground last year, he was eligible for the cochlear implant on his right ear. But once he was in the operating table, opened up, they realized he couldn't get the cochlear implant in that ear. So he went home with nothing.

[UGAalum94]

Epchick,

I think your family needs to make some legal noise to advocate for his needs. If the district won't do what they are legally obligated to do in terms of providing an appropriate education and modification without your suing them, then you may need to sue. I'm pretty sure the district won't want to explain in court that because he isn't completely sucking at his benchmarks, that it's appropriate for him to go some days completely unable to experience instruction*. If your district is anything like 99% of the districts out there, they will become much more interested in doing what they can long before it looks like it will go to court.

Of course, suing might won't help you get a job in the district when you get certified.

* on the other hand, complaints about speed of speech and going over material might not be best way to approach it, unless you specifically make the case that it's hearing impairment that has created language delays. I say that because almost any kid who isn't doing so well is going to complain that the teacher goes over it too fast, and you all probably want to make the district feel accountable specifically to special education law.

I think it was super-nice of you all to try to resolve it by working with the classroom teacher first, and I even think that you're probably going to realistically expect some issues with substitutes not knowing what to do. But at some point, your aunt might need to start pushing the district as hard as she can and fear of lawsuits seems to drive most districts.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

But at some point, your aunt might need to start pushing the district as hard as she can and fear of lawsuits seems to drive most districts.

I completely agree, but at this point, I don't know how feasible that is. The help my cousin has gotten up to this point was because my aunt pushed for it. She pushed the doctors to diagnose him, and she pushed for him to get the help he needed while in school. But now it just seems likes she is content with the help he's getting. It doesn't matter if I, or any other teacher in the family (like my mom or my other aunt) think that the district/school should do much more, my aunt has to want it....and it doesn't seem like she's all that worried.

I hate to say it, but this aunt is not very focused on education. To her, as long as the kids are passing, it's fine. If her daughter just wants a "day off" from school, my aunt gives it to her because "sometimes you just need a break." Before I left to Phoenix this weekend I was at her house. I asked my cousin to tell me what 6x4 was (he had a multiplication poster board in view) but he couldn't. My aunt had to count it out for him. But what was he doing before and after I talked to him? Looking at music videos on youtube. He can't tell me what exactly PLORE is, but he can tell me what kind of antics he pulled in class. But like I said, he's not failing--yet--so to my aunt, all is fine right now. If my cousin ever fails, then of course she'll start throwing fits, but until then all I can do is try my best to help my cousin understand the material he's learning, whenever I see him.