Accommodations and Self-Advocacy

I recently got an email with this question?

I have a child that is in middle school. The teachers this year don't know anything about dyslexia. The accommodations that worked for the last two years were not implemented in the IEP (Individual Education Plan). Instead the teachers are not giving extra time, any pull out assistance, or modifications to vocabulary tests. These are all accommodations that my child has benefited from in the past. 
Also, my child doesn't want to be different from the other students including taking tests differently, getting reduced work, etc.  

​Do you have any suggestions? 

There are two things at play in this questions:
First, are schools required to keep using accommodations or are accommodations the job of the student. Second, at what point is the school, "off the hook" because a student won't self advocate for him or herself?

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first answer:
the teachers are not giving extra time, any pull out assistance, or modifications to vocabulary tests.

Let's tackle accommodations. IDEA, which is the Individuals with Disabilities does not specify that accommodations must be included in an IEP. However, they do talk about making changes, For example, did you know that you can make changes, such as adding accommodations without convening a meeting,

• "300.324 "Agreement. (i) In making changes to a child's IEP after the annual IEP Team meeting for a school year, the parent of a child with a disability and the public agency may agree not to convene an IEP Team meeting for the purposes of making those changes, and instead may develop a written document to amend or modify the child's current IEP." Link Here

Schools often try to tell you the opposite. Here is the game plan for accommodations. 

1. Sit with your son and daughter and talk about which accommodations they want, know they will use, and want to try to implement. 
2. Put together those accommodations, in writing, via email or in a word document. 
3. Create a letter to the IEP chairperson (or whoever is usually in charge)
4. Email or hand deliver the letter about the accommodations. Be prepared for push back.
5. DO NOT BACK DOWN. If you son or daughter had indicated these are the types accommodations or modifications, it is your job to get them implemented. 
6. If the school really wants to fight, which they may want to, tell them you are willing to try them on a trial basis, so long as the teacher keeps a log of when they are or aren't used. It will be your job to keep a log as well. 
7. When the are written into the IEP or temporarily done (which must be in writing with a specific start and end date) make sure they do not contain the words, as needed or when the students asks, they must be always available and some may even be the responsibility of the teacher. 
   1. ​For example, on a vocab test, the teacher can put small marks next to every other word for the students. That way he or she knows to only attempt those questions, rather than announcing to everyone the test is modified.
8. You must also have a way to monitor yourself how the accommodations/modification plan is working. 
   1. ​If you need to keep a log, make a quick and dirty excel spreadsheet. 
   2. Make top columns; date, accommodations or modification, teachers name, student asked/teacher volunteered. 
   3. Print it down 
   4. Every day when your student comes home from school, ask them what if they used them and write it down. 

Now you have a way to compare. This may seem like a lot of work, but you can guaranty that the teachers are going to have a chart that looks vastly different than yours. It is going to show that the student never asked to use them. 

I know this seems like a lot. I know that some days you just want to send your kid off to school and let it be the teachers job. Sadly, teachers are trained to work with most disabilities. In fact, research has shown that most teachers gravitate towards the kind of students who mimick the type of student they were. That is why you occasionally get a really empathetic teacher, it is because they had a tough time in school or they have a child of their own who is struggling. The rest of the time you have a teacher who thinks they are trying their hardest, when they are throwing teaspoons of water at a raging inferno. 

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second answer: 
Also, my child doesn't want to be different from the other students including taking tests differently, getting reduced work, etc. 

I thought this may be a good place to pop in a video about teaching self-advocacy, until I searched for one. I realized right quick, they are horrible! Sorry to anyone or organization who has created one, but they just don't do the topic much justice. While I get the OTA team to work on creating a video series for self-advocacy, here are some tips to help you get started:

• Don't sugar coat what is going on. I don't think you should create a hostile enviroment, but explaining that not everyone your son or daughter comes in contact with is going to understand his or her disability, is reasonable. 
• Make a list of everything your child kicks ass at doing, even if it is emptying the dishwashers, stack that strengths side hard. 
• Make it o.k. to ask for help. Model for them times when you have had to ask for help or look for opportunities to ask someone to help you.
• When your son or daughter indicates they have asked for help, praise them for it. You don't have to go all sappy, but make sure it is acknowledge.
• Teach them about IDEA and your state regulations. 
• When you see them struggling, ask them what you can do to help or if there is a resource you can find that will help them. Don't let them think they are going it alone. 
• You may need to create an IEP goal that helps them at school learn to self-advocate. 
• Don't always be ready to spring from the springboard when there is a problem. See if your child can come up with a solution on his or her own. 
• Finally, don't let a teacher, or any other adult, bully your child. They should never be allowed to put your child on the spot or call them out in front of their peers. This is public school, not prison. Sorry if that is blunt or you are offended that I just compared public school to prison, but teachers are publicly funded personnel who do not have the right to cause harm to your child. I don't care what they call it. 

Side note: Self Advocacy doesn't happen overnight. That IEP goal or the list above could take years to happen. Don't beat yourself up about it because you need to remember something really important, we are talking about a child! Children need love, kindness, empathy, compassion, and a coach in their corner. Our babies aren't fully developed until they are 25. So don't expect them to be outspoken disabilities advocates overnight. 
I'd love to hear in the comments, what has worked for you, what battles you seem to be always be facing, and what help you feel like you could use. 

<3,
DW