Navigating the school system: a mother’s perspective
Elementary School Years
It was in Grade 5 that I began noticing my son was experiencing a difficult time in school, specifically in Math. The concepts being taught were difficult for him to grasp, in spite of having it explained several times. This resulted in my son becoming very frustrated and not enjoying school as much as he had previously. From the knowledge I had gained over the years, it is very common for a person with Spina Bifida to have some degree of learning disabilities. I expressed my concerns to my son’s teacher and a meeting was held with myself, my husband and several teachers, but I did not feel that they agreed my son may be having learning challenges, rather, they implied that my son was lazy and that we were lacking in parental skills. I arranged through my son’s doctors for him to have a psycho-educational assessment done. The assessment did show that he was having challenges, although a specific diagnosis was not given.
After this, my son had an IEP prepared and he was seen by a school counselor every few months to check on his progress. He did not have anyone assigned to be his Educational Assistant at that time. I do not recall that being presented as an option.
High School Years
During the high school years, my son continued to have an IEP prepared each year and a resource block was assigned to him. The extra help he received one on one benefitted him but he continued to have challenges in Math and accomplishing tasks on time. He was given more time to take exams which was also beneficial.
Elementary School Years
It was in Grade 5 that I began noticing my son was experiencing a difficult time in school, specifically in Math. The concepts being taught were difficult for him to grasp, in spite of having it explained several times. This resulted in my son becoming very frustrated and not enjoying school as much as he had previously. From the knowledge I had gained over the years, it is very common for a person with Spina Bifida to have some degree of learning disabilities. I expressed my concerns to my son’s teacher and a meeting was held with myself, my husband and several teachers, but I did not feel that they agreed my son may be having learning challenges, rather, they implied that my son was lazy and that we were lacking in parental skills. I arranged through my son’s doctors for him to have a psycho-educational assessment done. The assessment did show that he was having challenges, although a specific diagnosis was not given.
After this, my son had an IEP prepared and he was seen by a school counselor every few months to check on his progress. He did not have anyone assigned to be his Educational Assistant at that time. I do not recall that being presented as an option.
High School Years
During the high school years, my son continued to have an IEP prepared each year and a resource block was assigned to him. The extra help he received one on one benefitted him but he continued to have challenges in Math and accomplishing tasks on time. He was given more time to take exams which was also beneficial.