Long message, I will try to see what I can throw out for you.  I want you to 
know that what you are doing for your daughter is important--don't give up 
yet!
 KL> when approached.  When
 KL> pressured for answers at school, or when forced to 
 KL> read in front of the class
 KL> she stammers and if pressured further to perform, 
 KL> she shuts down and totally
 KL> loses her train of thought.  She is in a Chapter I 
 KL> reading program, and
 KL> when her reading teacher continues to pressure her 
 KL> for an answer, Chelsea
There should be another approach--actually there are several approaches that 
could be used, perhaps Chelsea could be given the question and asked to 
whisper it to the teacher--maybe a game could be made of this.  Answers could 
be posted on a felt board, the teacher could read the questions, posting 
possible answers (reading them aloud), and then the students have to point 
out the correct answer.
Any student that has trouble with stammering needs to be given time for a 
verbal response also--if too much pressure is made, the stammering will only 
get worse.
 
 KL> Well, since they put her
 KL> in the lower reading group, she is doing very good, 
 KL> and is able to keep up
 KL> with the new words, although they move at such a 
 KL> slow pace...i.e. one new
 KL> book every two weeks.  Even though my daughter is 
 KL> doing very well in reading
 KL> now, they continue to give her marks which indicate 
 KL> she is reading below
 KL> first grade level.  Why?  The way her teachers 
 KL> explained it to my husband and
 KL> I is because they grade both reading groups the 
 KL> same.  So even if she is
 KL> excelling in the lower reading group, she is graded 
 KL> as though she is in the
 KL> higher reading group, thus getting U's in reading.  :(
So, they doom her to failure?  This is not fair to her or the rest of the 
students in her class.  Every reading student in Chapter I has an individual 
lesson plan, you may have even signed one to get her in the reading program 
(you would have in this state), it is called an IEP.  If you don't have a 
copy, ask her reading teacher for one.  I am pretty sure that they may be 
violating the Chapter I rules with the grading set up that way.  You need to 
make an appointment with the district's Chapter I administrator and explain 
what is going on.  This person may be able to help you.
 
 KL> I take my daughter to a Neurologist about an hour 
 KL> from where I live every
 KL> three months for a blood draw and examination (only 
 KL> doctor near my vicinity
 KL> that is on the BCMH).  He suggested that Chelsea have a psychological
 KL> evaluation done at school to see what areas she may 
 KL> be having difficulty
 KL> in, and perhaps as well, try to find out what makes her so nervous at
 KL> school and try to come up with a strategy plan to 
 KL> help ease her nervousness.
 KL> He also suggested that because Chelsea was 7 1/2 weeks early, and when
 KL> delivered the cord was wrapped around her neck 
 KL> twice, and MAY have caused
 KL> a few seconds of lack of oxygen to her brain, and 
 KL> therefore, she may need
 KL> additional help in school, and may even need to be 
 KL> in an LD class.  Chelsea
I am not sure about where you live, but here - Chapter I services can not be 
delivered to a student with a medical problem without it being addressed 
first or at least at the same time.  Check Chelsea's IEP for any mention of 
possibility of problems.
 
 KL> Here is where my struggle is.  Because Chelsea is 
 KL> such a well behaved little
 KL> girl and NEVER gets into trouble at school, the 
 KL> school has told me that she
 KL> does not qualify for LD classes, or an LD tutor.  
She may not qualify for BD (Behavior disordered), but here she would qualify 
for LD which is completely different.  Check with the school district's sped 
coordinator.
 
 KL> and that I was expecting too much...but when I contacted the Special
 KL> Education Director and Curriculum Director for our school system, they
 KL> both concurred that her reading teacher is SUPPOSE 
 KL> to be working with her
 KL> 2 to 3 times EACH week.  I've mentioned this to all 
 KL> her teachers and all
 KL> I get is snide remarks about I'm wanting them to 
 KL> give my daughter special
Unprofessional behavior, again, insist that your daughter's IEP be followed, 
Chapter I classes have limits on classload, so there should be no reason for 
this to be this way.
 
As I am almost out of time, one thing for you to do is to document everything 
that is going on.  Keep copies of everything, make a log of every meeting and 
jot down what was said during the meeting.  Sounds like the district is ok, 
the school may be having problems.  Will write more later.
--- Maximus 2.02
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