Support the Teacher's Goals
When you first talk to the teacher about your child's needs, start by asking whether the teacher has any concerns about your child. Children with dyslexia often have issues with communication or attention focus that cause problems for teachers; the teacher may be frustrated because your child has difficulty following directions or is slow to obey instructions. It is also quite possible that your child is disruptive or argumentative with the teacher or has other behavior problems in class.
If the teacher complains about your child's behavior, do not argue or try to defend or excuse your child's conduct. Instead, use this as an opportunity to begin to show the teacher the connection between the learning problems and behavior, and start by suggesting strategies with the dual goal of meeting your child's needs and helping the teacher improve classroom management. Ask for more detail about the setting and circumstances that accompany behavior problems; this may be a key as to how to go about eliminating the problem.
Essential
Special education expert Richard Lavoie says, ““The pain the learning different child causes at home and in the classroom is never greater than the pain he feels.” He explains that any child would rather look bad than look dumb. Disruptive or disobedient behavior may simply be an attempt to distract attention from the embarrassment of not being able to complete an assignment.
Avoid using the diagnostic label that has been given to your child and focus instead on descriptions of precise areas of difficulty. If the teacher complains that your child ignores her directions, it will not help to simply say, “He can't follow directions because he has dyslexia.” The teacher may not understand why a reading problem would affect your child's ability to participate in class or listen to her oral instructions. Don't expect the teacher to become an expert on dyslexia. Instead, say something like, “James has a problem processing the sounds of language; it takes him longer to make sense of the words and it is hard for him to remember several steps at a time.” Then you can work together to think of ways to help address the problem.
You may be surprised to learn that a new teacher is unaware of your child's learning disability, or that she has not seen or read the IEP. You may want to give the teacher another copy of the IEP, with a cover page that has a summary of the major points that apply to her classroom.
