If you have a child who is struggling academically or maybe has a diagnosis like ADHD, dyslexia or a learning disability, they may qualify for school accommodations often called an IEP.
Many parents are excited to “finally have an IEP to help my child” but is it ultimately what we want?
Catie’s Experience
My wife and I were in this situation with our daughter, Catie, who was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. Her accommodations enabled her to sit at the front, do work in quiet areas and have more time to do her work.
We appreciated that this made school easier for Catie, but we quickly realized that these strategies were not directly addressing Catie’s struggles to stat on task, they were working around them.
This is typically what IEPs provide. If a child has lower cognitive skills like attention, processing, memory, reasoning, etc. teachers will struggle to teach them at the same level as other students in the class. To account for this, they provide strategies to work around or “accommodate” these weaknesses or simply lower expectations.
For example, Catie would come home from school and ask us why her spelling words were shorter and less than her peers. We didn’t want expectations to be lower for Catie, we wanted her to be able to rise to the occasion and keep up!
Why is this important? Because if you accommodate your child, they won’t develop the skills they need later in life. If you give them a calculator, they won’t memorize their math facts. If you give them mental breaks all day, they won’t develop sustained attention.
Accommodations (IEPs) Should Be a Short-Term Strategy
Accommodations are a short-term band-aid to help your child get through this period of time easier and maintain their confidence. However, the ultimate goal should not be to stay on accommodations, it should be to build their skills so they can keep up. After all, we do not get an IEP as adults in the work force!
Accommodations are not bad in the short-term, but the ultimate goal should be to identify why they need accommodations via an assessment and then build these skill areas so they can keep up and excel in the classroom.
LearningRx and IEPs
At LearningRx in Savage, our focus is to help students perform at or closer to grade level if they are behind and receiving accommodations. Regardless of diagnosis like ADHD or dyslexia, our initial assessment will identify the root cause and enable a 1-on-1, individualized cognitive skills training plan to address the root cause and help students cope and be more likely to perform at grade level.
To learn more how LearningRx in Savage can help, call today and mention this post to receive $100 off the initial assessment.
LearningRx has been an absolute game-changer for our family. My 6-year-old son is just finishing the program, and the growth we’ve seen has blown us away. His reading has taken off, his concentration is stronger, his memory is sharper, and most importantly—his confidence has skyrocketed. The staff is truly something special. Every single person is warm, patient, and genuinely invested in your child’s success. You can feel the encouragement the moment you walk through the door. They make the work fun, motivating, and tailored exactly to what each child needs. If your child is struggling in school, feeling frustrated, or you simply want to give them an incredible foundation for learning, THIS is the answer. LearningRx gives kids real skills that stick, not just temporary tricks. I’m so grateful we found this place. Highly, highly recommend!
~ Cortney L., Savage, MN
*Results based on past client; you or your child may or may not achieve the same results.