Seven Signs Your Child Needs Help In School
Paul B. Yellin, MD, FAAP

Parents often ask me how they can tell when their child is struggling in school. Some signs of school problems are obvious – the call from the teacher, a drop in grades, or physical complaints that seem to appear only on school mornings. Other signs of difficulty may be more subtle, but are often indications that all is not well in school and that it may be time to look further at how your child learns. Here are some questions parents should be asking about their child.

• Is homework is taking too long?

  When teachers assign homework, they almost always have in mind how long they expect it to take.  Most schools have an open house or introductory conference for parents at the start of each academic year.  That is a good time to ask how often homework will be assigned and how long it should take to complete. If your child is regularly taking significantly longer than the teacher’s estimate to complete homework, it can be a sign of a learning problem.

• Does your child seem to fall apart when he or she gets home from school?

  When children start to struggle, they can usually hold it together while they are in school.  Home is a safe place where they know that you have to love them no matter what—and their defenses come down.

• Is your child is a "duck"?

  Recently a parent called me and said, "I need you to see my child, because he is a duck.  You know, when a duck is swimming, the surface of the water is calm and everything seems effortless, but underneath he is paddling away.  My son is the same way.  His teacher thinks I am just being neurotic --  that his grades are fine and he is doing great.  But I just know he is working too hard and something is going to give."

• Does your child ever read for pleasure?

  Not all children love to read, but children who never pick up a book, even when it is about a subject that is of interest to them (sports, horses, or life at Hogwarts ) and is appropriate in terms of difficulty, may be avoiding reading because it is just too hard to make it fun. Understanding why reading is such a chore and implementing strategies to help with reading can give a child a life-long gift as well as improve school performance.

• Does your child seem to know the material when studying, but does poorly when tested?

  There can be numerous reasons for this, including the inability to figure out what is the most important material to study, something we call "saliency determination;" difficulty with remembering the material between the time it is reviewed and the time of the test; and related issues such as anxiety. Once the reason for such test difficulty is determined with specificity, strategies for more effective studying can be implemented.

• Does your child speak well, but struggle to write?

  Writing is a complex task, involving motor skills, memory, and the ability to order events in time. Students who can discuss a subject but can’t seem to write about it may be having difficulties with any one or more of these components of writing. When the areas of writing difficulty are understood, there are numerous strategies that can be put into place to bypass areas of writing difficulty and strengthen writing skills.

• Does your child just seem unable to get it together?

  Is your child always forgetting textbooks in school? Does he have his homework assignment? Does she forget to hand in her book report? Does he know he has a test tomorrow? Some children just can’t seem to keep themselves and their belongings organized enough to get through their day. This is more than occasional forgetfulness – these children are almost always somewhat lost when it comes to their schedule or the materials they need to do their schoolwork. Families need help in understanding why this is and in understanding how to help their child get it together to succeed in school and in life.

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What is Section 504 and How Can it Help My Child?
Susan Yellin, Esq.

In our last newsletter we looked at the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides special education and related services through the public education system for students who fall within one of its defined "disabilities" and who, "by reason of such disability, require special education services."

But what about students who are keeping up in school, often with extra effort, but who are in need of accommodations in the classroom or the school building to get the full benefit from their education? Such a student may not require special education in the traditional sense of the term. He or she may have an underlying medical condition, like asthma, diabetes, or Tourette syndrome. If that student’s medical condition is not well controlled during the school day, his ability to function in school will be seriously impacted. A student may have attention difficulties, which seriously impair her ability to function in the classroom and benefit from the curriculum. Still another student may have allergies which put him at risk if certain substances are present in the school building. All of these students are entitled to protection under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).

Section 504 is a civil rights law, which prohibits discrimination against a student whose "physical or mental disability substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as ... seeing, breathing, learning, and walking." It also provides that such students are entitled to receive accommodations so that they can have access to all school programs and activities.

There is much overlap between the IDEA and Section 504. Some students have medical conditions that are covered by both laws. Other students have specific learning issues that can be covered by the IDEA and also by Section 504, such as dyslexia or delays in auditory processing.  If a student with learning difficulties is receiving services under the IDEA he will also be receiving the accommodations that would otherwise be covered by Section 504. But for students who choose not to be classified as "learning disabled" under the IDEA, or who are doing well in school because they are putting in extraordinary effort, Section 504 may allow them to receive the accommodations they require without having to receive a label and even if the school does not believe they require special education services. Section 504 accommodations are determined by a 504 Coordinator or 504 Team in the school, and are put in place by means of a written 504 Plan.

What kinds of accommodations are available to students under Section 504? One of the most common 504 accommodations is receiving medication or medical tests during the school day.  This would include dispensing of attention medication or checking blood sugar levels for a student with diabetes. It would also include having an EpiPen® available to deal with allergic reactions and an inhaler available for a student with asthma. For students with physical disabilities, Section 504 accommodations may include using the elevator or a special entrance to the school. Allergic or asthmatic students might have classrooms where allergens or dust are controlled. For students with a specific reading disability, such as dyslexia, accommodations may include extra time for tests or use of a reader to read test questions aloud.

Parents should be aware that private elementary and secondary schools do not generally offer Section 504 accommodations. Only schools that accept federal funds, such as public schools and most colleges, are required to comply with this law. Section 504 isn’t the answer for every student, but it is one tool which parents may be able to use to help provide their child with a better school experience.

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Developing Skills through Photographic Storytelling
Roberta Fineberg, Photographer and Teaching Artist

Photography is a very democratic medium that has the power to connect people visually and emotionally to the world. Everyone can take photographs and develop visual literacy. When children are given cameras and guided in using them to capture their unique worlds, they become storytellers and develop sequential and methodical reasoning skills that are intrinsic to writing.

With the camera as their technological tool, students can capture what they see and imagine, and then utilize words to describe their photographs. The process is a simple one: write, shoot, write; and then begin again. When students are encouraged to retain their natural sense of play to build upon their strengths, they can share their lives with others through words (narrative) and images (point of view). Students effectively use two languages of imagination, photography and writing. As they learn through art education to communicate emotionally, visually, orally, and in writing, they gradually master even more complex learning skills.

A successful art education program creates a non-judgmental space where students are encouraged to work in a spirit of cooperation. This helps to make students more comfortable with the realities of their lives, and to feel freer to express their worries, problems, hopes, and dreams.

Finally, it is crucial to foster the skill of task completion. Students I have worked with are justifiably proud of their contributions to a final group book, with their work included in a professionally designed and printed volume that they get to keep.

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