Practical Tips
- Whether or not your child has an IEP, it's important to keep all educational records and update them yearly. These records may also be helpful in regard to your child's future education and should be shared with her. Remember: special-education services can be extended up to age 21. The educational record should include:
- Contact information for the school, including teacher's name, any correspondence and all test results and report cards.
- General health information, including immunizations, medications and correspondence to and from the school about treatment.
- Attendance records.
- Copies of written requests you have made to the school.
- If necessary, talk with the school about getting neuropsychological testing. Testing that focuses on IQ and academic achievement will not usually be helpful for your child. Make sure tests of processing-speed, attention, visual-motor integration, planning and organization, visual, verbal and working memory, math calculation and application, reading/decoding and comprehension are included.
- Some children treated for cancer may benefit from medications used to treat ADHD. You should discuss this with your oncologist and work with a neurologist, developmental-behavioral pediatrician or child psychiatrist to determine which medication and dosage may be appropriate. Different medications, at different dosages, may be tried before finding one that is effective.
- Many children with learning late effects have difficulty learning and demonstrating their knowledge in a 'read-write' world, but do quite well when their education focuses on a 'listen-speak' approach. The following strategies have been successful:
- Acquire all reading material on tape to allow the child to listen rather than read. (This can be done for textbooks in all subjects and for enjoyment reading.)
- Assess the child's progress using oral rather than written exams.
- Allow additional time for assignments and tests.
- When standardized tests are given:
- Record answers on the test form itself, not a 'bubble page' or other scanning document. Children treated for cancer often have difficulty lining up their answers on the answer sheet with the correct questions on the test form.
- Request that the test be read to your child, and her answers given orally.
(Above information provided by Daniel Armstrong, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics/associate chair and director of the Mailman Center for Child Development.)
