I've been seeing more traffic on this blog than normal so I would like to welcome any new readers and say thank you for your visit.

Now on to dyslexia and the IEP process: 

It has nearly been a year now that I've known we have a learning difference in our family. 

I am now well versed in the excuses and unethical (and unknowingly wrong) behaviors of many school professionals but I'm still amazed that recently I've heard these incorrect pronouncements regarding IEP's (Individualized Education Programs): 

1. "You have to be two years behind in reading in order to be considered for an IEP" 

UNTRUE, there is no number of years a child has to behind in order to begin the IEP process. The sooner you, the parent, begins to know more about how your child's brain works (aka: diagnosis) the better. 

There is an abundance of valuable free testing that the public school is required to provide at your request.  They don't have the right to refuse your request but they certainly have a great deal of experience at it and it is the general rule of thumb that many districts and school professionals will say whatever the have to not to have to do the extra work.

Do not let the school district get out of doing this testing because many of them (perhaps) do not know their obligations.

2. "The school district told us that they wont write an IEP until second grade" 

INCORRECT,  the school district does not get to determine what grade to write an IEP in and a child can qualify even in preschool. 

In the case of a child with a known physical disability school professionals know better than to try to put off a parent who is requesting (and needing) an IEP (for wheelchair access as an example) but in a the case of a learning difference like dyslexia it often doesn't show itself until the child is struggling to read and obviously having trouble next to their peers.

This is the glitch that lets a great deal of school professionals push parents off.  The parents don't know (we are new here) and the school districts and their cronies know this.  Many of them have been pushing away concerned parents for many years.

This is where parents of children of learning differences such as dyslexia need to bond together and share information.  

I follow a number of groups that are concerned with dyslexia and are run by parents who are FED-UP with the nonsense and misinformation that is being passed around by the school districts.

I will only give a small benefit of the doubt to school professionals here:  sometimes many of these people are simply BADLY INFORMED. 

Is it malicious?  I do think that many times there is a ringleader who misinforms the others. Like any office setting there is that "go-to person" who supposedly knows what they are talking about with IEP's and the whole gang follows whatever that person says, not investigating it for themselves.

It often takes a big wake up call for a district to start acting appropriately

For example, a school district near my house was sued for $150,000 for not following the law for a child with dyslexia. 

I know that sounds like a lot of money but this child had to suffer for many years and the school district wronged this family for well over a decade.  This family had the means to hire the premier attorney in the whole United States for this issue: Peter Wright in the Virginia area. (I follow his website at www.wrightslaw.com)

You, the parent need to make your mission to know more than the teachers or district or whoever is putting you off.

Sadly, I personally only saw our public school system give my daughter the testing she was legally entitled to (and that they are required by law to provide at my parental request) after I hired a professional child advocate.

While I think this is money was well spent I certainly wish more school professionals were not only more ethically minded and/or better informed.

In our case I was very much prepared to take the time and energy to get to a due process hearing (this is essentially suing the school district). It was clear to me that we were being wronged but I have huge advantage over many parents who aer new to learning differences.  My family has been dealing with a known learning difference (dyslexia) for 2 generations now. 

Whatever flavor of excuse to not write an IEP is being pushed on to your family or someone you know do not let your mission to get your child tested/diagnosed/ an IEP be de-railed. 

Go to your state educational website and investigate the process for filing a complaint.

Also call a local child advocate and have a talk (you can find them listed by state on the website I mentioned above).  My child advocate gave me a great deal of free advice before I ever paid a penny.