Today I went to a conference for one of my students to be removed from my services, those services being for the visually impaired. I pushed my boss to have this conference, and I don't think she appreciated it, but I have to sign papers that go to the federal government concerning VI students, and I want to make sure that I do it right. This student does not meet state requirements for visual impairment, and he hasn't for a long time, but he does have some issues. One of the teachers for his grade's team made the statement that he has taught for thirty-six years and has never had a student with a bigger emotional crisis, that this boy needs help NOW. So, he will receive testing to go into the emotionally disabled class (it used to be called emotionally handicapped.) That means that he has a normal IQ and emotional issues are getting in the way of his gathering the information he needs to learn.

I am glad the conference went the way it did, not that the boy has the issues, but that they may now be addressed in a more appropriate way. I did not have him for any classes, and once teachers see a disability or impairment listed on an IEP, they tend to say that everything that goes wrong with that kid is because of that impairment. I don't really get that; you wouldn't, for instance, say a kid's refusal to do math homework had anything to do with his getting speech therapy, but that is the way things seem to go with VI.

You can skip to the end and leave a response.