Q
The school is refusing to do gifted testing on my child who scored 127 in performance on the WISC and average in verbal. He also scored 94 in spatial, 83 in mathematics on the COgat. My son was identified as having a reading disability. The district's gifted counselor interviewed him and said he was very creative, original, and appeared to be much more intelligent than he should be for his age, but could not do anything unless the school requested it. I feel my son is being discriminated against because of his reading disability. What can I do?
A
Criteria for gifted class placement can vary greatly from district to district. If you really feel that your child is being discriminated against because of his reading disability, read attorney Lawrence M. Siegel's book, The Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child. He has many resources listed in the back including more information about Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that may be helpful to you. You can also contact the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities at 1-888-GR8-MIND or www.aboutld.org to see what advocacy resources are available in your community that can help to ensure that your son is being treated fairly.