Posted by David M. Venable

I can not give you all the technical information, but I can give you a
rough guideline that schools use.
First, If a regular classroom teacher suspects a difficulty, they have
several modifications they can try to help the child. Preferential
seating, peer tutor, modification of assignments. If these modification
prove to be of little or no help, the teacher can request the child be
tested. Parents can also make the request.
There are several test.
First, The IQ test that you mentioned.
This shows where a child should be expected to be able to be
functioning.
Then, there are skill test. I do not know all the different names.
They are intended to show where a child is functioning.
Now, no matter how low a child's IQ, if he is functioning at or near
the level that the IQ shows he should be expected to function at, no
LD services can be given.

If there is a difference, as In the IQ claims he should be doing well,
yet his performance indicates he is doing not so well, then the child
will qualify .
The difference between ability, expected ability, and actual performance
is the decision maker.

The sad part is, a child who has a very low IQ, yet is performing way
past what he should be expected to, does not qualify.

This is the standard in my school district.
There are other exceptions to this.
My daughter is four years old and LD. She is deaf and that deafness
creates a natural learning delay when it comes to spoken language.
Other children have other health impairments that would automatically
qualify them for special LD services.
I hope someone will chime in and give further information. I realize,
as I read back over this, I may not have done a great job of answering
the question.
David
http://home.stlnet.com/~poohbear/family.html
feel free to stop in for a visit with my family at our site.

Follow Ups:

• More Complete Summary of the IEP Process Elaine Austin
  • Re: More Complete Summary of the IEP Process Lisa
  • It's hard to add to the answer Elaine gave, but I'll try. Ted Rosenberg
  • This time around I'm a bit more educated about the system. Should be interesting to see what happens. Pamela Fitzpatrick

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