Does Stevie Ray really need this help?
I suspect pt is smoking , but what the hell, that is a side issue at this point. So I say, I didn't see any evidence of her smoking. Thank you Sir Humphrey. Oh, and by the way she is going to get serious complications of immobility if you don't order decent pain meds. Dr. finally orders medication, if it will be enough, I will find out in the days to come. The point of this story is that the doctor had - quite wrongly- decided that the patient didn't deserve the pain medication. I think that the same thing is happening with Stevie Ray. The Powers that Be think that he is doing well enough and he must fail before they offer him any help.
He is doing well because he has a phenomenal memory. Once his school workload increases, both reading, and writing, he will falter. Below is a table of some of his neuropsych scores. At the top are the scores that demonstrate the damage done by the chemo injected into his spine every two months for 2 and 1/2 years. When a child under 5 has this sort of chemotherapy there is always damage, as the nerve cells in the brain are not protected by 'white matter' aka myalin.
Test
Test description
Percentile Score
Rey-Osterrieth
Ability to copy detailed geometric figure accurately
>16
Processing Speed Index
Best estimate ability to quickly scan non-meangingful visual input and respond using pen and paper
21
VMI
Ability to copy geometric figure accurately
37
Writing Fluency
Ability to quickly write sentences using three provided words
65
Working Memory
98
Math Reasoning
93
Numerical Operations
93
Word Reading
87
Reading Comprehension
91
Spelling
95
Pseudo word decoding
90
Attention Concentration
99
Verbal Immediate Memory
99
Verbal Delayed Memory
93
Percentile Score* or Rank shows in a more familiar format how the child scored when compared to other children who are the same age or grade. If a child has an IQ of 85, he or she scored at the 16thpercentile, which means that 84% of the children tested scored higher than that child. Like Standard Scores, Percentile Scores can be compared from one test to other tests, if each of the tests are Norm-Referenced.
The doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children have made the following recommendations
Assistive Technology Recommendation
None of these has been implemented by the school. In fact, it wasn't til this last year that the teacher "allowed" Stevie Ray to hand in his projects printed from his home computer. His sister 'acquired' Inspiration 7, for the family home computer. The school board has the money, they spent $127,000 on a 'pep' rally so the teachers could 'feel good about teaching.' The funds are there but like a doctor I dealt with yesterday, the prejudice is set against him. Being gifted and disabled is something they either don't understand or don't feel deserves helps.
I worked hard to get that woman the right pain meds, and I am going to work hard to get Stevie Ray the help he needs. Please help.
He is doing well because he has a phenomenal memory. Once his school workload increases, both reading, and writing, he will falter. Below is a table of some of his neuropsych scores. At the top are the scores that demonstrate the damage done by the chemo injected into his spine every two months for 2 and 1/2 years. When a child under 5 has this sort of chemotherapy there is always damage, as the nerve cells in the brain are not protected by 'white matter' aka myalin.
Test
Test description
Percentile Score
Rey-Osterrieth
Ability to copy detailed geometric figure accurately
>16
Processing Speed Index
Best estimate ability to quickly scan non-meangingful visual input and respond using pen and paper
21
VMI
Ability to copy geometric figure accurately
37
Writing Fluency
Ability to quickly write sentences using three provided words
65
Working Memory
98
Math Reasoning
93
Numerical Operations
93
Word Reading
87
Reading Comprehension
91
Spelling
95
Pseudo word decoding
90
Attention Concentration
99
Verbal Immediate Memory
99
Verbal Delayed Memory
93
Percentile Score* or Rank shows in a more familiar format how the child scored when compared to other children who are the same age or grade. If a child has an IQ of 85, he or she scored at the 16thpercentile, which means that 84% of the children tested scored higher than that child. Like Standard Scores, Percentile Scores can be compared from one test to other tests, if each of the tests are Norm-Referenced.
The doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children have made the following recommendations
Assistive Technology Recommendation
- Given Stevie Ray's ongoing weakness with written language and slow speed of transcription, he would benefit from being provided unrestricted access to a computer in the classroom in order to complete written assignments. The following software is recommended:
- Inspiration 7 is a "mind mapping" tool for organizing ideas and creating visual layouts of essays, plans, or tasks.
- Dragon Naturally Speaking version 10.1 allows for voice-to-text dictation which would help Stevie Ray get his thoughts onto paper without the time and frustration involved in writing them out by hand.
- In addition to computer access, Stevie Ray would benefit from additional keyboarding instruction as well as training in how to effectively adapt these software programs.
- In order to become more comfortable and prepare for increased written demands in later grades, Stevie Ray is strongly encouraged to use his computer and the aforementioned software at home.
None of these has been implemented by the school. In fact, it wasn't til this last year that the teacher "allowed" Stevie Ray to hand in his projects printed from his home computer. His sister 'acquired' Inspiration 7, for the family home computer. The school board has the money, they spent $127,000 on a 'pep' rally so the teachers could 'feel good about teaching.' The funds are there but like a doctor I dealt with yesterday, the prejudice is set against him. Being gifted and disabled is something they either don't understand or don't feel deserves helps.
I worked hard to get that woman the right pain meds, and I am going to work hard to get Stevie Ray the help he needs. Please help.