Ten Questions To Ask Parents of Children with LD

Parents often choose an independent school for the entire family. They fall in love with the faculty, facilities, and community. They want a school home they can support, engage in, volunteer, and watch their children grow and learn.

However, when one of the children has learning needs, the family is in a quandary. Should they keep the child in the "family school" even though it is not the best fit? Perhaps the child's needs are significant enough to warrant remediation that a specialized school provides. If they choose the right school for each child, a schedule nightmare is likely to overtake family time.

Schools should ask parents to consider these questions to help determine the best fit:

1. Does the "family school" provide the kind of support the child needs during the school day?

2. Do you have the resources, time, and energy to engage in tutoring while attending the "family school"? Do you have the resources to provide for specialized school expenses?

3. What is your child's level of resiliency?

4. Will your child understand when peers are "getting it" and they are not?

5. Is your child motivated enough to work harder than siblings and peers, all of the time?

6. Will the school fully accept your child with the learning issues that have been identified?

7. Is there a behavioral component that might make interacting with other community members uncomfortable for you and your child?

8. Will your child make the gains he or she could possibly make in this school?

9. Would attending a school to remediate skills allow the student to return to the "family school" at some point in the future?

10. Will your child's self-esteem be more intact struggling at the "family school" or separated at the specialized school

Each family will need to make a decision based on multiple factors. Although friends can listen to parents as they play out the choices, the ultimate decision must be based on the parent's intuition and knowledge of their. Although decisions can be reversed, repairing self-esteem is a long and arduous process.

If independent schools provide support for students with Learning Disabilities, more families will find the scales are tipped in choosing the "family school."