Hi Diana,
I'm so sorry to hear the school is using their tactics to keep things in limbo. We went through the same merry-go-round with our school. The fact is, if you have outside tests, they MUST consider those when making a decision. They do not have to make their decision based on them (as we found out the hard way), but they must at least review and take them into consideration. If you have an audiologist who says he has CAPD, and the school's audiologist says differently, you may have to go out and get another assessment done by a third audiologist. Or hire a lawyer. You might consider bringing an advocate to the screening meeting. Do you have funds to afford one? They often charge $75-$150 per hour. But having one right off the bat is a great idea because then you're showing schools you're serious.

You can definitely talk about all these issues in this section (Special Ed and CAPD) on this chat board. The area of the site I'm talking about is an informational area, like the Therapies or Diagnosis sections in the blue bar at the top. Seems to me that special ed is a particular challenge for CAPD, so I wanted to put together some resources to help parents make their case. One of the problems with CAPD is it's not specifically delineated as a learning disability. There is ambiguity over where it lies in the IDEA, or if it lies there or not.

I would just love to hear the concerns parents have faced, or the solutions they have found, in getting special ed services for their child. I know we have had an uphill battle, and I would love to shortcut anybody else's attempts to get their child help. My mom asked me the other day why I built this site if I don't make any money out of it. And that is why... to save somebody else time and heartache in their search for an answer and get help. I cannot tell you the adversity I faced in order to get my son diagnosed. We all need to band together and education the school systems. Our children are faced with a serious learning disability, and somebody has to recognize it, $%$*#!

Thanks,
Bonnie

NOTE FROM ADMINISTRATOR:
I moved a copy of Laurie's post to the Introduction Board so everybody would see it. I've left a copy here so everybody could reply within this thread as well.

Hi, I'm new on this board, and would just love to say how THRILLED I am to find a support group for Auditory Processing (FINALLY!).  My 10 year old son is a 5th grader at a very good elementary school in Atlanta.  After struggling through several years of mediocre grades and report card comments such as "lacks focus", "doesn't participate", "lazy", "has trouble grasping the subject matter", "disorganized" etc., we finally got the school involved.  Long story short, we wasted a lot of time sitting in meetings with no guidance toward where to go or what to do.  There seems to only be one pathway, and that is to call it ADHD.  After a consult with his physician (who was SHOCKED that I hadn't already set up a ritilin assessment appointment with him), I knew there had to be something else going on.  He actually told me that I'd waste a lot of time & money on testing when we could be solving the problem right away with medication.

We now have a new pediatrian.

We finally had a full battery of tests performed and discovered it was Auditory Processing (with working memory defecits) and dysgraphia (difficulty performing handwriting neatly).  Despite getting an IEP in 4th grade, the accommodations were lacking, and the support we received in the co-teaching situation was, lets just say, disinterested.  They decided that he was just lazy.  After spending the summer educating myself on everything I could find on CAPD (which is precious little), I realized that I needed to become his biggest advocate ever.  I'm very happy with the co-teaching arrangement this year, and have gone to great lengths to make them understand the world that he lives in.  Just yesterday, we had our 4th meeting of the school year to continue to tweak strategies and IEP goals.  I plan to touch base with his teachers approx every 2 weeks just for an update.   I've also made it very clear that bullying tactics not only do not help the situation, but are creating a self-esteem problem that makes it impossible for the child to succeed.

I just finished reading the book "Don't you Get It?" and found it to be energizing.  I'd love to hear other people's experiences, and how to approach this subject when the school becomes skeptical.  I'm especially interested in any classroom accommodations and strategies that work for other people, and looking for ideas to help teachers, students, and parents guide their child toward self-advocacy.   

Thanks for a great site!
Laurie