Tzoya knows a bit about this because Tzoya's son was placed in Lifeskills classes throughout elem. (a good placement developmentally) but he was also YEARS ahead of his classmates, academically. How I handled it was I got a one-on-one aide so that the teacher could give him and his aide separate work. I had little trouble getting the spec. ed. teacher to give him reading on his level because all the spec. ed. teachers worked with the kids on either a one-on-one basis or in small groups, on their level. This was definitely not a perfect solution, but it was better than any other option. Now, he is High School age and is STILL in the same situation. He's in a 12-1-1 class that is developmentally appropriate but he is at the head of the class, academically. The teacher give each student separate work, on each student's individual level.
Another way to go would be to have your son go into general ed WITH a one-on-one aide. I probably would have gone that route when my son was younger except that inclusion into the general ed population for most ASD kids was unheard of and the teacher were SO in the dark back then, that any sort of inclusion for any kind of special ed kid was resisted and probably wouldn't have worked. I think your instincts about having him in half a day of lifeskills and half a day of gen ed (with an aide in both situations, for different reasons) is a great one. This can definitely happen. IDEA states that no ONE factor can determine placement (yes, this is in IDEA, not just state regs), so no one test can change his placement. In any event, a parent MUST sign for a change of placement. Your son CANNOT unilaterally be taken out of the class he is in. Get them to take you to a hearing (better to get THEM to call the hearing if you can manage that) or YOU call the hearing and claim "pendency." This is sometimes called a "stay put." THat means, that while your son's placement is in contention, he STAYS where he is.
I think what you are suggesting make eminent sense and probably will be seen as a good solution if your present it to the IEP team. If not, there's the "stay put."
OH MY GOSH!!! Please tell me this NOT a public school because if it is, you need file a complaint with your state dept. of education ASAP. You are so right, they broke a MAJOR MAJOR rule. If you could not attend that IEP meeting and you let them know you wouldn't attend at any time before the meeting and asked for it to be rescheduled and they refused, then held the meeting without you, they totally violated a law. (commonly referred to as a procederal safe guard or parent right) A lawyer would jump on that in a heartbeat. In my opinion, you have a valid claim right there, not to mention other things you elude to. You need to document that in a notebook ASAP and make sure you write down the date, time that you notified them, what you said, and their response. Did you ever sign it and send it back or is there no signed IEP in his file? If you signed it and sent it back without making them make the changes you wanted or at least address them, then what you signed is valid right now. It's just the way they handled it. If you didn't sign the IEP, and there is no signed IEP in his file, there's another violation of procedural safeguards. That's totally screwy.
I don't understand how there can be no special ed teacher at that school. Someone has to be in charge of over seeing those cases and if a student has an IEP that have to have some type of sp ed services other than an aide in the regular classroom. You need to really do some questioning about how things are set up there and how much time the sp ed teacher spends in the child's regular ed class before you even let him go there even if he does an aide to be in the classroom with him.
If I were you, I would MAKE them write the goals and services to include the fact that he will go to the regular classroom for some things. They can not keep him from the general curriculum. If he's in the 3rd grade, and he's reading on 3rd grade level, then request that they bring in the state course of study or state curriculum for 3rd grade reading have some of those things written as his reading goals. Make sure in the present level of performance they note his actual reading and math levels. Make sure that the goals really reflect that grade level skill for each. If they say he is reading on 3rd grade level, and can comprehend that, then they have to write goals that reflect his needs. Actually, for reading, since he is at grade level, reading goals are not the problem. The goals would be the social and adaptive reasons for him not participating fully in the general curriculum in reading. Aside from asking that goals be taken from the 3rd grade state course of study for reading, ask them what keeps him from participating in reading and see what they say. They probably will have some beat around the bushes answer, but that's what you want. You have to figure out all the right questions to ask them so that they see there is no way around the what you are asking for.
As far as the time limits go for each academic subject, I think your are right about how that doesn't sound like alot. I know this is a life skills class, and I am assuming that means that the majority of the instruction is geared towards teaching and learning life skills. But there is no reasons why his lessons can't be centered around that. I would say that he should be getting at least 30 mins of reading, 30 mins of math, 30 mins of languge arts EVERY DAY. He should probably also be getting at least and hour geared towards social sciences at least 3 times per week. I would suggest asking to see his schedule for each day of the week. The concern about him only receiving those minimal times in academics is what is going on the rest of the time. If he is spending the majority of the time engaged in activities that are totally unappropriate for him, then it might be a good idea to look at regular classes with supports.
You know, you could go in there and through them totally off your game. Tell them after much thinking, you believe they are right he does need to go to regular classes. Then whip out this big list of services and supports you are asking for so that he will be successful. I am sure the sp ed teacher is not liking you being so involved because you are right and she is wrong. You are questioning things that probably make her uncomfortable due to the fact that you raise very valid issues.
Just make sure to get a notebook and go back on document all those important things like not rescheduling the meeting. Document everything, all the phone calls, messages, written notes, ect, in this notebook, as well as all your requests. That is probably going to come in handy at some point. Also, visit your state dept of education website and look for the speical education section. Then look for the state code or state regulation of IDEA. This is the key to your son's rights and yours too. Print them out and become familiar with them. If you don't understand some of the jargon ask about it. But learn it so that you can speak their "languge" so to speak. You are really really close to understanding it all, just learn some of those terms and learn what they can and can't do for your specific state so that you aren't a bystander in the sp ed teacher doing what she wants to do. It really sounds like she needs to be reminded of some of the laws as well.
I get a little long winded too. Espeically when there is so involved. Sometimes, a general answer just adds to the confusing. Hope some of this helps.
I just noticed you said they have no social skills lessons at this time. Then what exactly is the purpose of the life skills class? In my district, children are either self-contained in a mulit needs classroom at a special education type school OR attend their neighborhood school and have resource services. Some schools in my system have gone to total inclusion for all students that attend their neighborhood schools, but the differene is there are special ed teachers and parapros there that go in the classrooms on a daily basis.I'm sorry to say that IT IS a public school. At the time his IEP was due to be reviewed last year, my husband's uncle was dying of cancer and I was so run down from all of the back and forth with that that on the day of the meeting I woke up feeling absoutely sick. I called his teacher at 8:30am (the earliest you can call her) the day of the meeting (Tuesday of that week), explained the situation and asked if there was any way we could reschedule for Wednesday or Thursday of that same week. She told me that it wasn't possible to reschedule because the paperwork was already printed and something about the meeting having to take place within 24 hours of when it was printed. That's when she said that she could send home the paperwork for me to look over and sign. I know for certain that I NEVER signed the paperwork.
In fact, in June I had to request a copy of it from the district office for our insurance company. It has the cover sheet where meeting participants were supposed to sign (not agreeing to anything, just stating that they participated). There is a box at the top that says "If parent did not attend, what methods were used to ensure their participation?" She has checked the box for telephone. Kind of funny since the only discussion on the phone about it at all was when I called her because I was sick.
To be honest, I am rather uneducated in terms of the legal implications of the unsigned IEP. I'd really like to keep things from getting ugly, which I'm sure they could if I started down that path. I mean, for better or worse, this is the school system I'm going to be stuck with for the forseeable future. But, I guess if that sort of action is what it takes to get him the help he deserves and ensure an appropriate education for him then so be it.
I happened upon his schedule from last year. Here it is in all its glory (can you sense the sarcasm):
9:00-9:10 Attendance
9:10-9:30 Breakfast
9:30-9:45 Calendar
9:45-10:15 Reading Group (except Thursday when they had Art)
10:15-10:45 Clean up/Snack (except Friday when they had PE)
10:45-11:00 Bathroom
11:00-11:15 AM Recess
11:15-11:20 Clean-up for Lunch
11:20-11:50 Lunch
11:50-12:15 Story/Rest Time
12:15-12:45 Lunch Recess
12:45-1:10 Math/Writing
1:10-2:10 Specials with General Ed Class (he did not attend though because of no aid available to go with him)
2:10-2:45 Math/Writing
2:45-3:15 PM Recess
3:20-3:25 Catch Bus
IMHO it isn't much of a schedule and there is room for serious improvement. I know that the principal (its a new one this year) expressed to me that she shares the concern about the little amount of time spent on academics in the class. I keep hoping she will push the teacher to change things a little.
I will definitely go to my states site and look up everything you suggested. This is so much to digest and I feel like I'm taking a serious crash course.
I have thought about the list of services I could potentially go into a meeting with. One thing though, the only reason I know about their plans is because one member of the team (definitely not the teacher) pulled me aside and told me to be prepared for this because she didn't think it was fair that they were planning to spring it on me at the upcoming meeting with no warning. She is a person I really trust and I am certain she was being straight forward with me. So, as far as the district and his teacher are concerned, I know nothing of it at this point. Since, as far as they know know, it will be new info I should be able to buy myself some time. Also, with my husband gone I think it reasonable that I would need to have a chance to discuss the issue with him as well.
One other thing, do you think a letter from my son's doctor would help? He is willing to write a letter stating that my son needs to be in an environment such as the Life Skills class for part of the day due to his anxiety and SID issues, but I'm not sure if the school will really consider that.
So there it is the latest installment of my saga.
I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond to my posts. It helps to get feedback from a teacher's perspective. Just realized I forgot to mention that the IEP meeting I asked to have rescheduled was supposed to take place after school that day. So, that means I called about seven hours before the meeting... not the most notice possible, but still it was before the meeting was to start. Wray & Tzoya - Thank you both so much for your responses. I really appreciate both of your perspectives. Wray you wrote: You said there is no resource room at this school he would go to. Does that mean there is no special education teacher or that all the students receive inclusion services? We have five elementary schools in our community. Three have Life Skills classes and one has a Behavior program for children with severe behavior disorders. The only school that does not have any sort of special program or class is our new neighborhood school. As far as I know, all of the children with IEPs at this school receive full inclusion services. I don't know exactly how many children that is; a couple of years ago that they had just 4-5 in the school. I don't think its a matter of the district going toward full inclusion for all students. In fact, from what I've been hearing from other parents it seems that they are wanting to place more students into the Life Skills classes (at least part time). When we had our first IEP meeting, I did take a list of goals I would like him to have this year along (I don't think the teacher appreciated that much either). Thanks for the idea of making the 10 minute instructional periods and then a break part of the IEP; I'm not sure I would have thought of that. I agree that the placement is only one factor right now. Since he was in first grade I have asked for him to be given the general ed curriculum (or something on the same level) and have help with it in the Life Skills class. Other than a Phonics book, they have flatly refused this. In terms of ensuring he is getting appropriate services, how much time should I expect him to be spending on academics in the Life Skills class? Currently his schedule shows that he gets math for 30 minutes twice a week, reading for 45 minutes each day and writing for 30 minutes three times a week. That doesn't seem like very much to me, but perhaps I am being unreasonable. He also gets some speech and OT/PT. They have no formal social skills lessons at this time. Tzoya, I have thought about trying to get him a one-on-one aide in the Life Skills class. However, I'm pretty doubtful that they would go for it (especially now that they are trying to get him removed from the class altogether). The class has teacher and three full-time aides for about a dozen students. The only way that I can see myself being willing to sign off on moving him to the new school would be with some serious transition steps from Life Skills to a general ed class in his current school. "Stay Put" sounds like a good plan to me, if worse comes to worse. This is probably a whole different topic, and I'm not sure how it affects the current IEP process. But last year when his IEP was due to be reviewed, I was sick the day of the meeting. They wouldn't reschedule for the following day, but the teacher sent home the IEP for review. I was supposed to look it over and then sign it. Well, I had some issues with it, which I communicated to her in writing. No one from the school ever contacted me to resolve the issues and the couple of times I asked about it they brushed my questions aside; so I assume there is some sort of compliance issue there on their part. Wow, another long post. Can you tell I'm chatty?
Thanks for all your ideas... it helps so much! It does not matter WHEN the parent cancels. Without parent participation (unless the parent does not WANT to participate) it is not a legal IEP meeting. The parent MUST participate. The participation CAN be by conference call, if the parent agrees, but an IEP that is designed without parent input is invalid. Also, according to both IDEA and NCLB, every single spec. ed. student, no matter HOW delayed, MUST be exposed to the regular ed curriculum. Of course, this does not mean that if the reg. ed kids are doing multiplication, the severely delayed kids will be, too, but it DOES mean that math has to be addressed AT THE IEP CHILD'S LEVEL and if reg ed kids are learning about Columbus discovering America, spec. ed. kids need to be learning that,too. In fact, alternate assessments ask for the areas tested to state how they relate to the gen ed. standards. Honestly, your school district needs to be woken up by someone and it looks like it's gonna hafta be you. If I were in your shoes, I'd get a good spec. ed. advocate to give you advice based on your own state's regulations and to come to some meetings with you. If you post your state, I'll post a list of attorneys and advocates from an advocacy group I belong to. Really, fighting ignorance and obstinance of this degree really can't be done alone. The IEP that I did not sign had goals for reading, writing, math and behavior/social in it. But, I have to say that for the most part the goals were very minimal as far as their ability to challenge him. When I have asked about getting him work more at his level I have been told that they don't have anything in the class at his level. I've stated to them repeatedly that I thought they should be able to walk down the hall to the general ed. teacher he was assigned to and get stuff if they didn't have anything in the Life Skills class. They always look at me like I'm nuts when I suggest that as an option and spout something about it not being that simple. I should say here though, there is a FANTASTIC aide in his class and last year she went out and spent her own money to buy him 2nd grade math materials to do in class. Its funny that you mentioned learning about Christopher Columbus discovering America in your post. One of the questions I raised at the meeting last week was about science and social studies lessons for him (3rd grade has a full curriculum for both). I was told by the teacher that she had spoken with one of the higher up people in the sp ed department and been told that they are not mandated to provide him with either subject in the Life Skills class. I live in Washington state, a couple of hours north of Seattle. The proximity to any major city has been a challenge in my search for advocates, so I'll look forward to what info you might have. You have my gratitude as always.
I'm sure the two below are not the only ones in Washington State, but it's a start. I FULLY agree that all states are different. My knowledge, currently, is about New York because that is where we live and those laws are the ones that apply to us. Each state MUST have regulations based on IDEA, though, and those regulations can be stricter than IDEA (as in NY) but not looser. It ALWAYS PAYS to familiarize yourself with your own state's law. There are links on this site's home page for state resources and also a thread on this message board that posts resources, state to state. Your state's education dept. is the one that writes the regulation of IDEA, so you should be able to find it on your state ed website or to contact them to get a copy. In NY, we can only print our regulations off the internet now because the state stopped publishing it in hard copy. Washington State: Masonsmom- I think I put in my original post that he was dx'd with PDD-NOS, ADHD and an Anxiety Disorder when he was five. I know they are not offering all they can, not even close. For example, they claim that they are not required to offer any counseling/psychological services and I know other people in the district next to ours that are receiving these services. Then there's the little fact that they refuse to use either ABA or TEACHH with him or any of the other children with autism in his class. As I look back, I feel really terrible because I can see in the paper trail that things started sliding downhill badly last year. I was so wrapped up in my husband's uncle's illness and finishing my degree that I missed a lot of red flags. But that the past, all I can do is go forward. And now that my degree is done, and I'm not working, I have plenty of time to deal with them. I was reading one of your posts about your situation. I don't blame you one bit for being upset. I cannot believe that they won't deal with something you actually witnessed. It would be very hard, if not impossible, for me to send my child back to any place where that person could have contact with him. We had an incident last year where my son decided he was taking himself to the convenience store for food and I came along to find him walking along the side of the road (not only off school grounds, but on the other side of the road). When I walked into the principal's office he immediately took action and both the teacher and an aide received some sort of disciplinary action over it. He apologized to me and even thanked me for not taking action against them. I really wish you luck with your situation. Also, want to say I think its really awesome that you have moved clear across the country for the benefit of your son. He's lucky to have you. The teacher, by my best guess, is probably in her mid-40s. It seems that when she came here four years ago she had taught in a Life Skills environment in Oregon for 16 years. It seems she is of the idea that her job is to give them lots of recess and coloring sheets; I mean except for the hour or two they are doing actual academic work of course. I actually did meet with the principal a week prior to the IEP meeting due to something the teacher had said. When she approached me about scheduling the IEP, I asked her then too about the possibility of him getting grade level work to do in the class and she said how she didn't have the staff or time and it wasn't her problem. She then went on to say that it was something for the principal to address... so that's exactly where I went. I discussed with the principal my concerns at that time and she seemed to be supportive of my views; she even stated that she had already been concerned about the amount of academic time in the Life Skills class. I completely agree with your "what if" question and it keeping him from receiving an academic diploma. Its part of the reason why I would be very supportive of a plan that would have him split time between a general ed class and the Life Skills class. When it comes to attending regular class activities, there is some dispute over the facts there. Two of the three aides in the class told me that they couldn't spare someone to take him. The teacher, however, told me that his behavior prevented him from going, even with an aide. I don't know if any of the other students have a full-time aide, with the exception of one little boy that is severely disabled. I already have filled a couple of pages in a notebook. Also, I'm in the process of going through his old behavior logs and communication books. I have to go to our storage unit and look for the files with his old IEPs; haven't quite gotten everything out and organized after the move. I am also planning to request access to or a copy of his entire school file. I thought I had read somewhere that a parent could request a full copy; but the only I can find in the parental safeguards they sent home with me refers to viewing the file. At this point, I have no idea who above her might know the extent of what she is saying and doing. I know that she said she had spoken with one of her "higher ups" about the science and social studies subjects; also the person she spoke with wanted to know what he was doing in the Life Skills class if he could read at grade level. Not at all sure what else may have been discussed along the way. Just for reference and clarification, there were several people at the first meeting including the sp ed teacher, gen ed teacher, principal, psychologist, guidance counselor and both his speech and OT/PT therapists. I'm not sure who they plan to have at this next meeting, but I know that they weren't planning to have all of those people attend again. As for my options, I think I need to employ all three to some extent. The board really helps boost my confidence, not to mention the ideas for ways to approach the situation. I definitely feel that I need to find an advocate (and figure out how to pay for one
Your insights are great and invaluable to me. I tend to try to put myself in the other persons shoes and find reasons why things are done the way they are. So for her, I've always believed she was doing the best she could with the resources she had available. It helps so much to hear from another sp ed teacher that she is not doing the best she can or should do... makes me feel so much more confident to go back in their and argue what I feel are very valid points. One more thing, I don't know if I've asked it before, but I don't remember seeing a response if I did. What would you think about requesting that the district bring in an Autism Consultant? Or would it be better to figure out how to pay for my own? I know they have anothe student, with a different disability, that they bring a consultant in for and it has helped with the servies he receives. My very final thought for the moment, I double checked with his private PT therapist today and she did verify for me that he tests at about a 4 1/2 year old range on both the PT and OT evals that the hospital has done. The school therapists had tried to minimize his deficits in these areas to me as well... grr. I know that finding an advocate and the money is hard. And it's something you shouldn't have to spend your money on. If you have the kind of personality to stand up to this situation, then you'll get further just having that assest. I think that sometimes parents do what do and think that was they are telling you is the gospel truth. Document that she told you those things are not her problem. And from this point on, DO NOT attend a meeting unless the principal is there, since the sp ed teacher put it off on the principal. Did you tell the principal that the sp ed teacher said that? If not, have another one on one meeting to discuss with the principal prior to the IEP. The thing is, you can call that the IEP meeting be over at any time. Yes, IEP's have to be revised at least once a year. So if the IEP's date is running out, some decesions for a temp IEP will need to written out and signed. However, at anytime, anyone on the IEP team has a right to call an IEP meeting and revisit things. This includes you. You have the right to NOT sign off on anything unless you agree with what is written. If you don't agree, refuse to sign it, table it, and request a new meeting to discuss it. If you come to a dead hault against something, they don't have a choice but to address it. Another thing, if the yearly date on the IEP is running out, simply meeting and writing on the profile page or on a addendum that the IEP will continue until ___________. Then it is signed and dated by all memebers of the IEP. That would count as a temp IEP to extend the dates. When this teacher talks to you about timelines, she is just pushing you to get it done. It's a tactic used against you to make you feel like things need to be written and signed ASAP. And gives you less time to get your thoughts together. I am glad to hear that you have started documentation. I have several suggestions for the time being until the re-evals they are doing are finished. Write a letter to the special ed teacher and send it certified mail ASAP. In the letter, tell her you would like to postpone the meeting that is currently scheduled UNTIL the following people can be in attendance: current principal, current head of special education, Also, in the letter let her know you feel like you should have some one on one meetings with people in administration before the team is called together. It is not her choice of when to schedule it. Next, make an appt with the principal, AGAIN, and go over these academic concerns. Let the principal know that you are going to do all you can to work with the school and not have to go outside the school but you are prepared to go to the head of special ed and get an advocate if these things can not be worked out for the benefit of your child. After that, make an appt with the head of sp ed and let her know your concerns. If anything, get some answers about what this sp ed teacher is telling you about his behaviors being that bad, that it isn't that simple to go get grade level materials, and that it isn't her problem. Get someone elses point of view of that, someone over her. Again, let the sp ed head know that you are trying to work things out but that you are willing to go further if they can't come to an agreement on how academics will be taught. THEN, and only then, after you have had time to talk to each of those people and process the information, think about that advocate. I, of course, suggest getting one. But the money isn't coming out of my pocket, either. SO, you need to utilize those people in your system, like the sp ed head and the principal who have a say so over the sp ed teacher's say so to determine if you feel the need for an advocate. If so, get one. If not, send another certified letter that you are ready to meet as soon as all the appropriate people have been invited and will be in attendance. DO NOT MEET if those people aren't there. If they aren't there, that means she is trying to have it without them. No matter what that sp ed teacher tells you, those people HAVE to come to meetings if you request them. If they don't come or she trys to tell you something different, forego it and get the advocate. All of those things are steps that I have seen parents do. Thank goodness not to me, but I've seen it happen and I'm telling you-they want to work it out rather than an advocate coming. Or you filing a complaint. If you can find the money and an advocate, these things would be better handled ASAP. You don't want to put it off months and months because your son isn't getting the services he needs. No matter what, DON'T GIVE IN!!! I love this board too and have learned so much from the parents here. I have starting looking at the parents of my students and my students in a whole new way after reading some of the posts here. It is a huge source of everything we all need at times. But remember, this advice only goes so far. By learning this stuff yourself and maybe getting someone who already does now it, you will be the best advocate for your son!!! I meant to say too, that if your son is 5 and he tests at the 41/2 yo level on OT and PT evals, he really isn't that far behind. Half a year behind in some skill areas usually doesn't end up being that much of an issue. But given this schools track record with you, I see the conern. I had started posting earlier today, and spent great time doing it, and somehow, before I was done, it got erased and I didn't have time then to re-type everything. I hope I don't forgot anything I had on my mind then. Tzoya is right about sp ed students being taught from the general ed curriculum. That is why I said you need to make sure that is brought in. Even with children who have IQ's below 55, we still have to write Social Sciences goals into the IEP. How old is this sp ed teacher? It sounds like she is either very old in the system and is having a hard time with the change of No Child Left Behind and the re-authorizatin of IDEA that just go released. It did alot more "work" for the sp ed teacher and alot more of "making sure services were lined up with everything." OR She is really young and thinks she knows it all. Maybe you should meet with the principal and voice some of the concerns ALONE without the sp ed teacher in there. Let the prinicpal know that you are taking these things very, very seriously. What if your child's academics is not something that is impacted by ASD and by him not being taught anything, he is losing out on that experiene and that keeps him from graduating with an academic diploma and going to college? I mean, I know I am just asking a what if question, but really, she she want your child to have that exposure since he has the ability. Next, if it says on the schedule "regular classroom activities" and he didn't get to go because there was no aide to go with him, but there was an aide to go with other students, that is way way wrong. Not having an aide is not an excuse and you shouldn't have bought into that. If they are offering that service to other children in the class, then they have to get the man power for all children to have that opportunity. Not only that, like Tzoya said, it's the LAW that they provide this instruction to your son. Like I said in a previous post, if you know what's best you will get a notebook and document all these things you are remembering from last year. You shouldn't have to worry about your son's education. You were sending him to school and expecting the school to educate him. It's ok that you had alot going on and had family matters to deal with. Just because you weren't up there everyday in there face making them do the right things, doesn't give them the right to jip him or you. And I would be asking what the heck he did during that hour that other kids were gone to regular classes. I mean, it's not like you are aking for things to be done that they have never done before. They obviously already send children from that class to the regular classroom. Another thing that comes to mind is that fact that he is assigned to a regular ed teacher. That means that his homeroom is not a sp ed homeroom. The system spends money on workbook and textbooks, and your son's allocation for those workbook and textbooks are being spent. It is just as easy as it sounds to you, to walk down the hall and retrieve his textbooks and workbooks. If a teacher has 25 kids on her roll, then I bet you money 25 text books and workbooks are issued to her. That means that your son's textbooks and workbooks are probably sitting on the shelf down there in that 3rd grade classroom. I am telling you, this teacher sounds like she is doing things and making decesions all on her own, and SHE IS WRONG. If someone else is allowing her to make these decesions, then they are wrong, too. But I am willing to bet that nobody else in your system knows the things she is doing and saying. I am willing to be that should you get her "higher ups" involved, things will change. There are so many things that are being done that violate your sons rights. This is the point where you are going to have to decide if posting on the board and getting info is enough for you. There is only so much that you can take away from people in other states telling you what to do. You really need someone else to help you through this maze. In my opinion you have 3 choices. You can post here and listen to everybody's advice and do what you can with it. OR You can do LOTS of reading and studying the IDEA laws that pretain to your state. You will need to do things like visit your state dept of education website and become very familiar with what your states regs are, what does your state say about offering the general curriculum, what does your state say about having an aide to access the general curriculum, what does your state say as far a parent calling to reschedule the IEP and being told some lame excuse about it having to be completed within 24 hours of printing it. I mean, come on, that's crazy. And if you aren't able to do that, then you are going to have to find an adovate from the bigger city to come out and help you. Where I live, advocates come from the big city about an hour away. But they come. You got to call them to find out what they offer. You can file a complaint with your state dept of education if you want to. There are many options you have. But unless you are able to do alot of research and be able to call them on what they are doing wrong, you really need some help. I am not meaning to imply that you don't have the tools to advocate yourself for your son, but I am telling you, they have done him wrong by saying they don't have to teach him science and social studies, and that they dont' have materials on his grade level. That' ignorant. And if you don't stop this teacher from saying that, your son is the one who is going to lose out. I could go on and on here. This kind of thing that has been done to you really gripes me to no end. I wish there was more that I could do or say on the chat board. But my words only go so far. At the very least, you are going to have to outline what you will and will not except and just do not give in. No matter what. And at the very least, have adminsitrators that are over this sp ed teacher come to the meetings. She really needs so help in remembering her job. He was dx'd when he was five; but he is now almost 8 1/2 years old. Sorry for the confusion there. I did tell the principal exactly what she said about it not being her problem. The principal actually asked me to write a letter to her detailing the incident so that she could deal with the situation. I did write the letter and had it to her within a couple of days. She also had asked me when I met with her if I minded if she invited the head of sp ed. I, of course, said I would welcome that. However, the head of sp ed did not attend the meeting and I didn't get the chance to ask why. The IEP (the one I never signed or participated in) expired on 10/4 and the first meeting we had was on the 3rd. They did add a phrase to extend the time frame and I signed a paper stating that I had attended the meeting (the wording was really clear that that's all my signature indicated or I wouldn't have signed it). I was thinking about asking to postpone this upcoming meeting earlier today. Then, I realized that since they don't know that I am aware of their plans I just as well go. But, the second they bring up the idea of changing his placement, I intend to stop the meeting and not meet any further until the head of sp ed is there along with the principal and the teacher. I would jump straight to your suggestion, but I do feel that I need to make it appear that I have no knowledge of their plans. The person that clued me in I consider to be a good friend and I know her job would likely be in jeopardy if they knew she had warned me (and they are aware that we are friendly, so I'm sure they'd figure it out). I am reading everything possible and getting as much as I can on paper at the moment. One good thing for time frames I might have forgotten about is with my husband gone so much I email him about all of the events... so I can look back at those emails for dates and specific conversations. I'll be making some calls regarding advocates tomorrow... couldn't really find a quiet moment to do that today with there being no school. Plus we spent the afternoon at therapy, where he bounced off the walls. He's rather wound up today to say the least.
I am definitely working on getting my facts in order asap. I don't want this hanging over our heads for any longer than absolutely necessary. It seems my days are completely devoted to this from morning till I fall into bed at night. Speaking of my little sweetie... he's trying to put himself in the bath. I'd better go tend to that before the entire bathroom is flooded.
Feel free to keep giving me things to think about. I really truly appreciate it. In all my fury of typing I forgot the fact that he was in the third grade, I don't know I said that about him being 5. Just for your information, I am working on a grant to get some Alphasmarts to use with my students. In looking for research about that type of assistive technology, I ran accross some quizes on a web site aimed at parents for them to test their knowledge about different areas of special education. They are little short quizzes but the first one was about general sp ed laws, others were about IDEA, advocacy, and how much of the "language" one knows. I answered a total of 25 questions and missed 6 of them. I was way disappointed in myself. Three of those were missed in the first 5 question quiz about general sp ed stuff. My point in telling you that is that it's so hard. Even working in it day in and day out, the language is so hard and understanding it and APPLYING it is very hard. I am embarassed to tell you that I missed that many, but I needed to admit that to make my point. The site was www.schwablearning.com . If you go there, you'll have to search for the links. There are many, many sites to go to for information regarding the law and interpreting it. There are many professional and parent organizations that have websites with this information located on it. Although they are LD or other disability websites, the law about general ed curriculum, rights, and access is the same. Some examples would be www.ldonline.com , the council for exception children website (I am unsure of how it ends off the top of my head but you can do a search for it) www.ncld.org . Many people suggest www.wrightslaw.com but I can never find anything specific about what I am looking for when I go there. That website was created by a lawyer by the last name of Wright and his wife, I think. The entire site is dedicated to IDEA and all the issues that accompany it. I just don't find it user friendly, but you should at least check it out for yourself. If you call your local Autism Society office (the one for your state) they should be able to give you some info regarding advocates. I have read on this board that people have called them and in some cases, someone from the Autism Society has gone with them to IEP's. Our state chapter doesn't do that, but yours might. I live in Alabama and at the University of Alabama Law School, they have a huge disability advocacy program and that is one law school people can go to and specialize in special education law. Through the university, our state has a big advocacy program called Alabama Disability Advocacy Program. In another big city, I'm not sure if it's statewide, there is another advocacy program called Special Education Advocacy Committee. Those two programs are the ones that all people in our state go to for help. I would be willing to bet there is a big advocacy program like this in your state somewhere, if you can just find the right people to ask. Try a search for advocacy in Wash State or advocacy in Seattle. I am willing to bet something will turn up. Hopefully it will. I understand what you are saying about not wanting to get the aide in trouble. Espeically if you guys are friends. And I agree with you that her job would probably be in jeopardy for going behind the teacher's back and telling you something. BUT, what that teacher is doing is wrong. I don't think it would give it away if you requested to have these people in attendance. The principal probably wanted the sp ed head there because he/she knows that what is being said to is wrong. The sp ed head probably didn't come because they didn't want to come accross as making you think things were getting out of hand. At that time, you probably weren't making such a huge stink about it. Call the principal to follow up on that letter. Let the principal know you had another IEP recently where you asked about these things and were given the same answers and you were just following up on it. You can get away with asking for some of this stuff and not giving away that you know something is up as far as the sp ed teacher wanting to make that change. In my system, as a teacher, I don't have the authority to make a change of placement by myself. Some in administration most definitly has to be in on that. So that's why I am thinking she's trying to pull a fast one and get it over with. I am just glad you finally realized you needed to do something and found a place like here to be able to bounce ideas around. If you post some specific things of concern, I will be more than happy to make some more recommendations such as the time limit things. You have to really think about it on a basic level. I mean, you know what your son can do. They can't expect him to do more than that, they can place expectations on him and challenge him without throwing him to the wolves. Does that make sense? I did a search and here are a few sites that might be of interest. I used Seatle as a reference point in location. If you are closer to another major city, you might want to try a search with that city. Mark Stroh, Executive Director This came from the following link: http://www.autism-pdd.net/links/washingt.htm#Advocacy http://www.seattleschools.org/area/speced/seaac.html http://www.wpas-rights.org/publications/Special%20Education/ resources_for_parents.htm http://www.washingtonpave.org/ http://www.reedmartin.com/ This website looked like it had some good, general sp ed stuff for parents to know, but I don't think it was specific to Washington State. http://nclid.unco.edu/nclid/bvi/ This site has some common things that parents get told at IEP's and why they shouldn't be said. Agian, I don't think this specific to Washington State but it looked neat. I bookmarked some of these for myself!
http://www.k12.wa.us/SpecialEd/default.aspx That is the link directly to your state dept of education special ed section. At the top of the links on the left side of the page it says this:
I didn't look to see what this is, but I am sure it'll be good info for you. Anything you get off the state dept of ed website is really good info! Also check out the dispute resolution link in that same column. Try to see if University of Washington School of Law has any programs. http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/law/front_law.h tm This is just general information. Law Office of Daniel A. Osher http://depts.washington.edu/chdd/ This may have some info about University of Wash. services available. One more thing that I can't believe I forgot to mention and that Tzoya didn't mention it either. You have the right to ask for an Autism Speacialist to come in. Since your son is Autistic, by law he has to have services from soneone knowledgable about Autism and the educational implications that come along with that. Most of time, parents have to ask for one to come in when schools don't understand the behavior. You mentioned the teacher said it was his behavior. What exactly did she mean by that? Anyway, you also have the right to ask for one in the area of academic planning as well. That's a whole different topic, though. They will probably try to say this sp ed teacher is knowledgeable, but you have to get them to understand that just because his behavior might limit him to a setting, that setting doesn't limit his education. Also, you may need a specialist since they are might be trying to eventually change his placement. Anyway, maybe all those links will get you started. It has been my experience when I have told parents that ask for advice to call our advocacy programs that they respond really quickly. First of all, even if they send your son back to his neighborhood school, they HAVE to provide him with an APPROPRIATE education in his LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIORNMENT. If they do force you back to your neighborhood school, they have to make things appropriate for him. You said there is no resource room at this school he would go to. Does that mean there is no special education teacher or that all the students receive inclusion services? If one of his goals was to sit for 20 mins and he can only sit for 10 mins, and that is proven in data, then you will need to make sure that when he is included in the regular classroom, that is taken into consideration and the regular ed teacher will have to adapt his lessons accordingly. For example, he participates in the first 10 mins of insturction and then has a break with his aide. Then he returns to the lesson. Then another break. And then when it is time for him to do seat work or independent work, that time limit has to be taken into account. You need to make sure things like this are included in his IEP. Start making a list of things that you are concerned about and want addressed in the IEP so as you think about them, they are written down and you can take your list to the IEP. For example, the post you posted lists all kinds of concerns. You need to bring these up one by one and have them addressed in his IEP and written so clearly that when his new teachers get it, they know exactly what is expected of THEM and HIM. I can understand the 1/2 day aide, IF he gets that aide during ALL instruction periods. Something else can be worked out for pe, lunch, etc where the regular ed teachers would have to be responsible for facilitation and making sure he is ok. You have alot of issues that you stated that are concerns and very ligit. It does sound like they are trying to get rid of him. And I would say that YES behaviors are reason for some special ed classes no matter what academic level he is at. You need to tell them you aren't ONLY concerned about his academics, you are worried about his all-encompassing issues. Those issues include the fact that he might not be able to function in a regular setting, but he is at or near grade level in academics. It is their responsibility to figure out how all the services he has a right to will be delivered. My comment to them would have been being in a self contained sp ed classroom is not a reason to deny him appropriate insturction at his grade level. I don't really understand why the sp ed teacher wouldn't want him to go to the 3rd grade class for reading. That's absurd. With all your issues in dealing with this, you need to make sure someone other than JUST the sp ed teacher is at this next meeting. Send them a letter in writing tomorrow and request that the head of sp ed for your system and the principal for your son's current school be in attendance. Not that these people are going to be knowledgable, though they should, I think it might help to keep the sp ed teacher from deciding by herself what goes and what doesn't goes. She seems to be having a hard time remembering she can't just make decesions on her own. You are just as much, if not more, a part of that team and nothing can be done or changed without your written permission. The other thing I would suggest is when they are done evaluating him and get ready to look at revising his IEP and possibly sending him to his neighborhood school, request that the principal and the regular ed teacher, and the aide (if they know who that will be at the time) and the sp ed teacher (if there is one) from the neighborhood school be in attendance. That way his current school and his future school can work together in writing goals. At that time, the people from his future school might have more insight to how he will function at the new school. Does that make sense? Like I said, the sp ed teacher at his current school has said some very inappropriate things and it does sound like she's "gonna show you" since you don't like his academic instruction. The problem is, someone is gonna have to knock her off her pedastal, and you shouldn't feel bad about it. Your son has rights and as his parent you do too. Don't back down and don't let them make decesions about your son's education you don't
Oh, I also wanted to mention that No Child Left Behind REQUIRES that all spec. ed. kids get given the regular ed curriculum for their grade level. As I said, the standards MUST be taught but they can be very different. A gen. ed. 3rd grader might have to read a story about Columbus whereas a spec. ed. 3rd grader might have to color a picture about Columbus. But the subject HAS to be addressed. If your school district does not think so, they are out of compliance. Call state ed about this, too. As we all know, NCLB is a FEDERAL law and no local Sped Head can dispute it.
MEd. JEFFREY A TRELKA (Advocate)
SPECTRUMSTRATEGIES, INC.
901 CELERY AVE
ALGONA, WA 98001
Phone: 253-833-3617
Fax: 253-833-3617
Email: pratamedmig@msn.com
Ms. JAN ZAGER, ESQ. (Attorney)
4665 81ST AVE. SE
MERCER ISLAND, WA 98040
Phone: 206-232-8237
Fax: 206 232-8260
Email: jgzager@comcast.net
My suggestions are this. DO NOT agree to move your son, even imply that you are willing, if you don't feel that is in his best interest. If you even give them the idea that you would let them do something you are against, they will run with it and make you feel like you have no choice.
Also, please understand that what they offer in the way of services, IS NOT all they they can. Any IEP meeting I have been to has offered the most minimal services possible (I am just finding this out) Don't think that what they tell you is all there is ....
Don't underestimate the fact that you are his mom, and you know him better than anyone at that table. Be calm and matter of fact about what you know to be true about your son's best interest regarding moving that classroom. No one can discount that, though they may try.
Contact your local Autism Support group. I have found these either through neuro's offices or Peds. Also, therapists who deal with kids like ours, OT, ST, etc, are a great place to look. If you can reach someone who runs one of these groups, you can get information about IEP partners and/or direction. IME, support groups are a great resource for this kind of thing. And in all honesty....they are probably the only people who will really understand what you are looking for, why and have the best ideas how to get it in your community.
PS I think having the DR note would be good, even if it isn't enough? to get what you want, it shows you are prepared and serious. But I am unclear, I thought you didn't have an official dx? I would get this straight away, I would be afriad that without it the school would have more leverage to disregard the seriousness of your sons educational needs?
Tzoya..
I just wantd to say first that I think you are amazing. Your knowledge and desire to help other parents find what they need is inspirational.
Your suggestions and information are always useful. Even if the state to state suggestions are different, they always lead me to another idea for our situation.
I just wanted to say thanks, not just for the input, but for always having it.....sometimes it is just nice to feel like someone cares.
And garrinsmom, I can only say that I am not sure that I cant comprehend your abilty to move forward after finding your son walking alone. I would think the school system would be more willing to accomodate a parent that so plainly could have taken MUCH worse action against them, I would have thought that situation would have better solidfied your stance as a reasonable parent. That story is truly horrible.
PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY AGENCY
WA Protection & Advocacy System
1401 East Jefferson, Suite 506
Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 324-1521
Advisory Council (SEAC)
Daniel Osher
22525 S.E. 64th Place, No. 229
Issaquah, WA 98027
Phone:425-557-5977
Send E-Mail
Categories: Special Needs Schools/Services, Advocacy
Representing parents and students in special education disputes, dedicated to protecting the rights of all children. Free initial consultation.