1st IEP tomorrow and I’m freaking out! | Autism PDD

Dear Maureen,

How did it go?  Are you okay?  I hope so!

 

Thank you for thinking of us.  :)

My ex isn't going which is no surprise, our EI service coordinator and SLP informed me last week that she's moving back to Texas so won't be there either.  I have his two ABA therapists and the EI educator going but they're all fairly new.  We have a lot of turnover around here.  I am flying basically solo here.  I am bringing reports from everybody with me for some ammunition; hope it helps.  Anyway my question is, how much weight will the evaluation at Boston Children's hold with the school?  Do the schools generally go with the Dr's or is it hit or miss?

I'm a nervous wreck!

Thanks,

Maureen

The schools are required by federal law to "go by" their own evaluation.  They can certainly report about your medical evaluation, but they are still required to do their own.  If this has not been done yet, the IEP cannot be done until the eval is done.

Take a deep breath and get a good night's sleep.  Remember, you are your child's best advocate.  You know your child.  I recommend jotting down the most important points that you want to make so that you won't forget.  Also jot down any questions that you have.  Cross them off as you get answers so that you don't forget anything.

Don't worry about what you can't control.  Concentrate on your presentation and behavior at the meeting.  Dress to impress.  I usually dress professionally.  Stay calm.  Try not to raise your voice.  If you get nervous, slow down.  If you don't understand something, ask them to repeat and explain until you do understand.  Pause and think before you speak when needed or just to breathe and calm your nerves.  Projecting confidence goes a long way here.  You can do this!!!

Don't let them rush you.  Smile alot.  Be courteous.  Even if you hear something you really don't like, try not to appear adversarial.  Tell them that you are new at this and would they please explain how exactly they came to their conclusion.  If you disagree, tell them so.  The more specific documentation you provide, in whatever form, the better.

The first IEP meeting is the hardest in my opinion.  Once you get past this one, you'll know more about what to expect.  Just do your best.  If things don't go the way you want them to, you can always ask for another IEP meeting in the near future.

Good luck!

 

It is amazing how differently school districts handle things. My school
district evaluated my son at the first meeting, the second meeting was with
me to go over their test results and tell me what services he would qualify
for such as OT,ST, and Adaptive PE and give me copies of their reports. The
third meeting will be the IEP next week. The reports at the second meeting
gave me a clear indication ( as well as the physician's reports and my
knowledge of my son) of what areas need to be addressed in his IEP.

Unfortunately my school district is good at identifying his needs but I am not
sure they are going to be able to meet his needs.

Maureen -- I just came across this in IDEA.  If you think there are parts of the IEP that you'd rather wait to agree with until after you speak with the Dev. Ped., sign with caveats regarding those provisions and, according to what it says here, it seems they'll have to implement the parts you've agreed to:

300.300 Parental Consent.
(d)  Other consent requirements
(3)  A public agency may not use a parent's refusal to consent to one service or activity under paragraph (a) or (d)(2) of this section to deny the parent or child any other service, benefit, or activity of the public agency, except as required by this part.

 

Call the IEP team and explain that you want the Dev. Ped. to look at it before your sign it, but you would like the services to start ON your son's birthday.  See if they will start them anyway.  If they say no, a couple of days' difference in your son's start date won't actually hurt him.  However, you can decide to sign without the ped's advice and then call another IEP meeting if the ped has an issue or wants something added. In my experience, doctors are pretty hands off the IEP.  If you can speak to the doc on the phone today, that might be enough.  It is just a disaster check.  Most docs don't actually know the details of what's available thru the IEP, tho yours might be an exception.  If you are concerned about getting the services in place and the only way to do that is to sign, then I'd sign now.

Congratulations.  Oftentimes we read all the difficulties parents post here and ASSUME that the IEP process is difficult and contentious. I've been doing this for nearly 14 years and the vast majority of my IEP meetings have not been like that at all.  The VAST majority.  Glad yours was good and that your son will be getting help asap.

 

I gave my permission for the school to fax the IEP to the dev ped for review then followed up with him.  This took care of the timing dilemma.
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