Interventions are designed to help bring a child from a point of deficit to a point of catching up. IF he didn't have deficits, he wouldn't need to catch up. So, yes, looking at those miserable numbers is hard, but that is WHY he's getting an IEP. YOung kids do make fast progress in many cases. I always found it helpful, when DS was little, to continually bring him into social situations with kids exactly his age -- Gymboree, McDonald's, playgrounds, birthday parties, Sunday school, team sports, etc. Not only was learning to socialize imperative for him, it kept me real about where his development stood compared to NT kids his exact age. By doing that, I didn't need a test score to tell me my son still needed help. I could never fool myself into thinking things were fine. IF that happened, it would have gypped my son of needed interventions. I found it always far better to stare reality in the face.
Hi! I'm back. All of this information has been very helpful even though it might not apply to my specific situation - yet.... The reason I haven't been able to view possible options for my son is because the IEP meeting is an Eligibility/IEP meeting in one, so I guess if they gave us options now, they would be telling me that he is eligible already. We're sure that he will be just by looking at his evaluation report. It's so awful! I had heard that if your child has a terrible evaluation, it's a good thing because it will help him/her qualify for services. However, I wish it focused more on his potential, especially since he's made so much progress in private therapy for the past couple of months. I guess all that will be discussed at the meeting. Thanks again........
It is a "non-catagorical special day class". Sort of a catch-all SDC. You can end up with emotionally disturbed kids mixed with the higher level austistic ones. We have been cautioning against that mix in consults about our sons.
We had our son's IEP for preschool last October. First thing I did was get a copy of the Procedures and Rights from the State's Education homepage. Once I read that front to back, I had more of an idea how I should procede. In addition to their evaluation I paid for an independant evaluation. The psychologist made recommendations for my son. I pick a PhD that consulted in a neighboring school district.
The National Research Council has a document that they presented to Congress regarding Teaching the Autisic child -- It addresses preschool needs. Good to read. Wrightslaw.com has some interesting documentation too.
I went to the IEP meeting with tons of documentation. I hade everything in a folder clearly labeled.
Remember if you do not agree with ANYTHING!!!! Do not sign the IEP!!!!!!!! In a kind manner state you do not agree and state what it is that you think your child needs. If you need to go to a formal hearing do it!! The private evaluation helps sooo much in this case.
Also remember the school district has to provide an apporpiate education not necessarily the best education for the Autistic child. I find that if your child is mild to moderate on the Spectrum - public school can be adequate. My son is more servere on the Spectrum so I am doing a mix of public and private therapies.
You can get into problems with schools around the ABA vs other programs. Most schools do not do ABA but use discrete trail, which incorporates elements of ABA. If they find that there is documentation that states their program works they are allowed to use it. I would call the Special Ed Director for the school system and ask them what methodology they use. It should be system wide and most schools do not have specific Autism programs. They group kids together based on skill level ie. no speech etc.
Most school districts also only provide services to assist that child in developing academic skills that they need to be functional in a classroom. So OT therpay at school will develope writting skills wherein a private OT would work on eating skills.
If you have any other questions let me know - Good Luck!
If you look up the definition of "educational progress" in the law, it covers much more than academics. Also, since the reauthorization of IDEA last year, the Federal government now requires that schools do what they must in order to help the child meet the SAME standards as typical kids do. Frankly, we all know that not every child will EVER be the same as every other child, but the law is blind to that. IDEA is now aligned with No CHild Left Behind, so all special ed kids HAVE to meet the SAME standards as general ed kids do. If your child does NOT meet those standards, you can make the District give him more support. I strongly suggest that EVERYONE on this board read the original version of IDEA 2004 (you can get an annotated copy from www.wrightslaw.com or get it on Amazon) and understand EXACTLY what the schools MUST do for your children.
I fully agree that getting truly independent evals (on your own nickel) can be hugely helpful since they can be done BEFORE or at the same time the school does its eval. However, if you're not happy with their eval, you can require that they PAY for a second opinon using the evaluator of YOUR choice (hence, the "independent" part).
[QUOTE=tzoya]If you look up the definition of "educational progress" in the law, it covers much more than academics. Also, since the reauthorization of IDEA last year, the Federal government now requires that schools do what they must in order to help the child meet the SAME standards as typical kids do. Frankly, we all know that not every child will EVER be the same as every other child, but the law is blind to that. IDEA is now aligned with No CHild Left Behind, so all special ed kids HAVE to meet the SAME standards as general ed kids do. If your child does NOT meet those standards, you can make the District give him more support. I strongly suggest that EVERYONE on this board read the original version of IDEA 2004 (you can get an annotated copy from www.wrightslaw.com or get it on Amazon) and understand EXACTLY what the schools MUST do for your children.
I fully agree that getting truly independent evals (on your own nickel) can be hugely helpful since they can be done BEFORE or at the same time the school does its eval. However, if you're not happy with their eval, you can require that they PAY for a second opinon using the evaluator of YOUR choice (hence, the "independent" part).
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I went to the Dept of Education Website and they sent me a copy free. Very dry reading though.
Tomorrow is the big day. We are shooting for inclusion with supports for Evan. I'm not sure how that will apply to preschool. I'm concerned that they will not have an inclusion program(or any programs) in our area, but I think according to the law, the district has to find one in your own community. Does anyone know where that is found in the law specifically? In the meantime, I'll check.......
Least Restrictive Environment means educating a child in the placement that is as close to typical as the child can tolerate and still make adequate progress in. Search "least restrictive environment" on the Internet and you should get tons of info. does anyone know how to find Pennsylvania's education website to see what the laws are for IDEA and all of that? I am not good at searching the web for things. I am so pc illiterate.Hi. We're having my three year old son's first eligibility/IEP meeting on the 25th (dx PDD-NOS). We're blessed to have an advocate, an SLP from the center where he has therapy. My main question is: do we have the right to know in advance what "program(s)" they are considering for him so that we can research them? I haven't met any people in my area who have had a meeting yet, so there is an element of mystery that is driving me nuts! Even our SLP/advocate is from a neighboring county and does not have experience with our school district. I would also like to know if someone can give me a run through, like do we speak first, and is that when we state what we feel our son would benefit from? I've read so much, but I still feel a little left in the dark. Thank you for reading - any advice will help!
First of all, you should DEFINITELY be able to see at least a couple of possible placements before your child gets placed. Sometimes, it's necessary to see the classrooms AFTER the IEP meeting and withhold your approval UNTIL the meeting. However, that is not ideal. If at all possible, I would ask to make visits before the IEP meeting and it might even be worth postponing the IEP meeting to visit the classes first. You don't say whether your child is already in school and you are talking about changing his placement or if he's little and this will be his first time in school. Either way, you should try to see the classes.
The first thing that the IEP Committee will look at is your child's Present Levels of Performance. In English, that means his test scores. They will tell you what the results are in percentiles or standard scores. ASK THEM WHAT ALL THE NUMBERS MEAN. If you hear "two standard deviations below the norm," ask them to EXPLAIN what that means. In fact, if your are paying an advocate to come with you, the advocate should be able to explain the scores to you now. I am assuming the advocate has advised you to request all the reports ahead of time. You have that right. You are a member of the IEP Team and you should not be walking into the meeting in the dark. Get those reports and scores and go over them with the advocate. There is no one size fits all IEP, hence the "I." This includes one size per PDD-NOS child. Each child's needs and program will be different and an IEP is not based solely on medical diagnosis.
In terms of who should speak, the school should speak first and present all the reports and scores. They should fully explain these to you. You should then present any evidence you have, including your child's doctor's report.
Tomorrow (Jan. 16,) we are beginning a book discussion book on the Parents thread. We will be discussing From Emotions to Advocacy. The book is available at www.wrightslaw.com but also at many libraries. Older versions are often available on eBay. We will be using the second edition because it incorporates all the changes from the reauthorization of Federal spec. ed. law (IDEA 2004). Please join us even if you don't have the book. There should be a lot of info there that will help you in your first IEP meeting.
SOrry -- just reread the title of the post and see that this is preschool.I don't know what a non-cat SDC is.Hi, Thanks for the info.IDEA requires that parents FULLY participate in the IEP decisions about a child. If you cannot read the material ahead of time, how can you fully participate. I HOPE you haven't signed to get your son out of the IEP system yet. You have what is known as Procedural Safeguards. Go to your state ed site and search that. In IDEA, your greatest safeguard is the "stay put." That means that the current IEP stays in place while you are going through due process (mediation, resolution session, impartial hearing straight up thru the Supreme Court of the United States if it goes that far!) That means that he stays in his current placement, getting his current interventions while you and the school district duke it out. The FIRST thing you need to do is put in writing a request for an Independent Educational Evaluation at District expense. Frankly I would ask that the IEE be for complete testing with a neuropsychologist of your choice. This will give you all the psycological and developmental testing you need. The school districts CANNOT refuse to pay for an IEE. They can say yes or they can take you to an expedited hearing and get the Hearing OFficer to say no. They cannot, themselves, so no. Of course, some Districts try to say no anyway. In that case, you can force them to take you to a hearing, take THEM to a hearing or send them a written notice that you are giving them 10 days to agree to pay for the evaluation or you will be getting it on your own and then seeking reimbursement. Of course, you can simply go GET a neuropsyche on your own. Your insurance MAY pay for it, or they may not. A complete neurolpsychological evaluation at the autism center near me takes a couple of days and cost upward of 00, depending on what is done. A Hearing will cost the District far more than that. However, giving your child a full spec. ed. program will cost even more, so they might want to fight it.
To answer the last question, I'd say request the IEE or get testing on your own nickel. In the meantime, don't sign to get your child out of special ed. You have to SIGN for them to drop him.
If it isn't in writing it wasn't said. WRITE to your school district about 10 days before the meeting and ask for all evals in writing as well as any written reports. I don't know if this is universal, but in New York, the Committee is required to give parents the written material that will be presented in the IEP meetings 5 business days ahead of time. You can look at your California law to see. But I DO know that Federal law requires that the IEP Committee facilitate full parental participation in the IEP development. If they are not sharing the evidence with you ahead of time, even Federal law would find them out of compliance. Include in your letter that you understand it is the right of the parents to fully participate in the development of the IEP and that you do not feel you will be capable of being a fully participating parent if you don't get the information in enough time to read it and call with questions BEFORE you are asked to help in IEP development at the meeting. Send this to the Spec. Ed. director and the IEP Committee Meeting Chairperson. Send it registered mail or hand deliver it, get it date stamped and get a copy of it with the stamp on it. Of course, be as polite and cooperative sounding as you can in the letter, but remember that nothing you have said EVER counts unless it's in writing. So, after the meeting, send a thank you note to the Chairperson summarizing your understanding of the results of the meeting and asking that any misunderstanding be explained to you in writing. Start a 3-ring binder that includes hard copies of all of the correspondence that changes hands as well as copies of all the IEPs.
I had a question for tzoya, that might relate to Matty:
You mean a copy of IDEA 2004? It's not a novel, it's the law. Wrightlaw offers an annotated version called IDEA 2004, too, but it has much more in it. However, they've updated their book Special Education Law. It now has IDEA 2004 in it and so much more. http://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/selaw2/selaw2.htm
You can probably also find it on Amazon, cheaper. Worth every penny.
However, if you're referring to your state's regulation of IDEA, that is not in any text. YOu can usually download a copy of it from your state ed's website. It's important to know how your own state regulates IDEA 2004 because each state is allowed to offer more protections, but never fewer.
Go to www.google.com and use that search engine to look up Pennsylvania State Board of Education or Pennsylvania State Department of Education. Actually, I think Penn State Dept of Ed would be the best thing to google. Once you get to the state dept home page, you'll be looking for links to special ed or IDEA 2004 or Code or something that relates to either the state law regarding IDEA. If you have trouble let me know and I'll search for you and post the link. Sometimes it's easy getting to the state dept. home page but then hard to find the info you're looking for.
thank you will look tomorrow to see if I can find info.