Hey, Elle ... the BETTER news is, she has four months to progress and you can amend her goals, accordingly!
Not that I am all Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but, that is something!
We had our IEP meeting (ARD as they are called here) last week. Because
we disagree w/ the evaluation (well, their recommendation), there is now
a 10 day recess--which, puts us into August actually (school days), as
school ends this week.
In some ways, it's good, we have a lot more time to build our case even
more, get better educated, etc. But, in other ways, if we meet again & still
they don't have a good plan for dd, then she is left w/ no preschool
program. The big problem is that our district doesn't have an inclusion-
style program...well, perhaps the bigger issue is that these team didn't
know the law. For one, 1/2 of them argued at first that the laws only
covered children 6 & up. To which my husband & a school official said--
no, ages 3-21. It was crazy, to say the least. Thankfully, we know our
rights & that helped. The meeting was calm, everyone stayed collected
which was nice. A lot of things are up in the air, and I just hope a good
agreement is made so that dd can go to a school who will understand her
needs & she will be able to continue to thrive.
The issue we have--dd qualifies for the program, has a disability & an
educational need. However, the district says they don't have the LRE for
her...but are not sure how to provide her w/ an LRE. So, we
recommending sending her to another district, a private school, etc. We
are very willing to work with the school to come up with a plan. We also
let them know that we realize dd is a very unique case, and that we
understand they may not have dealt w/ this before (it is a new school &
growing district--they do not have any programs for PDD at all--which
they all agreed would fit dd better).
To anyone facing a first-time meeting--I would say hook up with an
advocate if you think it's going to be tricky. That was huge--having that
help there. Also, make sure you get a copy of the evaluation BEFORE the
meeting. Get organized w/ a 3 ring binder & anything else that will keep
you orderly. Stay calm--I bought a new pen with this squishy thing,
listened to favorite music & took a relaxing shower before the meeting. I
did some slow breathing & just kept telling myself to stay cool. All of this
helped the meeting go smooth--even though there was disagreement.
MOSTLY--KNOW THE LAW!! 2 weeks ago, we didn't have a clue what
FAPE, LRE, or any of that was...read it, know it, & know what rights your
child has. I followed tzoya's advice--we didn't quote any specific laws,
but it came across that we were very well schooled on it!
I wish too that there were more PDD schools out there....
Otherwise it sounds as though you were very prepared and knew what you needed to know before hand...which I have had to learn the last few months as well.
Here's another way to remain calm...eat some dark chocolate prior to the meeting...it was recommended to me and worked.