Re: question about summer related services

March 20, 2002

>Lori wrote:

>Has anyone had these services done in the home or at a private facility

>without a battle?

Hi Lori,

My answer is a strong YES and a strong NO. We have had services in home,

but, there was a battle. But, not a significant or due process battle.

The services we obtained were for a private tutor (teacher of the deaf with

experience with multi-handicapping issues) who worked with our daughter

about 12 hours per week for the Summer. We broke it up into different time

frames depending on the week and other activities that were happening. So,

one week we might have had 3 four hour sessions and another week we might

have had 2 six hour sessions and so on.

The beauty of this was that my daughter was able to do fantastic things

with this teacher. They went fishing and to a farm and to the science

center and so on. All the while the teacher was signing and drawing and

writing the information for my daughter who does well with information

provided in these ways. You can imagine the language growth opportunities

present in such a situation.

Our daughter is deaf and apraxic as well. Her idiomotor apraxia affects her

signing a lot. She is very delayed in her language development and this

approach is excellent for her. It also could be helpful using speech as well

as it sounds like your child uses speech.

The school provided this service (I found the teacher), because there was

no appropriate program available during the Summer. Our daughter

demonstrates clear regression and also qualified for Summer service due to

the nature and extent of her delays.

Other Summers the district has provided some other programs that worked,

but not as well. Our favorite was the one I just outlined. But, in other

Summers, the district provided an aide with sign skill to work with our

daughter 1:1 in an activity program that was primarily comprised of hearing

children. This activity program was a community program, not a school district

program. One other time the district provided an aide that went into the

city parks and recreation program with our daughter to assist her in certain

classes and to facilitate communication and socialization.

Good luck getting an appropriate program. Summer is a wonderful time to

continue to gain language skills in a bit less formal setting than during

the school year.

wendy

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