GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING!!

[Guest guest]

We had our meeting at the school today. Ds, 8yr (TS, ADHD, PDD, Anxiety

Disorder) is not doing well academically so towards the end of the

meeting, which is bogus anyway, we presented the team with a formal

evaluation letter.

Funniest thing I've ever heard in my life was when the school

psychologist, after reading the letter, smiles at me and says " Oh, you

didn't have to put it in writing. We can just talk about it here. "

I almost had a conniption! I can't believe they would actually SAY

that. I know that they can be difficult to work with in terms of IEP

and 504, but really? How could she just come out and be so condescending??

I just smiled and said " Oh yes we do. "

So make sure everything at school meetings are in writing. KEEP A

PAPER TRAIL for accountability!!

It's a shame that these people let our children slip to the point of

failing before they do something (if what they do is actually something).

My son has PDD, TS, ADHD, and Anxiety Disorder and under IDEA he would

be qualified with either PDD or TS as a dx.

If anyone is interested in viewing the letter we had READY to submit,

I will gladly share. I know there's lots of samples, but it doesn't

hurt to see another.

I really wish I had other parents to TALK to so I could say everything

that happened at the meeting. I am still worked up about it.

We have been " negotiating " with the school since pre-K to get him the

IEP. The only year he had the IEP, grade 2, he had a great year, no

issues at all. Then this year they pull it from under us (I'm actually

thinking that they may have coerced us into giving up the IEP, but

that's another issue), and now he's coming home with some papers that

are failing.

I felt like telling them " Look! I'm not at a car dealership

negotiating the price of a car by going back and forth with numbers

and prices. This is my child and he is struggling academically and

needs an IEP to be successful. "

I am in the process of writing a meeting follow-up letter which will

basically state everything that was discussed and that the

Psychologist refused to do a Functional Behavior Analysis because she

said it wasn't necessary.

Hold them accountable and make sure the paper trail says EVERYTHING.

If it isn't written down, then it wasn't said.

I hope this helps other parents who are struggling with the school. I

REALLY wish there was someone around me that knew the " system " and how

to navigate through this BS!

Just because my ds is doing better now is not because he has been

" cured " , it's part of his disability.

I don't know where to go from here. I wish I could tell them all off,

but can't.