Help with IEP and school services...

February 16, 2010

Hi everyone, I am trying to get all of the help I can here, I am really

inexperienced at this, my girl with autism is going to be transitioned into

kindergarten and she has been doing so well that they want to put her in a

regular classroom with NO supports whatsoever. No special ed, no aides,

nothing. The school she is going to only has a special ed autism class or a

regular class, there is no in between.

I have to go to her IEP on Friday and I know they won't want to cooperate or

give her an aide (this is what I want). Has anyone else been through this

before? I want to get an advocate of some sort. I am not sure what to do...I

hate to be so demanding but I am very concerned about my daughter and I can tell

her teacher was concerned about the transition, too. But I am sure she is under

pressure to do whatever is cheapest for the school district.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

February 17, 2010

,

Bill, Peggy, Robin and all made important suggestions. I am emailing

you off list with lots of info on how to navigate the IEP. I would push for

an aide. But an aide is necessary at this point. Trust your gut, you know

your kid best. Think outside the box as far as services are concerned, and

don't wait for the school to offer something you need to help your child.

Be reasonable in your requests, remember the district has a lot of children

to serve, and don't agree to things that are just not necessary.

If I Knew Then What I Know Now

The first mistake I made was that I did not want my child labeled. I

thought I was protecting my child by not labeling him as " autistic " , but

what I really was doing was hurting him. In the state where we lived, if

your child is labeled " autistic " you are entitled to more services and

assistance than if he had the PDD or an unspecified disorder label. With

the " autism " label, you could request a shadow or an aide in the classroom

or at recess. That may not happen with the PDD label.

One of the most important things I learned from the Gay Pirri (who was in

charge of the speech department for the district) was to put ALL requests

for services in writing and distribute them before the meeting to everyone

who would be present. When things are put in writing everything is

documented. There are no questions or misunderstandings about what you

think is " is necessary to meet your child's educational needs. " Remember

that quoted phrase; it is extremely important special educational jargon

that is crucial to use in order to get what your child needs. It is a

signal to the IEP team that you know your rights, and could possibly take

legal action if they do not provide what is requested.

I know that sounds very confrontational. But these meetings weren't. To

every IEP meeting I brought treats. Cookies and pop for all who attended.

It made the atmosphere lighter and more cooperative. Educators are hungry

after a long day at school. Most educators are expected to plan wonderful

programs for hundreds of kids, fill out piles of paperwork, and in between,

actually work with your child. Once again we did things a little

differently. I acted as 's caseworker and planned his program. It

would have been impossible for them to be as thorough as I could be when I

had only one child's program to plan. Although I wanted someone to do all

of this for me, I learned a long time ago that I was the one who was

ultimately responsible for helping get better.

My next mistake was to thinking that all the teachers and IEP team members

had to understand the medical treatment and the behavioral

interventions we were using. These well-meaning people had no idea that

" autism " is a medical disease and these kids could get better. Usually,

they would get that glazed look in their eyes our kids do when they check

out. My saying it didn't make them believe it. To them, I was just another

delusional mom who couldn't deal with my child's diagnosis. However, as my

child got better, their opinion seemed to change. In time, they did realize

that my kid was different than all the other children they have worked with

in the past. Some even asked about the medical treatments so they could

help the other children they worked with.

Hope this helps,

Marcia

February 17, 2010

Excellent advice, Marcia. Putting everything in writing is very important.

www.wrightslaw.com has sample letters for a lot of requests, including

evaluations, testing, services, etc. We've been very fortunate to work with

teachers, educators, and therapists who value our input as parents. Like

everyone, they like to hear when something they're doing with your child is

working. Regarding the aide issue, it's critical to have the aide for your

daughter's success, but make sure the IEP team knows that your ultimate goal is

to make her independent in the classroom and the aide is a way to further that

goal. I know some parents that get very upset if their child's aide leaves the

child's side for a second. In some cases, it's understandable. The child's

behavior (maybe she eats glue or he tries to cut himself with scissors) may be

dangerous to himself or others and he needs constant supervision. If that's not

the case with your daughter, let the aide know

that your comfortable having her stand back and let your daughter navigate her

environment. If she gets off track, the aide can step back in. Aides can also

facilitate social interaction. Our best aide ever enlisted the other students in

Noah's classroom as peer mentors. They would prompt him to answer questions,

line up, clean up, etc. He would respond faster to other kids than to adults.

Most of the kids loved the feeling that they were helping him.

Good luck,

Robyn

________________________________

From: and Marcia Hinds <hindssite@...>

jlhank80@...;

Sent: Wed, February 17, 2010 7:25:48 AM

Subject: Re:Help with IEP and school services...