Re: Options at Age 3: what did your child do?

[Guest guest]

Hi Leigh,

Well we just went down this road. It was so frustrating, because I had fought so

hard to get a fantastic " team " of people for my son thru early

intervention...now we had to loose them all (or continue paying privately for

them). My son. Larsyn, has been diagnosed with severe verbal apraxia, dyspraxia,

hypotonia and sensory processing dysfunction. Cognitively he tested almost at

age level, receptively has no delays and expressively with a 85% delay. For now

we put him in the Special Day Class thru the district. It was a very hard

decision because we had him in a private typical preschool and he was doing

great. I wanted to give the district program a chance. I had to be firm with the

district during the IEP to get the services I wanted...unfortunately he didn't

get as much as he was getting with EI. So I am supplementing (out of pocket). I

had them write in the IEP that I was not satisfied with amount they gave (2-20

min 1:1 and 1-30 min 1SLP:2 kids). I had to fight for that amount! We will

revisit it in 3 months and so far the SLP seems to agree he needs more 1:1 and

it has only been ONE WEEK!

Because the district had SLPs I couldn't get them to pay for the ones we had

during EI. The district and I agreed (and wrote in the IEP) if the particular

Special Day Class ends up not being LRE (least restrictive environment), then

they would have to pay for a school that was for him. Unfortunately we don't

have any special/private speech schools locally. The best I would be able to do

is have them pay for a typical private preschool and a 1:1 aide for him to help

with his PECS,etc. Then I would have to drive him back to the district school to

get his OT,PT AND ST services. Right now I am driving back to school to get his

1:1 services (I did NOT want him pulled out of class!). So far I am happy that I

fought for that!

Anyways if you have any question please feel free to e-mail me! Since you have

been down the special ed pathway, you probably don't have any questions

regarding IEPs!!

-Jenna

>

> Hi Everyone

> well I'd forgotten how quickly the IFSP transitional meeting comes up (6

months prior to the 3rd bday - at least here). While I understand the need for

everyone to get things in place so there's an appropriate place/services for the

child at age 3, so much can change. My son is not quite 30 months and has been

participating in ST since shortly after his 2nd bday. At this point, it's hard

to tell where he might be in another 5 months as he's making progress (slow, but

sure). We've been down the special ed pathway with another child and have an

idea of what's available in our County in terms of special ed preschools. There

really arent any for NT kids with just speech issues. They were great for our

other child but dont think it's a good match for our little guy. BUT the other

option (and I realize its not about what's available but about his needs) is

group speech. It's not clear whether he's apraxic or not, but whatever is going

on, group speech aint gonna cut it, at least right now. I'm gearing up to do

battle with District to have them continue paying privately with his current ST,

beyond age 3, til he starts school or doesnt need it anymore. I suspect much

varies based on state/county. I've heard of some continuing therapy in the home

(just like EI but different provider) and I've heard of some fantastic sounding,

rigorous schools where everything is about speech. Would love to hear what you

did at age 3 if your child still needed services? Thanks so much!

>

> Leigh

>

[Guest guest]

From your letter, I'm assuming Lareyn is in pre-school. I am an OT on an Early

Intervention team. We are, by law, required to do standardized testing to

determine where a child is functioning at age three and make recomendations to

the school district as to what services are needed in pre=school. These

recommendations become the IEP.

I, of course, do not know your little guy. One thing I do know, is with therapy,

more minutes is not always better. He needs therapy sessions and then lots of

time to practice what he's learned. Too much therapy can be as bad as too

little.

Also, talk to your therapists. If your greatest concern is his speech, then his

IEP should reflect that in the number of minutes he will receive speech. If fine

and gross motor concerns are not as great, they should be addressed keeping that

in mind.

If he's in pre-school, it's likely for either AM or PM 4 days a week. Figure out

the total number of hours he's in school. Subtract the therapy time. There

should be enough time left to be a part of his class and participate in

classroom activities.

Good luck!

> From: Jenna <imcaligal@...>

> Subject: [ ] Re: Options at Age 3: what did your child do?

>

> Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 9:52 AM

> Hi Leigh,

> Well we just went down this road. It was so frustrating,

> because I had fought so hard to get a fantastic

> " team " of people for my son thru early

> intervention...now we had to loose them all (or continue

> paying privately for them). My son. Larsyn, has been

> diagnosed with severe verbal apraxia, dyspraxia, hypotonia

> and sensory processing dysfunction. Cognitively he tested

> almost at age level, receptively has no delays and

> expressively with a 85% delay. For now we put him in the

> Special Day Class thru the district. It was a very hard

> decision because we had him in a private typical preschool

> and he was doing great. I wanted to give the district

> program a chance. I had to be firm with the district during

> the IEP to get the services I wanted...unfortunately he

> didn't get as much as he was getting with EI. So I am

> supplementing (out of pocket). I had them write in the IEP

> that I was not satisfied with amount they gave (2-20 min 1:1

> and 1-30 min 1SLP:2 kids). I had to fight for that amount!

> We will revisit it in 3 months and so far the SLP seems to

> agree he needs more 1:1 and it has only been ONE WEEK!

>

> Because the district had SLPs I couldn't get them to

> pay for the ones we had during EI. The district and I agreed

> (and wrote in the IEP) if the particular Special Day Class

> ends up not being LRE (least restrictive environment), then

> they would have to pay for a school that was for him.

> Unfortunately we don't have any special/private speech

> schools locally. The best I would be able to do is have them

> pay for a typical private preschool and a 1:1 aide for him

> to help with his PECS,etc. Then I would have to drive him

> back to the district school to get his OT,PT AND ST

> services. Right now I am driving back to school to get his

> 1:1 services (I did NOT want him pulled out of class!). So

> far I am happy that I fought for that!

>

> Anyways if you have any question please feel free to e-mail

> me! Since you have been down the special ed pathway, you

> probably don't have any questions regarding IEPs!!

>

> -Jenna

>

>

> >

> > Hi Everyone

> > well I'd forgotten how quickly the IFSP

> transitional meeting comes up (6 months prior to the 3rd

> bday - at least here). While I understand the need for

> everyone to get things in place so there's an

> appropriate place/services for the child at age 3, so much

> can change. My son is not quite 30 months and has been

> participating in ST since shortly after his 2nd bday. At

> this point, it's hard to tell where he might be in

> another 5 months as he's making progress (slow, but

> sure). We've been down the special ed pathway with

> another child and have an idea of what's available in

> our County in terms of special ed preschools. There really

> arent any for NT kids with just speech issues. They were

> great for our other child but dont think it's a good

> match for our little guy. BUT the other option (and I

> realize its not about what's available but about his

> needs) is group speech. It's not clear whether he's

> apraxic or not, but whatever is going on, group speech aint

> gonna cut it, at least right now. I'm gearing up to do

> battle with District to have them continue paying privately

> with his current ST, beyond age 3, til he starts school or

> doesnt need it anymore. I suspect much varies based on

> state/county. I've heard of some continuing therapy in

> the home (just like EI but different provider) and I've

> heard of some fantastic sounding, rigorous schools where

> everything is about speech. Would love to hear what you did

> at age 3 if your child still needed services? Thanks so

> much!

> >

> > Leigh

> >

[Guest guest]

Hi Janis,

Larsyn goes to SDC preschool 5x/week for 2.5 hours/day (12.5hrs/week). He gets

about 3.5 hours/week of therapy services if they pull him out. He would be

missing over one whole day of school! Not to mention the time it takes for them

to walk him over to the therapy offices and back to class (he has dyspraxia so

he walks very slow!)

The school district barely looked at the EI therapists assessments. The school

district " team " each did their own and went by those. Each of his EI therapists

highly recommended that he continue with the same amount of therapy, but I guess

the district therapists (who each met with him for 15min-30 min) thought

differently!

Very frustrating. We LOVED all of his early intervention therapists (OT,PT,ST

and ABA Therapists) and miss them dearly. I am now Facebook friends with most of

them :-)

He has been at the district school for 2 weeks and he hasn't even had any OT

yet! I kindly told the administrators I would be more than happy to send Larsyn

back to his EI OT at their expense. Well, they promptly hired a new OT today!

-Jenna

> > >

> > > Hi Everyone

> > > well I'd forgotten how quickly the IFSP

> > transitional meeting comes up (6 months prior to the 3rd

> > bday - at least here). While I understand the need for

> > everyone to get things in place so there's an

> > appropriate place/services for the child at age 3, so much

> > can change. My son is not quite 30 months and has been

> > participating in ST since shortly after his 2nd bday. At

> > this point, it's hard to tell where he might be in

> > another 5 months as he's making progress (slow, but

> > sure). We've been down the special ed pathway with

> > another child and have an idea of what's available in

> > our County in terms of special ed preschools. There really

> > arent any for NT kids with just speech issues. They were

> > great for our other child but dont think it's a good

> > match for our little guy. BUT the other option (and I

> > realize its not about what's available but about his

> > needs) is group speech. It's not clear whether he's

> > apraxic or not, but whatever is going on, group speech aint

> > gonna cut it, at least right now. I'm gearing up to do

> > battle with District to have them continue paying privately

> > with his current ST, beyond age 3, til he starts school or

> > doesnt need it anymore. I suspect much varies based on

> > state/county. I've heard of some continuing therapy in

> > the home (just like EI but different provider) and I've

> > heard of some fantastic sounding, rigorous schools where

> > everything is about speech. Would love to hear what you did

> > at age 3 if your child still needed services? Thanks so

> > much!

> > >

> > > Leigh

> > >

>

[Guest guest]

It seems as if you do have concerns! It's a pity that the district paid no

attention to the EI reports. I do the EI testing and reports for children I work

with in EI. I write the IEP with the pre-school OT. It works great in our

situation. Even if they leave our school, the IEP is reflective of what they

need according to the people who know them best from EI.

I'm sure you know that an IEP is a legal document. The district is required by

law to provide the services as specified. They know that if they don't, you can

go the Due Process route. Due process is costly for the district, so most try to

avoid it. If a request is reasonable and the district can provide the services-

or if it's on the IEP, most will do what is right. Sometimes they need some

" encouragement. " As soon as you pointed out that a service on his IEP that had

not been implemented, they knew they had to find an OT ASAP to provide the

service or be in violation of the law. You should also receive progress notes at

the same frequency as all the other students in your district.

Stay involved. You are the best advocate for you child. If some specifics seem

troubling to you, like wasting time walking a long distance to the speech

offices, maybe there's a vacant space closer to the classroom. Many of our

therapists work in the classroom, if appropriate. There are usually solutions to

most concerns.

> From: Jenna <imcaligal@...>

> Subject: [ ] Re: Options at Age 3: what did your child do?

>

> Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 6:03 PM

> Hi Janis,

> Larsyn goes to SDC preschool 5x/week for 2.5 hours/day

> (12.5hrs/week). He gets about 3.5 hours/week of therapy

> services if they pull him out. He would be missing over one

> whole day of school! Not to mention the time it takes for

> them to walk him over to the therapy offices and back to

> class (he has dyspraxia so he walks very slow!)

>

> The school district barely looked at the EI therapists

> assessments. The school district " team " each did

> their own and went by those. Each of his EI therapists

> highly recommended that he continue with the same amount of

> therapy, but I guess the district therapists (who each met

> with him for 15min-30 min) thought differently!

>

> Very frustrating. We LOVED all of his early intervention

> therapists (OT,PT,ST and ABA Therapists) and miss them

> dearly. I am now Facebook friends with most of them :-)

> He has been at the district school for 2 weeks and he

> hasn't even had any OT yet! I kindly told the

> administrators I would be more than happy to send Larsyn

> back to his EI OT at their expense. Well, they promptly

> hired a new OT today!

>

> -Jenna

>

>

> > > >

> > > > Hi Everyone

> > > > well I'd forgotten how quickly the IFSP

> > > transitional meeting comes up (6 months prior to

> the 3rd

> > > bday - at least here). While I understand the

> need for

> > > everyone to get things in place so there's an

> > > appropriate place/services for the child at age

> 3, so much

> > > can change. My son is not quite 30 months and has

> been

> > > participating in ST since shortly after his 2nd

> bday. At

> > > this point, it's hard to tell where he might

> be in

> > > another 5 months as he's making progress

> (slow, but

> > > sure). We've been down the special ed pathway

> with

> > > another child and have an idea of what's

> available in

> > > our County in terms of special ed preschools.

> There really

> > > arent any for NT kids with just speech issues.

> They were

> > > great for our other child but dont think it's

> a good

> > > match for our little guy. BUT the other option

> (and I

> > > realize its not about what's available but

> about his

> > > needs) is group speech. It's not clear

> whether he's

> > > apraxic or not, but whatever is going on, group

> speech aint

> > > gonna cut it, at least right now. I'm gearing

> up to do

> > > battle with District to have them continue paying

> privately

> > > with his current ST, beyond age 3, til he starts

> school or

> > > doesnt need it anymore. I suspect much varies

> based on

> > > state/county. I've heard of some continuing

> therapy in

> > > the home (just like EI but different provider)

> and I've

> > > heard of some fantastic sounding, rigorous

> schools where

> > > everything is about speech. Would love to hear

> what you did

> > > at age 3 if your child still needed services?

> Thanks so

> > > much!

> > > >

> > > > Leigh

> > > >

> >

[Guest guest]

My daughter just turned three years old and we just had her IFSP meeting. We

live in Oregon.

Our daughter is not yet communicating verbally, has coordination and balance

difficulties, and some sensory integration problems.

I visited and observed several private preschools and the public EI preschool

that we could go to. We are choosing to send our daughter to a private Waldorf

preschool and have (unfortunately minimal) services from EI support her at the

private school. We decided this because after close observation, I felt

confident that the Waldorf program was a better program than the public program.

I will need to serve as our daughter's assistant until I am no longer needed,

but I feel her preschool experience is very important. I am willing to do

anything to help her the best way that I can.

It is hard to know what the best environment is for your child. I suggest that

everyone looks closely at the programs available, and go with what your heart

tells you. I also have a background in elementary education, so I knew what to

look for. But I think mothers can have a strong feeling about an educational

environment for their child, and be swayed to do things differently because

their child has " special needs " . I really do believe that you know your child

best, even if you don't have the specific knowledge/ skill set that the

therapists do.

My best to all.

[Guest guest]

Theres a big Waldorf School here in NY where I grew up. I asked them when I was

looking at preschools for my dd too. They made it clear any child who needs

" those " kinds of services would have to do them on their own time!!

>

We are choosing to send our daughter to a private Waldorf preschool and have

(unfortunately minimal) services from EI support her at the private school. We

decided this because after close observation, I felt confident that the Waldorf

program was a better program than the public program.