Guest guest Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Just thought I'd post some quick thoughts on this IEP we got, 4 years after we first decided our son needed some kind of extra help. He will be going into 9th grade. They said what qualified him for services was processing speed and executive dysfunction. I don't remember exactly how they put it, but social skills training is a sort of secondary need that is being met. As far as why the school district suddenly did an about face and completely changed their mind... I don't know if it was my 4 years of hard pushing that finally paid off or if it was that an assistant principal finally took the initiative to suggest my son be evaluated by the school district's autism team that did the trick. Probably a little bit of both. There are two things in particular that stand out from this whole experience. 1) You must learn the laws and procedures so you know when to push--then keep your documentation together and do said pushing--being professional and positive the whole while. 2) You have to find a way for the school to see your child's problems for themselves. The test results by themselves wouldn't have gotten my son services--the school evaluators had to have evidence, school staff's own evidence, that the problems were causing dysfunction. It was really hard for me to stop doing all the extra things and let my son fail at school, let his teachers fail. But I think it was necessary. All of the sudden my son's problems weren't just my problems anymore. And I've never had to go back to doing all those extra things because now the school is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Or much more so; of course we all know things are never perfect! Even with just the 504 these past couple of school years, it has been tons better since I stopped filling in the gaps and instead have been pushing the school to fill in those gaps. I guess there is also the issue of the first evaluation that resulted in a dx, and all those other evaluations we did on our own because the school wouldn't. I'm actually kind of glad it ended up that way, because our private evaluators were much more chatty and available to us. I'm really not sure how things would have turned out if we had waited, first, I don't know how long it would have taken to get the school to do an autism evaluation or even if we could have made that happen, and second, I'm not sure how the school evaluation would have turned out without all the prior evaluations to point the way. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 > > P.S. are they going to give your son a summer program to help him catch up? Thanks for all the kind thoughts. My son needs summer school like he needs a hole in the head LOL. He really needs the downtime and time away from school. He's not behind academically, so this is okay. He is underachieving for his IQ, but he is at or exceeding grade level in all subjects. He only has one advanced class next year (history), and he is doing fine in that area. His problems are all pretty much functioning problems, which we can continue to work on ourselves this summer, and the remainder of which can wait for school next fall. Although, I have to say that I think they will find some problems in math and written expression once they get this program together and finally get him in a place where he is doing all his work and people are paying attention to what he is doing. But sorting that out is going to have to wait for next school year. I suppose solving that may be as simple as giving him the aides that were suggested by some, I'm not sure. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 Ruth congratulations! And just in time for high school. What services will they provide. I was able under IEP to get lots of academic support, but our school would not and will not provide AS social skills (like Winner curriculum) they will not do any pairing up of peers, her isolation is her problem solely. Would not provide a quieter lunchroom I had to pick her up for lunch. They also drew a line on emotional support. They would let her see a counselor once a week but would not do anything more than that. In our district if a teacher is sarcastic and it upsets my daughter that is just too bad. It really depends on where districts draw there lines on providing support. I wonder do the bigger schools do a better job perhaps? Our district has only 800 kids how many do you have Ruth in you district. Pam > > Just thought I'd post some quick thoughts on this IEP we got, 4 years after we first decided our son needed some kind of extra help. He will be going into 9th grade. > > They said what qualified him for services was processing speed and executive dysfunction. I don't remember exactly how they put it, but social skills training is a sort of secondary need that is being met. > > As far as why the school district suddenly did an about face and completely changed their mind... I don't know if it was my 4 years of hard pushing that finally paid off or if it was that an assistant principal finally took the initiative to suggest my son be evaluated by the school district's autism team that did the trick. Probably a little bit of both. > > There are two things in particular that stand out from this whole experience. 1) You must learn the laws and procedures so you know when to push--then keep your documentation together and do said pushing--being professional and positive the whole while. 2) You have to find a way for the school to see your child's problems for themselves. The test results by themselves wouldn't have gotten my son services--the school evaluators had to have evidence, school staff's own evidence, that the problems were causing dysfunction. > > It was really hard for me to stop doing all the extra things and let my son fail at school, let his teachers fail. But I think it was necessary. All of the sudden my son's problems weren't just my problems anymore. And I've never had to go back to doing all those extra things because now the school is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Or much more so; of course we all know things are never perfect! Even with just the 504 these past couple of school years, it has been tons better since I stopped filling in the gaps and instead have been pushing the school to fill in those gaps. > > I guess there is also the issue of the first evaluation that resulted in a dx, and all those other evaluations we did on our own because the school wouldn't. I'm actually kind of glad it ended up that way, because our private evaluators were much more chatty and available to us. I'm really not sure how things would have turned out if we had waited, first, I don't know how long it would have taken to get the school to do an autism evaluation or even if we could have made that happen, and second, I'm not sure how the school evaluation would have turned out without all the prior evaluations to point the way. > > Ruth > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 > > Ruth congratulations! And just in time for high school. What services will they provide. They are providing an IEP for social skills and organization/planning. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are providing a Winner curriculum, but they are planning doing interventions throughout the school day sometimes, not just in the social skills class. They are targeting specific weaknesses that showed up in his evals. > > They would let her see a counselor once a week but would not do anything more than that. This is how our elementary school was. In our district if a teacher is sarcastic and it upsets my daughter that is just too bad. Have you tried complaining to the special ed director? That was how I finally got this stopped with my son. I put it in legal terms. I told her the teachers were treating my son's disabilities like willful behavior and giving him consequences. That is illegal, and I knew it would get her attention. I never even had to be demanding about it. > It really depends on where districts draw there lines on providing > support. I think you really may have to look at individual schools. The high school will be our 4th school in this district, and each one has had a very distinct teacher culture. At the K-4 school, there were very distinct teacher cultures even just between the grades. The early grades in elementary were great. The 3rd/4th grade teachers/principal simply didn't know very much about different learning styles. Many of the 5th/6th grade teachers were horrible--downright unprofessional. It was about half and half decent teachers and just mean, overgrown bullies. The jr high was a breath of fresh air. They were responsive and professional--it just took them awhile to decide what level of support my son needed--both years he was there. And I have to say there were bright spots even at the worst of times. I feel the principal and the guidance counselor at the 5th/6th grade school saved things from being total disaster. And the district special ed director stepped in when I asked and helped. If I had found out the principal and guidance counselor were they way they are earlier (didn't meet them until early in 6th grade), it would have been better. They took action when I asked, and I don't think they knew what was going on with the teachers and my son before. > I wonder do the bigger schools do a better job perhaps? Our district > has only 800 kids how many do you have Ruth in you district. I'm in a large suburban/rural/county seat school district with about 45,000 students in SE Texas. It covers a lot of area. We have northern Houston suburbs, rural areas to the north of that, and the city that is the county seat. Cut and Shoot, Texas is in our district--rough place LOL. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Ruth, wishing you the best with his new IEP. I hope everything all works out and you can finally relax.. does your son have any plans for the summer? Rose From: r_woman2 <me2ruth@...> Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2009 11:09:46 AMSubject: Re: ( ) Finally got the IEP >> P.S. are they going to give your son a summer program to help him catch up?Thanks for all the kind thoughts. My son needs summer school like he needs a hole in the head LOL. He really needs the downtime and time away from school. He's not behind academically, so this is okay. He is underachieving for his IQ, but he is at or exceeding grade level in all subjects. He only has one advanced class next year (history), and he is doing fine in that area. His problems are all pretty much functioning problems, which we can continue to work on ourselves this summer, and the remainder of which can wait for school next fall. Although, I have to say that I think they will find some problems in math and written expression once they get this program together and finally get him in a place where he is doing all his work and people are paying attention to what he is doing. But sorting that out is going to have to wait for next school year. I suppose solving that may be as simple as giving him the aides that were suggested by some, I'm not sure.Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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