Re: MET meeting results: Roxanna?

January 15, 2011

Hi Roxanna,

I wondered what you thought of my previous post, shown below.

(I hope you don't mind, I put your name in the subject)

Thanks,

> >

> > You definitely should receive prior written notice from the school outlining

what was considered and why they made the decisions they made. This is

required. If you don't get it shortly, write a letter requesting your PWN

because you disagreed with their decision.

> >

> > It's weird how people can say that this is probably AS but not lifelong.

She doesn't meet the requirements in social areas but probably needs a social

skill group. She doesn't meet the criteria for language but everyone noticed

her rigid thinking problems.

> >

> > I would write a follow up letter to the meeting outlining all of their

inconsistencies such as the ones I just mentioned. Outline what was said and

how you disagree.

> >

> > Also, if you feel their evaluations were not appropriate, you can request an

independent educational evaluation (IEE) at their expense by an outside

independent person(s). Do this in writing, if you choose to do so. I'm not

sure why a 504 plan was not written at your meeting.

> >

>

January 19, 2011

I don't mind. I often get behind in reading posts so I am sorry!

PWN is a notice given prior to implementing (or not implementing) whatever is being discussed. It should state what was being considered, the data being considered to make the decision and why the decision was made. Anytime they refuse to provide what you are asking for - request your PWN so you have it documented what was being considered, why it was refused. It's important to document what is going on as well as giving you a clear notice of why it is being denied/refused/changed.

I think it is always interesting when they say a child doesn't have a specific problem, then detail that the child does have that problem but it is limited or so mild that it doesn't matter. I would look at how often this is really a problem for her - because often staff will not see the extent of the problem or minimize it to not have to provide services or because they really don't see this as a problem or the problem isn't bothering them. Lots of things can be happening to make them say this is not a problem. And it might not be a problem - in which case, they are accurately reporting what is going on. But I doubt that is true or you wouldn't be asking questions. So I would want to know how often this language processing and social cues problem is happening for her? Once a day? Forty times a day? somewhere in between? Figure out how much of a problem this really is. There are lots of ways to document that this is a problem. Is she making friends? Able to work with her peers? Join in play? work in a group and participate? Is she able to express her wants and needs? Express what she is learning, what she knows? Yadda yadda yadda. They do evaluations just based on observations that should accurately assess her needs. Did they do these evaluations? If so, did you receive copies of the reports? Are things missing or inaccurate? Can you read these eval's and say this is your kid or does it sound like they are talking about someone else?

As for the social worker, I would ask to see the data that he used to make her determination that your dd does not have qualitative impairments. And again, that goes back to the PWN where you expect to see what was being considered and why the determination was made. If your PWN was not specific in this, I would write and request to see the data used to make that determination. If there is no data or they refuse, then I would write a serious letter stating what is being done and that you disagree. And with that, I would request an outside evaluation be done at their expense. (Also, if he only saw your dd interact with you and her brother, how could he determine that she has no impairments in social interactions or only with you two?!?!? Does that make any sense? Not to me! Why wasn't the evaluation done in the classroom and over a series of days so he could see whether she indeed had problems that need to be addressed?!?) maybe there was a good reason it was done this way that I didn't catch from your email or don't remember but it seems curious to me but more importantly, in accurate.

So I would probably want to request an outside IEE at their expense if you are not agreeing with what has been decided. In writing! And if you did not receive a PWN, it means you may have signed off on the eval that she will not receive services and that you agree to that or else they may not have bothered with PWN. If they just didn't bother, write a letter/note and request it and save it for your records as well - showing that they did not follow procedure.

All that adds up. So you have a meeting later where you say, "Look, they didn't even observe her with the other kids. The IEE evaluator did and found significant issues....etc....and you continue, "When I asked for what data was being used to make this determination, I was told that I could not see that information....etc....here is the data we collected.....etc...." All of that will help you push for whatever you feel is appropriate.

Roxanna

"I

predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Jefferson