Guest guest Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Hi all - My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? Thanks so much! Bridget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Sorry I saw this so late. You most definitely can ask to have services outside of the class time. We did this! My ds stayed after pre-k and had lunch with the aide, then had most of his IEP services provided. 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 ( ) Preschool IEP Questions Hi all - My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? Thanks so much! Bridget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 Thanks for the response, Roxanna. We have the meeting next week to make the final determination of eligibility for preschool services and it is not looking good. During the classroom observation, they thought my son looked like he was doing great in school (of course, he is currently getting OT twice a week and developmental therapy once a week outside of school, so sure he is doing okay). The teachers listed some areas of concern on their questionnaires (including peer interactions), but did not say that it caused a problem in the classroom, so now the school district thinks there is no reason to qualify my son for services. Because they saw some good peer interactions, gestures, and eye contact, they are not going to evaluate him for autism spectrum disorder (he currently has a dx of sensory processing disorder, and shows a lot of the other signs like the rigidity, unusual interests, obsessions, etc.). We are on the waiting list for an ADOS at TEACCH, and both the OT and developmental therapist believe my son is on the spectrum somewhere (either AS or PDD-NOS) - certainly they know him a lot better than the people at the school district do. I have found an advocate to attend the meeting with me next week, and am getting a letter from the developmental therapist (they already have one from the occupational therapist), but I am not sure how much it will help if they think that my son functions fine in school. I went today and got a look at the report the district has written up, and they did find some areas of delay (emotional, self help) and saw some of the sensory issues. The delayed areas were about a year behind, and then on academic stuff like math and reading, my son was two to three years ahead of his age (he is 3 years old). Anyway, I am not sure what else can be done to convince them that he needs intervention - any suggestions? Thanks, Bridget > > Sorry I saw this so late. You most definitely can ask to have services outside of the class time. We did this! My ds stayed after pre-k and had lunch with the aide, then had most of his IEP services provided. > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > ( ) Preschool IEP Questions > > > > > > Hi all - > > My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. > > One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? > > Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. > > Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. > > Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? > > Thanks so much! > > Bridget > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Bridget, I am sorry to hear they will probably be making it hard to qualify him. Sounds like he is a "typical 2e" kid - gifted with learning disability/sped needs. A good start is to read all you can about "twice exceptional" or "2e" kids. Another good thing is to read this policy letter that discusses qualification for kids who are gifted --> http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/elig.sld.osep.felton.htm Hopefully, the advocate will have ideas and help you sort it out. In my own experience, things to look for are the subtest scores on testing - not the ultimate average score. My ds is 2e (hfa and gifted) and his scores will always come out "average" and some even above average. But when you look at the subtest scoring, you see the problems - some scores in the 99%ile, some in the 1%ile. And this shows his special education needs very nicely. I don't know your child, obviously, but if he is doing work well above his grade level and behind socially and taking OT privately, I can imagine you will see similar things if you look to the subtest scores. And if he's very smart, his giftedness can pull up his other scores when they are averaged together, skewing the results. Also, make sure the testing that they are doing is appropriate for what you are focusing on. A speech eval may not even cover pragmatic language and social skills. These kids can also struggle with naming categories and grouping, communicating, etc. These are all areas of speech that can be left out of an eval. Recently we had an eval done for my youngest ds (not autistic, dyslexic) and he passed with flying colors. We had to pull him from the school and the new school wanted to do their own eval. The new ST used different testing with a focus on the areas I was telling her were problems for my ds and he more than qualified for services. So the school did do a ST eval, but it was so basic and did not even address the areas of concern for him. In fact, at the first school, he didn't qualify and at the second school, he qualified in 3 different areas. We spent the meeting with the 2nd school discussing which category to put down out of 3 choices so it was a total difference between the two evals and meetings. But this can show you how important it is to get a good eval. And if you disagree with an eval. that they have done, do not hesitate to ask for an "independent educational evaluation" at their expense. Make sure those scores look right to you and describe the child that you know. It can be overwhelming, to be sure. But ask for the school's eval and report in advance of your meeting and go over everything. If they do not include subtest scores, do not include percentiles, etc., you can ask for that information. You may be really surprised. You can also look up the testing that was done and make sure it was appropriate and testing for the areas of need your child has. (Some tests have different versions, too! I've had a test for younger kids done one time on one of my kids and surprise, he passed, lol Another time, they did a test that was outdated - too old. The new version was more informative and descriptive of his real needs.) Remember also that when they say he isn't having any problems, it usually means that they are not having any problems with him. It doesn't necessarily mean he isn't struggling through his day. The best thing you can do is to go to class and observe and take your own data. I did that for my youngest in pre-k where they said he was doing "just great." I went prepared with paper and pen to tally how many times he spoke to anyone, answered questions, interacted with a peer, etc. I didn't have to use the paper...he didn't speak to anyone or play with anyone the whole time. I went back 3 times and saw the same thing. But he was pleasant and quiet. So it wasn't bothering anyone else. <g> Find out what he's doing in class. Ask for the data to back up everything you are told. Many times over the years, I have sat there and been told some cute story about one of my kids. Usually, that's it - they look around for one cute story and that proves he's doing great. lol. So don't get sidetracked by that. One event does not mean there isn't a problem. If they bring up how cute he "played" with a peer and you know he doesn't interact with other kids, don't hesitate to ask when that happened, how often that happened or tell them you know it didn't happen. For instance, "I am happy to hear he had a good day. But the fact remains, he almost never interacts with a peer...." or whatever applies to your situation. They often use one anecdotal incident to mean he has no problems and that is not good data to make such a decision. Also remember that the IDEA does not just cover grades but covers the social/emotional/life skill aspects of learning as well. The purpose of IDEA is: <<(d)(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living.>> So being able to interact with others, share, communicate, etc., can all matter. Not just whether he can score at the ceiling in Math. Let us know how your meeting goes and good luck! 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 ( ) Preschool IEP Questions > > > > > > Hi all - > > My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. > > One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? > > Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. > > Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. > > Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? > > Thanks so much! > > Bridget > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Adding to what Roxanna covered, I'm thinking you can argue about the peer interactions, that he needs help in this area. As he progresses grades (and even now), there are a lot of group things students have to do; like PE class or just playground time; and teachers often have students work in groups together on projects or work inside and outside of class. And then there's lunchtime, that's at school too! Argue that the gestures, eye contact, etc., are not going to do him any good if the other students still think him " different " or he can't carry on a " typical age " conversation with them...anything you think can apply to him. I know often talked to the other students, but there (and even at home) you just sort of " shook your head " sometimes at what he'd say, be talking about, etc.; it just wasn't the same as any other kid his age or sometimes maybe inappropriate in ways, to the topic or whatever, might respond too literally to what another said.... Argue that intervention now will make his later grades go much more smoothly, would they rather address these areas now or in a later grade when he's still having the same problem. Just some thoughts, directions to go, in trying to get services. Think ahead to the later ages/grades and any current problem areas for present classroom. > > Thanks for the response, Roxanna. We have the meeting next week to make the final determination of eligibility for preschool services and it is not looking good. During the classroom observation, they thought my son looked like he was doing great in school (of course, he is currently getting OT twice a week and developmental therapy once a week outside of school, so sure he is doing okay). The teachers listed some areas of concern on their questionnaires Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Hi Roxanna, Thank you for the link to that page on wrightslaw; I have printed it out and I think some of it is very relevant, particularly the part about taking into consideration how much of a child's success in school is due to outside interventiosn. That is very much the point I was trying to make to the school district psychologist - if my son looks as good as she thinks in preschool, how much of it can be attributed to the fact that he receives OT and developmental therapy outside of school for a total of 3 days/week? Personally, I think he would be functioning poorly if he did not have the support to prepare him for school and if he did not attend a very structured school with consistent routines and excellent transitions with incredibly patient and nurturing teachers! I had a chance to read the draft report compiled by the school evaluators (psychologist, OT, Speech, and the resource teacher), although they did not give me a copy to take. In their own evaluation in their office, they did find some areas of delay. My son is 36 months old, and they marked him at 24-30 months in social cognition, 21-24 months for emotional themes in play, 18-24 months in adaptive behavior (primarily due to the fact that he was born missing the fingers on his left hand and also because he is not yet potty trained), 30-36 months in emotional development (mostly based on his overreaction to minor stimuli). On the flip side for math and science skills they found scatter up to 72 months and they found the same with his literacy skills, though they thought he could improve his comprehension (hyperlexia, in other words). They also saw some of his sensory issues, both seeking and avoiding. On the ABAS II adapative scales, his final score was 89, which is just one point below the bottom of the average range (self care and social brought him down and conceptual brought the score up). The early intervention psychologist previously administered the Vineland with the same results. On the ASRS autism scales test, the school psychologist found slightly elevated scores for social (65), very elevated for unusual interests (80) and rigid behaviors (85) and elevated (75) for sensory. But she looks at that with the observations she did at school and says he looks fine with peers, gestures, and makes eye contact, so everything is great. From the school district psychologist's perspective, if the teachers report no disruption (even though they noted some areas of concern) then there is no school problem and not an issue for the school district. The portion you highlighted from IDEA will hopefully be able to refute that position. I attended a parent advocacy training session today and will meet with the advocate Monday (coincidentally, parent-teacher conferences are Tuesday), so hopefully we can build a good case. Thanks for all of your suggestions; I will let you all know how it goes! Bridget > > > > Sorry I saw this so late. You most definitely can ask to have services outside of the class time. We did this! My ds stayed after pre-k and had lunch with the aide, then had most of his IEP services provided. > > > > > > > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > > > > > ( ) Preschool IEP Questions > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi all - > > > > My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. > > > > One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? > > > > Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. > > > > Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. > > > > Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? > > > > Thanks so much! > > > > Bridget > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Thanks, Chris. I have been keeping a log of some examples of troublesome peer interactions. I tried to get some video at the park last week, but when the camera was rolling, my son was playing a nice game of chase with a friend. Of course, after I gave up and turned the camera off, he showed what happens when he gets too excited playing (which tends to happen with this particular friend) - he intentionally stepped on the other boy's hand and then pushed over a baby who he happened to walk by. The teachers do report that my son frequently yells NO and STOP at his classmates (I have seen it too) and that he often gets in their space and touches them in ways they don't like (like trying to kiss girls who are shrinking back from him). According to the school psychologist, the teachers do not report that this causes any problem in class, but now I am wondering exactly how that question was even put to them (and how polite the teachers are trying to be). At the parent advocacy meeting I attended today (free classes sponsored by ECAC in North Carolina, in case you ever want to check one out, fellow tar heel), they made a big point about planning now for the future as you talk about. The presenter said that when her child was in 3rd grade, she realized that the school was doing pull out therapy every day at the same time, so that he was literally missing every single class in a particular subject...a subject which would be coming up on 5th grade standardized tests. After she brought it to the school's attention, a change was made. Thanks again for the ideas, and I will keep you all posted. Bridget > > > > Thanks for the response, Roxanna. We have the meeting next week to make the final determination of eligibility for preschool services and it is not looking good. During the classroom observation, they thought my son looked like he was doing great in school (of course, he is currently getting OT twice a week and developmental therapy once a week outside of school, so sure he is doing okay). The teachers listed some areas of concern on their questionnaires > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Where you mentioned about success due to outside intervention, reminded me of when was in middle school. I used that argument too. The school psych had mentioned his grades (good) and I said something like, but you have to take into consideration all the extra time/effort that is going into getting him those good grades. This was in a discussion about qualifying for IEP. (In his 504 Plan - similar to an IEP - we were using the accommodations in it, plus I was helping him soooo much with getting his work done, plus more time spent on assignments than typical/average student had to spend....) At that time, I even had something in writing about it (from Dept of Education) that I had found online, but can no longer find that official letter anywhere. Short version - she disagreed but school system special ed director agreed with me! > > Hi Roxanna, > > Thank you for the link to that page on wrightslaw; I have printed it out and I think some of it is very relevant, particularly the part about taking into consideration how much of a child's success in school is due to outside interventiosn. That is very much the point I was trying to make to the school district psychologist - if my son looks as good as she thinks in preschool, how much of it can be attributed to the fact that he receives OT and developmental therapy outside of school for a total of 3 days/week? Personally, I think he would be functioning poorly if he did not have the support to prepare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 Roxanna, I was rereading your very helpful post to review the details of IDEA 04, and I wanted to mention that your advice to check the subtest scores was helpful. On 2 different adaptive scales, my son scored one point into the below average range, but upon closer inspection the cognitive score is pulling the total up - without it, the other categories do fall solidly in below average. I will definitely be bringing that up at the meeting! I also got out the calculator and found that according to the school district's own evaluations, my son does show over a 30% developmental delay in adaptive behavior (primarily because of orthopedic impairment) and also 33% delay in emotional themes in play (apparently he doesn't really have any emotional content to his play). The developmental therapist also just gave me a letter which dovetails nicely with the concerns listed by my son's teachers. Hopefully we can weave it altogether into a picture which is comprehensive enough to overcome the school psych's rosy impressions at the school observation. Thanks again, Bridget > > > > Sorry I saw this so late. You most definitely can ask to have services outside of the class time. We did this! My ds stayed after pre-k and had lunch with the aide, then had most of his IEP services provided. > > > > > > > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > > > > > ( ) Preschool IEP Questions > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi all - > > > > My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. > > > > One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? > > > > Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. > > > > Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. > > > > Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? > > > > Thanks so much! > > > > Bridget > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 it is good to know that argument of outside support being the reason a child is not failing to function in school can sometimes be effective! I got the letter from my son's developmental therapist today, and at the end she stated that she felt like my son's performance at school would definitely deteriorate without continued remedial support. Hopefully the letters and observations from the professionals, teachers, and parents who know the child well will carry more weight than an hour spent at school in one observation session. Thanks, Bridget > > > > Hi Roxanna, > > > > Thank you for the link to that page on wrightslaw; I have printed it out and I think some of it is very relevant, particularly the part about taking into consideration how much of a child's success in school is due to outside interventiosn. That is very much the point I was trying to make to the school district psychologist - if my son looks as good as she thinks in preschool, how much of it can be attributed to the fact that he receives OT and developmental therapy outside of school for a total of 3 days/week? Personally, I think he would be functioning poorly if he did not have the support to prepare > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 We had the same issue of my son being " successful " in school because of all the support we gave at home to the detrement of his brothers. We heard " he's passing so he doesn't need services " We resorted to telling them ok, we'll stop helping him and let him fail! It was so had to stand back and let him struggle. They needed to see what he could and couldn't do without assistance from us. It didn't take long, additional testing helped also. Because of his struggles and the impact on the entire family, we got the support of his psychologist who helped us request certain accommodations that would benefit not only my son but the rest of the family. It helped to decrease the stress at home! Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone bridget <beanniferj@...> wrote: > it is good to know that argument of outside support being the reason a child is not failing to function in school can sometimes be effective! I got the letter from my son's developmental therapist today, and at the end she stated that she felt like my son's performance at school would definitely deteriorate without continued remedial support. Hopefully the letters and observations from the professionals, teachers, and parents who know the child well will carry more weight than an hour spent at school in one observation session. > >Thanks, > >Bridget > > >> > >> > Hi Roxanna, >> > >> > Thank you for the link to that page on wrightslaw; I have printed it out and I think some of it is very relevant, particularly the part about taking into consideration how much of a child's success in school is due to outside interventiosn. That is very much the point I was trying to make to the school district psychologist - if my son looks as good as she thinks in preschool, how much of it can be attributed to the fact that he receives OT and developmental therapy outside of school for a total of 3 days/week? Personally, I think he would be functioning poorly if he did not have the support to prepare >> > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I'm glad it helps - let us know how your meeting goes! 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 ( ) Preschool IEP Questions > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi all - > > > > My son is in the process of (hopefully) qualifying for school district services and an IEP through the preschool division and I have a few questions for all you experienced parents. > > > > One question is how does it work with an IEP when the child is in a private preschool? I know the school district is obligated to provide whatever services are listed in the IEP, but is a private school obligated to make any particular accommodations or does the IEP technically not apply to them? > > > > Also, I am wondering if we could have services agreed upon in the IEP and opt of out receiving them, at least in the beginning. For instance, my son currently receives OT through a private practitioner, and that is a service I would certainly want in the IEP. Does anyone know if we could have it in the IEP (assuming the school district agrees, obviously), but then opt not to start using their OT until the insurance runs out for the private one we currently see? Would we then be able to opt in? I assume it would be better to request a service and not use it immediately than to have something left out of the IEP and try to go back later and get it added. > > > > Lastly, I would love some opinions on how to balance preschool services with school itself. My son only attends preschool 2 mornings a week for 2 1/2 hour sessions. The time is so short that I really do not want to pull him out to receive therapy, as then he would be missing out on a lot of the benefits of the preschool itself. It is theoretically possible to go to the school district office to receive therapy, although that is pretty inconvenient. > > > > Another possibility I have considered is seeing if the school would be willing to let us use an empty room for therapy immediately following the end of his class. I have not approached the school about it yet, but I wonder if anyone has done anything similar and whether the school was open to it? My son's class is the earliest to end, so the school is still open at the point which his group leaves and I know they have empty rooms available. I would imagine that I would be responsible for picking him up from the teacher at the end of class and escorting him to the therapy room so the teacher would not have to do it (they are too busy dealing with parents arriving for pick up). Do you all think this sounds reasonable from a school's perspective? > > > > Thanks so much! > > > > Bridget > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Remember the letter to Lillie/Felton that I often link to also says that the school has to consider the amount and type of help that the parents are providing outside of school when making determinations for that child. Technically, you shouldn't have to let them fall down a hole to get the school staff to get it. However, I know in practice, sometimes that is what you end up having to do. Just wanted to add that people can go read more about what the school needs to consider if it applies to their situation. http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/elig.sld.osep.felton.htm 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 Re: ( ) Preschool IEP Questions We had the same issue of my son being "successful" in school because of all the support we gave at home to the detrement of his brothers. We heard "he's passing so he doesn't need services" We resorted to telling them ok, we'll stop helping him and let him fail! It was so had to stand back and let him struggle. They needed to see what he could and couldn't do without assistance from us. It didn't take long, additional testing helped also. Because of his struggles and the impact on the entire family, we got the support of his psychologist who helped us request certain accommodations that would benefit not only my son but the rest of the family. It helped to decrease the stress at home! Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone bridget <beanniferj@...> wrote: > it is good to know that argument of outside support being the reason a child is not failing to function in school can sometimes be effective! I got the letter from my son's developmental therapist today, and at the end she stated that she felt like my son's performance at school would definitely deteriorate without continued remedial support. Hopefully the letters and observations from the professionals, teachers, and parents who know the child well will carry more weight than an hour spent at school in one observation session. > >Thanks, > >Bridget > > >> > >> > Hi Roxanna, >> > >> > Thank you for the link to that page on wrightslaw; I have printed it out and I think some of it is very relevant, particularly the part about taking into consideration how much of a child's success in school is due to outside interventiosn. That is very much the point I was trying to make to the school district psychologist - if my son looks as good as she thinks in preschool, how much of it can be attributed to the fact that he receives OT and developmental therapy outside of school for a total of 3 days/week? Personally, I think he would be functioning poorly if he did not have the support to prepare >> > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 This point was excellent about taking into account outside services being received - I brought it up at my meeting with the advocate today, and she also thought it would benefit our case. It was her opinion that we have a great deal of information to support our position of the need for services (from OT, developmental therapist, and teacher statements, as well as some of the school's own observations, such as a 33% delay in adaptive skills) and nothing much to refute it except for the brief observation from the school psychologist. I got the draft of the district's comprehensive report today, and found a number of statements in it which rebutted some of the things she did not notice. The advocate has said that we will absolutely appeal and request an independent evaluation if services are denied. Thanks, Bridget > >> > > >> > Hi Roxanna, > >> > > >> > Thank you for the link to that page on wrightslaw; I have printed it out and I think some of it is very relevant, particularly the part about taking into consideration how much of a child's success in school is due to outside interventiosn. That is very much the point I was trying to make to the school district psychologist - if my son looks as good as she thinks in preschool, how much of it can be attributed to the fact that he receives OT and developmental therapy outside of school for a total of 3 days/week? Personally, I think he would be functioning poorly if he did not have the support to prepare > >> > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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