Re: Anyone else see the issues here?

[Guest guest]

I am by far no expert ...but two things pop out at me....you gave the school and official request on May 26th...did you make a copy of it? I hope so. Anyways....you could fill out the other forms and post date it or make a note that you have already requested testing to be done on May 26th. I would do this so that they can't have extra time ...you have already officially requested it be done.

The other is the team or school psychologist can not make a diagnosis. They could say you son has OCD tendencies or that he is ocd at time....but no they can not make a dx.

Also, I know for a fact that with my son (he has an IEP) the team can not make decisions w/out me. They have to send invitations to everyone on the IEP team....

Jan

Janice Rushen

"I will try to be open to all avenues of wisdom and hope"

From: Ashleigh Crane <ashleighcrane@...>Subject: ( ) Anyone else see the issues here? Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 9:55 PM

On May 26th, I gave the school system an official TN Dept of Education Request for Evaluation for my son - giving them permission to test him. Today, I get a packet of information for me to complete to give my permission regarding their interest in testing him. Am I the only one who sees the issue here? They are given 40 days from the official request to complete the evaluation. They have not acted yet. If I sign the form they have provided, does that give them an additional few weeks to act on an evaluation?? Also, they have held a *Support Team Meeting* without me, and developed a laughable plan to help with s social skills (something is better than nothing, so I will take it for now). They have come up with an additional diagnosis on their own of OCD, which is a medical diagnosis that a psychologist cannot make, correct?

The interventions they list are using an egg or sand timer (wouldn't those increase anxiety and drop accuracy?? hello his processing speed is low!!!) to help him with time management, giving him structured time to work on assignments, having both of his teachers help the entire classes with social skills training, have him pulled out for small group social skills help with the guidance counselor and other kids, allowing him to be a study buddy with kindergarten.

As far as testing goes, the minutes said *the consensus among the S-team is to refer for special Ed testing based on parent request, anxiety, and OCD. Interventions will be put into place for 4 weeks prior to testing.* Then they mention the Special Ed teacher performing a Functional Behavioral Analysis (which I assume is only done after the 4 weeks of interventions) . Also, his teachers said his school work at or above grade level (heard that before, not concerned about it!). Mrs. Bell reports * has his own way of thinking and needs to be redirected at times. When she is firm (going to need to know what that means to her!) with him he refocuses. Mrs. Gentry (math) said *I am able to reason with and redirect him*.

So, Im not signing anything...but am looking for your wealth of advice...

Ashleigh

____________ _________ __~Ashleigh~

"So you see! There's no end to the things you might know,Depending how far beyond Zebra you go!" ~Dr. Seuss

www.picturetrail. com/ashleigh1976

[Guest guest]

>

> On May 26th, I gave the school system an official TN Dept of Education Request

for Evaluation for my son - giving them permission to test him.

This is good. This started your time clock. It started when they received the

request.

> Today, I get a packet of information for me to complete to give my permission

regarding their interest in testing him.

This is normal. There are two things they are looking for here. First, they

want some parent input regarding your son's problems. Second, they need your

okay on what the evaluation is going to consist of.

Some things for you to think about...

This is your opportunity officially provide input. You don't have to stick to

the paperwork they have given you; you can add whatever you think is necessary

and helpful. They must consider this input and include their response to it in

the evaluation results (they don't have to agree with it). In this parent input

you will want to include the reports from any evaluations you had done yourself

that you want them to consider; you may also want to write up a little report

yourself on things you want them to know about your son and his problems. To

make it clear, refer to your additional items on the parent input paperwork they

have provided--explicitly state that you want them considered. The things the

teachers are saying that you don't agree with--refute them with examples, stats,

research, anything you can come up with.

This is also your opportunity to okay or not okay the list of tests,

observations, and other measurements that they are planning to do for the

evaluation. If it isn't clear to you exactly what they are planning, if they

are too vague or you don't know what the names of the tests mean--make sure you

ask. Make sure you have a good idea of exactly what they are going to be

testing for. Many people schedule a meeting to go over this. Often the parent

has to initiate such a meeting; they will be happy to take your signature and be

off.

So, you were right to not just sign it and send it in.

> They have not acted yet. If I sign the form they have provided, does that

give them an additional few weeks to act on an evaluation??

No, this does not give them more time. It is not rare for the evaluators to

wait until the time period is almost up to do the testing. They have other kids

they are doing evaluations for that were in line before your child. Testing a

child and writing up the report does not take them the whole time period, so

they have some time to play with.

> Also, they have held a *Support Team Meeting* without me, and developed a

laughable plan to help with s social skills (something is better than

nothing, so I will take it for now).

Schools can do informal accommodations without consulting with parents. Not

saying this is good or bad or that I agree with it, but simply that they can and

often do.

> They have come up with an additional diagnosis on their own of OCD, which is a

medical diagnosis that a psychologist cannot make, correct?

Some school districts have specialized staff that can make diagnosis for

educational purposes. For example, our school district has an autism team that

has staff that are allowed to diagnose.

> The interventions they list are using an egg or sand timer (wouldn't those

increase anxiety and drop accuracy?? hello his processing speed is low!!!) to

help him with time management, giving him structured time to work on

assignments, having both of his teachers help the entire classes with social

skills training, have him pulled out for small group social skills help with the

guidance counselor and other kids, allowing him to be a study buddy with

kindergarten.

Although they had this meeting and initiated these informal accommodations with

you, this doesn't mean they aren't willing to meet again with you to discuss

things more. They probably would. I would request such a meeting--have done

this very thing myself, as my son had informal accommodations for a couple of

years before he was awarded either 504/IEP.

> As far as testing goes, the minutes said *the consensus among the S-team is to

refer for special Ed testing based on parent request, anxiety, and OCD.

This is a problem. They can't confirm autism if they are not looking for it.

Did you state in your request for evaluation explicitly that you wanted them to

test for autism/Asperger? If so, they need to tell you why in writing they are

not doing said testing. You might be able to resolve this by going above their

heads to your school district's main special ed office. They usually know the

laws better. If you have requested an autism eval and they are refusing without

giving reasons, this is unlawful and a no-brainer. The higher level SPED people

should be able to resolve this. If you didn't request it explicitly because you

didn't know any better, since you haven't signed off on anything, it is not too

late. You can submit an addendum--just make sure it is legal--if they are being

stinky I would send it certified requiring signature mail. Another option would

be hand-delivering it to the school, insist the secretary hand-stamp the

received on date in front of you and request her to let you watch putting it in

the correct mail slot! Or better yet, have them call the required person to the

front office and hand it to them yourself LOL. My school district is not that

stinky, but you could do that.

> Interventions will be put into place for 4 weeks prior to testing.* Then they

mention the Special Ed teacher performing a Functional Behavioral Analysis

(which I assume is only done after the 4 weeks of interventions).

It is good they are going ahead with the interventions before the testing is

complete. The FBA will probably be done as part of the SPED eval. Since they

have time to play with and it will involve different people (from main SPED

eval), it may not happen at exactly the same time.

Hope this helps!

PS. By the way, since this is a moderated list, sometimes it takes a day or two

for things to get posted.

[Guest guest]

Do you think she should contact her countys' Social Services for an advocate? Or contact her States' Autism society on HOW to inforce what she knows that aren't following?

From: Ashleigh Crane <ashleighcrane@ charter.net>Subject: ( ) Anyone else see the issues here? Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 9:55 PM

On May 26th, I gave the school system an official TN Dept of Education Request for Evaluation for my son - giving them permission to test him. Today, I get a packet of information for me to complete to give my permission regarding their interest in testing him. Am I the only one who sees the issue here? They are given 40 days from the official request to complete the evaluation. They have not acted yet. If I sign the form they have provided, does that give them an additional few weeks to act on an evaluation?? Also, they have held a *Support Team Meeting* without me, and developed a laughable plan to help with s social skills (something is better than nothing, so I will take it for now). They have come up with an additional diagnosis on their own of OCD, which is a medical diagnosis that a psychologist cannot make, correct?

The interventions they list are using an egg or sand timer (wouldn't those increase anxiety and drop accuracy?? hello his processing speed is low!!!) to help him with time management, giving him structured time to work on assignments, having both of his teachers help the entire classes with social skills training, have him pulled out for small group social skills help with the guidance counselor and other kids, allowing him to be a study buddy with kindergarten.

As far as testing goes, the minutes said *the consensus among the S-team is to refer for special Ed testing based on parent request, anxiety, and OCD. Interventions will be put into place for 4 weeks prior to testing.* Then they mention the Special Ed teacher performing a Functional Behavioral Analysis (which I assume is only done after the 4 weeks of interventions) . Also, his teachers said his school work at or above grade level (heard that before, not concerned about it!). Mrs. Bell reports * has his own way of thinking and needs to be redirected at times. When she is firm (going to need to know what that means to her!) with him he refocuses. Mrs. Gentry (math) said *I am able to reason with and redirect him*.

So, Im not signing anything...but am looking for your wealth of advice...

Ashleigh

____________ _________ __~Ashleigh~

"So you see! There's no end to the things you might know,Depending how far beyond Zebra you go!" ~Dr. Seuss

www.picturetrail. com/ashleigh1976

[Guest guest]

I think she should do both. Contact an advocate and her local autism chapter, also maybe someone from her school boardSent from my BlackBerry® wireless deviceFrom: and/or Robin Lemke Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 06:19:40 -0700 (PDT)< >Subject: Re: ( ) Anyone else see the issues here? Do you think she should contact her countys' Social Services for an advocate? Or contact her States' Autism society on HOW to inforce what she knows that aren't following?From: Ashleigh Crane <ashleighcrane@ charter.net>Subject: ( ) Anyone else see the issues here? Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 9:55 PM On May 26th, I gave the school system an official TN Dept of Education Request for Evaluation for my son - giving them permission to test him. Today, I get a packet of information for me to complete to give my permission regarding their interest in testing him. Am I the only one who sees the issue here? They are given 40 days from the official request to complete the evaluation. They have not acted yet. If I sign the form they have provided, does that give them an additional few weeks to act on an evaluation?? Also, they have held a *Support Team Meeting* without me, and developed a laughable plan to help with s social skills (something is better than nothing, so I will take it for now). They have come up with an additional diagnosis on their own of OCD, which is a medical diagnosis that a psychologist cannot make, correct? The interventions they list are using an egg or sand timer (wouldn't those increase anxiety and drop accuracy?? hello his processing speed is low!!!) to help him with time management, giving him structured time to work on assignments, having both of his teachers help the entire classes with social skills training, have him pulled out for small group social skills help with the guidance counselor and other kids, allowing him to be a study buddy with kindergarten. As far as testing goes, the minutes said *the consensus among the S-team is to refer for special Ed testing based on parent request, anxiety, and OCD. Interventions will be put into place for 4 weeks prior to testing.* Then they mention the Special Ed teacher performing a Functional Behavioral Analysis (which I assume is only done after the 4 weeks of interventions) . Also, his teachers said his school work at or above grade level (heard that before, not concerned about it!). Mrs. Bell reports * has his own way of thinking and needs to be redirected at times. When she is firm (going to need to know what that means to her!) with him he refocuses. Mrs. Gentry (math) said *I am able to reason with and redirect him*. So, Im not signing anything...but am looking for your wealth of advice...Ashleigh ____________ _________ __~Ashleigh~ "So you see! There's no end to the things you might know,Depending how far beyond Zebra you go!" ~Dr. Seuss www.picturetrail. com/ashleigh1976

[Guest guest]

Hi, I am new to the group but can give you a little info.My son was in day care

and we started having trouble with his behavior when he turned 3. When he went

into prek he started throwing chairs, just being a horrible little person. I

made arrangements for the school to come in and evaluate him, the observed his

behavior and asked me a lot of questions. Think carefully before you answer thr

questions as I found that some of the questions that I anwered no to were

actually yes,I just hand't realizedthat he was doing some of the things he was

doing ads I was just use to him doing them, I called back the next day and told

them that he actually was doing a lot of the things that I answered no to. They

got approval to move him to the school IEP prek where the was given a lot of

help. They diagnoised him with sensory processing disorder. I took him to our

mental health facilities and his pediatrian(who was already treating himfor

ADHD)he arranged for a brain scan along with other testing, that is when we were

told he had Aspergers. He is in a regular kindergarten class and is taken out

of for language and physical therapy. I am very fortunate that our school has a

wonderful IEP program. There are several books at and Noble that deal

strictly with your childs rights if he is in an IEP class and it leads you step

by step as to your rights and waht to do if they are not doing what thay are

suppose to do. Hope this helps a little. Good luck Lynda

>

>

> From: Ashleigh Crane <ashleighcrane@ charter.net>

> Subject: ( ) Anyone else see the issues here?

>

> Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 9:55 PM

>

>

>  

>

>

> On May 26th, I gave the school system an official TN Dept of Education Request

for Evaluation for my son - giving them permission to test him.  Today, I get a

packet of information for me to complete to give my permission regarding their

interest in testing him.  Am I the only one who sees the issue here?  They are

given 40 days from the official request to complete the evaluation.  They have

not acted yet.  If I sign the form they have provided, does that give them an

additional few weeks to act on an evaluation??  Also, they have held a *Support

Team Meeting* without me, and developed a laughable plan to help with s

social skills (something is better than nothing, so I will take it for now). 

They have come up with an additional diagnosis on their own of OCD, which is a

medical diagnosis that a psychologist cannot make, correct?

>  

> The interventions they list are using an egg or sand timer (wouldn't those

increase anxiety and drop accuracy?? hello his processing speed is low!!!) to

help him with time management, giving him structured time to work on

assignments, having both of his teachers help the entire classes with social

skills training, have him pulled out for small group social skills help with the

guidance counselor and other kids, allowing him to be a study buddy with

kindergarten. 

>  

> As far as testing goes, the minutes said *the consensus among the S-team is to

refer for special Ed testing based on parent request, anxiety, and OCD. 

Interventions will be put into place for 4 weeks prior to testing.*  Then they

mention the Special Ed teacher performing a Functional Behavioral Analysis

(which I assume is only done after the 4 weeks of interventions) .  Also, his

teachers said his school work at or above grade level (heard that before, not

concerned about it!). Mrs. Bell reports * has his own way of thinking and

needs to be redirected at times.  When she is firm (going to need to

know what that means to her!) with him he refocuses.  Mrs. Gentry (math) said *I

am able to reason with and redirect him*.

>  

> So, Im not signing anything...but am looking for your wealth of advice...

> Ashleigh

>  

>  

> _______________________

> ~Ashleigh~

>  

> " So you see! There's no end to the things you might know,

> Depending how far beyond Zebra you go! " ~Dr. Seuss

>  

> www.picturetrail. com/ashleigh1976

>