Incoming IEP

[mattblakk]

Tomorrow is Blake's IEP meeting. If there are any last minute reminders, or things I should ask about that I might not think of, feel free to respond with suggestions. If you don't know what an IEP meeting is, don't worry.

Logan has to go to the doctor at almost exactly the same time, and so I'm also going to miss work tomorrow evening and have to have Blake with me during the IEP. Since it will be in his classroom, I'm not anticipating this will be a problem at all.

(did I mention the no work = no pay bit? see comment about money stress earlier)

I'm hoping that the next oh probably 14 days that I have to wait before my financial aid is disbursed get a bit easier.

Comments

[luckykid13.livejournal.com]

I'd make an offer to take Blake- but I have a dr appointment too-- hopin for some meds to kick this cough...

As for the IEP-Have they met the former one? what have they slacked on? What are YOU wanting to see him take on?

[rexlezard.livejournal.com]

::bitter-yet-nostalgic sigh:: I remember that I used to enjoy going to my IEP meetings, if only to see the look of surprise and slight horror when my teachers realized that *I* was there. I loved it when they would sit there and discuss how disruptive (bored) and inattentive (bored) and stupid (bored) I am/was, and then I would say something, and they would just look at me. Like it wasn't my place to say anything about *my* educational experience.

My only advice is DON'T BACK DOWN. You know what your kid needs to learn. That's the one thing I have to give my mother credit for. She stuck up for me - mostly - with school officials, teachers, etc. Don't let 'em tell you they know your kid better than you do. Don't let 'em patronize you. Go get 'em tiger.

[doublestuff32.livejournal.com]

if Blake doesn't already have an occupational therapist who addresses sensory issues, inquire about that. also, his teachers and therapists may be able to help Blake generalize new skills into his home/social environments, through some sort of home program (if that is not being done already).is he getting appropriate transportation to school? are you happy with the amount/quality of time he spends with normally-developing peers? all very important questions, if you haven't covered them already. I hope that you have a good strong relationship with his teachers and therapists (I'm sure you do...you strike me as that kind of person). good luck with it all. hope you hear lots of good news about the progress he's made.

[mattblakk.livejournal.com]

Blake does get OT. He hasn't been getting the even one session of speech therapy a week in his IEP, so I'm going to ask for 2 individual sessions a week for the next year. clearly, he needs it. His expressive language delay is the reason they have listed for placing him in a special day class, and I'm pretty clear that what's appropriate would be speech therapy for him daily, but I doubt they'll even allow me to mention that.

He has begun to spend some time in the regular kindergarten class with another kid from his class and an aide. He's beginning to think it's OK apparently.

I have had an in depth conversation with the occupational therapist, but have heard absolutely nothing from the speech therapist. Zip.

And thanks. Your advice means a lot.

[doublestuff32.livejournal.com]

Yeah, no school system would finance daily speech therapy, but there is a place on the IEP to document how much time a specialist is spending each week inservicing/consulting with/planning with/training his teachers (all teachers, including PE, reg.ed., etc). In AZ, the IEP section I mentioned is called "program support" and it is on the service delivery page (where all service times and locations are documented). Even though the speech therapist will likely not see Blake daily, come up with a plan tomorrow that has her working with the teacher more, to facilitate his language development in the classroom. A reasonable amount of time would be 30-45 min/wk. (The therapist might spend that time planning lessons with the teacher that are more language-appropriate, make and demonstrate use of activities (e.g., the pizza book), etc). That way, the spch therapist will still be involved a great deal, in a more indirect way, and Blake will get more of what he needs from his classroom teacher, which is the ultimate goal of therapy anyway... to help a child be successful in the most natural environment possible. And yes, spch tx twice per week is very reasonable. Did you say that he has not been getting it regularly? Wow. You must definitely have the therapist make up missed sessions. Also consider discussing inclusion therapy (where the therapist, he, and his friends play together, so that she can work with them on social language). Best case scenario would be to have him receive individual tx 30 m/w, and inclusion/play tx 30-60 m/w (in my professional opinion ;).

Again, good luck tomorrow. Don't let the district budget get in the way too much. If you feel like you aren't getting what Blake needs, repeat to yourself "I am Blake's biggest advocate." (It helps me alot.) If you ever get into a snag at an IEP meeting, it is your right to table the discussion until you have time to get more information, come up with better solutions, or invite other pertinent people to the meeting. You do not have to sign the papers until you are completely satisfied that Blake is getting what he needs.

[androgy8.livejournal.com]

Re: not getting speech therapy, it's really the school's responsibility to live up to the IEP, and if they don't, you have some recource...but I'm not much help here though, as I don't know what that recourse is. I do know there have been cases where parents pulled their kids out of public school and enrolled them in private because the IEP wasn't sufficient, or wasn't being meant, then turned around and successfully sued the school system for the cost of the private school because their child's needs were not being meant. See:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/iep_guidance.html
specifically, the "Hall v. Vance County Bd. of Education" section.

Knowing case law may or may not help you if you going to talk to school administrators. It can be challenging to keep things police and cordial but make sure no one is shirking on services that they must provide Blake by law.

You may have already googled this issue...here is an interesting page where a professional answers: "What should parents do when services in their child's IEP are not being provided?":

http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,1-3652,00.html

which includes the paragraph:

"You should be able to find the appropriate route by calling your state's Department of Education, a local parent advocacy agency, or an attorney who concentrates in special education law. Families often find that asking for a due process hearing is the most effective way to resolve issues of noncompliance."

Hopefully you won't have to use any of this!

[mattblakk.livejournal.com]

If it ever comes to a knock down drag out like that, I'm sure i'd get an attorney. Support for Families (www.supportforfamilies.org) is good for help with that kind of stuff.

[dhydra.livejournal.com]

We IEP'd last Friday and had the "kid" sign SSI papers last night. I'm not sure if this ever gets easier, but somehow, you do get use to the life-long aspects of it. Hugs to you and Blake.