IEP Process--Need help!

Aidan turns 3 in July, and the Early Intervention system here begins the IEP/transition process at age 2.5. I have a meeting scheduled in a few weeks to begin this transition for him. I know he will be evaluated by speech and occupational therapists since he currently receives ST and OT. I also know that he will be observed during some kind of open-ended evaluaton where they will watch him interact with toys, etc. (Not sure exactly what that is called.)

I'm comfortable with all this, but I am worried about how to best advocate fo him when I feel clueless about what he needs to succeed in preschool. I know he needs to continue ST and OT, and I can advocate for that. But I'm at a loss with what would be the right preschool setting/situation for him. There are several public options for preschool and I'm fairly confident that he will be offered some arrangement with one of those.

For those of you who have been through this, what was your process in determining what you thought was appropriate for your child? Did you go into the IEP process already knowing what you wanted or did you go along with what the school system suggested? Did you visit the different public and private preschool options? Talk with the preschool teachers? Was it hard to get what you wanted for your child? What services/placement does he have now? Are you satisfied with it?

 

My daughter is in the transition process as we speak for her twins who turned 3 at the end of November. My understanding is they take the notes from the ECI therapists and then do their own assessment of needs and determine whether or not they will continue to qualify for services. I feel fairly confident that they will qualify for ST. In my daughters area, it is the school district that makes the determination and from there they tell her what happens next. I haven't gotten the impression there was really much that she could advocate for? I don't know if we're missing something?

 

I just got Kevan back into EI recently, so we're going to start this same transition soon. I don't know anything about it yet, but I'll post and let you know what I find out -- I'm going to talk to our service coordinator about it this week.

Kev isn't doing all that well in a mainstream private preschool right now, even though we cut his hours back to 9-11 on Tues and Thurs only. However, I think he would thrive in a mainstream classroom if he had a parapro or something to help him -- he just needs a LOT of redirecting and support for his sensory issues.

So, we're going to look into that for the fall, if we can swing the cost.

 

Usually, there are two settings within the school that a child can qualify for. One is a self-contained classroom, and the other an inclusion classroom. When a district has both, most kids go into the self-contained when they start at 3, since they will, generally do one year in each class. The district usually has the class set up within one of the elementary school buildings.

Also, as part of the evaluation, they will do an IQ test, academic readiness testing, and a social work evaluation. All those are a standard part of any evaluation. That will give them an idea of what services your child will need. You will get copies of all evaluations before the actual IEP meeting so you know what they will say. Your first meeting is simply a consent to evaluate, and you can ask questions about placement options at that time. Nothing is decided at that meeting other than who will give what evaluations and scheduling times for the evals.

 

It depends on the situation. If all they qualify for is speech, there really isn't as much the mom can advocate for besides frequency and duration of sessions. The parents are part of the IEP team so without the parents' signed approval, the school district can't provide any services. This means that if she does not believe what the school is offering complies with the law (an "appropriate education in the least restrictive environment"), she can refuse to sign the IEP and go into remediation. (Or something like that. I don't know the exact process.)

In my case, I'm fairly certain DS will receive OT and ST services, but I am concerned about what they will recommend for his preschool placement. Like Sharon said, our district has both a special needs-only class and a class that includes both "at risk" kids and kids with special needs that can be met in a regular classroom. I'm also fairly certain they will want to put him in the inclusion class. However, I don't know what he might need to succeed in that environment. I also don't know what the inclusion classes are structured like and if they will meet his sensory needs.

I think my next steps are to research and observe all the preschools in the area that I am interested in, so I can go into this process with knowledge of where I think he'll succeed best. We have that first
"consent to evaluate" in two weeks. Then I think we have a team meeting so I can meet the people from the school district. Then we do evaluations at 2 years 9 months to see what he qualifies for.

Becca, are you concerned about keeping Kevan and Karina in the same class next year? I'm worried that if they want to place Aidan in one of the public-funded preschools that Addie won't be able to get in as I don't think she'llbe considered "at risk" of not being ready for kindergarten. I really want them together as she draws out good social interaction from him. I also think it'll help the learning he does at school transfer to home.

 

I had one boy in regular nursery school, and the other in the preschool disabled program--and yes, they were at 2 completely different schools. The teachers in the program are trained to work with his sensory and other issues, that is why they are there. The lead teacher is usually a special ed teacher, and if it is a regular ed teacher, the special ed teacher is at the others side. They actually end up getting more therapy than is stated on their IEP's, because many times, for instance, the speech therapist will visit the class and work with the kids multiple times. The classes are geared so that each child gets what they individually need.

Is it really her responsibility to do this? The teachers really are trained to pull the kids out, and it is better for him not to have to rely on his sisters for social clues. Also, she should be able to grow in an environment that is most suitable for her, not one that allows her to help her brother. I know it is hard to think of it this way, but she is also only 3, and as such should be allowed to be a 3 year old, not a role model for her brother.

 

Jessie and Sharon,
Thanks for the info, I'll pass it on to my daughter so she has a better idea of what to be prepared for.

 

Jessie, we're pretty sure that Kevan and Karina won't be in the same class -- or even the same school, most likely -- in the fall, and I'm honestly okay with it.

What's interesting is Karina is loud and outspoken at home, but she was shy and a little unsure this fall in preschool. Apparently she was letting other kids take toys from her without saying anything, etc. -- which is so NOT the case at home, LOL. Anyhow, we discovered that on days when Kevan wasn't there, she did a little better. The teachers said it was like she was able to blossom without having to worry about what her brother was doing.

And then, it's clear that Kevan isn't ready for a mainstream environment, unless something miraculous happens between now and August. There's no reason for us to put Karina in a special needs environment, so she'll continue at her current preschool, where our older daughter went and thrived.

There is a lot of time to worry about it still, but I'm already preparing myself that they may not even start kindergarten at the same time, or even at the same school. I have the feeling Karina will be ready for K in fall of 2012, right after she turns 5. But, the school where we'll likely send her (where Nadia is currently) really frowns on accepting summer birthdays. If Karina turns out to be as bright as Nadia -- and she's well on her way -- then I expect they'll make an exception for her. But Kevan, being a boy AND with a history of special needs (which likely won't be gone by then), has no shot at getting in for that fall.

Anyhow, we'll worry about it then. Meantime, I found out yesterday that our county offers services in three ways -- therapists sent to the child's current (private) preschool, group therapy in a school classroom, and a special needs preschool. I don't have any details about the last one yet, so I don't know if there are two different environments, etc. Our transition meeting is set for Feb. 10, so I'll know more then.

The only thing that worries me about a special needs environment is that Kevan's speech therapists have said that he MUST be around kids who are talking normally, if he's going to learn that he needs to communicate via speech. Now, this might be changing, as he's actually starting to talk more and more, but it's all unintelligible due to his poor oral motor tone, sensory issues with his mouth, and perhaps both oral/verbal apraxia. We're kind of figuring out day by day what to do to help him.

Of course, this means that we're kind of stuck for the fall -- I really have no idea where he'll be.

 

I have not read all the replies here, but I wanted to let you know you can contact me if needed and I will go over our preschool IEP goals and our process if you would like. My twins have autism and both attend a preschool autism classroom at a public school. We LOVE the program and our boys have done so well. One thing I can suggest is ask one of the IE therapists to attend the meeting with you to help advocate for your child during the meeting. I can tell you I was scared to death even though I was way over prepared for the meeting itself. I had a very good IEP team, so I was very lucky they were very receptive to the goals I wanted for them. There will be a team of people such as an OT, ST and a special ed teacher on your team. These people are there to get your child the services they need. However, I will say they are also there to make sure things are kept within a budget as they are employed by the school system and they have to advocate for the school system as well. DO not let them go to far with this. I took a class with an expert special education lawyer prior to our IEP meeting and you'd be shocked at the services that don't happen but should. Do not go into the meeting defensive and thinking your child won't get what they need or that you have to fight, but be prepared that it could happen. Please check out the following websites for the best info I could find on the IEP process as well as an entire goal bank written for every possible situation for children with special needs. I used many of the appropriate goals in our meeting. it will help in terms of knowing the language of the goals and how they are written. Since you are just starting in the preschool process, don't expect a hundred goals to be written for the first year, but concentrate on the school setting skills and life skills the most. Like learning shapes,numbers and letters or will wash own hands when prompted, etc. I hope this helps!!

www.wrightslaw.com (the website of the lawyer I took the class with)



http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/CDD/multiple/pdf/IEPforIEP.pdf (advice for parents)

http://www.bridges4kids.org/IEP/iep.goal.bank.pdf (goal bank, GREAT RESOURCE FOR EVERY AGE)

 

Just so all of you know, my twins are in an autims classroom in the same elementary school as my son in Kindergarten. I don't know how it is where you live, but in my state they do try to keep kids in the same family at the same school. If there had not been room in the classroom they needed at my oldest son's school, they would have been places in the closest school to our home with availability and we would have been allowed to request our oldest son go to that school as well. This is ONLY for the public school system, not private settings. I personally beleive that the child with speical needs needs to be in the school that can best meet their needs at the time. If your child is placed in a special needs only classroom, it will be geared towards helping that child and his or her needs specifically.My boys are involved with children throughout their school, not just the ones in their classroom. They eat in the lunchroom,they go to school presentations, they have classes with the older special needs classrooms, they have a ST come in every day (even though they were only provided with Speech twice a month in their IEP), the OT comes once a week (also, they were only provided OT once a month in their IEP), etc. All of the kids at their school know who they are and they love them. We really do have a special school and we love it so much, but I am confident all schools can be this way.

Just because your son may need a special classroom now and your daughter does now, it doesn't mean they won't attend the same elementary school in the future. The prescool is supposed to encourage inclusion an they try to prepare every child for the possibility that they may hopefully be in a regular classroom at some point. They want the children to go to a mainstream classroom for many reasons, but mostly because it is a success. It also costs the school system so much less in the long run. Also keep in mind that even if a child can be mainstreamed, it doesn't mean they won't get any services if they still need them. My oldest's class has 2 children with special needs- one with autism and one with severe ADHD. They are doing very well in the classroom setting, but they also have part time assistance or they go to therapies that they need at some point during the week.

Try hard not to preject into the future what might happen. You never know what will happen in the next 2 years! My boys were nearly non-verbal at the start of this school year and now they won't stop talking. It's amazing how much can change in only a few months of appropriate education and help.

Good luck everyone! This is a daunting task to be a parent of a child with special needs, but it can be a wonderful journey.

Kelly