Leaderboard

So, there will be an IEP/ARD meeting when school starts up in the fall so at this point in time, you do not know what sort of support your child will get via their IEP nor what accommodations they will have beyond what's currently in their 504. There's not much you can do right now since the ARD meeting requires teachers to attend and, right now, they are off for the summer. On the other hand, there are things that can be done. First, you are seeing school refusal/anxiety at home. This can happen when a student realizes they are different from classmates & fear being bullied/teased because they are different. Being pulled for services can also be a 'difference' that students get teased or bullied for. The real question becomes: Is getting the support they need going to help the anxiety? Obviously, it will take time to bring your child up to speed/catch them up to where classmates are. The other side of this is your child having access to the curriculum while they are catching up. Audiobooks & and directions read to them and speech to text software or access to a keyboard are things that can help with access while special ed instruction catches your child up. If the school's report says your child needs an IEP, the school should follow their report. I'm curious if the anxiety was looked at & if that's in the report. Talk to your child on how they feel about getting an IEP & the right support for their learning disability. This way, you can advocate for support that will not cause the anxiety to go up. Second, I'm assuming you gave the letter the doctor wrote to the principal & they documented this need in your child's file. The school should use all the data they have to come up with the right supports for your child. This letter is data that needs to be considered & accommodations should be granted. Your child leaving school early in the past is also data that this was an accommodation in the past (even if this accommodation wasn't documented on the 504 like it should have been). It's part of the data that should be in your child's file that's used at the ARD meeting. What is currently in the 504 should be incorporated into the IEP. Third, if you will be helping your child with missed work, you want to be on the same page as the teachers. This might mean that parent training is needed in the systematic reading protocol the teachers will be using. This can & should be in the IEP. Lastly, with knowing that your child will not be in the school building beyond 3:30, make sure that the special instruction your child will be getting isn't scheduled for when they will be out of the building. I've seen where a student was to get help 1X per week and they were pulled for outside therapy 1X per week and guess when their sp ed class was scheduled? (If you guess when they were pulled for therapy, give yourself a point.) As a postscript, make sure the special instruction they put in the IEP is something that's evidenced/researched to help students with "the characteristics of dyslexia and the related disorder of dysgraphia." Also look at the progress monitoring reports that you'll be getting. Students need to progress more than one year every school year to catch up to classmates. If progress is slower than this, the remedial instruction might not be a good match for your child's disability. You don't want a child who is 2 years behind to stay 2 years behind or worse, become 2 and a half years behind when they go into 4th grade. Also, make sure that the 3:30 thing is well documented. You don't want to end up in a truancy situation because of after school therapy. You might need excuse notes for everytime you get her at 3:30. This is the school's "game" so make sure you are playing by their "rules" - ask what's needed and follow what they say. (Ask in writing & hope they reply in writing so you have written proof of their policy. If not write them an email 'confirming our conversation on Aug 12, 2023 as to how to document XX leaving at 3:30 everyday' so you do have it in writing.)