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" what thoughts, feelings and emotions come up in IEP meetings themselves" Anxiety about my child's future as they fall further behind grade level. Worry about my child's self esteem as they work harder and harder to fall further behind. Worry that one day they will just give up trying. Anger that my child's disability symptoms are discussed as though they are character flaws. Frustration about being lied to (about my child's grades being inflated to deny services, laws being misrepresented to deny services) and not being able to think quickly enough or have the necessary facts on hand to refute the lies. Anger at having to scrape together the money for an advocate so the iep team will do what the federal government has already mandated them to do. And close on the heels is despair over educational inequity since hiring an advocate seems to be more and more necessary. A headache from the strain of remaining tactful and polite while monumental decisions are being made for my child by people who don't understand his condition or needs. Occasionally, relief and even cautious hopefulness when it seems like goals and supports are being put in place. This is usually short-lived as the supports don't manifest. And exhaustion because I rarely sleep well before an IEP meeting.

The post about the extraordinary burden of IEPs on Moms got me thinking today that the biggest burden I carry is the awareness of the extent of my child's challenges. He presents typically which creates an illusion of competence. The reality is that he is falling further behind grade level at school, and further behind his peers socially and with ADLs. I am holding him together in multiple ways and if something were to happen to me I have no idea what would become of him. Given his skill set I cannot imagine him living independently or supporting himself financially. I'm not worrying unrealistically. I worked with his age group for over 10 years and can see how far outside the norm he is, and how he continues to fall further behind. He'll be an adult in just a few years, the window to turn things around is rapidly closing. His school doesn't see it. They alternate between not seeing his disability and blaming all the signs of it on him. Even his father doesn't see it. The other day he said he could picture our child becoming an engineer. My child cannot do a simple jigsaw puzzle and fails every single math and science test in the lowest level of class his school offers. While we cannot know the future I am not seeing engineer without some significant intervention. I'm the one who does all the IEP correspondence, pays for the tutors, finds and pays for the advocates, while my child's father naively assumes everything will be just fine and does (and pays for) nothing. I feel so alone. I'm not looking for advice, I have an advocate helping me with his IEP. I just want to feel less alone.

Others may disagree, but my feeling is that if something is no longer a parent concern, it can be removed. If it comes up again, it can always be added back in. The prior IEP's are your proof of informing the school of the parent concerns for that IEP year.

Agree with JSD24. It is very state specific, so I would get a copy of your state's special education policies, parents' guide, etc., and see what the procedure is for in-state transfers. Usually, the new school district has to either accept the evaluation and IEP from the previous school district and therefore implement the IEP as is, OR the new school district can reject it, in which case it would do it's own evaluation and determine eligibility or draft a new IEP. If the latter, the new school district has to keep the "old" IEP in place and implement until they either exit the student from special education (not likely in this scenario) or develop a new IEP document. I think what you are doing is the correct approach. If I were you, I would prefer an IEP that is as specific as possible before a transfer occurs. I would also reach out to the new school for a meeting to discuss issues like tardiness and absences and how they are related to her disabilities, so you can know upfront how they will handle this rather than being blindsided when an incident actually occurs.

One of the many hats I wear is that I am on the EPAC for the Epilepsy Foundation. EPAC=Education Policy Advisory Committee Sharing something they shared with me today: Dear Lisa, Happy National Epilepsy Awareness Month (NEAM)! After the mid-term election next week, members of Congress will return to Washington, D.C., and will need to finish working on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget. Now is the perfect time for you to reach out to your elected officials and ask them to support increased investments in critical epilepsy-related programs and research in the final FY 2023 budget. The Epilepsy Foundation and many grassroots advocates have been meeting with lawmakers over the past year to ask them to support $13 million for the CDC's Epilepsy Program, $164 Million for the Safe Motherhood & Infant Health Program, and $19 Million for the VA Epilepsy Centers of Excellence. With increased funding for these important programs, we can expand quality epilepsy services that reduce healthcare costs, improve health outcomes, and help raise public awareness. We have provided template letters, but we strongly encourage you to share your own personal experience as a member of the epilepsy community and why this funding matters. With gratitude, Laura Weidner Vice President, Government Relations & Advocacy Epilepsy Foundation

Some things I would add are 1 dyslexia doesn't just end at the end of the school day. It can effect other areas of life like talking to friends processing directions. 2 dyslexia does not just mean a complete inability to read even when they learn how to read they may still have trouble reading they may have read something more than once to understand they may only be able read things of high interest to them. They my have trouble understanding complicated text. 3 it can be emotional exhausting at times

RePosted • @casponline, Governor Newsom signed into law the CASP-supported measure, AB 2173 (Addis). This new law allows the term ‘emotional disability’ as an acceptable alternative to the existing ‘emotional disturbance’ label in California’s Education Code and regulations. CASP believes that this change in terminology will help to reduce the stigma associated with mental health challenges which can be a major barrier to individuals seeking help and support. A big thank you to the legislature, Assembly Member Addis, Governor Newsom, and the CASP Legislative Committee for their unwavering support and coordination in getting this bill passed. This is a significant step forward for our community!

A child should always get all intervention they require to make them successful regardless of the eligibility category. If the primary disability is SLD, they should still receive goals, services, and/or accommodations for anxiety if the evaluations show they are needed to access the general education curriculum. If the primary disability is OHI, they should still receive goals, services, and/or accommodations for SLD if the evaluations show they are needed to access the general education curriculum. Your child's life should not be ruined either way because they school district is required to provide needed interventions in all areas of need. Having said that, I feel the primary disability is important, because that tends to be how the teachers view the child. Do you want the teachers to think your child's anxiety is the bigger problem or the reading comprehension. Also, what do you as a parent feel is affecting your child the most - the anxiety or the reading comprehension? But it will also depend on what the evaluations say, and it sounds like the school district may argue that the data points to OHI -but make them PROVE that if you disagree. I'm also very suspect when school districts want to avoid the SLD classification. They may feel that this holds them to a higher standard, such as providing evidence-based multisensory structured instruction, even though my thought is this is required even if SLD is a secondary category. There also might be state laws that kick in regarding SLD's that they're trying to avoid. Go with your gut - you know you child the best. But also be prepared to back up your decision by referencing data in the evaluations and (if you think it will be helpful) asking the general education teacher what s/he feels is your child's bigger obstacle.

My name is Carol Wilson, and I am a special education teacher deeply concerned about recent trends in educational placement practices for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). I am reaching out to advocates to bring attention to a critical issue affecting the well-being and rights of students with EBD nationwide. In recent years, there has been a concerning trend observed across many school districts: the placement of students with EBD in self-contained classrooms designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities without following proper due process procedures. This practice not only violates the rights of these students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) but also places them at significant risk academically, socially, emotionally, and even physically. Placing students with EBD in self-contained classes without holding a manifestation determination review (MDR) and without considering the individualized needs of these students is a gross violation of their rights. It denies them access to the least restrictive environment and fails to provide the necessary supports and services outlined in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Furthermore, it can have detrimental effects on their academic progress, social interactions, emotional well-being, and physical safety, as well as that of the students appropriately placed in these settings. Moreover, this practice also takes a toll on educators. Special education teachers who are tasked with managing classrooms with students who have significant cognitive disabilities face immense challenges when students with EBD are placed in these settings without appropriate support or training. The increased behavioral demands and potential for physical aggression or violence put educators at risk of burnout, injury, and compromised mental health. As advocates for both students with disabilities and educators, it is imperative that we take action to address this pressing issue. I am calling for a national campaign to raise awareness about the inappropriate placement of students with EBD in self-contained classrooms and to advocate for the rights and well-being of these students and educators. I urge advocates to join this campaign and mobilize its resources to: Advocate for the enforcement of proper due process procedures, including the holding of MDRs, before any decision is made to place a student with EBD in a self-contained classroom. Provide training and support for educators working with students with EBD to ensure they have the necessary skills and resources to meet the diverse needs of their students. Advocate for the implementation of evidence-based practices and interventions to support the inclusion and success of students with EBD in general education settings whenever possible. Call for increased funding and resources for special education programs to ensure that students with EBD receive the individualized support and services they need to thrive. Additionally, I urge advocates to encourage its members and stakeholders to flood the Office for Civil Rights with reports of these violations of students' rights. By bringing attention to these issues at the federal level, we can work towards systemic change and ensure that all students receive the quality education and support they deserve. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of students with EBD and ensure that they are provided with the opportunities and supports they need to succeed. Thank you for your attention to this critical issue, and I look forward to collaborating with you on this important campaign. Sincerely, Carol Wilson, Ph. D.

Unless someone else knows of an exception, school districts are not required to pay for an IEE provider to attend an IEP meeting. YOU may think they're not qualified to discuss that, but THEY are not going to think/say/admit that. They are going to stand by their evaluations and the staff they have to interpret them. If the school district thought they didn't have the appropriate staff "inhouse" to do a certain evaluation, they would have procured an outside evaluator to do the school eval. This is all theoretical, of course, and may not be the case in reality, but that's the position the school district is going to take. If you really want the IEE provider to attend, here are a few things you can do to reduce the cost of having to pay him/her: 1) Have them attend via Zoom. 2) Ask the IEP team ahead of time to have them go first on the agenda so that they can leave. Or have a specific time at which they participate. That way they're not sitting through the entire meeting racking up their billable hours. 3) Pay them to write up an additional report with anything you think would be helpful to delineate or clarify from the evaluation (specifically referring to present level, IEP goals, and accommodations) which you can provide to the IEP team prior to the meeting.

I am in PA & familiar with some of this. A para can provide instruction but the teacher has to 1st instruct the para and then the para instructs the student. Right now, paras are in short supply and might not have the skill set to provide instruction. It really depends on the job description of the para. PA has wrap around/IBHS services. The RBTs that do this are only trained to redirect behavior and cannot do anything academic other than tell a student they need book X and page Y. I think you need to rewrite the job description of the para in the IEP. You need someone who can, in the moment, chunk an assignment or provide instructional support. Your district might call this a teaching assistant or Paraprofessional/Instructional Assistant. Then you'll need to hope they can staff this for your child.

I understand that this doesn't feel like a typical path, but in my opinion, that's the way you need to treat it if you want to get an IEP - don't give the school any wiggle room to argue "they didn't get the correct request, etc." I don't know all the facts and may be making some incorrect assumptions based on what facts you did provide, but here are my thoughts. The fact that the director of spec ed is requesting the referral email would to me mean a referral for special education. Yet on the other hand he asks for a list of accommodations, which would mean a 504 Plan which shouldn't be under his purview (instead would be a 504 coordinator). So it's a little confusing. But regardless of what he is asking for or why, you need to send an email requesting a referral for special education and it SHOULD be a "typical starting request." Your daughter is not in special education, so anytime you reach out and ask for this it is considered a "starting request." If you don't do it this way, the school might figure out a way to say you never asked for a referral for special education. In your email, reference your outside report (I would also resend it along with your email just to be safe and so it is included with your official request). Unfortunately, following the process (which I HIGHLY suggest) means the school gets to do their own evaluation if they want to (since, if I'm following the fact pattern correctly, they haven't done an evaluation since 5th grade). You may think they won't want to because it's from the same center they use, etc., but don't over think this this and FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE. They may very well say they want to do their own evaluation so they can get an extra 60 days...?? (But I'm not real sure how the timeline would be affected if they accept your eval.) In any event, although it may not feel like it, you're starting from ground zero and need to do everything from that standpoint. As far as the spec ed director asking for your list of accommodations, that's a little strange this early in the process. But you could send one (MAKE IT A SEPARATE EMAIL from your referral email) in response listing the ones set forth in your evaluation with the caveat that "these may not be all that are necessary and more may come up during the IEP process with the entire team." That way he understands that you're not thinking 504 - you're thinking IEP.

Also, when a school district says things like "based on the principles for practice guidance provided by the national association of school nurses" and "per other sources," ASK FOR SPECIFICS. Can you send me a link to those guidelines? What other sources?

It is 'best practice' for home and school to be on the same page. This would include an AAC device. IMO, the home & school AAC should be identical except for the login. Forcing a student to switch between different vocabulary layouts is creating problems for the student. If he were to say something nonsensical, is it because his muscle memory was using his other device or does he need instruction to correct a mistake? (I've seen where another student damaged an AAC device. What happens when this is something the family owns? Who pays to fix this?) Let's for a minute imagine that your child didn't need AAC and was scripting in the classroom. What would the school do as an intervention so he wasn't disrupting instruction? This is what your child should get too. (I think the answer is that the school would do an FBA to see if there was an antecedent to when he scripted. They would also be providing Specially Designed Instruction in proper classroom behavior. They can't tape a child's mouth shut at school & removing his access to his device has this same effect.) I could see a teacher asking him to place the device face down if he was disrupting class - much the same as telling another student to be quiet until the teacher finished instructing the class. If face down isn't helping, he doesn't have the capacity at that moment to take in information because he's focused on scripting. The lack of focus needs to be addressed. Does he need a sensory break? Is he hungry? Again, what's the antecedent? Make sure the school/IEP is looking at the root cause and not just a symptom. Address the root - not the symptom.

That is not an unreasonable accommodation until you have better solutions. As an aside, we also know so much more about homework than we did just a couple of years ago. It's not very useful in most cases. I would ask--what is the function of the homework, and then, can that be achieved another way? https://adayinourshoes.com/iep-homework/ Now, about the rigid thinking. I would start with being able to identify when he is using rigid thinking. I'm hosting a chat with an EF expert on tuesday, on the Facebook page. https://facebook.com/adayinourshoesiep

Hello! This is my area of expertise! I have lots of ideas, but wanted to respond now to let you know you'll be hearing back from me. I need some time to pull some things together for you. In the meantime, can you let me know what state you are in? Thank you, Carolyn Rowlett

You have a lot going on here. Where to start. First, there is a rule in education/sp ed: If it's not in writing, it didn't happen. It's great that you brought her medical provider to meetings with the school but it can be more powerful to have a provider write a report outlining what challenges a child has as well as how this can get in the way of access to an education. For example, I have convergence insufficiency like your child. Specifically, I have intermittent exotropia. Without the right glasses, I have double vision, dizziness, migraines and a lack of reading comprehension. When I don't get enough sleep, the glasses aren't enough to bring me to where I can read at 100%. A good accommodation for me would be audiobooks so I can close my eyes and still access written material. Since I'm not in school, I'm not sure if my ability to take notes would be affected but lecture notes might be a good accommodation since mine might not be great. These are accommodations (doesn't involve any special instruction) so I could have a 504 with these things on it to help me. When the school filed for truancy, they went to your child's file and see what's there. Was there doctor notes or reports that outline what the doctor diagnosed and how this affects her at school? I'm assuming you do not have credentials in mental health so the school can't tell where you got the idea from that your child needs accommodation from the school. If there was written info from a credentialed provider and they still brought truancy charges, shame on them. If there was nothing in her file, well, her paperwork makes it appear that she's cutting school for no reason or perhaps to cause trouble in the community or in this case, parents are looking to CYA for the child. You do not do sp ed advocacy as your career. Don't blame yourself for not knowing how the system works. (Even experienced advocates learn things by seeing how they play out. We don't know 100% either.) When you go to truancy court, be sure to support her reasons for not attending school by providing the judge with documentation of her mental health struggles from someone with appropriate credentials. This should help with this case. Initial meeting. I'm assuming it's to go over the screeners the school did. It's a start. It would be great if you had access to the results of these screeners beforehand so you can think about your response to what's there which I'm sure the school will do. (Send them an email asking them for this - do it today.) One thing about screeners is they don't take as much time as assessments so they do have a role but being quick, they are not comprehensive and are not as accurate as special ed assessments. It's great that you have had an IEE done but as an outside evaluation, the school will only consider it. I hope you have provided copies of this report to the school so they have time to review it as well as avoid duplicating any of the tests that were used because repeating the same tests within 12 months renders the 2nd test's results invalid. If the school doesn't see the same things outlined in the IEE report, you can request that they redo the assessments using a similar normed, assessment. Good luck with this. I'm not sure about an advocate in your area but COPPA has a list of advocates that went through their training.

You need to get on your state department of education's website and see if they have a list of when Prior Written Notices are required (some do). If you can't find one, call the compliance section of special education and ask if a Prior Written Notice would be required in this instance. If yes, get the name of the compliance officer you spoke with, ask if there if is a policy or guideline that you could print out/see, and forward both to the director of special education.

It happens. I would send them a link to what they should already know. I have a friend who printed out IDEA & gave it to the sp ed director. This was a bigger school district (1000's of students). Put it in writing so you have a paper trail. You can start the email: Confirming our conversation on 5/11 when I requested Prior Written Notice. This is a link to what PWN is...

You do a Right to Know (FOIA request) for budget and spending. You can ask for whatever you want in financials. List of checks, invoices, spending and budget by line item (out of district tuition, legal fees, etc ) by month, etc. Names will be redacted on invoices. You can also do a RTK for the ODR cases that are no longer there and you’ll get a little bit of insight as to why in the list you get. I just received my response from this request last week— You requested records relating to OCR complaints filed for the following school districts including the name of the recipient; the date complaint was filed; the type of discrimination included in the complaint; the date the complaint was resolved, withdrawn, dismissed, or other; the basic reasons for OCR's decision; or other related information between 1/1/2005 and 3/30/2023.

Does the student at least have a 504? To give her some accommodations for her attention issues, anxiety, and depression? You might want to pursue this path WHILE you are fighting the IEP battle, just to get something in place. Or is the school saying she doesn't have a disability because she doesn't have a diagnosis of ADHD or anxiety? If so, request an IEE so that (hopefully) you can get some diagnoses on the record and they have to provide a 504. Then when the IEP is finally implemented, the accommodations can switch over to that document. They can DEFINITELY do something to support her with turning in homework. It is untrue that the school doesn't have to address the school avoidance issue. They have to look for the cause of the school avoidance and see what supports can be put in place to help the situation. Otherwise, her missing so much school results in them not providing FAPE. Request a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA). If they refuse, ask for an IEE. What does their "reading at grade level" mean? Did they look at accuracy, fluency, AND comprehension? She may be able to read, but if she is not reading fast enough and/or not understanding/retaining what she is reading, that might be why she is "reluctant" to read. If the school eval didn't dig deep enough, again, ask for an IEE. Unfortunately, is sounds like your state's DOE will be no help, and I'm sure the school district knows that. Any legal counsel who says getting parent input is "inefficient" is ignorant regarding the IDEA.

It is a paper trail, I know it feels like the meeting is the most important things but the meeting is just the beginning. Start gathering the data for what you feel like your child needs and the PWN is part of that data gathering. You get the school having to write out why they are saying no (again usually its just a because we said so) but it is evidence. Then you start working to get the data to prove them wrong (perhaps an IEE perhaps just evidences from other things). Is this the first IEP? If so they can not move forward without agreement but yes for any other IEP they can move forward and that is why you need the PWN. IF this had to go before a judge you want all the information that the school is refusing reasonable parental input a PWN does that. Yes it sucks that it means this is going to take longer as a process but it is a process and this is just 1 step. Get the PWN to show you tried to participate and they refused everything you tried to tell them. I have been there and honestly got the really ridiculous PWN of we won't because we said so but I was able to use that to eventually get my kid what she needed. (And some people have had schools when told to put it in the PWN suddenly change their minds and put it in the IEP so you may win anyway if you ask for the PWN).

Do you mean that the school answered "no" to the question on the IEP form asking whether the child has behaviors interfering with their or other students' learning, but you feel the team should have marked "yes?" If a child has behaviors that impede their, or other students' access, to the educational environment, there should be goals working to address those behaviors. If the school said "no" to this question, but you feel the answer should be "yes," provide the team with a list of data to support why you feel the answer should be "yes" and request that they update the IEP. The data could include notes sent to you from school staff; emails regarding behavior at school; notes you've taken on any phone calls you've received from the school for behaviors, etc.

My daughter is 2E and stayed for an extra year after she met her graduation requirements. She spent the year on a college campus and took a class per semester. There was a sp ed teacher overseeing this - I think there were 6 in her group doing this. The class & other on-campus services was 3 days per week. The other days, she did a job shadowing program. Her main area of need was social skills. She was measured to be in the ~2nd percentile in 10th grade the one time they evaluated her social skills. It's an IEP team decision about staying until age 21. The program she was in was designed for students with autism but there are lots of other programs out there. You need to have a need for the extra IEP services. Again, it based on if the IEP team feels it's needed.

Good news for this 6th Grader... He is exempt from doing IXL and we got the school to purchase the complete package of Barton lessons. The parent wrote a very compelling response to the PPWN that challenged some of the incorrect statements. Within hours the school changed their position. In addition, we got him an AT Assessment, thanks to your suggestions. So all of our primary problems have been resolved. The only outstanding issues are two teachers who think this boy is looking for excuses and just needs to buckle down and get his work done. Thanks again for all those who responded and all of you who care.

Hi Laura. I think most of us on this forum will be hesitant to offer much advice since you are meeting with a lawyer in a few weeks, and that person will answer all of your questions. But if you are specifically asking what documentation to take to the meeting with the lawyer, I would suggest the following: 1) all email correspondence from any school district personnel expressing the "various concerns" you reference above, as well as any email correspondence from you to the school expressing concerns and asking for help (and, of course, the school's replies); 2) all standardized state and district assessments; 3) all evaluations whether done by the school or an outside provider; 4) class schedules (to show going from advanced classes to remedial) and grade cards; 5) anything (does your child have a 504 Plan or IEP?) showing what the school has done since they identified your child; 6) anything showing that "the school can't meet their needs" (as you state above) such as correspondence from the school, notes you took during meetings, progress monitoring reports (if there is an IEP in place), etc.

They need to provide a Prior Written Notice that they are denying your request for an aid. They also HAVE to put your parent concerns in the IEP document.

Was the IEP document that was created at the Feb. 8 IEP meeting a draft, or the final document? Did you send the after the IEP meeting follow up letter- explicitly requesting a copy of the draft to review? If so, did you receive a response? If not, do so right away reiterating your request to review the draft document. I'm not sure I understand what they mean by the IEP being "locked." IEPs are living documents that can be created/updated any time. You should be able to meaningfully participate in the development of the IEP, and you can also request copies of your child's records. If they give you a runaround, reach out to a district special education supervisor and request they send you a copy of the IEP draft.

Ok. You should know in case the school pushes back when the parents refuse to provide an agenda that nothing in the IDEA or its regulations explicitly gives the parents a right to request a team meeting. So if they wanted to be difficult, the school might refuse to have the meeting without the parent providing an agenda. However, the Federal Register grants parents this right on p. 46676, Volume 71, Number 156, dated 8/14/06 on the topic "Rules and Regulations." Show them that, if needed. As to whether or not a parent has to provide a reason for calling a meeting, that is not addressed. I would also suggest checking your state's policies and regs - a lot of times states will put a parent's right to request a meeting in their state plan. If the school still refuses, your client could request a mediation.

I think your friend needs to pull in the director of special education, which hopefully the district office already did, but you never know. I would send the evaluation request attached to an email to him/her and tell him/her that they suspect their child has a disability in the area of emotional disturbance and want their child evaluated in that area. It would also be helpful if they could produce some "proof," such as times when the teacher has noticed meltdowns, etc. Factual instances. The director of special ed should know that a PWN is to be sent if they refuse. If it isn't, follow up with the director of spec ed and ask for one. And make sure the reason for denial is specific. Also, if refused, tell your friend to request an IEE. I would not deal with the principal and school psych on this matter anymore (until they have to during the IEP process). They are either uneducated or lying - both unacceptable. Of course there are more categories of disabilities under the IDEA than just specific learning disabilities. Does the school deny blind and deaf students if they don't have a learning disability? Or autistic students? Of physically impaired? I would hope not. I would also not deal with the district office anymore - too cumbersome. Go straight to the director of spec ed.

Louisa Moats is a world-renown dyslexia expert. Oddly, I found this on a Pennsylvania-specific Facebook group. https://www.sde.idaho.gov/academic/ela-literacy/files/lrc/dyslexia/general/Idaho-Dyslexia-Handbook.pdf

Let me address your medical healthcare question. 1st, welcome to Pennsylvania. In PA, every child with a medical diagnosis is entitled to have Medicaid insurance - sometimes called MA or Medical Assistance. This would be secondary to your employer insurance. I've assisted other families who are new to the US & PA with getting this. Your child will need a social security number to apply as well as a written diagnosis that's less than a year old and a PA address. 3 things (and I think you said you have 2 of these), that's it. You can get to the application here: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/Services/Assistance/Pages/Apply-for-Benefits.aspx Be sure to check the YES box for the question 'do you have a household member with a disability?' You will need to provide them with proof of income but qualifying is based on disability under PH-95 (most others qualifying for MA have low income). Depending on where you live, you might be told you need to apply for SSI - social security income. As part of PH-95, it is supposed to be done for everyone but a lot of counties aren't asking parents to go though this extra step. If they do ask you to apply, apply for SSI & wait to be turned down and then contact the County Assistance Office & let them know you applied. Feel free to post back with questions but I will anticipate a few questions: With Medicaid, there is no limit to the number of therapies a person can have. Employer insurance will often have a cap of 26/year. Also, there is no copay to go to a doctor/therapy. The plans are HMOs so you do need to stay in network to have coverage. Also, some insurances will not cover therapy where it is due to a developmental delay. I ran into that when my son needed speech therapy but MA covered it. A psychologist can diagnose ADHD as well as a dev ped, neurologist, pediatrician, psychiatrist... Psychologist would be the easiest way to get the diagnosis on paper (you need a report & the IEP might provide the documentation you need - a letter w/ a diagnosis is not enough) because they tend to have the shortest wait list.

That doesn't sound right. The provider needs to follow the protocol of the test they are doing. It shouldn't take 6 months to get through the observation portion because of restrictions the school wants to put on observation time. Can you change the title of this to include 'California' since they seem to have a lot of rules that the other 49 states don't have. This is definitely a CA specific question and I'm not sure how to answer this. This link (https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/lr/om031121.asp) says: LEAs may not impose other conditions or timelines that are inconsistent with the LEA’s criteria used to initiate its own evaluations and/or would deny the student’s and parent’s right to obtain an IEE at public expense. If the LEA only allows their evaluators 1 hour a month of observation, then they can restrict this on the IEE is what this seems to say.

I've been advocating for people with disabilities for almost 20 years. Before my kids were born I worked in student services at a law school and part of my responsibilities was as a disability services coordinator. I found that I genuinely had a passion for it and attended all the conferences and read as many books as I could to try to help my students. Then my oldest son was born with a genetic syndrome that came with many challenges (Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, and more) so I started learning about IDEA , IEPs and everything else that goes along with having a child with disabilities. Over the years I would share my knowledge through online platforms, through the parent support and resource group I helped start in my school district and through my county Parent Advisory Committee. l found that there are a lot of families out there that really need help so with a little convincing from some friends and family, I decided to start my own special ed advocacy and consulting company. I mainly work with clients in my own state of Michigan, but have given presentations to local and national audiences (which is another interest of mine). It's been a very rewarding career helping families navigate the process and become better advocates themselves. I'm also happy to have this forum to be able to provide my insight and knowledge to help others and look forward to learning from all of you as well.

Hi! My first question is, how qualified is the last OG tutor that she worked with? I would want my child evaluated by a Fellow of the Orton-Gillinhgam Academy or a fully certified CALT before I settled that we had done everything there was to do. OG should take 4 years at max to get the child to an appropriate level. Frankly, I am suspicious of the school's story there. That said, yes, a student can learn to read and still have low oral fluency. A good SLP may be able to help with this. EF is part of Dyslexia, so I'm not sure what where they are going with that particular argument. As for the Anxiety, I would go with your mom gut. For our family, Polyvagaal or Demartini based therapy has been much more effective than the more commonly available Cognitive Behaivor Therapy. The CBT amounted to "try harder" which clearly wasn't the issue. But again, you and she know more about her feelings than they do. If she doesn't think she's anxious, and you don't that's it, it probably isn't. I hope that helps.

Hi I guess I'm kicking this off!! Happy to have a space to connect with other advocates and families. I'm a special education parent advocate based in Oregon, and I also work with families in other states on a case-by-case basis. My story is... school psychologist for 16 years in Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. Started making an exit plan from public service a few years ago, and mulled over what I might like to do next. I realized I always really loved connecting with families and helping them to understand what was going on with our school plans. I've been a 504 case manager, general ed behavior intervention guru, and of course spent many years doing psychoeducational evaluations and leading teams through decisions about eligibility and services. What I love about it: helping families know what the school could and should be doing for their kids coming in as a partner so the parent isn't alone on their side of the table getting teams back on track - educators are swamped and sometimes it takes a gentle nudge to help them be their best selves prepping with families so they know what to expect in meetings flexible schedule so I can have more time for me and my fam I'm happy to be here! Need help? Ask me.

Rather than requesting an interim eval to see if dyscalculia or SDL in math is present, my suggestion is to request that the triennial is moved up. I think things are cleaner this way. Meanwhile, I'd keep a log of what you see. Note down how much you help her with homework, how long things take her to do, write out what she says like 'I don't remember the reacher going over this' or 'I forget how the teacher said to do this' along with the date & the assignment. Ex: 10/11/22. Chapter 2.4 1-8, 10, 12, 14. Started at 3:30, finished at 4:15. Redirected her to look at 4-7, 12 & 14. 'This doesn't look like the problems we did in class.' My guess is 11 math problems shouldn't take 45 minutes - should be 20-30 minutes. This provides data on her struggles as well as the type of problems she had problems with.

The difference between an IEP & a 504 is special instruction. Does your child need special instruction to keep up with learning grade level standards? If this is needed, an IEP is needed. If they will do OK with accommodations, then a 504 is needed. There are gen ed services called RTI or MTSS that provide a lower level of support w/o the need to have an IEP. Is this what your child gets in math & ELA or are these services via the IEP? If they are gen ed services, the can & should continue. Read through the current IEP to see what the services are that go with the IEP. What's not mentioned on the IEP is gen ed that can continue. ADHD generally gets the OHI box checked. You don't mention what box is currently checked on the IEP. If your child is young, it might be the DD box. Know that if 504 supports aren't enough, you can ask for a sp ed eval and start the IEP process over. Often, in MS, when a student goes from 3 to 8 teachers, EF issues tend to crop up and students w/ ADHD might need to get IEP services.

Re your questions: 2. (answer that one first)- You can ask if there are any people who work evenings, but I would not demand it. If it's there and available, certainly take advantage of it. 1. A 1:1 aide or something, the location shouldn't matter. But you will have mindsets and biased thinking to overcome. honestly, if you're putting a 1:1 aide in an IEP, what difference does it make where that aide/para goes? But the traditional bias will be "only in the school building." You can get it added, but it will be a journey. The process will be the same (see link below) ANother thought--can you private pay someone to do this? Even if for only a few hours a day, that might be a way to lessen the burden, and start to collect data that your child does better with this accommodation. https://adayinourshoes.com/one-on-one-aide-paraprofessional-iep-special-education/

Preschool services are covered under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Which means that the child must be found eligible for services under one of the 13 eligibility categories. (In Arizona, there are 14 categories). Once they are found eligible, services, goals, programs and placement should be determined by the IEP team, of which the parent is a member, and should be based on the needs of the child. I would ask what they mean by "preschool services are limited." I would also look at what evaluations were done and if there are others that should be requested. Lisa has a really great resource on her site that I use often to determine which evaluations to ask for. It's called "IEP Evaluation Components" and is down toward the bottom of this page https://adayinourshoes.com/sample-letter-requesting-iep-evaluation/. (It's 3 pages long so make sure you arrow over to see all of it). Remember, you get data to determine needs. Needs determine services and placement. To respond to your other statement about feeling alone in your decision to stop preschool services, this is really very common among friends I have with autistic children. I know many, many that decided to do ABA until the mandatory school age. My son was 6 when he received his Autism diagnosis and had already been in a full time school program at that point. We chose to do half days of ABA and school though for three years (K-2) and it was amazing the amount of progress my son made with the combination of both. You do what you think is best with the information you have.

YAY! You got in and posted! Ok, on to your question. As a professional advocate, one of the biggest pieces of advice I offer is "choose your battles" and I rarely recommend that you fight a battle that you cannot win. There is nothing in IDEA or any state regs (to my knowledge) that would prevent you from being your son's para. Your school district policy may say otherwise. However, this is not a battle that you're likely to win. A 1:1 or para may be FAPE for your child, but "school won't have to pay" should not be your argument as that is not what IEP services are based upon. They're based on the child's needs. When you say the "teacher has stopped trying" you need to further define that, for your IEP team, and call a meeting. What, specifically, is your child not receiving that they need?

If this school district has a rule that a student needs to be on a 504 for a year before they will do a special ed eval: 1- Get this in writing. 2- File a complaint with the state using 1 as evidence. 3- Ask who the school's 504 coordinator is and request a 504 meeting so a 504 can be drafted and put in place. 4- Request that the prior school send a copy of the 504 the child had when the IEP went away. See if they can tell her the date it started. (It might exist - parents are not required members of the 504 team. And if it's been in place for a year it might be time for an IEP.)

Question: What's the most creative or unusual accommodation you've successfully included in your child's IEP? How has it helped them?

Hi….I’ve been a member for a while. I’m in California, I have twins, I’m a single mom, and I have a very big case against the school district and beyond. District is pushing to settle (mediator contacting me daily now), but I don’t have a lawyer, and am not equipped to negotiate settlement agreement that spans special Ed, civil rights, personal injury, etc. District understands this is what we are both talking about. Please reach out to me asap with any strong attorney referrals. Again, this goes far beyond compensatory services and requires an attorney who can jump in now, understand multiple overlapping areas of law, and negotiate a settlement agreement now.

Under Universal Design for Learning, the same accommodation can be available to the whole class. Now if UDL isn't working for the student who needs it, then that's a sign that it's not the appropriate accommodation. Request a meeting so the 504 can be tweaked. If the 504 isn't being followed, that's a Civil Rights issue and filing a complaint with OCR is the next step if going up the chain of command isn't working. Ask for data on how often “frequent check-in to assess for on task behavior” are finding your child off task. Your child might need a less distracting environment or a different sort of help & not more check-ins.

I would assume this evaluation is pursuant to the local school's obligation under Child Find. An evaluation has to come before a determination of eligibility for special education, then after a determination of eligibility (assuming eligibility is found) a meeting to draft the IEP is held. So no, what is scheduled is NOT an IEP meeting and only an evaluation. You do not have to consent to having the child evaluated. Did you sign anything? It would have been a consent for evaluation form. If you did, you can reach out to the school and revoke your consent. In extreme cases, the school could take you to court (due process) to order the evaluation, but I don't think they would do that if you explained to them you are in the process of getting him into a private school. I don't know what ESA is and so can't speak to how funding would be affected. I would suggest reaching out to that process and ask that question directly to them. This level of disability is not my expertise, so hoping others will chime in to correct or add to my answer.

That sounds quite fascinating. But it looks like those are only for middle and high school grades and OP gave the impression it was elementary.

In my state, if a parent/legal guardian submits a request for the local public school district to evaluate a child for special education (an IEP), the school must respond to that request in writing within 30 days, and if they choose to not evaluate the child, they have to state why they are refusing the evaluation. Check your state's regs to be sure of its timelines (see https://adayinourshoes.com/idea-individuals-with-disabilities-education-act/).

I agree with JSD24's comment to save the concerning work samples and share them with the IEP team so they can see your areas of concern. Ask how those areas could be specifically targeted in their specially designed instruction.

I don't feel that parents really want 'the best for their child' (#6 in the article). When a student is the best in their class, that can come with another set of issues like boredom. A student who isn't being taught anything new doesn't learn how to learn. When things get harder and they lack this ability, self-esteem tends to take a hit. The end result is a gifted child not reaching their full potential as well as the mental health issues that come with low self-esteem. They may end up setting a low bar for themself because they feel they don't know how to get to a higher bar. What I've said about middle school is students want to fit in yet stand out at the same time. IMO, parents want this too. They want their child to have a 'just right' education. There needs to be a bit of struggle for growth to happen and a student with the need for special ed needs to be identified early so they don't stand out..like being the only one who hasn't finished the chapter when the discussion starts.