JSD24

School psychologists need to be certified school psychologists to work in a school - just like a school teacher needs to be certified. HR generally checks this at some point during the hiring process. Training should be about the same from one person who is a psychologist versus another with the same credentials. Info on the assessments used is online. If they did Test X Version 3 and there is a version 4 out there, they really need to use version 4 as 3 is outdated when 4 comes out. Does Version 3 provide bad info. I'd say no, just dated info. A parent might even request that the old version is used if this test was done in the past and they want to compare 'apples to apples'. Psychologists do not have to provide parents with their credentials as there is an assumption that the school hired someone who has the right training & credentials. The requirement in IDEA is to 'assess in all areas of suspected disability'.

I'm not sure how Ohio does this but in PA, they have a pool of facilitators and the state assigns them. I don't believe either the school of the family have a say. Ohio does have an info sheet on facilitators: https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Special-Education/Dispute-Resolution/Facilitation_Handout.pdf.aspx They also have a sheet on mediation and it does have a lot of parallels: https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Special-Education/Dispute-Resolution/ODE_MediationHandout-8-17-18-1.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US It does look like schools/families do pick who is used to facilitate/mediate in Ohio. I believe that mediators are looking for an agreement on what should be in the IEP where a facilitator keeps the meeting on track but doesn't push them to come to an agreement.

Chapter 14 (sp ed law in PA) limits how wide an age range can be in the same sp ed classroom. I believe it's 3 years for elementary & 4 years for secondary level. They are letting you know that your child might be in a room with older/younger students. Some parents have an issue with this. If your child is 6, do you want them in a classroom with 10 year olds? This is a copy & paste from Chapter 14: § 14.146. Age range restrictions. (a) The maximum age range in specialized settings shall be 3 years in elementary school (grades K—6) and 4 years in secondary school (grades 7—12). (b) A student with a disability may not be placed in a class in which the chronological age from the youngest to the oldest student exceeds these limits unless an exception is determined to be appropriate by the IEP team of that student and is justified in the IEP. ----------------------- The language you copied from the IEP is the school's justification that allows them to exceed the age range. If you are not OK with this, they can put your child into another building that is not where the kids in your neighborhood go. The purpose of the SDI is to let you know they are not following Chapter 14. They do this so they do not have to hire another teacher & split up the class or get a bus to take your child to a different school. I'd want to observe the placement before signing the NOREP & agreeing to this change. Definitely ask what the age range is in the classroom they are proposing.

It is not the job of the evaluator to determine if a student qualifies for an IEP or not. (I'm also not sure why someone moderating the PA specific group isn't aware that an IU is an Intermediate Unit and that most of the 500 school districts in PA contract with the IUs to provide preschool sp ed services.) Carolyn Rowlett is wrong when she says you should have gone to the school district. What you did is the correct procedure in PA. You will not find a preschool sp ed person in your school district because most of the districts in PA (I think there are 4 that do their own preschool sp ed) have contracts for the IUs to do this. The eval needs to be completed within 60 days of when you signed the PTE allowing your child to be evaluated. The next step is a meeting to go over the eval report. This should happen 10 days after you get a copy of the report and within 30 days of the report being completed. If the team going over the report decides that your child's disability makes them eligible for an IEP (you are a member of this team - be sure to go to the meeting), an IEP meeting will be scheduled (it's often held right after the eligibility meeting since the team is already there at the eligibility meeting). You can request an IEE at school expense with preschool sp ed. In PA, that works the same as school age IEPs. This links to preschool sp ed procedural safeguards in PA: https://www.pattan.net/Forms/Procedural-Safeguards-Notice-Preschool-Early-I-1 The other thing that PA has is Medicaid for children (anyone under 18) who have a disability. If your child doesn't qualify for school services, you can get documentation from the doctor and apply for Medicaid for your child. Medicaid will cover therapies and there is no limit like employer insurance often has. This links to the Medicaid application: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/Services/Assistance/Pages/Apply-for-Benefits.aspx Be sure to check YES for the question if your household has a disabled family member. (You will be asked for proof of income but they shouldn't look at that since you are applying under PH-95.) Also, Medicaid is an HMO & you will need to go to a participating provider to have things covered.

I think that, technically, this is a gray area. It's more of a renewal when a child already has an IEP. If they found a new area of need, there could be goals and services that were never before in an IEP your child had. I think this is the language that's standard after a reeval is done. (Is this a box that was checked on the IEP meeting invitation?)

This is for teaching reading comprehension. https://idahotc.com/Portals/0/Resources/882/Comprehension Instructional Routines.pdf

Sorry for the delay in replying to this. I'm finally figuring out how to navigate this site. NSEAI has a website that lists advocates and COPAA does too. (NSEAI has hours in Delco where you can go & ask questions. I think they do this on Wed but call 1st.) You can also call the people on your local task force - phone numbers are listed on the state task force site. I've brought my child's BCBA to IEP meetings - they observed my child at school & saw things the school missed because they were familiar with what to look for. The best advocate might be someone who knows your child (like a sitter or grandparent) but doesn't have advocacy training. Bringing another person gives you someone to verify if something was said or not during the meeting. Some of the things you've mentioned could be documented in a parent concerns letter. Ex: We see XX trying to eat non-food items. This hasn't been observed at school but feel that it's only a matter of time before school personnel observe this. The 1:1 assigned to them should be made aware that this happens in other environments so they can prevent this at school.

Seems like a glitch was created when BHRS was replaced by IBHS in January 2021. Trimark cannot cover IBHS because the PA Behavior Specialists are not a recognised provider under Trimark. (Their credential is the issue.) There is a bill in DC that needs to pass so that Trimark and Medicaid can coordinate benefits for families with this insurance combo. If you are experiencing this issue, please reply to this post. The more families that are advocating for change, the louder the voice is & the more likely things will change so the glitch goes away. Oddly, Trimark for active military works OK with these services.

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.

Wanted to let parents know that registration is open for the PDE conference. They offer scholarships - deadline to apply is 2/1. The scholarship covers registration & hotel (for hotel, you need to live 50 miles away from Hershey). They have a great lineup of speakers with authors Ross Greene - The Explosive Child - and Peg Dawson - Smart but Scattered - scheduled to present. You can attend virtually too. I'll be there. Look for me at the Right to Education Task Force breakfast. You can get to the registration and scholarship links from this page: https://www.pattan.net/Training/Conferences/Pennsylvania-Department-of-Education-Conference

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.

Interoception is a sensory thing. OTs work on sensory. Has she had an OT eval? What about asking for parent training on teaching safety so you can do a bit of this when she's not in school? You want to be using the same system that the school uses so she's taught with consistency.

I'm in Chester County & our Arc has advocates. Not sure if the one near you will have them. I think PEAL is on the procedural Safeguards list. They will help you understand the school's side and let you know if you have a case to change the IEP or if it's already FAPE. As an advocate, I don't take anyone's side. What I do it evaluate what's going on to see if the student needs more than the IEP has them getting. There are parents who want the moon and an IEP only gets you appropriate interventions.

I found something that looks like it will be helpful: http://www.brainy-child.com/experts/WAIS-IV-and-MMPI-II.shtml

Impulses are controlled by the frontal lobe. It tends to be less-developed in children with ADHD & autism. It really is beyond his control. Best solution is to not get him dysregulated so there's less to be impulsive about. You can teach them strategies but it's hard to use them when you're dysregulated.

Read through the IEP carefully. When a student has an IEP & an ISFP, only one tends to say that the child will be provided with 1:1 support. If his IEP does say that he needs 1:1 support to access gen ed, this puts it on the school (not the IBHS agency) to provide the support and they need to follow the IEP - not provide an excuse for not following it. Most school district solicitors will not put a school into the position where they are relying on a 3rd party in order for the IEP to be followed. I'm not sure what the solution is for you without having more details. If the school is relying on the IBHS agency to provide a 1:1 for a student's IEP to be followed, they have put themself into a situation where they should be providing an aide or paraprofessional to be 1:1 with your child when the RBT is unavailable either due to illness or schedule conflict. If the IEP is worded where it should work this way, the teacher needs to hire someone to fill in for the RBT. They should also provide makeup services for when the IEP isn't being followed. The thing is that admin handles staffing - not the teacher - so that's who should be working to hire someone. (Are they even aware that your child has this need going unfulfilled?) Now if the IEP says nothing about a 1:1 being needed to access gen ed, you're out of luck when the RBT isn't available. Since your assigned RBT cannot be there when your child needs them, you should ask the IBHS agency to provide another RBT for the days when this RBT can't be there. (I'm not sure that this is going to happen. I've not seen a child with 2 RBTs and there's a huge staffing issue with all IBHS agencies which is likely why your RBT can't be there in the morning.) The other factor is that with autism, kids do a lot better with consistency which could be a negative with only being in ged ed 2 days/week or having a different RBT when the main RBT isn't available. For your own piece of mind, you should find out who is responsible for staffing your child's time in gen ed so you can better advocate for making sure there is staff for your child to get what they need in the future.

In PA, supervision of IEPs is given to the superintendent (or equivalent at a charter school). They all tend to delegate this responsibility to a special ed supervisor/director. If the position of special ed supervisor/director is open , the responsibility falls back on the superintendent. They can designate a principal or other school employee to cover the job responsibilities until a replacement is found. (I was told that the most stressful job in any school district is that of the person who oversees special ed so I'm not surprised to see high turnover.) Changes like this shouldn't have an effect on your child or their IEP.

I'm all for accommodating a student who cannot do for themself. The thing is that independance should also be a goal so coaching doesn't need to go on forever. Teaching a student how to manage this for themself needs to be part of what gets looked at - and not just for homework. Executive Functioning deficits seems to be associated with poor social skills. You use Executive Functioning to do a lot of things.

Chester County is full of advocates. I do advocacy & live in Chester County. The Arc of Chester County has a bunch of advocates. Lisa (the woman who runs this group) also lives in Chester County. Rachel Yevel, the parent mentor at CCIU, is also available to go to meetings with parents. IMO, the IEP is not FAPE if there are known safety issues and they aren't mentioned in the IEP. Parentis in loco are responsible for dealing with/preventing issues at school. Are they wanting you to be your child's 1:1 so you can prevent these issues? (I know a bunch more advocates. The advocacy class I took had lots of people who are in the area.)

It sounds to me like the step plan in the IEP isn't sufficiently clear because it is not being followed by the adults at school the same way that these same words were followed last year by the para that wrote them. IMO, you need an IEP meeting ASAP to clarify what is meant by the step plan in the IEP on how to deescalate him. If he should have the autonomy to determine how many laps he needs to get calm, the IEP should explicitly state this. Don't leave the wording up to interpretation. Be specific! When a teacher fails to follow school policy, you should go up the chain of command so the teacher can be retrained on how to follow policy. The principal would be the 1st person to bring this to.

Your child can qualify for services with the school using a discrepancy model. (Page 5 of this does a great job of explaining this model: https://fs24.formsite.com/edweek/images/WP-n2y-The_Shortest_Distance_Between_Two_Points_Is_RTI.pdf.) There is a lot of difference between fluency (8th percentile) and IQ of 133 (99th percentile). If they will not remediate, will they accommodate? What about an IEE paid by the school since you feel the recommendations aren't appropriate? IMO, you will help the anxiety when you fix the limits your child has with accessing school. Does your child have audiobooks/textbooks as an accommodation?

Systemic change takes time. When you change out one cog in a system, you often find that lots of other things get effected as well. I know that I'd like to see schools align reading instruction to the Science of Reading or structured literacy. The list of other things that need to change when you do this include: Books, teacher training (both new & current teachers), college curriculum, praxis exams that teachers take, state standards for education... All of these things take time. I'm in a group that discusses this and I see teachers asking how to come up with a grade to put on a report card since making this change at the school level. I guess I'm saying to look for the ripple effect when you ask for a systemic change. (If you can anticipate the ripple & have answers to solve the problems that will be encountered, you'll do better at advocating for the change you want to see.) Can you post what systemic change you're looking for? You can better crowdsource here by posting specifics.

Many school psychologists are not trained to identify reading problems and, unfortunately, they are the people who do evaluations for sp ed. Layer on top of this that the "skills" teachers teach in the early grades are the things non-readers do to mask their reading disability which will make it harder to figure out who is disabled. In your shoes, I would request an IEE done by someone trained to identify a reading issues that includes dyslexia. Any person in the 7th percentile for word reading fluency and comprehension, IMO, needs more testing to see why that component is so low. One test cannot be used to say a student is dyslexic so there should be a deeper dive when you see scores like this. https://adayinourshoes.com/iee-independent-education-evaluation/ You will probably need a neuropsychologist to do the IEE. One thing you can request in the short term is RTI or MTSS in reading. This is a gen ed program and given your child's low scores, they should meet the criteria for this sort of help even though the school's eval said IEP level of intervention isn't needed.

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.