Children with IEPs

[justjulie]

For those of you who have children with an IEP, can you tell me what made you think they needed one and how you went about obtaining one? I'm at the point where I think my son may need one but I don't know what the "requirements" are. How come no one told me parenting would be so hard?

 

[babytrees]

poor sweetie!!

I had the doctor ask us to get Abi evaluated at school because of her speech. I asked them to do a full spectrum of testing. She was borderline on needing speech but the part that got us was she needed the occupational therapist. Now she was only on the IEP for less than 2 years but they were valuable. She is now IEP'ed not for ST or OT but the G/T program.

If you are unsure of whether your child needs an IEP ask for him to be tested and they can make the determination. If at any point you don't feel your voice is being heard ask for an advocate in the meeting.

The one thing I wish I had insisted on was the Psychiatrist...she only spent 10 minutes with Abi and there are more issues there than what you can get through 10 minutes.

It may take awhile for the testing but stick with it and good luck!!

 

[Makdyn]

What is IEP and how do you know if your child should be tested or not. Is there some signs that they show

 

[justjulie]

Do I request the testing from the school or through our family doctor? I know the process is probably long but I'm afraid that he's slipping and I don't want to have to hold him back a grade if possible. I've hired a tutor to review his current math unit with him and he works on basic math drills nightly ..

 

[tw1nsmom]

An IEP is an Individual Education Plan and you don't need a doctors referral to have your child tested.

OP, what do you suspect is the problem? Has your doctor given you a diagnosis?

If you want your child evaluated you should write a letter requesting a formal evaluation in all areas that you think are needed (psychoeducational, OT, PT, Speech...). Address it to the special education coordinator of your school district. If you wish, you can CC the teacher and principal, but it isn't necessary. Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and mark the date that it was mailed. The district has 60 school days upon receiving the referal to do testing and hold a CSE (committee on special education) meeting where it will be determined whether or not your child needs services. You must be invited to that meeting and you are allowed to bring anyone you wish who has something to say about your child.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I just noticed you're in Canada. I don't know what the laws or procedures are for you.

 

[luvdiz2]

Back when we had my kids in school a couple of years ago, the teacher sent a note home as she had identified him as possibly needing one. Try either speaking to the teacher or Principal. There is then an IPRC??? meeting, testing and result.

 

[Scutapipig]

An IEP stands for Individualized Educational Plan and is usually implemented for children who have specific learning disabilities or special needs. The first step is asking yourself if your child has a disability. If you can say there is a disability, then you need to ask yourself if the disability is causing your child to not progress in school. If you again can answer this with a yes, then you also need to ask yourself if the school can provide specialized services to help your child progress in school. Usually an IEP will directly address concerns with cognitive impairment, expressive/receptive speech, fine motor skills, and/or gross motor skills. I know there are other circumstances, also, and perhaps someone can provide a bit more information in that regard.

I would start with your son's teacher and discuss your concerns. If they also see the same issues with your child as you see, they can help you to pursue it further within your school district.

My personal opinion is that an IEP is not to be taken lightly. It's not something you just decide you want for your child and its done. There has to be a specific need for your child to have an IEP and your child's services and goals are set based upon those needs.

For instance, my son has Down syndrome, so over the years he has been in a special education program for cognitive impairment, with special services providing speech, OT, and PT. It will change based upon your child's abilities and how they progress and will be evaluated each year. My son is still in a special education class, but has progressed to partial inclusion, and only OT services. The goal is to place your child in the least restrictive learning environment possible to provide your child with the optimal learning environment for them.

You may want to post on the disabilities board for additional information.

 

[goofy's friends]

We did this also. There would be certain percentage of below grade level in Math that he would need to be to qualify. The process takes a long time, but stick with it, it is worth it!! Is he struggling in other subjects?

I didn't have to write a letter, I just called and talked to the head of the Special Ed. dept. and they scheduled testing. They are required to test at your request, so don't let them talk you out of it of you really want it.
Good luck.

 

[JESW]

When Ds was in 3rd grade it was "highly suggested" by the school that we have him tested. He was having a lot of trouble staying focused on school work and he also had difficulty participating in classroom activities, had social issues, and also meltdowns that included banging his head on his desk when frustrated.

We took him to a child psychologist for testing and he was diagnosed with aspergers - which to us made *a lot* of sense regarding his behaviors since he was born. (We had never heard of it until the diagnose)

After that we had a meeting with the school and the psychologist and his IEP was created - listing the specific needs and services the school would provide. We have an official IEP meeting every year, but we are able to call an "emergency" one when needed - such as the beginning of this school year when he started to have more/different problems.

Before his IEP ds had a "behavior plan" which just didn't work as he needed more help.

DS is now 12 and in the 6th grade. Because of his difficulty in adjusting to the major changes this year, he now has a one-on-one aid and gets pulled out for two classes in a smaller group of 5 students.

In 4th & 5th grade his IEP allowed us to have some say on the amount of homework and projects he would have to do. We could make modifications if needed. For example, if the math homework was 20 problems he only needed to do 10. We very rarely took advantage of that as we wanted ds to keep up with his classmates and not use his diagnose as an excuse to not do the work. But there were times when his behavior was such that he couldn't/wouldn't complete assignments. I remember last year asking for a weekend extension for a project (due on friday - I asked if he could have until monday) because of meltdowns he was having over the work. The last two years we have found the teachers and aids extremely helpful.

But here we go again...ds is having a real tough time this year so once again it was "strongly suggested" that we get him tested - he is older now and ready for other tests. He will be undergoing neuropsychological testing on 12/13 and after we get the results his IEP will most likely be modified.

Our son is a joy, but it has also been very tough getting him through school, and I fear it will always be that way. He also sees a psychiatrist and is on meds, just completed a year of bio-feedback and we are wondering if he should continue, and will start with a new therapist in 2 weeks. He also sees the behavioralist at school, along with the special ed teachers and the guidance counselors.

I am basically a shy and reserved person, but having a son with special needs has made me have to speak up and get our son what he needs to succeed in school/life. You need to know what your child needs as the school doesn't always offer it or let you know what is available. Ds was diagnosed half-way through 3rd grade...4th grade was a nightmare (due to the teacher and the school), 5th grade was much better and now in 6th grade he is with a team of 3 teachers and all his extra help so it is better.

Parenting *is* a tough job!! I thought this was how ALL kids were, and then we had dd7 and all of ds' "differences" were more apparent after she arived.

Good luck! It is a tough road, but the hardest part is getting started...

Jill

 

[babytrees]

Do I request the testing from the school or through our family doctor? I know the process is probably long but I'm afraid that he's slipping and I don't want to have to hold him back a grade if possible. I've hired a tutor to review his current math unit with him and he works on basic math drills nightly ..

Through the school at least in the states.

If it's math they may not put him on an IEP but have a "pull out" time with a math tutor.

Please talk to his teacher(s) and get their input first but if you still feel it's not working request the IEP testing...be warned again that the testing will take a while.

 

[ntburns22]

I contacted my DD's teacher first. She had set up the testing for my DD to qualify for speech. So DD qualified for the program and now has an IEP for speech. I requested that if she was taken from math for example, that she would be given a tutor if her math grades suffer. This is stated on her IEP.

 

[Desnik]

DS was a preemie and a very sick baby so we expected him to have delays. When he was about 2 years old the pediatrician told us it was time to have him evaluated. She told us to call the school district and they could lead us in the right direction. We did and they gave us all the contacts we needed. The state pays for it all. We had the evaluators come to the house and he was severely delayed in speech, and also had serious OT issues. Because of his age we were in the Early Intervention services. What happens is when they do the testing the child has to be delayed a certain percentage. It was heartbreaking to see on paper just how delayed DS was. He is not in Early intervention anymore because of his age. Now it is called the Pre-school program and he thankfully doesn't need the OT anymore but still gets speech therapy 3 times a week. In March when he turned 3 they had to re evaluate him and do all the testing again. His speech was at a 18 month level. He has come so far recently and since his operation in May(adnoids and tonsil removal)he is like a different kid! You can actually make out most of the words he tries to say! What do you think are your son's issues or delays?

 

[justjulie]

Thanks everyone. It's not just math - that's his major struggle but he has some trouble focusing and staying put. He just doesn't seem to maintain things. When it comes to creativity, he got loads of that and is very artistic but it seems the more you try and box him in the more difficult it is for him to function. Part of me hopes it's just a lack of effort but if there really is a problem I don't want to deny him the help he needs to succeed.

Thanks for your support.

 

[justjulie]

You know I never thought of any childhood illnesses as a cause of anything. When he was born he was re-hospitalized for a week - he was very sick for the first 18 months of his life and as a result his physical growth is behind on every scale. I never thought it could have effected his learning curve too. Our doctor finally said that as long as he's meeting his milestones he should be fine.

After his last test I asked his teacher for the class average so I could figure out where he was in relation to the rest of the class - he didn't give it to me so I guess I'll just have to wait until the parent-teacher conference to see if he'll give me anymore "comparison" information.