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[Luv Bunnies]

We finally had a decent outcome at a meeting for my son. Some of you may recall my saga a few years ago when he had a disasterous transition from elementary to middle school. The district wanted to take a "wait and see" approach rather than giving him any support from the start of his 6th grade year. As a result, his anxiety level was over the top and he came to dread going to school each day. The special ed director did end up putting a one-on-one aide on his IEP but then changed his mind and refused to send the person (a huge violation of the IEP). We had to enlist an attorney to help us deal with the district. Because they knew they violated the IEP, the district ended up offering us a fully-paid placement at a wonderful private school.

My son is now in 8th grade and will be transitioned to the high school district next year. We were a little worried about him starting a new school without the appropriate supports and didn't know what the new district would be willing to offer. We had a meeting this week with the current district, his private school and the high school district. The special ed person from the new district sat and listened intently as the teacher and speech therapist described my son and his present academic and social levels. Then she said, "It sounds like your son needs a lot of support for transitions. I don't want to put him into a new school too quickly. We definitely want him to be successful this time. Let's have him stay where he is for the beginning of 9th grade. In the fall, we can revisit the issue and have you tour some programs that we have to offer. I think that will be best."

We're happy that the new district is so concerned about him having a good transition this time and they're not against paying for the private school for a little while longer. This is exactly the outcome we were hoping for. Our son can take several months to make a full transition, if necessary. After all the trouble we had before, this was a very refreshing change!

 

[bookwormde]

That is great news, My son is transitioning to 6th grade next year and we have been working all this year to get him in the most appropriate middle school with the prorper supports. "districts" are slowly learning but it takes parents that are willing to "fight" like you did.

bookwormde

 

[kirstenb1]

That's terrific!! I know of a couple of children our county couldn't provide an adequate education for, and they're in private school (paid for by the county, including transportation). I'm really glad to hear of your continued success in advocating for your son. Must be a great weight off your shoulders, too.