OT: Ontario Teachers Info Please

[Vivig]

HI There,

I wanted to know first hand from all the teachers out there, what they feel about a student being placed on an IEP.

- Is this perceived as a very big Negative thing?
- Being placed on an IEP, does this help or hinder the child?
- Does this have any consequences to the child's future? i.e. High School/ Univeristy?
- Does the child become 'labelled' for life?
- what are your thoughts about a child on an IEP?
- Would you place your child on an IEP if they are identified as requiring this assistance.

Your thoughts / comments will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanking you all in advance,
I will check in to see if I have received any responses at the end of the day...so please do not think I am ignoring your responses.
Vivian

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

I am not a teacher but am a parent with a child who has been diagnosed as ADD without the H and has a non verbal learning difference (really don't like the word disability!!) He's 11yo now in grade 6 and he was diagnosed and had his IEP set in place in gr 2. If you have any questions I can help you with feel free to PM me!

- Is this perceived as a very big Negative thing? Not at all!!
- Being placed on an IEP, does this help or hinder the child? Has helped my own ds so very much I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!
- Does this have any consequences to the child's future? i.e. High School/ Univeristy? My ds is in gr 6 and as far as I've heard from his resource teacher it 'shouldn't'
- Does the child become 'labelled' for life? being 'labelled' isn't always a bad thing!
- what are your thoughts about a child on an IEP? My own ds has one and the teachers he's worked with on it have been amazing. They really work to try and accomodate him and his needs wherever they can.
- Would you place your child on an IEP if they are identified as requiring this assistance. Yes and as I mentioned before I would do it again in a heartbeat. It's been a positive experience for us!

Most important thing I can tell you having a child with an IEP is to work with the school and make sure you remember you are your childs best advocate. You know what's best for him/her. We go in to the school at least every 6 to 8 weeks to meet and go over any 'issues' that arise. Next year we have decided to place our ds into a small class of 10 kids that all have the same learning issues. The only thing I need to check out is to make sure they don't all have behaviour issues too b/c my own ds doesn't and I don't want to put him into that.

good luck wiht your decision.... BTDT so I know how tough it is to make the decision.... just think what's right for your child. I KNEW my ds needed the help and in order to get the help he needed/required he had to have an IEP. With or without the IEP they are still the same child!

 

[Zip-a-dee-dude-da]

Of course i would have my child "put " on an IEP if requested from the school/professionals whom have evaluated them. IEP are to help your child reach thier maximum potential. Your child may need a little extra time or some different forms of instruction. It sounds to me as if you are worried you child will be percieved as something less than a typical student. Dont let your hangups hinder your childs educational development. This is not about you, it is about HOW YOUR CHILD LEARNS. If he/she needs a different form of instruction to bring out thier best who are you to disallow it.

IEPs are for the benefit of the student....I have seen many students who would not have made it through high school without an iep. The additional individualized attention at school helps guide students to sucess. Dont take away what could be the best thing for your child out of fear of stereotyping. Most students dont even know whyat an iep is and will not hold it against your child.

 

[Tiger926]

Any student can be placed on an IEP if warranted - labels may come from being IPRCd which is a formal designation. My learning challenged students need their IEPs because they ensure that they get the accommodations that they need. IEPs or IPRC designations should be kept confidential, so are you worried about teachers labelling?

I can understand your worries, but parents should want their students on IEPs because without them (and you don't need a formal designation of a disability to get one) most students won't get the accommodations that they need. If your child needs one and you are worried about labels, you are going to do him/her a huge disservice - we see so many high school students failing or dropping out of school because parents want them in courses that they arent't capable of handling. By the same token, parents refuse to have their children placed on an IEP (not sure why as this doesn't make any sense in terms of what is best for the child) and all this does is pretty much assure the child of he/she not getting the proper help.

In regards to university or college, they don't get student OSRs, so they would have no idea that there was an IEP, and the only way for students to get any type of assistance in university or college is to have a formal designation in place with an updated IEP (within 2 years).

I would be more than happy to answer any other questions for you.

Tiger

 

[striker3636]

I'm not a teacher either, but I am in an Educational Assistant program at my local college. I can give you my 2 cents based on this experience! What the other posters have said is absolutely true. An IEP is a tool which helps educators to ensure that accomodations are made in the curriculum and activities to help children reach their full potential. I look at it as a positive thing - it only helps children to learn according to their needs and abilities. Not every student that requires an IEP will always need one - there are many reasons, and sometimes it is as simple as extra assistance for weak areas (like reading or math) to help bring the child;s abilities up to the grade's expectations. Whatever the reason, it also means that often your child can stay with their friends and peers and in the regular classroom (inclusion) <all this depends on the need for the IEP and the "special needs", if any>. Talk to your child's teacher, principal, and EA's in the school if your child will require one. I'm sure they can give you more information to help you out.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

We were told by the school 4 years ago now that you had to have your child 'labelled' (for lack of a better word) in order to get an IEP so the IPRC was necessary?

Has this changed or were we given incorrect information? They wouldn't do the IEP (although they made accomodations for him b/c we do have an amazing team at our school) without the psyc assesment and the IPRC.

 

[Vivig]

Thank You all for the valuable information you have put forth.

Our son has been diagnosed with ADHD and is currently on medication.

The school and his teachers are very supportive. Just to clarify one point, my husband and I do not have "hung-up's" in terms of him being labelled. What I am concerned about is his being 'labelled' from a teacher's point of view, from an educational system point of view as well as his peers ridiculing him for being pulled out for certain subjects.

I have and always will be a strong advocate for our son and want to ensure we do what is best for him.

My concern stems from the fact that if you set high goals them the individual will strive that much harder to attain these goals...if we are now somehow in his eyes lowering these goals will this impact him..will he now not try as hard? On the same lines, I want to ensure his self esteem is strong and that we do not squash it by leaving things the way they are.

He has two subjects that he is being recommended to be pulled away from his class and they are writing/language as well as Math.(Math now is not as I knew it to be...you not only have to provide the right answer but how you obtained it is also required to be spelled out...hence language once again.) There is a long history that I do not wish to bogg you all down with...just to provide a high level update that he went to French Immersion school for grade 1 and the teacher was NOT the right fit. (She really should not be teaching...this woman impacted our son in such a negative way..I can't begin to vent my frustrations). We are thinking of agreeing to the Language program for the 2nd semester and are hoping that this may also help in his Maths.

Our son is a bright boy, who loves to learn. However, he does not Like to hold a pencil and put words to paper for the life of him. He loves life and has a wonderful personality. He is silly at times but that's part of his character and we love it We want the best for him and strive to provide it in anyway that we can.

I feel guilty, since he was a preemie...born 10 weeks prior to his due date. I always feel I did something to cause his premature birth. We placed him in French Immersion, I should have much more aggressive with the system at that time. All I am trying to do is follow the right path and not introduce more challenges for our little guy.

I want to thank those of you who have responded. I find these boards provide a wealth of information filled with mostly people who are supportive and provide guidance through their own personal experiences.

Thank you all once again,
Vivian

Back to work..I will catch up this evening...

 

[Tiger926]

Just a few points of clarification:

1) IEP - this is an Individualized Education Plan to ensure accommodations are met. Do not need an IPRC as most students haven't been identified for a variety of reasons: lack of funding, parents didn't approve tests, etc. but they absolutely need IEPs in order to help them succeed.

2) IPRC - this is the formal identification process that can be done at school board level or by a private doctor - psychologist or psychiatrist must assess the student. By law, every student who has been IPRCd must have an updated IEP each and every year.

I wish you luck with your decision, Tiger

 

[Vivig]

Thank You Tiger 926,

You have made some very valid points.

We pulled him out from French Immersion after Grade 1.(I could not risk leaving him in that environment, the school is very good...the bad teacher was not the right fit for our son and caused us much pain that we are still trying to recover from.)

We have been blessed with teachers that I cannot even begin telling you about. Both last year's Grade 2 and this year's Grade 3 teacher are both Godsend!! I let the board as well as the Superintendant know what a Gem last year's teacher was and I have full intentions on doing the same for this year's teacher.

IPRC has been done from a medical perspective and now awaiting one from the school. We are deciding on the IEP portion of the equation, the choices have been presented to us and thus all my questions .

And you are absolutely correct, I do want to ensure that I provide the right tools for our son to be successful. With all the feedback I have received to date I cannot see any negative impacts. I will discuss with his doctor as well as obtain his feedback/ thoughts on this subject as well.


Thanks again,
Have a gr8 evening all,
Vivian

 

[riu girl]

Sorry if a little OT but perhaps people reading this thread may be interested.

DD8, not medicated (ADHD/anxiety/SAD/sensory issues) is on an IEP(behaviour not academic based since she is at/above grade level) as well as IPRC (behaviour).
The school has been hinting that we should consider removing the IPRC (but keeping the IEP) since she has made such trememdous gains and they feel the IPRC is not necessary. (although she did get her first ever C+ today )

Child psychiatrist says ABSOLUTELY keep IPRC, just because she is doing well now (academically/behaviour wise), doesn't mean she always will be. The child psych feels she will be able to manage college or university and having both the IEP/IPRC will help her succeed.

My questions:
1. What sort of help/assistance can kids in college/university get by having an IPRC?
2. What are your thoughts on keeping/getting rid of the IPRC?

Thank you
Suzy V

 

[Tiger926]

The only way for kids to receive assistance in university or college is with an IPRC. They will not accommodate at all if this is not in place. Students and parents frequently contact us in highschool because they think that we can just call up university or college and they'll accommodate, but sadly, that is not the case. They must have proper paperwork in place.

Children need to be reviewed (IPRC reviews are typically done in spring) as well as IEPs continually monitored or updated because some kids absolutely can move off of their IEP - this is something that we don't see often, but we do see it in certain circumstances with kids who just have situational or stress related behaviour or learning issues. Considering that your DD has a lot of issues to deal with, I would have to agree with psych. To not be medicated and have to deal with all of the challenges that you mention at once, probably takes quite a bit of work on the part of your DD, you, your family and school. I would definitely keep her on her IPRC for awhile longer as things drastically change once children get to us in highschool - anxiety, depression and behaviour peeks once again at this stage due to the stressful environment of highschool.

Best of luck to your daughter, Tiger

 

[riu girl]

Tiger, thank you for the information. We will just keep the IPRC in place. I really hope she makes it to college or university. I have 8 years post secondary education myself and I just want DD to have the same opportunities. I have had a RESP for her since she was tiny and I just pray that she can use those funds for school.

I forgot to mention. This summer she was also diagnosed with a language based LD (whatever that is, I have no idea?). I am still waiting on the psychiatrist report on this (hopefully it wille explain what this LD is all about)then I will take it to the next IPRC meeting. Will this change the IPRC classification at all? Right now the only box that is ticked is behavioural.

Also, do you have any idea what sort of modifications/accomodations for an IPRC (behavioural) are made at the post secondary level?
Thanks
Suzy

 

[damo]

I tutor a lot of kids with identifications. I have found that it is really important in many situations. Many kids with IEPs need special arrangements for tests; being allowed extra time, different location, someone reading the questions etc. These things make a HUGE difference with test results.

 

[Tiger926]

riu girl - I don't have time to respond as I am getting ready for school, so I will respond later with more answers to your questions.

Have a great day, Tiger

 

[Janice B]

Our 13ds is on an accomadation IEP program (not a motified program) Their is a difference. He is currently in a regular grade 8 program, however he received accomadations. He wears an FM systems becuase he has difficulties hearing the teachers and others talking in class (still trying to figure out why this happens and unfortunatly this happens all the time and not just at school. He has had is hearing checked and it is fine). He also writes all his tests in the special education room which offers a more quite atmospher for him to concentrate and if needed he will be given extra time to do his test. If I had to do it all over again, I would put him in the program. No one besides his teachers know he's even in the program. It has helped him. We will be meeting with the principle and Special Ed teacher in January as we get prepared to get him ready for going to high school next year. We have been told the IEP program he is on will continue in high school. Unfortuently and this depends on the school, the higher grades your children get into the less extra help they recieve (he has been on this program since grade 4. He received extra help from grade 3-5, then in grade 6 it was reduced and then in grade 7 it stopped all together). Our son also stuggles in English and Math and does not received any extra help from the special ed teacher even though we have requested this. We were told by our board, that he is not struggling enough and their are other kids that need the help more than he does. So we try our best and work with him.

 

[marylou]

I have a lot experience in this area because I have 2 kids with learning disabilities. DD 19 in 2nd year of university honours history with plans to get her BEd so she can teach kindergarten. DS 16 in grade 11. They have both been on IEPs since they were in grade 3. DS refused in grade 5 to go to the special ed class anymore because he didn't like being labelled by his peers. They accommodated him in the class room to the level he would allow. I had a problem with the way our school manged his behaviours/needs because he was labelled as lazy and resistive because they did not understand the nature of his LD, they did NOT do the testing and I couldn't convince them to do it because his test scores at the school were good. I finally spent the $2000 to have him tested by a psychologist and he is ADHD with bipolar tendancies (when he was 15y). He is now on medication and a different person. I feel guilty that I listened to his Special ed teacher and didn't get him medicated before so he could have avoided all this heart ache.
His LD are motor and hearing related which means that he mishears what is said and his brain is unable to translate the messages enough for him to be able to write properly. He developed behaviours because is attention span was minimal and he is easily distracted, so he became surly and belligerant. The teachers responded by becoming more authoritative so he resisted ...and so on. High School was the best thing that ever happened to him. He still has anIEP but it is to accommodate his writing but they usually want his projects and things typed so this is not as much of an issue as it was. The biggest difference is that the teachers attitudes. They QUICKLY caught on that as they tried to impose restrictions on him, he resisted and backed off and gave him latitude. He is now getting upper 70 grades and enjoying school. His grade 9 teacher phoned me complaining that he was disrupting the class because he was done his work before the others(yes it was done correctly) I suggested she give him more work but her suggestion was that he put his head down on the desk until the others were done (she didn't want to give him more work cause it would confuse the others in the class) I tried to reason with her but finally ended up telling her that if she didn't want to accept my suggestions she learn to deal with his behaviour. the biggest problem with him was that he was irritating. One of those kids who gets on your nerves real quick and he was a smart aleck.
My daughter on the other hand has no attention span problems but she has been faking out teachers since grade one. She had her Grade one teacher convinced that she could read when I knew she couldn't even remember her abc. She had a good work ethic and was very motivated to learn. She has classic dyslexia, as well as a short term memory problem which means she can only learn with repetition. The other kids gave her a hard time early on because "you don't know that yet" but I gave her some snappy answers back that we practised and they stopped. We also had numerous long talks about it being a problem like needing glasses so she had a good understanding of her disabiities.
In high school both kids were offered accommodations but they had to request them. They do not insist/force them to accept them. This puts the power back in the kids hands and also makes them responsible for their learning. My daughter took every advantage of her opportunities to get extended times, oral tests, quiet rooms etc.
For university, their testing has to be done by a psychologist and it has to have been within 3 years of entering university. If you qualify for OSAP you have access to a $10,000 bursary for technology but you have to justify why you need it. She is an auditory learner so she now has a laptop that she scans her books into and they read it to her. She also is accommodated for exams(quiet room, extended times and oral exams if she needs it) Once again she has to talk to each prof about it and request any accommodation she may need. She has a high 70 average. She also has access to someone who will edit her papers, tutors as needed etc. You can research the Learning Centres but you also have to declare she has a learning disability or they can not accommodate.
Sorry I am long winded but get your kids the help they need. There are good and bad teachers out there. There are kids who will give your child a hard time. If we ignore it, we let it fester and the kids think they are dumb. Check out the Learning Disabilities Associations of Ontario and Canada. They offer seminars and assistance, they have a lending library for books on LD.
We are all trying to do the best for our kids so good luck

 

[riu girl]

Wow, what a ton of info.
Thank you
Suzy V