JSD24

Either is acceptable. If you want to communicate through an advocate, you will need to sign paperwork that it's OK for the school to communicate with your advocate. If you choose to bring a lawyer, the school will want their lawyer to be present. When an IEP isn't followed, my suggestion is to file a state complaint. I view the IEP as a contract to provide something in addition to what students in gen ed get. If the school doesn't follow what they agreed to, the state dept of sp ed should be following up with them.

The parent's disability is covered under ADA. If they need written communication or a translator of some sort (ASL for deafness) the school needs to provide reasonable accommodations. Obviously, they would need to say this before the meeting. A parent with memory issues or who has difficulty taking notes could record a meeting as an accommodation, for example.

What I've found with my 2E child was that the school didn't do the correct evals so there were no areas of need that showed an IEP was needed. The areas my daughter struggled with were pragmatics and social skills. When they did evaluate social skills, my child scored in the 2nd percentile. (I was told that kids with ID - Downs Syndrome - scored around the 8th percentile.) I had to beg for pragmatics to be evaluated. They did the TOPL but not the optional extended part. She scored average but I think she was able to mask her issues due to being gifted & I was told the extended part would have pushed her past her limits. About 9 months later, I was at an IEP meeting and they said they see issues with pragmatics & I brought up the results of their testing. There are assessments for executive functioning - they tend to be rating scales where the adults fill them out. You can ask for the school to look at that. My child had a 504 for EF. She had a teacher who checked that she was writing down her assignments and bringing needed material home for homework. I feel that schools don't say what they do in sp ed because there is such a wide variety of what services a student can need. In older grades, they teach cooking, cleaning, shopping, budgeting, how to ride a bus/train, read a bus schedule, job skills through job shadowing & volunteer jobs. I was told if the school doesn't currently offer something that meets a student's needs, they have to come up with a way to meet them - could be in another school/district too. I'd rather my child get evaluated and get the support they need than be suspended. Did you share your results from the outside eval with the school? Gifted students will often not be academically challenged in the younger grades. They don't 'learn how to learn' because of this. At some point - generally toward middle school, they hit a wall and can't figure out something because they lack the skills. This is when they will tend to misbehave. Your child might not feel it's OK to ask for help but we all need help sometimes. Mention the times you ask for help. Let her know you don't know about plumbing and don't have the tools to put new tires on your car's rims...or put a roof on your home or raise cattle for beef. We all lean on each other.

If you don't feel the school's reeval was complete and accurate, you are in your rights to ask for an IEE at school expense. https://adayinourshoes.com/iee-independent-education-evaluation/

There is a section in IDEA that says schools need to teach life skills in addition to academics. Not sure what more to say w/o knowing more about your child. You mentioned about OT & PT. Can she feed herself? Can she use the bathroom w/o help? Can she get herself around the school's campus w/o help? Can she navigate the community independently like her same-age peers? PT tends to be more medical but there is a place for in in school. If the IEP is just OT & PT, a 504 with this might be appropriate.

I don't feel evals are the issue. No eval = no IEP & no help. If the child you see is not what the eval shows, you need to ask for an IEE. With a 2E child who will not want pullouts or to have a stalker (my daughter's term for a 1:1) at school, my suggestion is Ross Greene. Behavior is communication and finding a way to ask a 2E child what he's communicating is where I'd focus. CPS is researched to do this and fix things but it's not a quick solution.

Lisa has a blog that does this for schools in her area: https://adayinourshoes.com/iep-private-school-placement-list-chester-county/

Has the school done an FBA? What is the antecedent to your child acting out? Did you file a state complaint that the IEP wasn't followed when they removed recess? Advocate - yes. Lawyer - no. When the school disciplines a child as their in loco parentis, they need to follow up to be sure that the discipline worked. (To discipline is to teach. They need to teach him how to not repeat these same mistakes.) What did the school do to stop his recidivism? Have you asked them what they did?

I believe Sherry Diamond is out that way. http://www.concerningeducation.com/

If a student can pass a math test w/o word problems (because they can do calculations) but fail with word problems (because they can't read) that would be an adverse impact. If they cannot do group work due to a lack of social skills, that's an adverse impact. If your child can write an essay but it takes them 3X longer to get started because they don't know how to start/organize, that's an adverse impact. If he has weakness & strengths that balance each other out where he's passing but if the weakness were supported, he could excel, I feel those weaknesses have an adverse impact. There are lots of graphic organizers that can help with organizing writing. He'll need an assortment so he has one that helps with the particular assignment. I think giving examples to the IEP team would be helpful.

Comp ed should be bringing her to where she should have been if she would have gotten a FAPE via her IEP. She paced because she was anxious. Anxiety brings about one of 3 responses: fight, flight or freeze. I think the pacing was her freeze - she couldn't do the work. It might also be a form of 'flight' as well where she walked away but did her best to follow the rules & stay in the classroom. She chose self-case for her anxiety in a way that allowed her to follow school rules to a degree so some choice was there but she didn't have access to learning due to the anxiety. IMO, they need to help fix the anxiety because that seems to be the root of the issue and possibly due to the lack of EF instruction. My child seemed to have social anxiety because she didn't understand social rules due to her autism. She's a lot less anxious after social skills instruction - 3 years of year round, weekly sessions. The school can pay for outside therapy - including mileage - with a clinician unless they have a clinician on staff at her school. If they have a clinician, she needs weekly therapy sessions with this person on her IEP.

I'd ask that they do gifted testing. IQ tends to be inherited so if a sibling is gifted, this child could be too. The distractibility that comes with having ADHD could be getting in the way of this child demonstrating they are gifted. A gifted assessment is generally more than just IQ so the school should do the whole assessment for gifted and not just IQ.

I'd address this with a question: I was looking over my child's IEP and saw where it said 78 on the WISC-V and this was listed as 'low average'. A 78 is 'very low'. Either the number score or the description is incorrect. Can you please verify how my child did on this? The typo might have been the number or the description. I wouldn't want to assume which is misstated in the IEP.

From what I had heard, something like this did stand up in court. I think giving them a week to respond might be better as you don't know their workload. Sending a recap of the meeting is a good idea. The NOREPs I've gotten have always been somewhat vague. This better clarifies what happened at the meeting.

The way I've seen goals, it's been more like scoring 70 or 80% in 3 out of 4 trials. I've not seen the word consecutive. A subsequent goal would be to increase the percentage; if it's 70, move it up to 75 or 80. 70 is barely passing in my school district. They have A, B, C and F so below 70 is failing.

You are correct. NY has 15 as their transition age. This means that if she'll have her 15th birthday during the period covered by the IEP, the IEP should include transition info & goals. Found this info here: https://www.health.ny.gov/community/special_needs/services/transition.htm If she wants to be a professional singer, she should probably take a class in school that includes singing. Chorus sounds like a good class for this, but being in the school musical can also serve this purpose. What skills is she lacking that might prevent her from reaching this goal? She needs SDIs in this area so she can transition into this after she finishes school. If she doesn't want to sing, what does she want to do?

Used in schools, prisons & inpatient hospitalizations - and by parents at home too. This is research based. Where to get info: Books: The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Treating Explosive Kids, Lost & Found and Raising Human Beings Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvzQQDfAL-Q --There are several parts to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTiRAQCdxTQ --2 hours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hWnfwddMok --Short explanation https://vimeo.com/user15771052/videos https://vimeo.com/78144948 This has 4 parts & is great for schools. Taken down. If someone finds this, please let me know, it’s 7 +/- hour presentation. Websites: http://www.livesinthebalance.org/ - Archived radio shows are here. https://livesinthebalance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ALSUP-2020-1.pdf https://livesinthebalance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ALSUPGuide2020-1.pdf More at: http://www.livesinthebalance.org/paperwork Having read both The Explosive Child & Lost at School, Lost at School is an easier read. The YouTube videos are a good way to get a taste of what he’s all about. Why did the name change from Collaborative Problem Solving to Collaborative & Proactive Solutions: https://www.cpsconnection.com/new-model-name. Older editions of his book use the old name but it’s the same info. He has a few Facebook pages: Lives in the Balance The B Team Elevate Your Parenting There is an Advocators Facebook page for people looking to help get laws changed. This has mostly to do with restraint & seclusion. This goes with his documentary – The Kids we Lose. Compatible programs: --Mona Delahooke’s Beyond Behaviors. --Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking. --How to Talk so Kids will Listen & Listen so Kids will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish as well as other books in their series.

Yes, you are out of line to request retention and summer school. Your child is showing signs of a disability that can be identified at 5.5 years & she is 8 years old. Child find is mandated under IDEA - wait & see isn't part of the process. (How long do they plan to wait? I can see if you asked before winter break & they wanted to wait until mid January.) Earlier intervention is better than waiting for a child to fall far behind, waiting for them to realise they can't read like their classmates and start having their inner voice call themselves the 'R' word where you now have emotional issues and a reading disability to deal with. IMO, you need to put in writing a request for a special ed evaluation because you suspect a reading disability. Have the school bring her up to where her classmates are via specially designed instruction despite them refusing to provide instruction when she had excessive absences due to her medical issues. And don't ask for summer school. She needs an IEP and ESY services due to the disability. 70 is barely passing and grades are subjective. Your child needs normed evaluations and not just passing grades.

I'd stay out of helping the school develop an action plan. They are professionals and have training on how to do this - or a least they should have been trained. If you want to say something, you can say that you'd like to see progress reports on how your child is meeting goals on a regular basis since this is a requirement under IDEA. For now, since the school seems to be working on getting things up to speed, you will not be filing a complaint with the state dept of special ed. You can request to have data sent to you periodically so you can see that the school is keeping their commitment to collecting data so progress reports are available to see how your child is doing with meeting their goals. With behavior, the school should do an FBA. This looks at antecedent, behavior and consequence - ABC. (Is this the action plan you're looking to design?) To change the behavior, sometimes modifying the antecedent is where to start. Personally, I'd start by asking your child in a non adversarial way about what's up...which is the method developed by Ross Greene and is researched to help with behaviors. The method isn't simple but it is doable. More info at Livesinthebalance.org. From Lisa's site: https://adayinourshoes.com/behavior-iep-special-education/ And: https://adayinourshoes.com/school-fba-behavior-plan/ Does your state offer/mandate gifted education? A student reading at an 11th grade level in 6th grade could have behaviors due to boredom. Something to think about. See if the school is willing to offer enrichment if this is the issue. Hard to do an FBA and observe that the 'A' is the student is 5 grades farther along than classmates and not getting the mental stimulation to stay focused on instruction. Not sure if Lisa lists this flaw. Communication sheet: List anything out of the ordinary that was a negative for the student like being sent to the office (use back of sheet if needed):__________________________________________________________

With DoDEA policing themself, I guess the solution is federal court. I'm thinking there is no case law on this to say of a case like this would be successful or not. When the "school's" solution is to reach out to your employer & potentially jeopardise your job, I can see your hesitation with making a precedent setting move like this.

An older student (age 14+ in PA; 16+ per IDEA) should be invited to these meetings. If they go depends on a number of things. My one child could not deal with anything that's negative so she stayed for a bit & left before anything negative was said. Mediation can take days and it's not appropriate for a student to miss that much school IMO.

I looked this up - thanks for mentioning your state so I knew where to look. What you are talking about is the discrepancy model. It's where what the child is doing doesn't match their ability which is generally measured by the child's IQ. Ex: a gifted child who performs at an average level would qualify for intervention. Your child's IQ is below average and they are performing at a below average level so everything is OK. This is what I'm reading from your post. This is a link to what's in the MO regs: https://missouriparentsact.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MOSpecificLearningDisabilityCriteria-FS-4.2020.pdf The thing with your child is that they are performing at a below average level. This means there is room for improvement with the right intervention. You want intervention. The link ^^ does mention about professional judgement. I feel your child does need intervention. I'm just not sure how to advocate for this but I do feel the school is not using any judgement by saying your child doesn't need anything. This would put a child who is well below average (level of an infant) and performing well below average into a general ed classroom without any supports. I would see if the Arc of MO or Disability Rights MO can help you fight to get your child additional supports. Your child is not accessing their education due to their disability. This means that they might need something different from gen ed to access an education. They should have an IEP as well as accommodations due to the disability. Audiobooks are a great accommodation for a child who cannot read - for any reason. Dyslexia. The definition of dyslexia is low reading ability relative to IQ. Your child's IQ is low & their reading ability matches this so your child cannot be dyslexic per the definition of dyslexia. They will benefit from O-G based reading interventions & my suggestion is for you to supplement their education with a homeschool dyslexia program like Toe by Toe or Horton Literacy Primer. I don't see the school providing this unless IQ was to shoot up to where there is a discrepancy.

They may have just figured out that this language was needed in his IEP. Not sure if there is a new classmate or a birthday changed the age span.

Here's a quote from this website: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodd/134220p.pdf?ver=2020-07-07-110814-893 l. Provides a free, appropriate public education, in accordance with an Individualized Education Program, for children, ages 3 through 21 years who are found eligible for special education and related services. These services are delivered in the least restrictive environment and with procedural safeguards, in accordance with Chapter 33 of Title 20, U.S.C., also known as the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”, as implemented by DoDI 1342.12 and DoD Manual (DoDM) 1342.12. m. Develops and provides guidance as necessary for the delivery of services for children with disabilities and for the protection of procedural rights, in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, DoDI 1342.12, and DoDM 1342.12. I'm not sure what the oversight agency is, but look at filing a complaint with the appropriate agency. You might need to contact your senator or representative to figure this out as you are a US citizen. They need to follow IDEA.

I disagree with your school. 1- Earlier intervention is best. 2- Dyslexia can be diagnosed/identified by the school as early as age 5.5. 3- It's less expensive to remediate a child who is 1.5 years behind than 3 years behind. 4- Delayed intervention can damage a child's self esteem in a way that is almost irreparable. Even when self esteem is repaired, the person carries these scars for the rest of their life. Why do this to a child? I'd ask the teacher/school for research studies that show benefit to children when dyslexia evaluations are delayed until 3rd grade when there is a suspicion of this disability in an earlier grade.