What will my ds need for Kindergarten?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-11-2008
What will my ds need for Kindergarten?
5
Mon, 04-07-2008 - 12:50am

I have an IEP meeting scheduled in 2 weeks to help in writing my ds IEP for what he'll need next fall in Kindergarten.

Kristen
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-28-2007
Mon, 04-07-2008 - 1:11am

I can tell you what ds#2 had in his IEP Kindy meeting. He is my 2nd with an ASD too. Having the kindy IEP meeting this early is v.normal.

Ds (4) has been in spec ed pre-k since October (EI services since age 2) and we had the IEP meeting in February. Even though he has also surpassed all his current IEP goals his teacher still recommended, reg kindy with pull out for ST and OT. He also gets pull out for language arts and will attend lang arts with the resource teacher-mainly due to his poor muscle tone and holding a pencil, but also his AS and processing delays. So even though he has reached his IEP goals, new ones were still drawn up for him.

I think suggesting you let him sink or swim is grossly lazy and downright unprofessional on the pre-K teacher's part. TRUST YOUR MOMMY GUT!!!!! The teacher is totally overstepping their mark. Take the dx and request that you have a new IEP meeting and request that the ENTIRE team be present (SLP, OT, current teacher, head of pre school intervention, a kindergardner teacher from the district as well as anyone you can get a hold of). This teacher has no business negating an official dx just because she has a personal moronic opinion. Throw IDEA (individuals with disability act) all over the place too-that'll scare them.

Sending a spec ed child from pre-k to reg ed with no supports.....grrrrr!

Dee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-27-2007
Mon, 04-07-2008 - 2:01am

I personally would not let them take away your services. I would sit down and decided what kind of help he needs and stick to it.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2007
Mon, 04-07-2008 - 4:49am
I wouldn't let them take away any services either. I'm also skeptical when a staff member doesn't "buy" a diagnosis. They aren't qualified to offer a diagnosis themselves. Yes, some schools look for every opportunity to keep their special ed. budget as low as they can get away with, especially when you are dealing with a high functioning child. I have also found that the school will often try to set the goals really low or be very vague with them and then say the goal was mastered at the end of the year. My ds has had a goal to keep his hands to himself when he is angry (no hitting) every year since he was diagnosed with AS. Every year they say he's mastered it and every year he smacks someone when he gets mad. That really doesn't sound like mastery to me. I have also found that Aspies can fly through some of the lower grades academically, but by third grade the concepts become harder and more academic support is sometimes needed.
Is it possible to meet again with the Dr. that diagnosed him and ask for advice on school planning? Our neuropsych has been very helpful in that area. Good luck.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 04-07-2008 - 8:51am

I agree with what everyone has said.

                                

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Mon, 04-07-2008 - 10:19am

Hello Kristen and welcome to the board,

I am really glad you found us and asked all these questions, because it sounds like your mommy gut is on-track and that pre-K teacher is away with the faries.

It is totally normal to have the IEP meeting for Kindy in March or April. At this time, the school district is planning classes, rooms and teachers for next year, and they will need to know how many kids (regular and special ed) are going where so they can plan and allocate staff and space.

What the specEd preK teacher is telling you makes no sense at all to me. I am happy that he has surpassed his goals, but to place a child that was in special ed pre-K into a regular K -which is much more challenging with no supports is a recipe for disaster.

It could be that he will do great in K and maybe some supports can be removed after a few months. But it is far quicker and easier to *remove* supports than to add them. If he goes in without them and then it turns out that he does need them, there will be a whole process of evaluations and team studies and other "stuff" which may take months (while the kid suffers all the time) whereas going in with supports in place will be a much smoother transition for him, as supports can gently fade into the background, but still be on his IEP should any difficulties arise.

How to present your case: I am no expert on this. We do have a special educations plans board which will know more on this than I know. However I will give you my one idea:

If the private Dr made any recommendations for K bring them into the meeting. Very often they will write recommendations on the report, such as a special ed class or an aide etc. If not, it may be a good idea to call the Drs office and see if they will make any recommendations. This will be a very useful piece of paper to have at the IEP meeting -especially if the preK teacher won't have your back. A psychologist report trumps a pre-K teacher's observations.

The special ed plans board is on this link http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppiep
Steph and the ladies there will have more input on meeting preparation.

It is common to have a Spectrum kid who has a lot more "spectrum" behaviors at home than at school. I fought for a long time to have a district Autism specialist come observe my son at home and school (and she ran into us in the supermarket, too) She totally saw that he was a different kid at home and in the supermarket than at school. At school he hardly seemed Autistic at all. So you are not nuts!

I hope this helps. Please feel free to hang with us and to ask any questions you need.

-Paula


visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com