IEP Meeting held... A Question again..:(

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2008
IEP Meeting held... A Question again..:(
15
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 10:02pm

Well as anticipated, we had an unsuccessful meeting. I did bring my mom and she was great. Both DD's preschool teachers came and were amazing as well.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 10:29pm

You didn't sign yet right? What state are you in?

first, I would request an independent assessment through the school district. I seriously question some of their assessments based on what you said.

Second, I would plan on taping all future IEP meetings. Make sure to give them at least 24 hours notice that you intend to tape. I highly doubt they will say many of those things if they are recorded.

Third, stop by the special education plans board here at ivillage and get stephanies take on all this. She is much more up to date on the new IDEA changes than I am.

Finally, strongly consider hiring an advocate or educational consultant prior to reconvening any meeting.

There is much that was said that sounds from what you typed that is really wrong, some illegal and some just stupid. Not positive on the illegal part right now but their just discounting your and the teachers sensory profiles does NOT sound right. As for kids not being able to have definite differences in all four areas, that is a load of crap. The long form has something like 10 areas and Mike had definite difference or probable difference in all but one on low tone. And probable difference was in like 2 or 3 of them at most.

I seriously call into question their interpretations. for instance, her IQ test supposidly doesn't show processing delays but they don't mention or interpret a near 20 point discrepancy? Ridiculus. That may have not been specific processing per se but it sure does point to something amiss.

You did well. Very proud of you. send me which state you are in so I can look for your states preschool eligibility requirements.

You may want to seek an outside assessment through insurance. Preferrably neuropsych if you have that available but I would still ask for independent assessment based on what you have said.

Disney08

APOV on Autism
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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2008
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 10:44pm

Thanks again, you are amazing.


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 10:52pm

I would go ahead and call separately about it. He will understand I am sure.

Nothing to sign? WOW that is really really friggen weird. Here it is so many signatures you would swear you were buying a house. There is a place to sign you attended, a place to sign you agree that the notes are what was discussed in the IEP as well as a specific place to initial that you agree with the IEP or don't agree, that you were a part of the team, etc etc and a signature below all of those. Maybe it is overkill but not to even sign anything? That just DOES NOT sound right at all.

I will have to look up wisconsin as I know nothing about that one, but I would call your local autism society and see if they have any non-profit groups or recomendations for help on the IEP there. Sometimes there are local advocacy parent groups that will provide you help via email, etc.

Nothing to sign? Man. I can't even begin to tell you how floored I am about that.

Renee

Disney08

APOV on Autism
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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2008
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 10:53pm

Forgot to mention... I googled definite difference in all four quadrants. I did not find an enormous amount of info, but every item I found that actually said that said it's possible, and common in those with "pervasive disorders" or "ASD".


I printed some of them. I plan to mail them to the OT and IEP Coord, depending on how upset I still am in a day or so.


:), Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-15-2006
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 10:58pm

Oh I am so sorry!


I am so glad Renee responded.

- Christina mom to-

Chloe (10)    Aiden(8)   

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-20-2008
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 11:07pm

Thanks for your time and input Christina! You are all so kind.


Julia mostly seeks at home, but mostly avoids elsewhere. :) You guys are giving me the courage to call our ped tomorrow.


I just can't stand the thought of going through more testing and being told she's fine when I definitely do not think she is. You know?


Thanks again,


Lisa

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-13-2008
Wed, 04-02-2008 - 11:24pm

wow what the heck kinda ot is that ?? of course a child can be both seeking and avoiding! geez!! im so sorry


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-2006
Thu, 04-03-2008 - 12:27am

The OT said she was fine sensory-wise. My questionnaire indicated a "definite difference" in all four quadrant areas, to which I was told I must have misunderstood the test or the questions, and the test was disregarded (she strongly implied that I was exaggerating). The teachers also took their version of the sensory test and she scored a "definite difference" in sensory-avoidance. Both were thrown out completely. The OT said it was IMPOSSIBLE for DD to have problems in all four quadrants, that the maximum is two (cannot be both seeking and avoiding). Plus, the test administered did not show any sensory problems. Whatever. I know what I see. Not sure what to think.


Did you make sure this OT was SID certified?

Avatar for toryanna
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 04-03-2008 - 2:33am

I am with Renee on this one. Not signing anything sounds too fishy for me. I just had an IEP meeting for my daughter today to reevaluate her speech delays and had to sign 4 papers, one that said I was present at the meeting, one that said the minutes written down was what was discussed, one that said I gave permission for testing, and one to release her information to the middle school next year. To go over test results and not sign anything even to acknowledge you were there just sounds amazingly odd. I'm wondering if you were to call them and ask for the minutes of the meeting if they would give them to you. Did they give you your parents rights? That's another thing they make you sign for when you attend these meetings. If they couldn't produce the minutes of the meeting, I'd almost be tempted to ask for another meeting on a day when your DH can attend and for them to explain it to the both of you again. This time go in with the tape recorder and a notebook. I always go in with a notebook to take my own notes of the meeting, this way I can match what I've written with the actual written minutes. If they don't match up then I have problems.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 04-03-2008 - 4:29am

and I am so sorry you had such a difficult and unproductive meeting. I have no help on the legalities and logistics as I am in the UK, but I do want to offer you a completely different take on it.


Is battling to get all this testing done, and recognised, actually getting you anywhere at the moment? Or is it just causing you an incredibly amount of stress and not helping Julia, or you or your family or her teachers at all?


Because she is still fairly young and there is no rush. If you put aside the confusing and conflicting information you are getting from all these professionals, what does your mummy instinct tell you you need to do for Julia right now? I used to work as a pre-school teacher and we saw hundreds of kids over the years who struggled with various aspects of pre-school, but who did not have any specific learning disability or diagnosis, and who all wound up absolutely fine. I'm all for testing and diagnoses if it will actually help the child. But at the moment none of this is any help to Julia whatsoever.


I'm just going to throw in an out-of-left-field suggestion that you let it go, for now. You can request another round of tests etc at any point, right? Well, why not wait? Give it 6 months, or a year, and see if she adjusts better to things as she gets older. Any problems that are currently 'borderline' are likely to either get worse, or go away over that period of time, and either way you are going to be in a stronger position to know what kind of help and support she needs, and fight for it. Right now it sounds like you are going to be fighting 'the system', and energy isn't actually going into anything productive for Julia.


I know this will go against the grain of some of the admirably strong advocate mums here. But to an outsider you sound just so worn out and sick of the whole thing, and none of it appears to be helping you or Julia much. If I knew you IRL I'd say, take a break. Call time out on the whole deal, stop fighting, give it some time, and come back later and start again, if you need to. Loads of kids have trouble adjusting to daycare and preschool. There's a lot of evidence that for some kids, they shouldn't even be sitting down in an educational setting til they are 7 or more, and others should be starting to learn to read at 3. We have such a one-size-fits-all approach to education that seems to imply every kid needs to learn X by Y point or they are out of the loop forever. Julia doesn't 'slot in' to where she's 'supposed' to be, but maybe it's 'where she's supposed to be' that's wrong, not Julia.


Another advantage of leaving it for a while is that she older she gets the more accurate the tests are going to be. And the older she gets, the more exposure she has to group settings, and the more chance she has to learn how to cope with them. There is such a huge variation at this age that it is easy to fall within the 'normal' boundaries and there still be an issue later one, and just as easy to fall within 'normal' boundaries and then everything look fine and rosy later on. I've lost count of the number of professionals who told me there was something 'wrong' at various milestones with DS2, and he is now like some kind of poster child for normal textbook development, and I lost count of the number of professionals who dismissed my concerns about DS1 and then changed their minds later. It's hard to be patient, but sometimes time and mummy instinct is the best indicator we have.


I don't want to tell you to do nothing, when clearly your mummy instinct is telling you that something is wrong and Julia needs help, and naturally you want the system to be in place to get her the help. But maybe a few months or a year's break will help everyone get a better perspective on Julia and her needs, and maybe she'll get better herself at telling you what these are. It ain't over til it's over, and you have years ahead of you as Julia's mum. Don't burn yourself out at this stage fighting battles that you can't win.


just my 2p worth, and please ignore it if it isn't helpful at all.


Kirsty, mum to Euan (9, Asperger's) Rohan (5, NT) and Maeve (2, NT)


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