The letter is done- I need input
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| Wed, 08-09-2006 - 10:52am |
Listed below is the ltter I am sending to the school. I formatted this letter from one posted on this board previously and adjusted it to our situation. How does it look? I would love to get it out today, so your input is greatly needed.
THanks
August 9, 2006
Mrs. Graves, Guidance
Dear Mrs. Graves:
My child, R(DOB-3/28/00) is a student at Elementary. Last year we experienced quite a few difficulties at home and in school with our son. These difficulties led us to seek outside assistance to figure out what was going on with him. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in May of 2006. Asperger’s is within the autism scale of disabilities.
Listed below are the difficulties that my son is experiencing:
• He does not respond normally to sensory input
• His pragmatic speech is below average
• He has difficulty forming social relationships with peers
• He lacks understanding of social cues
• He tends to have flat monotone speech
• He has poor eye contact
• He has semantic impairment
• He has difficulty adjusting to new schedule or routine
• He has lack of empathy for others
• He engages in mostly one-sided conversation
• He performs repetitive movements (stemming) such as hair twisting, licking his lips and so forth
• He has difficulty in maintaining focus
• He has difficulty in handwriting skills and speed
Please evaluate R under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to confirm his disability and to determine the related services that are necessary. Please consider this letter my consent to evaluate R for special education needs and services. Obviously R, the school district and I will feel much better once we understand what is going on with R. I would appreciate it if you would schedule the evaluations as quickly as possible. Please call me at to arrange times and places. I will need my copies of all written evaluations at least three school days before the IEP team meeting.
Thank you for giving R evaluations your immediate attention. I will work with you to address and achieve R’s education goals.
Respectfully,

It sounds really good. Don't assume though that you because you say your letter is your consent to evaluate that you don't have to sign their consent papers. That happened to me before. They had done some evals without having me sign their consent papers in the past, one's I'd requested. Then I request a eval they didn't want to do and never gave me their consent form. I assumed they'd started the eval like before. They didn't. When I called to ask how it was going she said oh I can't start till you sign the consent form (that was never given to me). Oh boy I was fuming. We lost a LOT of time on that mistake. So make sure you get their consent to evaluate form asap.
Also you should address the letter to the principal or the special education director.
Samantha
I like how it's composed. I also agree that you need to follow up constantly covering your bases. These people tend to "slip". Happened with my son getting his next case manager after early intervention. I had to micro manage these people.
Get everything in writing with signatures too. I'd make sure that dates and times are set asap for that IEP too.
Good luck
nora
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