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| Mon, 09-25-2006 - 8:51am |
Cautiously optimistic I guess is my best mood right now.
Met with the principal for about 5 minutes. Went in with a positive attitude and said "I'm worried about Josh. This, this, and that are happening and WE need to figure out a way to correct these issues before he gets worse." Talked for a few minutes, and then he took me down to the counselor's office. Sat and talked with her for about 15-20 minutes...End result is that she is doing a BASC test on him sometime this week (I have my form to fill out tonight). She's also signed him up for a mentoring program - high school juniors and seniors are involved, and she said his mentor can act as an aide at the end of the day to make sure all of the things that he needs to take home are in his backpack. (This is a "bandaid" - not a permanent solution - and she agrees with me on that).
Right now he does NOT qualify for an aide because he is not classified Special Ed. We have to finish the BASC and a few other things before they can do that according to her. She also said that his OT will be in a small group setting for the same reason - because he is not classified Special Ed, he can not receive one-on-one assistance. I've read about IDEA - is this correct, or is she blowing smoke?
I did have to laugh at her - his teachers are worried about him ACADEMICALLY. I said "No - he's always been top of his class academically and scored VERY high on the MEAPs (state achievement test) last year. But he has motor delays and social delays that interfere with his academics. The child was reading Harry Potter in the first grade, and can do most math facts in his head - he's NOT delayed academically."
So - we shall see. I'm supposed to call her Friday if I don't hear from her before then... Walking out she said that she'd been in his class observing one day last week, and he seemed to not be paying attention. I said probably because he already GRASPED what he was being taught and was bored! I told her that I do not feel that he has ADD (which is where the conversation was headed) - he can buckle down and work if a) the topic interests him or b) he's redirected to do the work. I said "He's a gifted child with emotional delays. But knowing that he excelled at Nottawa tells me that he CAN learn at or beyond grade level - he just needs some help."
Edited to add - she is also planning to possibly do the KABC-II test on him if warranted.
Edited 9/25/2006 11:02 am ET by teri_b

Hmm,
My experience with principals or administrators in general who give you the proverbial 5 mins and then shuffle you off to someone else (often the counsellor), is beware!!!!
Last year even when I'd send a note directly to the principal I always received the response from the guidance counsellor...."hello, I didn't send you the note, I sent it to Mrs. so and so."
He does not have an IEP because up until this year he has not NEEDED one (and I didn't know what one was). He was in a very small school with a teacher and parapro in each classroom, 18-19 students (so 9:1 ratio) per grade. The para in his class was a great support for him, even though she wasn't assigned specifically to Josh. Teacher allowed extra time for work/tests, and knew to isolate him if the classroom was noisy. It was just a very flexible school.
New school will not set up an IEP until they can show that there is a problem. Which is why they're doing the BASC and other tests. FWIW, the principal took me to the counselor, but he STAYED with us. He didn't want me to repeat myself twice. Since it's the counselor who does the testing, it made sense to me. Apparently the principal himself used to be the head of the Spec Ed at the High School, so he SHOULD know his stuff as well. They're just playing by their book.
A good place to go might be the IEP/504 plan board.
It sounds like things are moving in the right direction :) GL with the evals!!
Samantha