Coralwood/ IEP Process Advice Needed -- this is long, sorry!

September 17, 2007

Hi All!

My son is turning 3 in November and we are going thru the Coralwood

(Dekalb County) diganostic process for him to be eligible for their

preschool services. We met with the Coralwood psychologist last

Friday for her to perform her Autism " test " and this meeting did NOT

go well at all -- it was the worst morning I've think we've ever

experienced and, of course, they now believe the worst about my son!

Anyways, they will also be sending someone out to observe him in his

current preschool and we are then scheduled for the IEP meeting in

October. I do have both my husband and my son's current SLP

attending this meeting...but I would like to get some advice from

anyone willing to offer it!

My preference is to keep him in his current church preschool for 2

days and then to also have him be eligible for our district

preschool for 1-2 days a week. (His developmental pediatrician

wants him in school as often as possible)

What should I expect for the first IEP meeting? From what I've

read, these meetings can last a long time and be very emotional.

Does everything get wrapped up at that meeting? Do I get a say in

which preschool he gets to attend? Does anyone have a website to

refer me to to get realistic IEP objectives for a 3 year old who is

HFA-ASD?

Also, his current church preschool does not know his " diagnosis " -

they are aware of his developmental delays and our SLP goes there

1x/week for therapy, but we have not disclosed the label, yet. As

they are a private church preschool, I'm not sure what our rights

are with respects to special needs children and I am " afraid " of my

son being asked to leave and not having any alternative schools

available for him mid-year. (this may not be a realistic fear...but

I'm new to the ASD life)

Coralwood also wants his current church preschool teacher to attend

the IEP meeting. It is my understanding that the IEP is a binding

contract. So does this mean that if the county sends an SLP and an

OT to his current " private " preschool that my preschool

teacher/school itself is also bound by the IEP contract? If not,

other than the obvious of having everyone on the same page and

working towards a common goal, what would be the point in having his

teacher present at this meeting?

One last question (which may be an entirely new topic post

itself)....I currently have health insurance that provides speech

and occupational therapy - 20 visits per year. We are currently

using an SLP and an OT that are out of network. With the new

diagnosis of HFA-ASD, is it worth my " effort " to complete the

Beckett Deeming Waiver? Will the waiver cover private practice

therapists? Do they pay for private education? Would they pay for

a " facilitator " at school? What about the Tomatis listening therapy

program? I guess I'm curious as to what they will fund and what

they won't fund and how much is a " gray area " that I would be

battling over.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

September 18, 2007

Hi ,

I am not in your area, so I cannot speak to some of your questions but we went through a lot of the same things. My son Logan is in Kindergarten this year, but 3 years ago we were in the same boat as you in Virginia. the day they tested him was awful! He refused to do so much that I knew he could do and he threw a complete tantrum almost throughout the whole test. They then wanted him to be in the lowest functioning class. I went and observed and realized that this was not the placement for him, but they insisted and so I asked them to go and observe him in his daycare. They did and agreed with me. He needed to be in a higher functioning class, they just didn't see all that he was capable of in just that one testing period. So it's good that they are going to observe in a more comfortable setting for him.

I'm sure that they will comply with your request to keep him in his current preschool a couple of days a week and then go to their preschool the rest of the week depending on schedule and what is available. The program where Logan went was 5 half days a week and some kids went all 5 days like Logan-then he went to daycare in the afternoon, and some kids just went a few days a week. When we moved to Georgia last year, he went 4 half days from 11:00 -2:00 and also was in the lottery pre-K at the same school in the morning, and all day on Friday.

First you'll go through eligibility, which they will go over all test results etc and tell you what services he qualifies for. This is a pretty straightforward meeting unless you disagree with what they find. Since it was not a good day for him, this is a good thing as you will more than likely qualify for several services.

At the IEP meeting, they will take the results of the testing and write goals based on his weaknesses. There will be speech goals, OT and self help goals on there. Ask to see the IEP before the meeting. They must provide it for you if you request it. That way you can review it before hand and add any you feel are important or take away any that you feel he's mastered.

As for your current preschool, I don't believe that the preschool would be bound by an IEP unless they receive state/federal funding. I could see them wanting the teacher present to give feedback about the goals. Maybe she sees an area that needs work that they didn't identify or maybe he is already doing something that the tests show he couldn't. As the system can't give a diagnosis, the fact that he has autism shouldn't come up. And as for telling the school about his diagnosis, I wouldn't at this point, not so much out of fear that he may be asked to leave, but because of the stereotypes that surface because of this diagnosis. If they have been able to work with him successfully up to this point, then unless things get worse, they should be able to continue to work with him.

As for your other questions, I can't really help as I have no experience with them. In IEP goals, I had the help of a fellow teacher that had been in a lot of IEP meetings to help me with wording and what to say to get what I want without being negative and argumentative. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to help. Just contact me off list.

Anne Marie

September 19, 2007

Your advice to ask to see the IEP before the meeting is poor

advice. If an IEP exists before the committee meets you're rights

have been violated. Instead ask that such a document be shredded.

Teachers often come to the meeting with goals already drafted. This

is unacceptable. You then have no input. Insist on the proper

procedure. I schedule the annual IEP in 2 parts. First meeting we

review the old goals and establish present level of performance.

After a break of several days we re-convene to draft the new goals.

DeKalb is notorious for vague goals that can't be measured and your

child will always meet these goals because they are so vague.

Also consider dumping the church pre-school and getting into

Coralwood. I too stayed at the private pre-school and it was a

mistake. Who do you want teaching your child--the minister's wife

or a degreed teacher with a Master's in special ed.

>

> Hi ,

>

> I am not in your area, so I cannot speak to some of your

questions but we went through a lot of the same things. My son

Logan is in Kindergarten this year, but 3 years ago we were in the

same boat as you in Virginia. the day they tested him was awful!

He refused to do so much that I knew he could do and he threw a

complete tantrum almost throughout the whole test. They then wanted

him to be in the lowest functioning class. I went and observed and

realized that this was not the placement for him, but they insisted

and so I asked them to go and observe him in his daycare. They did

and agreed with me. He needed to be in a higher functioning class,

they just didn't see all that he was capable of in just that one

testing period. So it's good that they are going to observe in a

more comfortable setting for him.

> I'm sure that they will comply with your request to keep him in

his current preschool a couple of days a week and then go to their

preschool the rest of the week depending on schedule and what is

available. The program where Logan went was 5 half days a week and

some kids went all 5 days like Logan-then he went to daycare in the

afternoon, and some kids just went a few days a week. When we moved

to Georgia last year, he went 4 half days from 11:00 -2:00 and also

was in the lottery pre-K at the same school in the morning, and all

day on Friday.

> First you'll go through eligibility, which they will go over all

test results etc and tell you what services he qualifies for. This

is a pretty straightforward meeting unless you disagree with what

they find. Since it was not a good day for him, this is a good

thing as you will more than likely qualify for several services.

> At the IEP meeting, they will take the results of the testing and

write goals based on his weaknesses. There will be speech goals, OT

and self help goals on there. Ask to see the IEP before the

meeting. They must provide it for you if you request it. That way

you can review it before hand and add any you feel are important or

take away any that you feel he's mastered.

> As for your current preschool, I don't believe that the preschool

would be bound by an IEP unless they receive state/federal funding.

I could see them wanting the teacher present to give feedback about

the goals. Maybe she sees an area that needs work that they didn't

identify or maybe he is already doing something that the tests show

he couldn't. As the system can't give a diagnosis, the fact that he

has autism shouldn't come up. And as for telling the school about

his diagnosis, I wouldn't at this point, not so much out of fear

that he may be asked to leave, but because of the stereotypes that

surface because of this diagnosis. If they have been able to work

with him successfully up to this point, then unless things get

worse, they should be able to continue to work with him.

> As for your other questions, I can't really help as I have no

experience with them. In IEP goals, I had the help of a fellow

teacher that had been in a lot of IEP meetings to help me with

wording and what to say to get what I want without being negative

and argumentative. If you have any other questions, I would be

happy to help. Just contact me off list.

>

> Anne Marie

>

September 19, 2007

You are correct that the IEP iteslf should not exist before the

committee meets. I believe Anne Marie was saying that should ask

to see the "prospective goals" prior to the meeting. This actually is

good advice. You are correct that teachers and other team members

often have "draft" versions of goals in mind prior to the meeting. I

would not expect them to walk in unprepared, but I don't want to be

unprepared either. So since we know they have "prospective" goals in

mind, far better that we ask that they share them with us ahead of

time. When parents ask for, and receive, prospective goals ahead of

time, in my experience this has resulted in a much smoother meeting.

Everyone has had time to look them over beforehand, seek input from

private therapists, etc. And I have found the school system to be

generally open to parent input regarding making changes to prospective

goals before finalizing the IEP. (Not always - but most of the time.)

dwall42 wrote: