Re: HELP ADVICE

[Guest guest]

It has been awhile since we were at that age BUT I can tell you we live in Indiana (Fort Wayne) and had therapy with a therapist WITHOUT preschool. He had speech, OT and PT (once a week each) and did not attend the preschool of our original school district (it was awful so I refused to send him) - he did one year of preschool when we moved to a better school district (where we currently live).Hope that helps a little bit.Things have moved so fast. I need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you on 's IEP. We were able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third location. ( like the school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that is the Long story short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in my county to ask for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a " teacher " NOT A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a week by each therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of OT..etc ) The itinerant teacher " consults " with the therapists and spends one hour a week with ) Birth to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is supposed to last. Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to three and most every other parent I know of does preschool BUT... obviously we did not choose that option. And I don't see this as a " HELP ME GROW " problem I am VERY satisfied with their services. I see it as a school problem. 's transition has not been " smooth " it was Rushed at best. And its not my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and are wonderful. I am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who knows the " regs " better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to homeschoolers .. BUT IS that is assuming they are compulsory school age? In order to be a " homeschooler " you have to be compulsory, and file every year with the local school district. If was not " disabled " then I would not have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO.. Either way.. I thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant. THEN........ . This afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep from the Board of Ohio Ed. She says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy is NOT appropriate. That our district got the " free part right " but not the appropriate. And that if was evaluated to function between 17 and 20 months that they MUST give her " therapy with a trained therapist " . She said that yes.. Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a therapist. She wants me to go back and ask for more. She asked me not to " drop her name " off the bat. But to push as far as I could with out it, said she would be happy to talk to the district.. and gave me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am doing. I feel like the district tells me only what they want me to hear. I dunno what to say to them. I have already asked and been turned down. Without dropping her name or a specif law or SOMETHING that looks like I know what I am talking about I am uncertain where to go from here. ANy help would be appriciated. Steph

[Guest guest]

Did you ever contact HSLDA? If you are a member (costs around

100 a year unless you belong to a homeschool group, then it lower) they will

deal with the schools for you. You might want to at least call them and run

your story by them and see if they can help you.

From: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

[mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ] On Behalf Of

Carlson

Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:29 PM

To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

Subject: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Things

have moved so fast.

I

need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you on 's IEP. We were

able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third location. ( like the

school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that is the Long story

short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in my county to ask

for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a " teacher " NOT

A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a week by each

therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of OT..etc ) The

itinerant teacher " consults " with the therapists and spends one hour

a week with )

Birth

to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is supposed to last.

Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to three and most every other

parent I know of does preschool BUT... obviously we did not choose that

option. And I don't see this as a " HELP ME GROW " problem I am VERY

satisfied with their services. I see it as a school problem. 's

transition has not been " smooth " it was Rushed at best. And its not

my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and are wonderful.

I

am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who knows the " regs "

better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to homeschoolers .. BUT IS that

is assuming they are compulsory school age? In order to be a "

homeschooler " you have to be compulsory, and file every year with the

local school district. If was not " disabled " then I would

not have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO.. Either way..

I thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant. THEN.........

This

afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep from the Board of Ohio Ed. She

says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy is NOT appropriate. That our

district got the " free part right " but not the appropriate. And that

if was evaluated to function between 17 and 20 months that they MUST

give her " therapy with a trained therapist " . She said that yes..

Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a therapist. She wants me to go

back and ask for more.

She

asked me not to " drop her name " off the bat. But to push as far as I

could with out it, said she would be happy to talk to the district.. and gave

me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am doing. I feel like the

district tells me only what they want me to hear. I dunno what

to say to them. I have already asked and been turned down. Without dropping her

name or a specif law or SOMETHING that looks like I know what I am talking

about I am uncertain where to go from here.

ANy

help would be appriciated.

Steph

[Guest guest]

I poked around their sight. But since I am not a member I did not contact them. Perhaps I will. It just is hysterical to me the district is at a different understanding than that of the State Board.

Steph

RE: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Did you ever contact HSLDA? If you are a member (costs around 100 a year unless you belong to a homeschool group, then it lower) they will deal with the schools for you. You might want to at least call them and run your story by them and see if they can help you.

From: DownSyndromeInfoExchange [mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ] On Behalf Of CarlsonSent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:29 PMTo: DownSyndromeInfoExchange Subject: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Things have moved so fast.

I need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you on 's IEP. We were able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third location. ( like the school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that is the Long story short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in my county to ask for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a " teacher" NOT A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a week by each therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of OT..etc ) The itinerant teacher " consults" with the therapists and spends one hour a week with )

Birth to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is supposed to last. Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to three and most every other parent I know of does preschool BUT... obviously we did not choose that option. And I don't see this as a " HELP ME GROW" problem I am VERY satisfied with their services. I see it as a school problem. 's transition has not been " smooth" it was Rushed at best. And its not my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and are wonderful.

I am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who knows the " regs" better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to homeschoolers .. BUT IS that is assuming they are compulsory school age? In order to be a " homeschooler" you have to be compulsory, and file every year with the local school district. If was not "disabled" then I would not have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO.. Either way.. I thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant. THEN.........

This afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep from the Board of Ohio Ed. She says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy is NOT appropriate. That our district got the " free part right" but not the appropriate. And that if was evaluated to function between 17 and 20 months that they MUST give her " therapy with a trained therapist" . She said that yes.. Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a therapist. She wants me to go back and ask for more.

She asked me not to " drop her name" off the bat. But to push as far as I could with out it, said she would be happy to talk to the district.. and gave me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am doing. I feel like the district tells me only what they want me to hear. I dunno what to say to them. I have already asked and been turned down. Without dropping her name or a specif law or SOMETHING that looks like I know what I am talking about I am uncertain where to go from here.

ANy help would be appriciated.

Steph

[Guest guest]

I think that they would answer some general questions for you

even if you are not a member.

From:

DownSyndromeInfoExchange

[mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ] On Behalf Of

Carlson

Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 9:04 PM

To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

Subject: Re: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

I

poked around their sight. But since I am not a member I did not contact them.

Perhaps I will. It just is hysterical to me the district is at a different

understanding than that of the State Board.

Steph

-----

Original Message -----

From: Kathy Ratkiewicz

To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

Sent: Tuesday, September

02, 2008 8:41 PM

Subject: RE:

[DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Did you ever contact HSLDA? If you are a

member (costs around 100 a year unless you belong to a homeschool group, then

it lower) they will deal with the schools for you. You might want to at least

call them and run your story by them and see if they can help you.

From: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

[mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ] On Behalf Of

Carlson

Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:29 PM

To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

Subject: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Things have moved so fast.

I need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you

on 's IEP. We were able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third

location. ( like the school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that

is the Long story short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in

my county to ask for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a "

teacher " NOT A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a

week by each therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of

OT..etc ) The itinerant teacher " consults " with the therapists and

spends one hour a week with )

Birth to FIVE yrs old is how long the early

intervention is supposed to last. Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to

three and most every other parent I know of does preschool BUT...

obviously we did not choose that option. And I don't see this as a " HELP

ME GROW " problem I am VERY satisfied with their services. I see it as a

school problem. 's transition has not been " smooth " it was

Rushed at best. And its not my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and

are wonderful.

I am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who

knows the " regs " better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to

homeschoolers .. BUT IS that is assuming they are compulsory school age?

In order to be a " homeschooler " you have to be compulsory, and file

every year with the local school district. If was not " disabled "

then I would not have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO..

Either way.. I thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant.

THEN.........

This afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep

from the Board of Ohio Ed. She says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy

is NOT appropriate. That our district got the " free part right " but

not the appropriate. And that if was evaluated to function between 17

and 20 months that they MUST give her " therapy with a trained therapist "

.. She said that yes.. Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a

therapist. She wants me to go back and ask for more.

She asked me not to " drop her name " off the

bat. But to push as far as I could with out it, said she would be happy to talk

to the district.. and gave me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am

doing. I feel like the district tells me only what they want me to hear. I dunno what to say to them. I have already

asked and been turned down. Without dropping her name or a specif law or

SOMETHING that looks like I know what I am talking about I am uncertain where

to go from here.

ANy help would be appriciated.

Steph

[Guest guest]

I tried to fight the therapy without a

therapist thing too, but found out I had nothing to stand on. Apparently, there is a law in TX that

says therapy can be done by consultive services. As long as the school consults with a

therapist on the best therapy to provide, then there is not I thing I can do

about it.

Dinkins-Borkowski; Nolan(5) nocf, Phoebe(3) Ds

& cf

Phoebe Updates CLICK HERE

" The

future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. "

– Eleanor Roosevelt

From:

DownSyndromeInfoExchange

[mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ] On Behalf Of Kathy

Ratkiewicz

Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 7:42 PM

To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

Subject: RE: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Did you ever contact HSLDA? If you are a

member (costs around 100 a year unless you belong to a homeschool group, then

it lower) they will deal with the schools for you. You might want to at least

call them and run your story by them and see if they can help you.

From:

DownSyndromeInfoExchange [mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ]

On Behalf Of Carlson

Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 8:29 PM

To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange

Subject: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Things

have moved so fast.

I

need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you on 's IEP. We were

able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third location. ( like the

school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that is the Long story

short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in my county to ask

for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a " teacher " NOT

A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a week by each

therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of OT..etc ) The

itinerant teacher " consults " with the therapists and spends one hour

a week with )

Birth

to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is supposed to last.

Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to three and most every other

parent I know of does preschool BUT... obviously we did not choose that

option. And I don't see this as a " HELP ME GROW " problem I am VERY

satisfied with their services. I see it as a school problem. 's

transition has not been " smooth " it was Rushed at best. And its not

my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and are wonderful.

I

am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who knows the " regs "

better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to homeschoolers .. BUT IS that

is assuming they are compulsory school age? In order to be a "

homeschooler " you have to be compulsory, and file every year with the

local school district. If was not " disabled " then I would not

have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO.. Either way.. I

thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant. THEN.........

This

afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep from the Board of Ohio Ed. She

says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy is NOT appropriate. That our

district got the " free part right " but not the appropriate. And that

if was evaluated to function between 17 and 20 months that they MUST

give her " therapy with a trained therapist " . She said that yes..

Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a therapist. She wants me to go

back and ask for more.

She

asked me not to " drop her name " off the bat. But to push as far as I

could with out it, said she would be happy to talk to the district.. and gave

me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am doing. I feel like the

district tells me only what they want me to hear.

I dunno what to say to them. I have already asked and

been turned down. Without dropping her name or a specif law or SOMETHING that

looks like I know what I am talking about I am uncertain where to go from here.

ANy

help would be appriciated.

Steph

[Guest guest]

It has been awhile since we were at that age BUT I can tell you we live in Indiana (Fort Wayne) and had therapy with a therapist WITHOUT preschool. He had speech, OT and PT (once a week each) and did not attend the preschool of our original school district (it was awful so I refused to send him) - he did one year of preschool when we moved to a better school district (where we currently live). Hope that helps a little bit. Things have moved so fast. I need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you on 's IEP. We were able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third location. ( like the school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that is the Long story short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in my county to ask for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a " teacher " NOT A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a week by each therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of OT..etc ) The itinerant teacher " consults " with the therapists and spends one hour a week with ) Birth to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is supposed to last. Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to three and most every other parent I know of does preschool BUT... obviously we did not choose that option. And I don't see this as a " HELP ME GROW " problem I am VERY satisfied with their services. I see it as a school problem. 's transition has not been " smooth " it was Rushed at best. And its not my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and are wonderful. I am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who knows the " regs " better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to homeschoolers .. BUT IS that is assuming they are compulsory school age? In order to be a " homeschooler " you have to be compulsory, and file every year with the local school district. If was not " disabled " then I would not have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO.. Either way.. I thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant. THEN........ . This afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep from the Board of Ohio Ed. She says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy is NOT appropriate. That our district got the " free part right " but not the appropriate. And that if was evaluated to function between 17 and 20 months that they MUST give her " therapy with a trained therapist " . She said that yes.. Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a therapist. She wants me to go back and ask for more. She asked me not to " drop her name " off the bat. But to push as far as I could with out it, said she would be happy to talk to the district.. and gave me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am doing. I feel like the district tells me only what they want me to hear. I dunno what to say to them. I have already asked and been turned down. Without dropping her name or a specif law or SOMETHING that looks like I know what I am talking about I am uncertain where to go from here. ANy help would be appriciated. Steph

[Guest guest]

Call your friend back at the State Board of Education and ask for that law. Or go to the Ohio State Board of Education and find it.Then you need to dig in your heels and tell them this IS what you expect- IN WRITING and please have the secretary you hand you it to, sign and date it and let them know they now have a deadline- you'll have to find out how much time they are allowed to get their act together. And let them know you will contacting some legal help if they don't.You are very correct in noting that the school will only tell you what THEY want you to hear... they never tell you everything. Not even the good ones. Carol in IL AIM doihavtasay1 GigaTribe doihavtasayMom to seven including , 7 with TOF, AVcanal, GERD, LS, Asthma, subglottal stenosis, and DS.My problem is not how I look. It's how you see me. Join our Down Syndrome information group - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DownSyndromeInfoExchange/ Listen to oldest dd's music http://www.myspace.com/vennamusic----- Original Message ----To: DownSyndromeInfoExchange Sent: Tuesday,

September 2, 2008 7:29:03 PMSubject: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] HELP ADVICE

Things have moved so fast.

I need some help. I dunno if I even got to update you on 's IEP. We were able to get Itinerate therapies for her at a third location. ( like the school.. the location is fine by me) SO... that is the Long story short. I felt it was a victory of sorts. As I am the first in my county to ask for therapies without preschool. The I itinerate is a " teacher" NOT A THERAPIST. At preschool she would be given therapies once a week by each therapist. ( one hour per.. so one hour of Speech, one hour of OT..etc ) The itinerant teacher " consults" with the therapists and spends one hour a week with )

Birth to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is supposed to last. Granted.. Help Me Grow does only birth to three and most every other parent I know of does preschool BUT... obviously we did not choose that option. And I don't see this as a " HELP ME GROW" problem I am VERY satisfied with their services. I see it as a school problem. 's transition has not been " smooth" it was Rushed at best. And its not my HMG coordinators problem. She ( they ) were and are wonderful.

I am not a lawyer..I suppose it is a matter of who knows the " regs" better. Ohio does not have to offer squat to homeschoolers .. BUT IS that is assuming they are compulsory school age? In order to be a " homeschooler" you have to be compulsory, and file every year with the local school district. If was not "disabled" then I would not have to file anything for her at the age of three. KWIM. SO.. Either way.. I thought we had a victory of sorts with the itinerant. THEN........ .

This afternoon I FINALLY get a return call from a rep from the Board of Ohio Ed. She says.. that one hour a week of Itinerate therapy is NOT appropriate. That our district got the " free part right" but not the appropriate. And that if was evaluated to function between 17 and 20 months that they MUST give her " therapy with a trained therapist" . She said that yes.. Itinerate is great and all, but it must be with a therapist. She wants me to go back and ask for more.

She asked me not to " drop her name" off the bat. But to push as far as I could with out it, said she would be happy to talk to the district.. and gave me her direct number. I have NO idea what I am doing. I feel like the district tells me only what they want me to hear. I dunno what to say to them. I have already asked and been turned down. Without dropping her name or a specif law or SOMETHING that looks like I know what I am talking about I am uncertain where to go from here.

ANy help would be appriciated.

Steph

[Guest guest]

> Birth to FIVE yrs old is how long the early intervention is

supposed to last.

Steph,

It was always my understanding that " Early Intervention " is from

birth to three. At age three, the child " ages out " and the local

school district is then responsible for therapies and education for

children who qualify. In NJ (where I live), if you choose to

homeschool, it is up to the discretion of the local school district

whether or not to provide therapies to your child. My daughter,

Theresa, attended preschool and received her therapies there.

Would it be possible to contact other homeschoolong families in your

school district or state and see if they were able to get therapies

from the district?

Some (actually very few) insurance companies will provide therapies.

Have you checked with yours?

If you live near a local college or university that has a program in

OT, PT, or SLP, you may be able to set up inexpensive or free

sessions with students.

Hope this helps a little.

Let us know how things work out...

Debbie I. (NJ)