Who would do a recreation service eval?

[Guest guest]

I asked for recreation services for my son at our last ARD as he is unable to use his leisure and recreation time constructively. The school had no idea and passed me on to the in-home training/parent training evaluators. They didnt know if it was in their domain also. I have proof of trying recreation type activities in the past on my own expense and time and he is unable to perform in these environments and it appears to me per IDEA that it is up to the SD to make sure he does both inside and outside of school. They tell me he can participate and perform tasks as directed by the PE coach in PE class (which I am kinda skeptical of really) but he is unable to handle an outside school activity like basketball, karate, swimming, etc. I know he is probably not going to be a sports pro but I still think he should be able to attend these outside programs, if he is wanting to, and perform the tasks and have fun. So if the school is refusing and saying he doesnt need it what do I ask for and who do I ask to do an eval or IEE?

Now my other question is do they only have to provide services for transferring skills from the school to outside of school settings ONLY if the child is under the Autism disability category? Or does it apply to any child under any disability category?

Here is the law per IDEA on recreation services that I requested the service for my son under:

Recreation

We’re to the R’s, making slow but sure progress through IDEA’s list of related services. Recreation as a related service is defined at §300.34©(11) and reads:

(11) Recreation includes—

(i) Assessment of leisure function;

(ii) Therapeutic recreation services;

(iii) Recreation programs in schools and community agencies; and

(iv) Leisure education.

Recreation services generally are intended to help children with disabilities learn how to use their leisure and recreation time constructively. Through these services, children can learn appropriate and functional recreation and leisure skills. Recreational activities may be provided during the school day or in after-school programs in a school or a community environment. Some school districts have made collaborative arrangements with the local parks and recreation programs or local youth development programs to provide recreational services.

As part of providing this related service, persons qualified to provide recreation carry out activities such as:

assessing a child’s leisure interests and preferences, capacities, functions, skills, and needs;

providing recreation therapeutic services and activities to develop a child’s functional skills;

providing education in the skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to leisure involvement;

helping a child participate in recreation with assistance and/or adapted recreation equipment;

providing training to parents and educators about the role of recreation in enhancing educational outcomes;

identifying recreation resources and facilities in the community; and

providing recreation programs in schools and community agencies. (Mattson, 2001)