Re: Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

[Guest guest]

I have a 17-year-old daughter with PDD NOS (high functioning) and I am completing my doctoral study in clinical psychology. I understand what you are going through. I have been through numerous hearings and I am currently submitting papers for another hearing.The goal of special education, according to the IDEA, is to ensure free and appropriate education and related services that utilize the student's strengths and provides remediation for their unique needs to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. Your concerns are very valid. Schools often do not want to provide education for independent living, but that is an IDEA requirement. They often state

that they are in the business of teaching academics, and they have to be reminded about their responsibility to teach independent living skills. These skills require long-term and short-term goals. Schools want to simplify the goals so that they can achieve them by the end of the school year. Then they feel like they are in compliance with the law. They should be more focused on the student's needs.I would document what happened in a letter and ask the school for a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the goals. I would also update the psychological/neuropsychological evaluations, which address educational and daily living needs. You can use this evaluation to identify appropriate remediation for your child.Dealing with a system that is ignorant about the requirements of the law (IDEA and No Child Left

Behind) and the educational needs of our children leave many parents like us feeling frustrated and angry. Good luck and be well - NinoTo: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 10:51 AMSubject: Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

My comments are in Italics. I hope it is in any way helpful. (they wanted to change my son's IEP goals to be more "middle school appropriate".) It is a IEP not a middle school caric. (my son's goals are too difficult for him to obtain and there are too many of them.)- What eval. proved that he could not learn/master the Goals(long term) and the subsequent objectives under them.I assume the

teacher that wrote the current ones used evals and input from various people and places to accomplish his current IEP. Through all my training's I ever had. it was always laid out as this. A goal is the finish point or next transition point. So if he is in middle school 6th 7th 8th. the Goal would be a 3yr. long term goal, with annual objectives that needed to be worked on and mastered to meet that long term goal so the Student can then transition to the next level high school. so of course it will and should take a long time to master the long term Goal. and all the short term objectives are how that happens. MANY if not most administrations/teachers screw this up. (showed me that it would take "forever" for him to reach this such-and-such goal because he hasn't mastered the lower goals yet. ) I would ask why is it not O.K. for it to take forever for him to master this or that goal. If it was important enough to be placed in his IEP the it is important enough to try to teach it. The lower goals(objectives) have to be met for the goal to ever be mastered. She also changed her story to say they couldn't put daily living skills goals in his IEP because "her hands are tied" (???) However "they do all kinds of daily living skills with the boys every day... it's just not in the IEP." (??!!) If it is important enough to teach then it is important

enough to put in writing IEP. There is even a place for it. This could be a great and very appropriate use of in-home training (a much under and badly used service) it is listed in the AU (11 strategies) . It is listed as parent/ in-home training. they are really 2 separate services though and you can have one with out the other, BUT are really great together. in-home training is for the child to be able to generalize acidemic/social concepts such as math, science or working independently or in a small group into everyday life. such as laundry, dishes, cooking following a schedule. Schools tend to get it backwards though and forget to ever teach the fudamental skill such as grouping catagories and more or less or following a step by step process, and go right to teaching dong a load of laundry (put clothes in soap,turn on done). you skip SO MANY skills that support independance and higher order thinking that would help make a child a more

competent and independent person in the long term. I am worried they are trying to make it easier on the teacher to show "progress" and in the mean time maybe cutting back on my son's education and since it's the first for this class, feel they are trying to set a precedence. I'm also worried that they are downgrading his goals because perhaps in their eyes, "he hasn't mastered these yet, so he never will."Yes the teacher wants her job to be easier. She has how ever many students. BUT it looks more to me that they are trying to put the class all on the same schedule/programming. YEP that would set a precedent and make her job easier at the same time. It would also screw your child out f an education and the

chance to obtain his potential. It also sounds like they probably have already stopped working on all those impossible goals so RUN don't walk to a good advocate. A little bit about me. I have a son now 13 with Autism and significant communication challenges. I worked hard with his school district yet never has much success. when he was in 4th grade(in life skills and continuing to do pre-K work) I had to make a choice either go to court or find a better way with out them. I sat down and thought long about what my options were and we left the local school. I enrolled him in a on-line public school and through that process and training from the Center 4 Accord 4accord.com I was able to obtain and keep every single service caric. goals and objectives he needed to become a real functioning learning child. Marriana Bond assistive tech and

behavior, Fran Tempeltom and Annett, in-home/ parent training and behavior, Bowling Speech path, and Rene O.T. and lin sped teacher. They walked with me advocated with me and taught me and my son HOW to learn how to do life and school in our Autism world. I and He would be no where near today with out them. THANKS LADIES. My advocacy skills came from Mr. at the Center 4 Accord. If to this day I knew nothing of the Law I could solidly and successfully Advocate for my child in all areas with what he taught me through his training at region 10. HUGE THANKS. The current standing in my house. my son now 13 has gone academically from pre-k to solid 4th grade in 3 yrs. (yes we left the on-line school last year and now homeschool) this was fully my choice and I would go back if I felt the need. It took more than a year for my son to brush his teeth dress , 2 yrs to bathe and make a

simple sandwich, and 3 yrs to learn the what and how of money, just to name a few. With out his academic skills of math, reading, reasoning, and communication he would still be unable to do any of this.I know and understand how important the public system is even though I have chosen to walk away. P.S. I also have a 9yr. old with dyslexia thriving at home. (he begged to come home in 1st grade) Last I thank my husband most of all who works so hard to keep this option as part of our life. All this to say. YES your child can and needs to learn all those goals and objectives already in his IEP and then some and YEP it will take "forever" not really but it may "feel" that way,but it is worth while and IMPORTANT for his future that it should and can be done. YES you need a good advocate and good training. S>

[Guest guest]

Ive seen the opposite. Teaching lifeskills when you get to middle school is sometimes all schools want to tackle. Then you end up with a house at school and little to no academics because teaching academics takes time staff and different teaching methods. Sent from my iPhone

I have a 17-year-old daughter with PDD NOS (high functioning) and I am completing my doctoral study in clinical psychology. I understand what you are going through. I have been through numerous hearings and I am currently submitting papers for another hearing.The goal of special education, according to the IDEA, is to ensure free and appropriate education and related services that utilize the student's strengths and provides remediation for their unique needs to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. Your concerns are very valid. Schools often do not want to provide education for independent living, but that is an IDEA requirement. They often state

that they are in the business of teaching academics, and they have to be reminded about their responsibility to teach independent living skills. These skills require long-term and short-term goals. Schools want to simplify the goals so that they can achieve them by the end of the school year. Then they feel like they are in compliance with the law. They should be more focused on the student's needs.I would document what happened in a letter and ask the school for a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the goals. I would also update the psychological/neuropsychological evaluations, which address educational and daily living needs. You can use this evaluation to identify appropriate remediation for your child.Dealing with a system that is ignorant about the requirements of the law (IDEA and No Child Left

Behind) and the educational needs of our children leave many parents like us feeling frustrated and angry. Good luck and be well - NinoTo: Texas-Autism-Advocacy Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 10:51 AMSubject: Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

My comments are in Italics. I hope it is in any way helpful. (they wanted to change my son's IEP goals to be more "middle school appropriate".) It is a IEP not a middle school caric. (my son's goals are too difficult for him to obtain and there are too many of them.)- What eval. proved that he could not learn/master the Goals(long term) and the subsequent objectives under them.I assume the

teacher that wrote the current ones used evals and input from various people and places to accomplish his current IEP. Through all my training's I ever had. it was always laid out as this. A goal is the finish point or next transition point. So if he is in middle school 6th 7th 8th. the Goal would be a 3yr. long term goal, with annual objectives that needed to be worked on and mastered to meet that long term goal so the Student can then transition to the next level high school. so of course it will and should take a long time to master the long term Goal. and all the short term objectives are how that happens. MANY if not most administrations/teachers screw this up. (showed me that it would take "forever" for him to reach this such-and-such goal because he hasn't mastered the lower goals yet. ) I would ask why is it not O.K. for it to take forever for him to master this or that goal. If it was important enough to be placed in his IEP the it is important enough to try to teach it. The lower goals(objectives) have to be met for the goal to ever be mastered. She also changed her story to say they couldn't put daily living skills goals in his IEP because "her hands are tied" (???) However "they do all kinds of daily living skills with the boys every day... it's just not in the IEP." (??!!) If it is important enough to teach then it is important

enough to put in writing IEP. There is even a place for it. This could be a great and very appropriate use of in-home training (a much under and badly used service) it is listed in the AU (11 strategies) . It is listed as parent/ in-home training. they are really 2 separate services though and you can have one with out the other, BUT are really great together. in-home training is for the child to be able to generalize acidemic/social concepts such as math, science or working independently or in a small group into everyday life. such as laundry, dishes, cooking following a schedule. Schools tend to get it backwards though and forget to ever teach the fudamental skill such as grouping catagories and more or less or following a step by step process, and go right to teaching dong a load of laundry (put clothes in soap,turn on done). you skip SO MANY skills that support independance and higher order thinking that would help make a child a more

competent and independent person in the long term. I am worried they are trying to make it easier on the teacher to show "progress" and in the mean time maybe cutting back on my son's education and since it's the first for this class, feel they are trying to set a precedence. I'm also worried that they are downgrading his goals because perhaps in their eyes, "he hasn't mastered these yet, so he never will."Yes the teacher wants her job to be easier. She has how ever many students. BUT it looks more to me that they are trying to put the class all on the same schedule/programming. YEP that would set a precedent and make her job easier at the same time. It would also screw your child out f an education and the

chance to obtain his potential. It also sounds like they probably have already stopped working on all those impossible goals so RUN don't walk to a good advocate. A little bit about me. I have a son now 13 with Autism and significant communication challenges. I worked hard with his school district yet never has much success. when he was in 4th grade(in life skills and continuing to do pre-K work) I had to make a choice either go to court or find a better way with out them. I sat down and thought long about what my options were and we left the local school. I enrolled him in a on-line public school and through that process and training from the Center 4 Accord 4accord.com I was able to obtain and keep every single service caric. goals and objectives he needed to become a real functioning learning child. Marriana Bond assistive tech and

behavior, Fran Tempeltom and Annett, in-home/ parent training and behavior, Bowling Speech path, and Rene O.T. and lin sped teacher. They walked with me advocated with me and taught me and my son HOW to learn how to do life and school in our Autism world. I and He would be no where near today with out them. THANKS LADIES. My advocacy skills came from Mr. at the Center 4 Accord. If to this day I knew nothing of the Law I could solidly and successfully Advocate for my child in all areas with what he taught me through his training at region 10. HUGE THANKS. The current standing in my house. my son now 13 has gone academically from pre-k to solid 4th grade in 3 yrs. (yes we left the on-line school last year and now homeschool) this was fully my choice and I would go back if I felt the need. It took more than a year for my son to brush his teeth dress , 2 yrs to bathe and make a

simple sandwich, and 3 yrs to learn the what and how of money, just to name a few. With out his academic skills of math, reading, reasoning, and communication he would still be unable to do any of this.I know and understand how important the public system is even though I have chosen to walk away. P.S. I also have a 9yr. old with dyslexia thriving at home. (he begged to come home in 1st grade) Last I thank my husband most of all who works so hard to keep this option as part of our life. All this to say. YES your child can and needs to learn all those goals and objectives already in his IEP and then some and YEP it will take "forever" not really but it may "feel" that way,but it is worth while and IMPORTANT for his future that it should and can be done. YES you need a good advocate and good training. S>

Reply to sender |

Reply to group |

Reply via web post |

Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic

(10)

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

[Guest guest]

You don't have to agree but she should be welcome to express her experience. I can tell you from my experience my son hears and understands everything even if he doesn't speak or even look at you. Talk to your child as you would want to be spoken to. He has opinions you just don't know them until you and he find a way to express them. We use a letterboard and are working on a transition to speech and typing. Before I found RPM and Soma I thought my son was on a very low academic level and I capable of understanding his iep goals. I was wrong. Sent from my iPhone

Dear, "Countering Autism":

I don't mean to be disrespectful but, what are you talking about??!! It seems like the only reason you might be on this message board is to get clients. My son has no idea whether or not a goal is lowered or not or if he has mastered a goal or not unless the teachers throw a big party for him when he masters a goal or shames him when he doesn't.. which of course, they do NEITHER OF THESE THINGS. The point is that the school system is essentially screwing my son out of an education that by law he is entitled to. I do lots of motivating my son-- by verbal and reward systems. It's not that he is dumb, quite the contrary, but some things, like his goals, are not discussed with him. He is mostly non-verbal and it would not be a productive discussion. Do you even know what the signs of autism are??In any case, my son is NOT included in the ARD meeting.

I saw your posts to parents about treating anxiety in autistic children and I can't tell you how frustrated your messages made me. We parents of autistic children have enough to deal with without getting incorrect and foolish information from individuals like yourself.

I don't want to seem rude but I prefer not to have any responses from you in the future.

Regards,

>

>

> Subject: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

> To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

> Date: Sunday, October 16, 2011, 4:51 PM

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Â

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Hi all- my 12 year old son is in 6th grade this year. New school, new experience with it being middle school and not elementary. This is the first all-autistic middle school class in our district so everything is new to everyone. I am concerned because I got a call a few weeks ago from his teacher saying they wanted to change my son's IEP goals to be more "middle school appropriate". The teacher also mentioned that they would be adding goals to make use of the fantastic kitchen and washer/dryer they have in the classroom so that daily living skills would be addressed as well. I was very excited about this and thought it sounded great. The teacher set up a 30 minute one-on-three meeting with myself, lead teacher and the 2 aides. However, the message I got at this meeting was totally different than what was discussed over the phone. I was told my son's goals are too difficult for him to obtain and there are too many of them. I disagree with

> that! She showed me this book they use to track progress on his goals called a "VB-something" book and showed me that it would take "forever" for him to reach this such-and-such goal because he hasn't mastered the lower goals yet. She also changed her story to say they couldn't put daily living skills goals in his IEP because "her hands are tied" (???) However "they do all kinds of daily living skills with the boys every day... it's just not in the IEP." (??!!) I didn't have time to question her because there was another parent coming in right after me and I was ushered out the door. They now want to have his ARD on November 11th to make all these changes to his goals and I am extremely concerned. His teacher last year did a fantastic job of creating his goals last year and she put a lot of time and effort into it. I don't know what to do and am trying to learn my rights as fast as I can. I am worried they are trying to make it easier on the

> teacher to show "progress" and in the mean time maybe cutting back on my son's education and since it's the first for this class, feel they are trying to set a precedence. I'm also worried that they are downgrading his goals because perhaps in their eyes, "he hasn't mastered these yet, so he never will." Any suggestions/ideas would be most welcome.

>

[Guest guest]

I've seen the same, although my experience in secondary Special Ed classrooms is extremely limted. Still, I've substitute taught in same, and seen what goes on first hand. Those teachers deserve so much more credit then they get.

I've also seen same from an Administrative perspective while voluntarily assisting in a different capacity, leading a partering effort between Businesses and Special Education to help to develop vocational training opportunities and Business/Education relationships. There are so many more factors that you don't see that go into designing the Curriculum and then getting it approved past School Boards, much of which has to do with budget items. In another District I got to know the Director of Curriculum Development, and realized what a difficult responsibility that is.

You don't always see what is truly going on, and that is very significant. Still, you're so right - it does sometimes seem that teaching lifeskills at the Middle School level is sometimes all schools want to tackle. But the Administrative decisions that are made are done for the best interest of all of the students, while at the same time the civil rights of all students - especially Special Ed students - must be maintained, defended and enforced.

Yes, Nio, there is an IEP process that must be followed as well. But it is structured to protect your chil, and has been done so carefully, over time. For more information I suggest that you might want to try to contact the Provost at the school your child is/will be attending. They should be able to assist you in such matters far more than I.

Re: Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

Ive seen the opposite. Teaching lifeskills when you get to middle school is sometimes all schools want to tackle. Then you end up with a house at school and little to no academics because teaching academics takes time staff and different teaching methods.

Sent from my iPhone

I have a 17-year-old daughter with PDD NOS (high functioning) and I am completing my doctoral study in clinical psychology. I understand what you are going through. I have been through numerous hearings and I am currently submitting papers for another hearing.

The goal of special education, according to the IDEA, is to ensure free and appropriate education and related services that utilize the student's strengths and provides remediation for their unique needs to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

Your concerns are very valid. Schools often do not want to provide education for independent living, but that is an IDEA requirement. They often state that they are in the business of teaching academics, and they have to be reminded about their responsibility to teach independent living skills. These skills require long-term and short-term goals. Schools want to simplify the goals so that they can achieve them by the end of the school year. Then they feel like they are in compliance with the law. They should be more focused on the student's needs.

I would document what happened in a letter and ask the school for a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the goals. I would also update the psychological/neuropsychological evaluations, which address educational and daily living needs. You can use this evaluation to identify appropriate remediation for your child.

Dealing with a system that is ignorant about the requirements of the law (IDEA and No Child Left Behind) and the educational needs of our children leave many parents like us feeling frustrated and angry.

Good luck and be well - Nino

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 10:51 AM

Subject : Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

My comments are in Italics. I hope it is in any way helpful.

(they wanted to change my son's IEP goals to be more "middle school appropriate".) It is a IEP not a middle school caric.

(my son's goals are too difficult for him to obtain and there are too many of them.)- What eval. proved that he could not learn/master the Goals(long term) and the subsequent objectives under them.I assume the teacher that wrote the current ones used evals and input from various people and places to accomplish his current IEP. Through all my training's I ever had. it was always laid out as this. A goal is the finish point or next transition point. So if he is in middle school 6th 7th 8th. the Goal would be a 3yr. long term goal, with annual objectives that needed to be worked on and mastered to meet that long term goal so the Student can then transition to the next level high school. so of course it will and should take a long time to master the long term Goal. and all the short term objectives are how that happens. MANY if not most administrations/teachers screw this up.

(showed me that it would take "forever" for him to reach this such-and-such goal because he hasn't mastered the lower goals yet. ) I would ask why is it not O.K. for it to take forever for him to master this or that goal. If it was important enough to be placed in his IEP the it is important enough to try to teach it. The lower goals(objectives) have to be met for the goal to ever be mastered.

She also changed her story to say they couldn't put daily living skills goals in his IEP because "her hands are tied" (???) However "they do all kinds of daily living skills with the boys every day... it's just not in the IEP." (??!!) If it is important enough to teach then it is important enough to put in writing IEP. There is even a place for it. This could be a great and very appropriate use of in-home training (a much under and badly used service) it is listed in the AU (11 strategies) . It is listed as parent/ in-home training. they are really 2 separate services though and you can have one with out the other, BUT are really great together. in-home training is for the child to be able to generalize acidemic/social concepts such as math, science or working independently or in a small group into everyday life. such as laundry, dishes, cooking following a schedule. Schools tend to get it backwards though and forget to ever teach the fudamental skill such as grouping catagories and more or less or following a step by step process, and go right to teaching dong a load of laundry (put clothes in soap,turn on done). you skip SO MANY skills that support independance and higher order thinking that would help make a child a more competent and independent person in the long term.

I am worried they are trying to make it easier on the teacher to show "progress" and in the mean time maybe cutting back on my son's education and since it's the first for this class, feel they are trying to set a precedence. I'm also worried that they are downgrading his goals because perhaps in their eyes, "he hasn't mastered these yet, so he never will."

Yes the teacher wants her job to be easier. She has how ever many students. BUT it looks more to me that they are trying to put the class all on the same schedule/programming. YEP that would set a precedent and make her job easier at the same time. It would also screw your child out f an education and the chance to obtain his potential. It also sounds like they probably have already stopped working on all those impossible goals so RUN don't walk to a good advocate.

A little bit about me. I have a son now 13 with Autism and significant communication challenges. I worked hard with his school district yet never has much success. when he was in 4th grade(in life skills and continuing to do pre-K work) I had to make a choice either go to court or find a better way with out them. I sat down and thought long about what my options were and we left the local school. I enrolled him in a on-line public school and through that process and training from the Center 4 Accord 4accord.com I was able to obtain and keep every single service caric. goals and objectives he needed to become a real functioning learning child. Marriana Bond assistive tech and behavior, Fran Tempeltom and Annett, in-home/ parent training and behavior, Bowling Speech path, and Rene O.T. and lin sped teacher. They walked with me advocated with me and taught me and my son HOW to learn how to do life and school in our Autism world. I and He would be no where near today with out them. THANKS LADIES. My advocacy skills came from Mr. at the Center 4 Accord. If to this day I knew nothing of the Law I could solidly and successfully Advocate for my child in all areas with what he taught me through his training at region 10. HUGE THANKS.

The current standing in my house. my son now 13 has gone academically from pre-k to solid 4th grade in 3 yrs. (yes we left the on-line school last year and now homeschool) this was fully my choice and I would go back if I felt the need. It took more than a year for my son to brush his teeth dress , 2 yrs to bathe and make a simple sandwich, and 3 yrs to learn the what and how of money, just to name a few. With out his academic skills of math, reading, reasoning, and communication he would still be unable to do any of this.I know and understand how important the public system is even though I have chosen to walk away. P.S. I also have a 9yr. old with dyslexia thriving at home. (he begged to come home in 1st grade) Last I thank my husband most of all who works so hard to keep this option as part of our life. All this to say. YES your child can and needs to learn all those goals and objectives already in his IEP and then some and YEP it will take "forever" not really but it may "feel" that way,but it is worth while and IMPORTANT for his future that it should and can be done. YES you need a good advocate and good training. S

>

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (10)

MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now.

[Guest guest]

One day when my son has "a job that means something" ( his written words) I'll write our book about how we got there and how many teachers and administrators were content to have him sort shapes and watch cartoons and go for walks and call it "education". It's time to begin to think of Autism as "I can, if you believe" our iep is for goals we use the 10th grade curriculum which requires an aide to access. In 5th grade he sorted shapes, five years later he's got a A in geometry. Must success be measured solely by budgets? Or is not a fulfilled life worth more than that which is stagnantly repeated for the sake of experience and ease. That which is easy is never worth doing. Trina Sent from my iPhone

I've seen the same, although my experience in secondary Special Ed classrooms is extremely limted. Still, I've substitute taught in same, and seen what goes on first hand. Those teachers deserve so much more credit then they get.

I've also seen same from an Administrative perspective while voluntarily assisting in a different capacity, leading a partering effort between Businesses and Special Education to help to develop vocational training opportunities and Business/Education relationships. There are so many more factors that you don't see that go into designing the Curriculum and then getting it approved past School Boards, much of which has to do with budget items. In another District I got to know the Director of Curriculum Development, and realized what a difficult responsibility that is.

You don't always see what is truly going on, and that is very significant. Still, you're so right - it does sometimes seem that teaching lifeskills at the Middle School level is sometimes all schools want to tackle. But the Administrative decisions that are made are done for the best interest of all of the students, while at the same time the civil rights of all students - especially Special Ed students - must be maintained, defended and enforced.

Yes, Nio, there is an IEP process that must be followed as well. But it is structured to protect your chil, and has been done so carefully, over time. For more information I suggest that you might want to try to contact the Provost at the school your child is/will be attending. They should be able to assist you in such matters far more than I.

Re: Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

Ive seen the opposite. Teaching lifeskills when you get to middle school is sometimes all schools want to tackle. Then you end up with a house at school and little to no academics because teaching academics takes time staff and different teaching methods.

Sent from my iPhone

I have a 17-year-old daughter with PDD NOS (high functioning) and I am completing my doctoral study in clinical psychology. I understand what you are going through. I have been through numerous hearings and I am currently submitting papers for another hearing.

The goal of special education, according to the IDEA, is to ensure free and appropriate education and related services that utilize the student's strengths and provides remediation for their unique needs to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

Your concerns are very valid. Schools often do not want to provide education for independent living, but that is an IDEA requirement. They often state that they are in the business of teaching academics, and they have to be reminded about their responsibility to teach independent living skills. These skills require long-term and short-term goals. Schools want to simplify the goals so that they can achieve them by the end of the school year. Then they feel like they are in compliance with the law. They should be more focused on the student's needs.

I would document what happened in a letter and ask the school for a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the goals. I would also update the psychological/neuropsychological evaluations, which address educational and daily living needs. You can use this evaluation to identify appropriate remediation for your child.

Dealing with a system that is ignorant about the requirements of the law (IDEA and No Child Left Behind) and the educational needs of our children leave many parents like us feeling frustrated and angry.

Good luck and be well - Nino

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 10:51 AM

Subject : Re: IEP Goal Changes - Very Concerned

My comments are in Italics. I hope it is in any way helpful.

(they wanted to change my son's IEP goals to be more "middle school appropriate".) It is a IEP not a middle school caric.

(my son's goals are too difficult for him to obtain and there are too many of them.)- What eval. proved that he could not learn/master the Goals(long term) and the subsequent objectives under them.I assume the teacher that wrote the current ones used evals and input from various people and places to accomplish his current IEP. Through all my training's I ever had. it was always laid out as this. A goal is the finish point or next transition point. So if he is in middle school 6th 7th 8th. the Goal would be a 3yr. long term goal, with annual objectives that needed to be worked on and mastered to meet that long term goal so the Student can then transition to the next level high school. so of course it will and should take a long time to master the long term Goal. and all the short term objectives are how that happens. MANY if not most administrations/teachers screw this up.

(showed me that it would take "forever" for him to reach this such-and-such goal because he hasn't mastered the lower goals yet. ) I would ask why is it not O.K. for it to take forever for him to master this or that goal. If it was important enough to be placed in his IEP the it is important enough to try to teach it. The lower goals(objectives) have to be met for the goal to ever be mastered.

She also changed her story to say they couldn't put daily living skills goals in his IEP because "her hands are tied" (???) However "they do all kinds of daily living skills with the boys every day... it's just not in the IEP." (??!!) If it is important enough to teach then it is important enough to put in writing IEP. There is even a place for it. This could be a great and very appropriate use of in-home training (a much under and badly used service) it is listed in the AU (11 strategies) . It is listed as parent/ in-home training. they are really 2 separate services though and you can have one with out the other, BUT are really great together. in-home training is for the child to be able to generalize acidemic/social concepts such as math, science or working independently or in a small group into everyday life. such as laundry, dishes, cooking following a schedule. Schools tend to get it backwards though and forget to ever teach the fudamental skill such as grouping catagories and more or less or following a step by step process, and go right to teaching dong a load of laundry (put clothes in soap,turn on done). you skip SO MANY skills that support independance and higher order thinking that would help make a child a more competent and independent person in the long term.

I am worried they are trying to make it easier on the teacher to show "progress" and in the mean time maybe cutting back on my son's education and since it's the first for this class, feel they are trying to set a precedence. I'm also worried that they are downgrading his goals because perhaps in their eyes, "he hasn't mastered these yet, so he never will."

Yes the teacher wants her job to be easier. She has how ever many students. BUT it looks more to me that they are trying to put the class all on the same schedule/programming. YEP that would set a precedent and make her job easier at the same time. It would also screw your child out f an education and the chance to obtain his potential. It also sounds like they probably have already stopped working on all those impossible goals so RUN don't walk to a good advocate.

A little bit about me. I have a son now 13 with Autism and significant communication challenges. I worked hard with his school district yet never has much success. when he was in 4th grade(in life skills and continuing to do pre-K work) I had to make a choice either go to court or find a better way with out them. I sat down and thought long about what my options were and we left the local school. I enrolled him in a on-line public school and through that process and training from the Center 4 Accord 4accord.com I was able to obtain and keep every single service caric. goals and objectives he needed to become a real functioning learning child. Marriana Bond assistive tech and behavior, Fran Tempeltom and Annett, in-home/ parent training and behavior, Bowling Speech path, and Rene O.T. and lin sped teacher. They walked with me advocated with me and taught me and my son HOW to learn how to do life and school in our Autism world. I and He would be no where near today with out them. THANKS LADIES. My advocacy skills came from Mr. at the Center 4 Accord. If to this day I knew nothing of the Law I could solidly and successfully Advocate for my child in all areas with what he taught me through his training at region 10. HUGE THANKS.

The current standing in my house. my son now 13 has gone academically from pre-k to solid 4th grade in 3 yrs. (yes we left the on-line school last year and now homeschool) this was fully my choice and I would go back if I felt the need. It took more than a year for my son to brush his teeth dress , 2 yrs to bathe and make a simple sandwich, and 3 yrs to learn the what and how of money, just to name a few. With out his academic skills of math, reading, reasoning, and communication he would still be unable to do any of this.I know and understand how important the public system is even though I have chosen to walk away. P.S. I also have a 9yr. old with dyslexia thriving at home. (he begged to come home in 1st grade) Last I thank my husband most of all who works so hard to keep this option as part of our life. All this to say. YES your child can and needs to learn all those goals and objectives already in his IEP and then some and YEP it will take "forever" not really but it may "feel" that way,but it is worth while and IMPORTANT for his future that it should and can be done. YES you need a good advocate and good training. S

>

Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (10)

[Guest guest]

,Let me preface with that I am a parent advocate and have helped many parents on this list and have never charged anyone a dime -- not even for writing letters and calling districts etc... I have been in the same boat.  However, gave you some very good and free advice, and you should heed it.  You may not know what she is talking about, and you may need a hired advocate who has been there and done that and now may even charge to help others.  I don't know if she does.  I know that if a parent would want me to do a lot of the work and go to an ARD I may have to charge something as my kid needs meds too.

You need to learn the ins and outs of parent advocacy in order to insure your child gets a FAPE.  If you cannot go to the law workshop coming up in Plano, then at least buy the books -- the most important is " From Emotions to Advocacy "   becasue you are right in realizing that they are intending to screw  your child out of a FAPE, and the only way to insure that this does not occur is that you become better educated about special ed law than they are.

You need to learn the importance of testing -- preferably paying for an outside diagnostician to test and make recommendations.  These scores tell the tale.  Grades are not very good evidence, but if a child is testing via standardized testing each year and fails to show progress on THESE tests, it means that the district violated federal law and denied FAPE.

They cannot create an IEP without your input and agreement.  To do so is a denial of meaningful participation in the ARD process which is guaranteed under the law.Furthermore, for them to say they want to change these goals to make them commiserate with middle school is a blatant violation of the law.  The law DOES NOT say this must be.  It states that the IEP MUST BE individualized to meet the unique needs of the child.  They must also show the child's " Present LEVEL of performance " and the IEP's should be written so as to take the child beyond that present level of performance in an ARD year's time.  They can't skip years ahead academically just becasue they feel like it.

If they do this, it makes it easier for them.  Then they can just throw your child in with the rest of the kid's and be frustrated and lost becasue they skipped giving him a foundation.  BUT they get away with this when parents just don't know better.  You have come to the right place.  In the future, you will be knowledgeable enough about the law and how to do things in a way to help your child, but for now, you will need an educated advocate.  This is a serious situation and you you need to act.  Don't let them shortchange him this way.

Even though I have studied my head off and gone to seminars, We still paid an advocate to come with us from time to time.  There is strength in numbers.  Please re-read 's advice and try to glean from it what you are going to have to be knowledgeable about in the future in order to help your child.  There are some good, professional advocates who post here.  You will have to ask for references before you choose one.

Haven