Guest guest Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 OK all you warriors who have gone through fighting with the school system..... We have had 3 iep meetings in 6 weeks time. They have all lasted between 2 and 3 hours each. We brought a lawyer and a tape recorder to the third meeting. We are stuck on the wording of " personal, wireless fm system " on theACCOMMODATIONS page of the IEP. The district wants to write " assistive listening device " and put it on a page that says " RELATED INFORMATION. " No one in the room disagrees that the microlink is giving Maggie access to the curriculum and FAPE. The audiologist tried to suggest that a sound field system might also be appropriate, but we wouldn't swallow that because our personal audiologist has recommended the microlink. The district does not want to limit their options of what to put on Maggie (even though they are the ones who changed her to the microlink from a wired system before iep time.....) WHY WON'T THEY BE SPECIFIC? The crackling/interference that Maggie gets with the wired system gives her headaches. We can document several times per week that she was going to the nurse for Advil....now that she has the microlink, she has gone 2-3x in 3 mos.....so we do not want the wired system on her. They tell us it is county policy not to limit the options. We asked to see the policy.....it is verbal policy and no one from the Office of Compliance and Monitoring is coming to our IEP even though we asked..... We have asked for PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE....and I just got an e-mail saying that they don't have to give it to us until the IEP is complete! That does not sound right from what I read in the law....the lawyer also said it is not true.... What should we do??????????? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 9, 2004 Report Share Posted May 9, 2004 You have a lawyer and you have the recommendation from your doctors. Stick to your guns and have the wording refelct the appropriate assistcive technology, not just some " fm sysytem " or " assistive listening device. " Spell it out. You know what is needed, let the lawyer handle it. (A letter suggesting that they are intentionally delaying implimenting services and thus causing your child harm comes immediately to mind.) We went through the same thing. Our son's IEP initially listed an " FM system. " Being the new-to-all-this-mom that I was, I did not know there was such a thing as a sound field system. Our audi and ENTs had specifically recommended the " microlink FM system " in their letters and when I saw " FM system " in the IEP I thought it was fine. After all, they had told me that they were arranging for the FM microlinks for a 3-month test period. They were to be waiting (No, I didn't have a tape recorder at that meeting, sigh, but I learned.) Then 5th grade started and they had rigged up a sound field system with parts cobbled together from the AV department. Confused, I called our audi and he explained what that was and was dumbfounded that they'd put it up. It took me several months and almost a lawsuit to get the proper equipment. He wrote another letter, our ENT wrote another letter, our nerologist wrote a letter (I don't why I asked him, but I did) But we won and Ian's IEP spells out the right kind of system (but I don't remember where it is listed and I don't think it lists a specific brand) and very specific instructions as to its care and use. Don't back down if you feel they are using the wording to enable themselves to pull a fast one later on. They have not been up front, so i would not give them the benefit of the doubt! Good luck -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2004 Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 > The district does not want to limit their options of what to put on Maggie (even though they are the ones who changed her to the microlink from a wired system before iep time.....) < Because FM systems often contain amplification of their own, or when coupled with a hearing aid can affect the sound delivered by the hearing aid, the only person who should say what system goes on a child (or adult) with a hearing aid should be an audiologist - as per ASHA recommendations. From Guidelines for Fitting and Monitoring FM Systems http://www.asha.org/NR/rdonlyres/9C8083C1-8D35-4B4A-84A6-A3B04B709E32/0/18866_1.\ pdf (if my mail program splits this link, you'll need to cut and paste the 2 parts together to get a working link) " The audiologist is the professional who is uniquely qualified to select, evaluate, fit, and dispense FM systems. Section IIA of the ASHA Code of Ethics (ASHA, 1992) states that " Individuals shall engage in the provision of clinical services only when they hold the appropriate Certificate of Clinical Competence or when they are in the certification process and are supervised by an individual who holds the appropriate Certificate of Clinical Competence. " For purposes of the present document, the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology is considered to be the appropriate certification. IIB of the Code of Ethics further states that " Individuals shall engage in only those aspects of the profession that are within the scope of their competence, considering their level of education, training, and experience. " Daily monitoring checks by other personnel (including speechlanguage pathologists, teachers, etc.) are appropriate, however, after such personnel have received instruction in monitoring techniques from an ASHA-certified audiologist. " The document also gives specific reasons why this is so, and I'm sure you can use them to your advantage. -Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2004 Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 Kay - Thank you! I just sent a letter off for my audiologist's signature. Hopefully, the school audie will not oppose the recommendation - or have a less than appropriate recommendation as well. Re: the run around..... > > The district does not want to limit their options of what to put on > Maggie (even though they are the ones who changed her to the microlink from > a wired system before iep time.....) < > > Because FM systems often contain amplification of their own, or when coupled > with a hearing aid can affect the sound delivered by the hearing aid, the > only person who should say what system goes on a child (or adult) with a > hearing aid should be an audiologist - as per ASHA recommendations. From > Guidelines for Fitting and Monitoring FM Systems > > http://www.asha.org/NR/rdonlyres/9C8083C1-8D35-4B4A-84A6-A3B04B709E32/0/18866_1.\ pdf > (if my mail program splits this link, you'll need to cut and paste the 2 > parts together to get a working link) > > " The audiologist is the professional who is uniquely qualified to select, > evaluate, fit, and dispense FM systems. Section IIA of the ASHA Code of > Ethics (ASHA, 1992) states that " Individuals shall engage in the provision > of clinical services only when they hold the appropriate Certificate of > Clinical Competence or when they are in the certification process and are > supervised by an individual who holds the appropriate Certificate of > Clinical Competence. " For purposes of the present document, the ASHA > Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology is considered to be the > appropriate certification. IIB of the Code of Ethics further states that > " Individuals shall engage in only those aspects of the profession that are > within the scope of their competence, considering their level of education, > training, and experience. " Daily monitoring checks by other personnel > (including speechlanguage pathologists, teachers, etc.) are appropriate, > however, after such personnel have received instruction in monitoring > techniques from an ASHA-certified audiologist. " > > > > The document also gives specific reasons why this is so, and I'm sure you > can use them to your advantage. > > -Kay > > > > > > > > > All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright restrictions. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 > One question....when you say " more appropriate " I assume that that is an ok term to use when it comes to an FM - as anything less than 100% does not give the child equal access to the curriculum " ?< If it were me, I would leave the term as simply 'appropriate'. One argument I used successfully during one of my son's IEPs (when I was fighting to even get him a school provided FM system) was that if they felt the lower number was appropriate for JD, then if that's all he heard, then if he got a similar lower number on his tests, that he be considered to have mastered the material. Lets see, for JD that was 90% with an FM, and 40% without, so I suggested that if he had a test score of 40%, it be considered a 100% since that's all he heard, unless they provided a system for him. They didn't think this was fair, but I made my point with them. Hugs, Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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