Guest guest Posted May 24, 2004 Report Share Posted May 24, 2004 In a message dated 5/24/2004 2:20:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, stefanieac@... writes: > Hi, > > I'm new here; we are getting ready to transition my daughter to > services through the public schools and could use some advice. We > live in a small rural area and so far have only been offered a place > in the special ed preschool. We want our daughter in a typically > developing preschool to help her learn speech. We have been through > the AG Bell advocacy training but I still feel we have a lot to > learn and was wondering how to approach the subject of placement > when they are only offering one type of placement. > > Thanks for any help! Hey there, They may have only one official program for D/HOH kids, but if that program is inappropriate for your daughter, then they will have to adapt in order to meet her needs. You did not describe the available program or your daughter's specific needs, so I am not sure what to suggest as far as what approach to take when requesting services. I can only assert that the services must meet her needs. For instance, our school district has no D/HOH program and there is none in our area aside from two deaf schools which my son did not quailfy to attend. (he was not " deaf enough " at that time) And so, he is attending the local schools with an itinerent TOD (Teacher-Of-the Deaf) coming in to meet with him for one hour every school day. The district had to adapt in order to meet his needs and place him in the approriate LRE (least restrictive environment) Best -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2004 Report Share Posted May 24, 2004 In a message dated 5/24/2004 3:25:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time, JillcWood@... writes: For instance, our school district has no D/HOH program and there is none in our area aside from two deaf schools which my son did not quailfy to attend. (he was not " deaf enough " at that time) And so, he is attending the local schools with an itinerent TOD (Teacher-Of-the Deaf) coming in to meet with him for one hour every school day. The district had to adapt in order to meet his needs and place him in the approriate LRE (least restrictive environment) Best -- Jill I should have also added to my note that our son is now 13 and heading into high school next fall. So the transitions we're making in our lives right now are very different from the ones from nursery to elementary school. But I did fight with our district when he was in elementray school in order to force them to provide the services he needed. Thanks -- Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2004 Report Share Posted May 24, 2004 There are other people on this list who can probably cite laws for you, but at the very least, you can ask if this is the Least Restrictive Environment for your daughter. If the special ed preschool has children with significant issues that your daughter doesn't share, her only issue is her hearing loss, and you want her to be oral/she is already working toward being oral, then the typical preschool would be more appropriate for her. Again, I'm no expert on the laws you can cite for this to happen, but you can certainly describe for them, with back up from outside professionals (audie, pedi, ENT, SLP, etc.), the kind of placement that would be most appropriate for her. This pushes them into " choosing " the placement you want for her. You're asking the right questions in the right place... Stefanie mom to Ben, 5, severe to profound HOH, Widex Senso HAs, and Isabella, 8, mild loss, unaided on 5/24/04 1:30 PM, afsisson2001 at annette@... wrote: > Hi, > > I'm new here; we are getting ready to transition my daughter to > services through the public schools and could use some advice. We > live in a small rural area and so far have only been offered a place > in the special ed preschool. We want our daughter in a typically > developing preschool to help her learn speech. We have been through > the AG Bell advocacy training but I still feel we have a lot to > learn and was wondering how to approach the subject of placement > when they are only offering one type of placement. > > Thanks for any help! > > > > 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 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 In a message dated 5/25/2004 9:21:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, annette@... writes: I guess I am just wondering how to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " Well, start by never saying those words, not even to be nice and lighten the tone of the meeting. Instead use the words " least restrictive environment " and " appropriate placement " when referring to the placement you are lobbying for. And have your recommendations and paper work support that position. Practice saying those words in the mirror -- don't laugh, I've done it. I've practiced using the techno-babble in a mirror, to friends over coffee or lunch .... when I first started this journey my best friend would play the devil's advocate for me. It helped me stay focused and channel the old-Jill, the one who use to work in the corporate world and do things like negotiate contracts and argue invoicing with suppliers. When you're a mom, you just don't think like that, at least I didn't. I would get caught up in what my not-so-little-boy needed and my emotional investment in making the world better for him. But those meetings are business deals, contract negotiations and practicing with a friend was a very good thing to do. Good luck! Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 In a message dated 5/25/2004 9:21:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time, annette@... writes: I guess I am just wondering how to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " Well, start by never saying those words, not even to be nice and lighten the tone of the meeting. Instead use the words " least restrictive environment " and " appropriate placement " when referring to the placement you are lobbying for. And have your recommendations and paper work support that position. Practice saying those words in the mirror -- don't laugh, I've done it. I've practiced using the techno-babble in a mirror, to friends over coffee or lunch .... when I first started this journey my best friend would play the devil's advocate for me. It helped me stay focused and channel the old-Jill, the one who use to work in the corporate world and do things like negotiate contracts and argue invoicing with suppliers. When you're a mom, you just don't think like that, at least I didn't. I would get caught up in what my not-so-little-boy needed and my emotional investment in making the world better for him. But those meetings are business deals, contract negotiations and practicing with a friend was a very good thing to do. Good luck! Jill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hi everyone, Thanks for responding to my post. My daughter will be three in July. The special ed class they are offering is in a local elem. school, with other kids with various delays (due to vision, speech, autism, you name it.) I have visited the school and noticed they didn't talk much. The reason they are offering only this one placement is because that is where the teacher of the deaf is located. I want them to send that teacher to the private preschool where will attend in the fall, as well as provide speech services there. I am prepared to ask for it all, Including fm system, and I know the part about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " I also have letters from professionals all stating that she needs to be in a typically developing preschool. I guess I still feel like we will be facing quite a bit of opposition despite all that. I plan to argue least restrictive environment, I guess I am just wondering how to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " We have already gone through all of the eligibility stuff and I signed " do not accept " to the IEP because we didn't want to lose our early intervention/parent infant support just yet. So I am assuming they will try to give us back the same IEP with some new goals, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hi everyone, Thanks for responding to my post. My daughter will be three in July. The special ed class they are offering is in a local elem. school, with other kids with various delays (due to vision, speech, autism, you name it.) I have visited the school and noticed they didn't talk much. The reason they are offering only this one placement is because that is where the teacher of the deaf is located. I want them to send that teacher to the private preschool where will attend in the fall, as well as provide speech services there. I am prepared to ask for it all, Including fm system, and I know the part about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " I also have letters from professionals all stating that she needs to be in a typically developing preschool. I guess I still feel like we will be facing quite a bit of opposition despite all that. I plan to argue least restrictive environment, I guess I am just wondering how to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " We have already gone through all of the eligibility stuff and I signed " do not accept " to the IEP because we didn't want to lose our early intervention/parent infant support just yet. So I am assuming they will try to give us back the same IEP with some new goals, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hi everyone, Thanks for responding to my post. My daughter will be three in July. The special ed class they are offering is in a local elem. school, with other kids with various delays (due to vision, speech, autism, you name it.) I have visited the school and noticed they didn't talk much. The reason they are offering only this one placement is because that is where the teacher of the deaf is located. I want them to send that teacher to the private preschool where will attend in the fall, as well as provide speech services there. I am prepared to ask for it all, Including fm system, and I know the part about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " I also have letters from professionals all stating that she needs to be in a typically developing preschool. I guess I still feel like we will be facing quite a bit of opposition despite all that. I plan to argue least restrictive environment, I guess I am just wondering how to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " We have already gone through all of the eligibility stuff and I signed " do not accept " to the IEP because we didn't want to lose our early intervention/parent infant support just yet. So I am assuming they will try to give us back the same IEP with some new goals, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 I believe that Early Intervention services (birth - 6) can be provided at any location. Not only that, but BY LAW the school is required to provide a " continuum of placements " for children. This means that they cannot simply place your child in a preschool because it is the only one they have. If you child needs good speech models, then it is not the appropriate placement and therefore not the LRE. >and I know the part >about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " I'd alter this a little further to " What is appropriate. " APPROPRIATE is the key word here - it is all over the law and the sooner you start using it the better. On the flip side, keep in mind that the school is required to only provide what is appropriate (theres that word again!), not what is " the best " or " optimal. " All you have to do then is prove that what you think is appropriate for your child is more appropriate than what they think is appropriate for your child. :) I can't believe that actually makes sense! Colin > >Reply-To: Listen-Up >To: Listen-Up >Subject: re: transitioning >Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 01:19:22 -0000 > >Hi everyone, > >Thanks for responding to my post. My daughter will be three in July. >The special ed class they are offering is in a local elem. school, >with other kids with various delays (due to vision, speech, autism, >you name it.) I have visited the school and noticed they didn't talk >much. The reason they are offering only this one placement is >because that is where the teacher of the deaf is located. I want >them to send that teacher to the private preschool where will >attend in the fall, as well as provide speech services there. I am >prepared to ask for it all, Including fm system, and I know the part >about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " >I also have letters from professionals all stating that she needs to >be in a typically developing preschool. I guess I still feel like we >will be facing quite a bit of opposition despite all that. I plan to >argue least restrictive environment, I guess I am just wondering how >to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " > >We have already gone through all of the eligibility stuff and I >signed " do not accept " to the IEP because we didn't want to lose our >early intervention/parent infant support just yet. So I am assuming >they will try to give us back the same IEP with some new goals, etc. > _________________________________________________________________ Learn to simplify your finances and your life in Streamline Your Life from MSN Money. http://special.msn.com/money/0405streamline.armx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 I believe that Early Intervention services (birth - 6) can be provided at any location. Not only that, but BY LAW the school is required to provide a " continuum of placements " for children. This means that they cannot simply place your child in a preschool because it is the only one they have. If you child needs good speech models, then it is not the appropriate placement and therefore not the LRE. >and I know the part >about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " I'd alter this a little further to " What is appropriate. " APPROPRIATE is the key word here - it is all over the law and the sooner you start using it the better. On the flip side, keep in mind that the school is required to only provide what is appropriate (theres that word again!), not what is " the best " or " optimal. " All you have to do then is prove that what you think is appropriate for your child is more appropriate than what they think is appropriate for your child. :) I can't believe that actually makes sense! Colin > >Reply-To: Listen-Up >To: Listen-Up >Subject: re: transitioning >Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 01:19:22 -0000 > >Hi everyone, > >Thanks for responding to my post. My daughter will be three in July. >The special ed class they are offering is in a local elem. school, >with other kids with various delays (due to vision, speech, autism, >you name it.) I have visited the school and noticed they didn't talk >much. The reason they are offering only this one placement is >because that is where the teacher of the deaf is located. I want >them to send that teacher to the private preschool where will >attend in the fall, as well as provide speech services there. I am >prepared to ask for it all, Including fm system, and I know the part >about not saying, " what we want, " and instead use " what she needs. " >I also have letters from professionals all stating that she needs to >be in a typically developing preschool. I guess I still feel like we >will be facing quite a bit of opposition despite all that. I plan to >argue least restrictive environment, I guess I am just wondering how >to avoid them seeing it as just " private school placement " > >We have already gone through all of the eligibility stuff and I >signed " do not accept " to the IEP because we didn't want to lose our >early intervention/parent infant support just yet. So I am assuming >they will try to give us back the same IEP with some new goals, etc. > _________________________________________________________________ Learn to simplify your finances and your life in Streamline Your Life from MSN Money. http://special.msn.com/money/0405streamline.armx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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