MOCO PEP - do I need an advocate/consultant yet?

[Anonymous]

DD is in PEP Pilot (ashburton). She was moved one month into PEP Classic (5 days) to PEP Pilot (2 days) because she needed NT peers (we agreed). Her speech and OT was also reduced to once per month (we mistakenly agreed).

Her "regular" preschool which she goes to in mornings is no longer working for her (not enough structure) and we want to get her more PEP services. We are not sure whether PEP Collaboration (5 days) is an appropriate placement after visiting (large class, NT kids are ESOL which might not help with primary, pragmatic issues). Is there something else we can ask for in addition to PEP Pilot 2 days per week? We feel that although she has a lot of strengths, the 2 days will NOT get her to public kindergarten and we need more. I think with some fist banging they will agree to increase therapies to once per week - but the PEP system doesn't seem to be designed for a kid "on the cusp" - when typical preschool will not work, PEP Classic is too much, and PEP Pilot is not enough.

Am I missing some other option? Can PEP Pilot be more than 2 days, or is there some other option? Do we need an advocate/consultant at this point to advise us? Any suggestions would be most welcome.

[Anonymous]

How about PEP Classic, but trying a different teacher? Several of the kids in our child's PEP Classic class seemed to be on the cusp.

[Anonymous]

OP here. That's actually not a bad idea. I am not crazy about Ashburton PEP, especially given that other parents seem to sing the praises of PEP generally. Our PEP teacher seems good, but is not responsive to us and we feel very out of touch. The original PEP classic class was 4 other kids with IEPs, and our daughter came home every day saying "PEP isn't safe." She is very sensitive to her surroundings, and we think she was scared because she was confused about what she was seeing (children with visible delays and behaviors and the assistant re-directing other children). The IEP team felt that she needed peer models and it was better for her not to be the "highest functioning" in the class. We agree with that, because she seems to model other kids behavior a lot.

[Anonymous]

OP, DS was in PEP COllab at Montgomery Knolls 2 years ago. Not sure which one you looked at or whether things are the same, but while there, he had nearly no interaction with the NT children, honestly. It was all about the fantastic PEP teachers, amazing therapists, and the very high functioning (though still classified) other children in PEP (nearly all of whom were mainstreamed after leaving PEP). When there were bday parties and playdates, etc, it was all with the other PEP children - almost no interaction at all with the Pre-K group. DS's primary issue at the time was speech.

Not saying it's the right place for everyone, but it was outstanding for DS.

[Anonymous]

PEP classic is only four days a week, not five and it was my impression that all kids in any PEP program (except for typical peers in Collab) have IEPs. Your kid has one, right? It's time to call a meeting of the IEP team to readjust the goals if you think her placement is not working. FWIW, we have a consultant and she is worth every penny. I would not go through this process alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PEP classic is only four days a week, not five and it was my impression that all kids in any PEP program (except for typical peers in Collab) have IEPs. Your kid has one, right? It's time to call a meeting of the IEP team to readjust the goals if you think her placement is not working. FWIW, we have a consultant and she is worth every penny. I would not go through this process alone.

can you recommend your consultant? Also to poster re: mongomery knolls PEP, that is good to know. We looked at that program and may try to fight for that as placement. We also are going to look at Viers Mill if anyone has heard anything about that.

The consultant we found requires at $1400 retainer and we're not sure we want to go down that road just yet. I've been told that if you are fighting for another program in county, they usually end up agreeing without lawyers/consultants, etc. Not sure if that is correct. If you are fighting for private school, which we are not, I know it is a whole other ball game.

[Anonymous]

13:46 here. We used Suzie Keith Blattner as our consultant. I think her retainer was $800 and we went over about an additional $200 if I remember correctly. She reviewed previous IEP, advised on new IEP, came to the IEP meeting, etc. I do think her presence there made a difference in terms of MCPS giving us the Montgomery Knolls placement, but it's not as though she said or did anything in particular in the meeting. It was just nice to have her there.

[Anonymous]

I am 13:53 and it sounds like you've talked to Suzie. Yes, she is our consultant and I am very glad we are working with her. You might not need her every year but for our first IEP I'm very glad we have her. She has made some suggestions re our combo of daycare and PEP that have been really useful that I didn't expect to get out of the process. And remember that what you don't use from the retainer goes back to you. I think taht when you walk into the meeting with her Moco knows you mean business, are familiar with the options and suspects that you will hire a lawyer if necessary. It also means that in dealing with teachers at the mtg you can let her be the bad guy so that you can maintain cordiality with people you have to see later.

[Anonymous]

I think you got a bum deal as far as teachers go. My son was in Ms Mangan's PEP INC class at Ashburton and we LOVED her. She was the one to first broach that her class wasn't a good fit for my son and she found the program he's currently in, where he's thriving.

Whether or not you want to use a consultant I can't say, but I absolutely think you need to call for an IEP meeting.