Did eval with DCPS - reports for eligibility meeting all read like he is fine - now what?

[Anonymous]

We have an eligibility meeting coming up. When I read the reports, it was clear that they didn't understand or see my child's issues at all.

Any tips for what to do at eligibility meeting that is clearly intended to not offer any services to my child?

His OT, PT, and my friends who are elementary school teachers say he clearly needs services and absolutely will be referred for SPED services my his teacher when he starts PK3 next year.

So what can parents do when the evaluators just don't see it? Especially what can we do at the eligibility meeting?

[Anonymous]

Do the private eval if you can afford it. I am so glad we did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the private eval if you can afford it. I am so glad we did.

When you say private eval, which eval is this? Where can I get it and what is it called?

Humor me and tell me why you're glad you got the private eval? What did it do for you? (I'm new to all of this.... Thank you.)

[Anonymous]

If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE. The district will pay (up to a certain amount) for a provider of your choice (as long as the provider has the required credentials).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE. The district will pay (up to a certain amount) for a provider of your choice (as long as the provider has the required credentials).

[Anonymous]

This sounds so familiar. I have an eligibility meeting coming up also and don't agree with the current findings. It's like they totally missed what my kid's issues are, which is surprising given that they spent all of two hours with her.

Do you have any advice on how to handle this situation at the eligibility meeting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE. The district will pay (up to a certain amount) for a provider of your choice (as long as the provider has the required credentials).

Please don't describe this as if all OP has to do is fill out a Google Form or something. She can ask for an IEE. DCPS can then defend why theirs is appropriate and refuse to pay. And "appropriate" is not defined as "got the results the parent wanted." It means it was done by qualified evaluators in the areas of suspected disability. They're not that easy to get.

OP it sounds like your son is not even 3 yet. At that age, there can still be a wide range of average, and absent a diagnosis like autism or something, the "developmental delay" code to qualify for an IEP requires a 25% delay or atypical development in some area. It is very possible and common to have a delay that's there, but not at the 25% threshold to qualify. OT and PT also cannot be standalone services; they are related services only under IDEA, meaning you have to qualify in something else first. So your private OT and PT's opinions unfortunately have no relevance here.

[Anonymous]

There are limits to what areas DCPS evaluates, so the evaluations often miss areas of need for children. Requesting an independent evaluation (IEE) will usually provide a more detailed view of your child partly due to the clinician not being limited on areas of testing. Keep in mind that the IEE is not automatically accepted by the school system, rather the school system needs to agree to use that evaluation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE. The district will pay (up to a certain amount) for a provider of your choice (as long as the provider has the required credentials).

Please don't describe this as if all OP has to do is fill out a Google Form or something. She can ask for an IEE. DCPS can then defend why theirs is appropriate and refuse to pay. And "appropriate" is not defined as "got the results the parent wanted." It means it was done by qualified evaluators in the areas of suspected disability. They're not that easy to get.

OP it sounds like your son is not even 3 yet. At that age, there can still be a wide range of average, and absent a diagnosis like autism or something, the "developmental delay" code to qualify for an IEP requires a 25% delay or atypical development in some area. It is very possible and common to have a delay that's there, but not at the 25% threshold to qualify. OT and PT also cannot be standalone services; they are related services only under IDEA, meaning you have to qualify in something else first. So your private OT and PT's opinions unfortunately have no relevance here.

Thank you for this. When you say: OT and PT "are related services only under IDEA" and there is a need to "qualify in something else first," can you provide an example of what you mean? You lost me with that last part.

[Anonymous]

You cannot get an IEP for just OT and/or PT. You need to also qualify for special education for another reason—speech, learning…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You cannot get an IEP for just OT and/or PT. You need to also qualify for special education for another reason—speech, learning…

There are specific categories you qualify for when you have an eligibility meeting.

Here is a link to the DCPS Special Education Process: https://dcpsspecialed.wixsite.com/home/at-a-glance

This site is also good as it tells you what you "qualify" for: https://specialeducation.dc.gov/page/eligibility-implementation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE. The district will pay (up to a certain amount) for a provider of your choice (as long as the provider has the required credentials).

Please don't describe this as if all OP has to do is fill out a Google Form or something. She can ask for an IEE. DCPS can then defend why theirs is appropriate and refuse to pay. And "appropriate" is not defined as "got the results the parent wanted." It means it was done by qualified evaluators in the areas of suspected disability. They're not that easy to get.

OP it sounds like your son is not even 3 yet. At that age, there can still be a wide range of average, and absent a diagnosis like autism or something, the "developmental delay" code to qualify for an IEP requires a 25% delay or atypical development in some area. It is very possible and common to have a delay that's there, but not at the 25% threshold to qualify. OT and PT also cannot be standalone services; they are related services only under IDEA, meaning you have to qualify in something else first. So your private OT and PT's opinions unfortunately have no relevance here.

Thank you for this. When you say: OT and PT "are related services only under IDEA" and there is a need to "qualify in something else first," can you provide an example of what you mean? You lost me with that last part.

DP, but in MCPS, you can't receive PT services or OT services as stand-alone services. You have to first receive an IEP for whatever disability, then OT/PT can be added if appropriate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have an eligibility meeting coming up. When I read the reports, it was clear that they didn't understand or see my child's issues at all.

Any tips for what to do at eligibility meeting that is clearly intended to not offer any services to my child?

His OT, PT, and my friends who are elementary school teachers say he clearly needs services and absolutely will be referred for SPED services my his teacher when he starts PK3 next year.

So what can parents do when the evaluators just don't see it? Especially what can we do at the eligibility meeting?

Get an advocate ASAP, and in parallel get the PT and OT write down their eval, focusing on how any defficits may impact him accessing the curriculum. I second the recommendation of getting a private evaluation.

[Anonymous]

OP, what "reports" did you actually get? IME, with MCPS, at that early age, the "evaluation" consisted of really inappropriate "assessments" that were not normed, not standardized, did not contain the full range of assessments necessary to consider all diagnoses. For example, at my DS' first IEP meeting, the SLP presented a "natural language sample" and "classroom observation" and attempted to pass off those as a full evaluation. It was not, I challenged it at the meeting, and the team had to schedule correct assessments. They were freaking out and trying to get me to waive timeline because their failure to properly evaluate as required by law made them "out of compliance".

If they have done a proper evaluation on all measures with standardized norms, are they trying to pass off "composite" scores as normal even when their are deep discrepancies in subscores? OR, are they trying to pass off "low average" scores as nothing to be concerned about because it's "average" and that the real problem is that you are an over-concerned snowflake parent who can't handle that her child isn't "above average"?

Also, you mention that OT, PT and friends who are teachers have said he will be referred for SPED at preK 3. Did you submit letters, in writing, from each of these people detailing their observations and concerns? If not, an important part of the record is missing. Can you get any of them to attend the IEP eligibility determination meeting with you? You are entitled by law to invite whomever you wish as long as they have knowledge of the child. So, invite several people that will reflect what you are saying.

If you can post what tests have been given and what you think the issues are, people can make suggestions about specific tests to ask for.

Also, if it comes down to a disagreement at the meeting table, I have found it useful to ask to go around the table individually and have each team member clearly state their position and reasoning, i.e. everyone has to say clearly the student is either eligible or ineligible and why. Then at the end, you state your own position (eligible, and here is the reasoning - 1) disorder, 2) adverse educational impact, and 3) need for special education) and close by saying that you do not agree with the meeting outcome, and you will be pursuing your "due process options". If you sign any paperwork at the end of the meeting, make sure, in writing, that your signature indicates attendance only and that you do not agree with meeting outcome.

Often these teams say "no" and know that most parents aren't aware of their rights and/or don't have resources to pursue them. I myself, as well as other parents I have advised, have found that indicating you will pursue due process forces the team to consult someone internally that tells them "yes, the parent is right, you f'd up, go back and fix it".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you disagree with the school's evaluation, you can ask for an IEE. The district will pay (up to a certain amount) for a provider of your choice (as long as the provider has the required credentials).

Please don't describe this as if all OP has to do is fill out a Google Form or something. She can ask for an IEE. DCPS can then defend why theirs is appropriate and refuse to pay. And "appropriate" is not defined as "got the results the parent wanted." It means it was done by qualified evaluators in the areas of suspected disability. They're not that easy to get.

OP it sounds like your son is not even 3 yet. At that age, there can still be a wide range of average, and absent a diagnosis like autism or something, the "developmental delay" code to qualify for an IEP requires a 25% delay or atypical development in some area. It is very possible and common to have a delay that's there, but not at the 25% threshold to qualify. OT and PT also cannot be standalone services; they are related services only under IDEA, meaning you have to qualify in something else first. So your private OT and PT's opinions unfortunately have no relevance here.

Thank you for this. When you say: OT and PT "are related services only under IDEA" and there is a need to "qualify in something else first," can you provide an example of what you mean? You lost me with that last part.

DP. To make this more clear -- you have to show three things to get an IEP -- "1) disorder 2) adverse impact on education and 3) need for special instruction"

What is the diagnosis you have for getting OT and PT? That should be shared in writing and usually would be enough to prove prong 1.
Have you described in writing, via his OT, PT and teacher friends, what has been observed in terms of how his disorder impacts DC's ability to learn or participate in the educational environment? Are his gross motor skills so far behind that he cannot hold scissors or a pencil (or whatever is appropriate for a 3 year old?)

Need for special instruction -- this doesn't have to be "academic" special instruction. At age 3, very little academic is being taught, I think. But, for example, if your DC couldn't participate in a group (sit on the floor, listen to a story, understand age appropriate group social dynamics), then you might argue for "special instruction". TBH, it is difficult for me to understand without knowing the diagnosis and things you are working on in OT and PT, what is going to qualify for "special instruction". Maybe your elementary teacher friends could help you out here, by sitting with you and brainstorming about what "instruction" is frequently given to the kids they have seen referred for Sped at PK3.