Who do I need? What do I do? What would YOU do?

[Anonymous]

Anecdotally, I have heard that Murch has quite a few "dedicated aides" for children included in the general education setting. Of course, the reason a child may have an aide is not public so don't know if it is for HFA or other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hire an educational advocate.

We have had great luck with Dr Laura Solomon. She knows DC well

I looked up Dr. Solomon, it looks like she does evaluations - is that right? I think I actually already have the neurological/ST/OT evaluations that describe DS's diagnosis, issues, strengths, weaknesses, etc. What I need (or what I think I need - feel free to point out how I may be wrong) is someone to do a school observation and then come to the IEP meeting and say "Based on what I've seen, the IEP is insufficient to meet this child's needs in the following areas..." "I advise the following additional services or accommodations..."

Does she do that or do I need to find someone else?

That is EXACTLY what she is doing with my DC.

We already had all of the tests, though she did want to do an observation of DC, and an additional test or two to follow up on something that she noted in the observation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hire an educational advocate.

We have had great luck with Dr Laura Solomon. She knows DC well

I looked up Dr. Solomon, it looks like she does evaluations - is that right? I think I actually already have the neurological/ST/OT evaluations that describe DS's diagnosis, issues, strengths, weaknesses, etc. What I need (or what I think I need - feel free to point out how I may be wrong) is someone to do a school observation and then come to the IEP meeting and say "Based on what I've seen, the IEP is insufficient to meet this child's needs in the following areas..." "I advise the following additional services or accommodations..."

Does she do that or do I need to find someone else?

That is EXACTLY what she is doing with my DC.

We already had all of the tests, though she did want to do an observation of DC, and an additional test or two to follow up on something that she noted in the observation.

Can you post contact information, please?

[Anonymous]

I work in special ed and though I a not with DCPS, I would caution you about bringing an advocate to meetings. I think it automatically DOES set up a adversarial relationship with the school because it implies that you assume the school will not meet your demands and will make the school take on a defensive posture - I'm not saying this is justified, it is just the truth. Parents SHOULD be informed of their rights under the law, however, I just think it would be better to consult with an advocate before and after meetings and not during.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in special ed and though I a not with DCPS, I would caution you about bringing an advocate to meetings. I think it automatically DOES set up a adversarial relationship with the school because it implies that you assume the school will not meet your demands and will make the school take on a defensive posture - I'm not saying this is justified, it is just the truth. Parents SHOULD be informed of their rights under the law, however, I just think it would be better to consult with an advocate before and after meetings and not during.

21:38 here. I can understand why school staff might be defensive about parents bringing an outsider to the meetings. But, there's a big difference between being informed of your rights under the law and getting an IEP - and an even bigger difference between your rights under the law and actually crafting a good IEP. As a special educator, I'm sure you know there are kids who would benefit from special services but are determined not eligible for special services because of resources, race, etc. There are also a lot of crappy IEPs. Parents can't be expected to have the same knowledge level of educators and having an outside consultant/advocate to ensure they get the most appropriate and valid IEPs should be seen as a positive for both side. I know would and should are two different things but if a relationship between parents and school is going to sour, it will do so with or without a consultant/advocate. In our case, a consultant has helped us maintain a positive relationship while getting a quality IEP for DS. Too much happens during a meeting for the consultant/advocate to be excluded.

[Anonymous]

I know of some kids at Murch with aides and they are more low functioning and very disruptive. I imagine that there is a tipping point where the salary is justified by the enhanced learning environment for the WHOLE class. That's the angle I would take. Think a consultant is a great idea, doesn't Suzie Blatner from ITS also do DC? She has different price points depending on exactly what services you need. The IEP is so important. It is adversarial, you want services, they want to save $, best to put yourself in the most advantageous possible position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know of some kids at Murch with aides and they are more low functioning and very disruptive. I imagine that there is a tipping point where the salary is justified by the enhanced learning environment for the WHOLE class. That's the angle I would take. Think a consultant is a great idea, doesn't Suzie Blatner from ITS also do DC? She has different price points depending on exactly what services you need. The IEP is so important. It is adversarial, you want services, they want to save $, best to put yourself in the most advantageous possible position.

I also know of some kids at Murch with aides. What strikes me is that these children are very different from one another in terms of level of functioning and behavior so I imagine that there are a variety of reasons why these children need aides. Officially though, it is very unlikely that any of these reasons is to enhance the learning environment for the WHOLE class, so I would be wary of suggesting this in a meeting. The reason should be about the child.
OP, have a consultant take a look and see what they think. This is a great idea because the consultant is not emotionally invested, as a parent would be, nor are they bound by the school system's budget or politics in what they might recommend (the school does not have to follow their recs, but often will). Good Luck. Things don't have to be adversarial when you bring a consultant to the table. If everyone is friendly and respectful of one another, it should be fine. Remind everyone that they are there for the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in special ed and though I a not with DCPS, I would caution you about bringing an advocate to meetings. I think it automatically DOES set up a adversarial relationship with the school because it implies that you assume the school will not meet your demands and will make the school take on a defensive posture - I'm not saying this is justified, it is just the truth. Parents SHOULD be informed of their rights under the law, however, I just think it would be better to consult with an advocate before and after meetings and not during.

OP here. I appreciate what you're saying and I definitely want to keep a cordial and productive relationship with the school. Here's the thing: we already have an IEP in place and the lead teacher herself will admit it's insufficient to accommodate DC's needs.

I'm not saying it's an easy situation, but the bottom line is that DC is both reading and doing math ABOVE grade level. And that's without accommodations. Clearly DC has the cognitive abilities to belong in this class. At issue is the accommodations necessary to help DC access the rest of the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Would the PPs who suggested counselor/advocates please post contact information? Phone number or website?

Please?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. Would the PPs who suggested counselor/advocates please post contact information? Phone number or website?

Please?

Laura Solomon; [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Dr. Solomon does pretty much all the work. I work for DCPS and have seen Dr. Solomon wipe out the drafted IEPs that DCPS prepared and rewrite the IEPs to fit the children. She is an amazing consultant and an outstanding advocate. Is she abrasive? Yes. Does she care about her clients? Absolutely. I would trust her with my own child. You can contact her at [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in special ed and though I a not with DCPS, I would caution you about bringing an advocate to meetings. I think it automatically DOES set up a adversarial relationship with the school because it implies that you assume the school will not meet your demands and will make the school take on a defensive posture - I'm not saying this is justified, it is just the truth. Parents SHOULD be informed of their rights under the law, however, I just think it would be better to consult with an advocate before and after meetings and not during.

I would say exactly the opposite. I'm a psychologist who does a lot of evaluation and consulting. I can't tell you how many parents have told me that the schools entirely ignored their input until they hired an advocate to come to the meetings. It doesn't have to be adversarial - a good advocate will be entirely polite and collegial until given a reason to argue - and at that point you want someone in your corner who speaks the same language as the school.

[Anonymous]

There are definitely kids at Janney who are high functioning and have dedicated aides.