School refusing to add ASD diagnoses and OT to IEP
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Anonymous
Op here. 60 days from when we requested the eval would be this month (we requested in august). They say they can’t do the eval until the end of March because of the back log. |
Anonymous
Oh. That's a problem. When was the meeting? I would get legal involved if at the meeting back in August they agreed to do testing and now just pushed it back. Do you have documentation? The prior written notice? |
Anonymous
Where do you live? They absolutely have the obligation to do it in a timely manner. In DC, they must start efforts to get your consent within 10 days and do the evaluation within 30 days of your written consent. |
Anonymous
Unless OPs state has state mandated guidelines there is no actual timeline for starting or completing an evaluation. The standard would be “reasonable time” which is so subjective. It might be reasonable to have the evaluation in March given the apparent huge backlog. Or it might violate state law. It’s hard to give OP useful information when she hasn’t provided the single biggest piece of relevant information, which is where she is located. |
Anonymous
| OT is very hard to get, the school would have to agree that there is an issue that impacts access to curriculum. Unless the issue is severe - they don't agree. Ask for an IEP meeting and ask to add ASD and discuss how to go forward. You absolutely can add social goals, that are age appropriate. I would also say this: getting an educational consultant/advocate for this purpose is totally worth the money. You don't have to bring them to every IEP meeting (although you can), but for something critical like this - I would absolutely do it. You don't know what you don't know and it can hurt you. I am not an advocate or affiliated with that industry, just a paying parent who benefitted from a professional advocate. |
Anonymous
| No real advice, but we just went through Child Find and they found no delays or need for services, even though we have a private evaluation that says ASD and requirement for OT and speech. We're also in pre-K and just hoping that a lot of private OT/ST this year will help him be ready for normal kindergarten next year, since we didn't qualify for any services. |
Anonymous
| Reminder that school-based services are to address school-based issues. A private rec for speech therapy or OT doesn't mean that these services are educationally necessary. |
Anonymous
+1 In our experience, schools don't get the ball rolling on these services until they have enough data to show that academics are impacted. |
Anonymous
+1 I see friends with kids with IEPs who seem like they are relying on the school system for services, and I don't think they realize the school system's role is limited and their kids probably need more services than what they are getting. |
Anonymous
| School-based therapies (speech, OT) are ideally a supplement to outside, medical services. They address the educational needs, which does not cover all needs. The fact that outside, medical services are recommended does not mean that they should be provided by the school. Did the eval that recommended speech and OT say specifically that they think these services are educationally necessary? They may have been recommending medical services. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Op here. Yes. The evals talk specifically about how his ASD and ADHD impede his ability to access a school curriculum. We do private OT and speech but it would help if they could also be provided by the school. He’s only in pre-k so we don’t really have academic data but even his teachers have reinforced that because he never stops moving, for example, he cannot participate in any of the classroom activities (circle time, crafts, etc.). He won’t sit in a chair. He has zero frustration tolerance so won’t engage if anything is the least bit challenging for him. He won’t follow directions. He perseverates on things and misses out on instruction time because of it, etc. |
Anonymous
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Veteran special education teacher here. You need to file a complaint with the state and also appeal for help to your school board member and the district special education director.
Absolutely share all evaluations you have. They can hire private people to do school evaluations or bring in retired staff, or someone from central office. This is not okay. I, too, am tired of hearing how teachers don’t care. It’s not an easy job, and if I wanted something that was much easier and paid more, I’d take it. Most of us are here for kids because we want to be. Most of us are also frustrated with policy and central office. The squeaky wheel gets the grease here. You could also reach out to the kindergarten school, if it’s different than the current one, and ask for advice. They want the child to be ready to function in kindergarten. |
Anonymous
| I think you need new eligibility, not just an IEP, although the two are related. |
Anonymous
Op here. Yes correct. The new eligibility would come from the new diagnoses, wouldn’t it? The last eval was done 2.5 years ago when he was barely 3….. We have an IEP for speech from his language delay but other issues have come up in the last year. |