Elementary IEP to Middle School IEP Transition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

NP. We do 'back to school' meetings with the whole team for my now HS kid too. Typically they are before or just after school, so they don't interfere with classroom time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP what are your childs issues? Would help to answer just went through myself this with my kiddo with autism and adhd.

Dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD

A reading elective was offered but not much in the way of specifics were given. I don't know how well this would serve to help and if it's worth losing an elective.

Thank you for all the responses thus far and please continue to share your experiences.

My DC has all three of those diagnoses also. All are in the severe range. With reading he has trouble with decoding, RAN and phoneme awareness. His assets were in comprehension, background knowledge and vocabulary (but not spelling) In FCPS in 7th grade he took a special ed reading class called Language! And in 8th grade he took RESULTS. In elementary school and privately he did Wilson and made it to the end of the second level by the end of 6th grade.

Both of these programs were helpful and allowed him to make more progress with reading. He also used Learning Ally and BookShare as well as Virginia AIM to get his textbooks electronically through the school (although he has an individual membership in Learning Ally and Bookshare). He received teacher/class notes so that he could pay attention in class. He has a reader and scribe for all assessments. He also had a laptop with word prediction software- currently he uses that component in Word and prefers that. He received Kurzweil on his laptop. Kurzweil is very helpful for scanning in worksheets to be able to type in answers. It was essential for biology cell pictures that need to be labeled. It also has text to speech capabilities for handouts and PDFs. He also received more time on assessments- since he also had a scribe/reader -he would go to the special ed office and someone would read/scribe for him. He also got reader/scribe and 50% extra time for all College Board tests including SATs and APs.

He is currently a senior in HS and is off to college in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP what are your childs issues? Would help to answer just went through myself this with my kiddo with autism and adhd.

Dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD

A reading elective was offered but not much in the way of specifics were given. I don't know how well this would serve to help and if it's worth losing an elective.

Thank you for all the responses thus far and please continue to share your experiences.

My DC has all three of those diagnoses also. All are in the severe range. With reading he has trouble with decoding, RAN and phoneme awareness. His assets were in comprehension, background knowledge and vocabulary (but not spelling) In FCPS in 7th grade he took a special ed reading class called Language! And in 8th grade he took RESULTS. In elementary school and privately he did Wilson and made it to the end of the second level by the end of 6th grade.

Both of these programs were helpful and allowed him to make more progress with reading. He also used Learning Ally and BookShare as well as Virginia AIM to get his textbooks electronically through the school (although he has an individual membership in Learning Ally and Bookshare). He received teacher/class notes so that he could pay attention in class. He has a reader and scribe for all assessments. He also had a laptop with word prediction software- currently he uses that component in Word and prefers that. He received Kurzweil on his laptop. Kurzweil is very helpful for scanning in worksheets to be able to type in answers. It was essential for biology cell pictures that need to be labeled. It also has text to speech capabilities for handouts and PDFs. He also received more time on assessments- since he also had a scribe/reader -he would go to the special ed office and someone would read/scribe for him. He also got reader/scribe and 50% extra time for all College Board tests including SATs and APs.

He is currently a senior in HS and is off to college in the fall.

Wow. Is this in a regular classroom or special ed class? Could this ever happen in MCP? I have never heard of those things- learning ally and bookShare. My son has similar issues but not the dyslexia part. Fairly severe dysgraphia.

Separate question- does dysgraphia qualify under the learning disabled category for GT.LD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP what are your childs issues? Would help to answer just went through myself this with my kiddo with autism and adhd.

Dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD

A reading elective was offered but not much in the way of specifics were given. I don't know how well this would serve to help and if it's worth losing an elective.

Thank you for all the responses thus far and please continue to share your experiences.

My DC has all three of those diagnoses also. All are in the severe range. With reading he has trouble with decoding, RAN and phoneme awareness. His assets were in comprehension, background knowledge and vocabulary (but not spelling) In FCPS in 7th grade he took a special ed reading class called Language! And in 8th grade he took RESULTS. In elementary school and privately he did Wilson and made it to the end of the second level by the end of 6th grade.

Both of these programs were helpful and allowed him to make more progress with reading. He also used Learning Ally and BookShare as well as Virginia AIM to get his textbooks electronically through the school (although he has an individual membership in Learning Ally and Bookshare). He received teacher/class notes so that he could pay attention in class. He has a reader and scribe for all assessments. He also had a laptop with word prediction software- currently he uses that component in Word and prefers that. He received Kurzweil on his laptop. Kurzweil is very helpful for scanning in worksheets to be able to type in answers. It was essential for biology cell pictures that need to be labeled. It also has text to speech capabilities for handouts and PDFs. He also received more time on assessments- since he also had a scribe/reader -he would go to the special ed office and someone would read/scribe for him. He also got reader/scribe and 50% extra time for all College Board tests including SATs and APs.

He is currently a senior in HS and is off to college in the fall.

Wow. Is this in a regular classroom or special ed class? Could this ever happen in MCP? I have never heard of those things- learning ally and bookShare. My son has similar issues but not the dyslexia part. Fairly severe dysgraphia.

Separate question- does dysgraphia qualify under the learning disabled category for GT.LD?

The reading classes were part of a special ed classroom. DC has always been in a team taught English class, but all of his other classes in MS and HS have been regular mainline classes- Honors or AP for his core classes outside of English. Learning Ally and Bookshare provide audio books and you have to have a reading issue to qualify. Learning Ally used to be called Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic. They can provide audio books outside of the copyright because it is a targeted population.

For dysgraphia, keyboarding is key (again Word has a great word prediction component) and Kurzweil should be very helpful. Also, graphic organizers are helpful and they are free on the internet- just google and your DC and figure out which ones or for him- there are very simple ones and very complex ones too. Between 7th and 8th grade, DC was trained in Dragon Naturally Speaking, but it never worked well for him and he dropped it after trying for a realistic amount of time. Your DC may have better luck with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

You have an odd definition of 'respectful'. I question your experience if you think waiting a few weeks for a critical meeting is a good idea and that the MS representative can communicate as effectively to teachers about a student as the parent and the student himself can. It will also have been at least 3 months since the MS rep attended the IEP meeting. Her memory wouldn't exactly be 'fresh'. We try to schedule our meetings the week before school starts but I understand if it has to happen the first week.

Good to see that you are so "understanding."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

You have an odd definition of 'respectful'. I question your experience if you think waiting a few weeks for a critical meeting is a good idea and that the MS representative can communicate as effectively to teachers about a student as the parent and the student himself can. It will also have been at least 3 months since the MS rep attended the IEP meeting. Her memory wouldn't exactly be 'fresh'. We try to schedule our meetings the week before school starts but I understand if it has to happen the first week.

Good to see that you are so "understanding."

I am what FCPS has created me to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

The only people who seem to have a problem with this are a few people on this thread. Not once has any of my son's schools complained, said no or suggested another time.

I've also been available before school starts but the teachers prefer to have met my son and seen him in class for a few days before we meet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

Absolutely nothing in our experience with special ed and IEPs suggests that the bolded is likely to be true. If it's true in your school, then good for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

Absolutely nothing in our experience with special ed and IEPs suggests that the bolded is likely to be true. If it's true in your school, then good for you.

Good for my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

The only people who seem to have a problem with this are a few people on this thread. Not once has any of my son's schools complained, said no or suggested another time.

I've also been available before school starts but the teachers prefer to have met my son and seen him in class for a few days before we meet.

I would think they also prefer to use the few days they are given prior to the start of the school year planning for their students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

The only people who seem to have a problem with this are a few people on this thread. Not once has any of my son's schools complained, said no or suggested another time.

I've also been available before school starts but the teachers prefer to have met my son and seen him in class for a few days before we meet.

I would think they also prefer to use the few days they are given prior to the start of the school year planning for their students.

And planning for their students with disabilities is a big PART of that responsibility. The PP's request isn't in conflict.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

The only people who seem to have a problem with this are a few people on this thread. Not once has any of my son's schools complained, said no or suggested another time.

I've also been available before school starts but the teachers prefer to have met my son and seen him in class for a few days before we meet.

I would think they also prefer to use the few days they are given prior to the start of the school year planning for their students.

And planning for their students with disabilities is a big PART of that responsibility. The PP's request isn't in conflict.

I'll join the dissenters. If a special educator has 20 students on her caseload, she should spend her first few days reviewing IEPS, creating IEP at a glance documents, communicating with teachers, prepping the classroom, and planning lessons for her students - not meeting with 20 parents. Those meetings can be done once the school year gets rolling. Of course, some students have critical safety issues that must be addressed prior to the start of school.

[Anonymous]

I'll join the dissenters. If a special educator has 20 students on her caseload, she should spend her first few days reviewing IEPS, creating IEP at a glance documents, communicating with teachers, prepping the classroom, and planning lessons for her students - not meeting with 20 parents. Those meetings can be done once the school year gets rolling. Of course, some students have critical safety issues that must be addressed prior to the start of school.

The problem with talking in extremes is that people dismiss you outright. It is so unlikely that parents of every child in her caseload going to request a meeting before school starts (or even the first few weeks of school) that it may as well never occur.

The school team is welcome to propose another day/time if they can't meet when I suggest. They don't need to even provide a reason. In 9 years I've been doing this with kids, no one has ever suggested a meeting day/time that wasn't the week prior or the first week of school. It seems the school recognize these types of meetings are critical and, therefore, a priority.

If a special educator doesn't have sufficient time to plan, prepare and meet with me, she should speak to her administrator. No different than when I have a significant workload and need my supervisors assistance in identifying the priorities.