DC Early Intervention Services

[Anonymous]

I have an 8 mo old child with special needs. I initially contacted DC EI regarding therapy but was not impressed with their evaluator or our coordinator. Further since DC merely contracts with 3rd parties for services we opted to continue with the private services we had already set up which incidentally were more frequent than DC recommended. My question is what else should I use the agency for? I don't want to not be in the system as I am told I will need them when she is school age and her needs will not be documented in the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8 mo old child with special needs. I initially contacted DC EI regarding therapy but was not impressed with their evaluator or our coordinator. Further since DC merely contracts with 3rd parties for services we opted to continue with the private services we had already set up which incidentally were more frequent than DC recommended. My question is what else should I use the agency for? I don't want to not be in the system as I am told I will need them when she is school age and her needs will not be documented in the system.

We agreed with you about DC EI. We paid for private therapy services for our ds. He is now 4. We were so turned off by EI we completely swore them off. DS's preschool recommended we try DC Early Stages, which is for toddlers to maybe 6I years old. They were phenomenal! So I, personally, would call them for an evaluation when your dc is 2 years and 9 months old (this is the age in which they start seeing kids). They will also help you with IEPs and stuff. We were extremely impressed with Early Stages! I really cannot say enough positive things about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an 8 mo old child with special needs. I initially contacted DC EI regarding therapy but was not impressed with their evaluator or our coordinator. Further since DC merely contracts with 3rd parties for services we opted to continue with the private services we had already set up which incidentally were more frequent than DC recommended. My question is what else should I use the agency for? I don't want to not be in the system as I am told I will need them when she is school age and her needs will not be documented in the system.

We agreed with you about DC EI. We paid for private therapy services for our ds. He is now 4. We were so turned off by EI we completely swore them off. DS's preschool recommended we try DC Early Stages, which is for toddlers to maybe 6I years old. They were phenomenal! So I, personally, would call them for an evaluation when your dc is 2 years and 9 months old (this is the age in which they start seeing kids). They will also help you with IEPs and stuff. We were extremely impressed with Early Stages! I really cannot say enough positive things about them.

Yes, I also agree on both counts. Just make sure your child is on the rolls of EI, and do the annual free evaluation they'll give you. The main benefit is that it will make it easy to get an IEP through Early Stages when your child turns 3. The school services you get through the IEP probably won't eliminate the need for private services, but it should allow you to cut back on them. My child now gets half his speech therapy at our local public school (where the speech therapist is fantastic) and half from a private speech therapist. Like

[Anonymous]

This is not OP but I have a similarly aged child and have the same impression of EI. Our case manager is responsive when I call but overall fairly unhelpful, not because of bad intentions but because I'm not sure what she can offer when we're already on top of things ourselves.

I am curious to hear about the process of Early Stages and particularly how PPs chose their schools. I live in a part of DC (Shaw) where The public schools stink so most parents I think try to get out of bounds lottery slots or go the charter route. My child has a disorder That could result in really severe delays (eg little or no speech) but we won't have a better picture until DC is a bit older. Given DCs needs, I wonder how we will get slotted to a DC public school - do we get choices because of DCs potential needs? I ask because we realize we may have to move to VA or MD if we can't get the services we need from DC public or charter schools, but we really don't want to move. Any description of that process from Early Stages into preschool would be great. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not OP but I have a similarly aged child and have the same impression of EI. Our case manager is responsive when I call but overall fairly unhelpful, not because of bad intentions but because I'm not sure what she can offer when we're already on top of things ourselves.

I am curious to hear about the process of Early Stages and particularly how PPs chose their schools. I live in a part of DC (Shaw) where The public schools stink so most parents I think try to get out of bounds lottery slots or go the charter route. My child has a disorder That could result in really severe delays (eg little or no speech) but we won't have a better picture until DC is a bit older. Given DCs needs, I wonder how we will get slotted to a DC public school - do we get choices because of DCs potential needs? I ask because we realize we may have to move to VA or MD if we can't get the services we need from DC public or charter schools, but we really don't want to move. Any description of that process from Early Stages into preschool would be great. Thanks!

20:20 PP here. We're in Ward 3, in-bounds for a good elementary school, so unfortunately I can't help much. I think, although I'm not positive, that being in Early Stages gets you a PS/PK spot in your in-bounds school even if there's a waitlist, but that it will not necessarily get you the option of choosing a better out-of-bounds school, unless the out-of-bounds school has a particular special needs program that your child needs. But I've heard there are some great charter schools that you can look into -- Bridges PCS has a fantastic special needs preschool program. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

20:20 again, I should clarify that I was thinking of inclusion situations when I wrote the above -- i.e., where the child is in a regular classroom and gets pulled out for services. I have no idea how it works for children whose needs require a special classroom, but since I don't think they have those at all schools, I assume the school choice process is different. Sorry not to be more helpful!w

[Anonymous]

I second 18:28.

We had a great experience with Early Stages, and with our IEP, we were able to get into the local school's three year old program although it was full. Early Stages will only send you out of bounds if your assigned school cannot offer the services your child needs. However, if you have an IEP, you can do the public and/or charter lotteries and take the IEpPwherever you get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not OP but I have a similarly aged child and have the same impression of EI. Our case manager is responsive when I call but overall fairly unhelpful, not because of bad intentions but because I'm not sure what she can offer when we're already on top of things ourselves.

I am curious to hear about the process of Early Stages and particularly how PPs chose their schools. I live in a part of DC (Shaw) where The public schools stink so most parents I think try to get out of bounds lottery slots or go the charter route. My child has a disorder That could result in really severe delays (eg little or no speech) but we won't have a better picture until DC is a bit older. Given DCs needs, I wonder how we will get slotted to a DC public school - do we get choices because of DCs potential needs? I ask because we realize we may have to move to VA or MD if we can't get the services we need from DC public or charter schools, but we really don't want to move. Any description of that process from Early Stages into preschool would be great. Thanks!

I am a PP from above. My 4 yo went through Early Stages but is at a private preschool. We are in bounds for Janney but I decided to keep him at his private preschool for PreK for two reasons, 1. I didn't understand the preK lottery. I am not from the area and didn't know they offer preK in public schools. 2. He is happy at his school and has friends. I just couldn't move him. He will likely go to Janney for Kindergarten. I did investigate E.L. Haynes charter school but ultimately feel Janney would be better for our family and our son. I love E.L Haynes though.

I was told that Early Stages was created to better address the needs of all the students in DC. DC also would like to reduce the number of children they are funding for private schools. I believe that if your local DCPS cannot provide adequate help, DC must pay for a school that can. Check into this, please. I would also expect Early Stages help you navigate the crazy system that DCPS has!

[Anonymous]

Thank you to you all who responded to my original post. I like the old mom currently live in Shaw. We want to stay in DC so our plan is probably to move to Ward 3 in time for preK. Glad to know Early Stages is good. So I just have to wait 2 more years.