IEP and services at the high school level

[Anonymous]

I started in fourth grade trying to tell teachers and school administrators that my daughter was having trouble learning. She seemed to read well, but math was a disaster and she had a hard time remembering almost all factual material. Did the IEP meeting and was told she had no problems, she just needs to work harder. So we got a math tutor and limped on through elementary and middle school. At the beginning of high school last year, I again asked for help. All I got was an IEP meeting, where they practically laughed me out of the room, despite her failing test grades (but good project and homework scores).

So I finally did the neuropsych tests this summer, and she has disabilities all over the map: expressive and receptive language, reading comprehension, executive functioning and more. So I'll be going back to the school in the fall with an advocate and the test results in hopes of getting many acommodations finally in place. But beyond extra time for tests, sitting in the front of the room, having assignments written down, etc., do public high schools (MCPS) have educators that work with students to provide extra help? What are the criteria for getting speech therapy at school? (We're starting private SPL this summer. Until testing, I had no clue this was an area that she need help in; no school ever identified the difficulty she has in language.)

I had such a terrible experience with her high school last year, I don't even want to broach these questions with them until I better understand what services she should be entitled to. She will be starting 10th grade. I feel so behind the curve here and angry (and guilty) that this stuff wasn't addressed years ago instead of being brushed under the rug. Thanks for any insight from those who have been there and done this before me.

[Anonymous]

First DO NOT WAIT until school starts call the school now and get a new meeting ASAP. you must go in guns balkzing to this one with a strong advoate they have ignored her needs for far to long

you need to look at your districts special ed plan it will list all the services they provide. Here in NY they have resource room services where there are small groups of students (no more than 5 ) that work with a special ed teacher.

I am not so sure I would wate her time during the school day on speech- if she needs it get it private every minute of her school day needs to be related to learning.

good luck


pat


special education advocacy- north bellmore ny (Facebook page)

[Anonymous]

See if you can get her a computer in the classroom. You will have to provide the computer, of course- but many many kids can be better organized with a computer, do better emailing their teachers the assignments, can type faster than they can write, etc.

Good luck and hugs.

[Anonymous]

We were in exactly your place last summer but the year before DD's 9th grade. We switched from the big public HS to a Catholic HS that has a dedicated class/program for those with "demonstrated learning disabilities" (so it's not just a study hall but for kids with IEP/504s). So the school overall is smaller, classes are smaller and DD has a daily class with a teacher who makes it her job to followup with DD and keep her on track. The difference has been like night and day.

[Anonymous]

We've been there too. The above suggestion are good. Best to you- lot's of people in your boat. Shame on the school system for wasting so much of your daughter's time. Without services, she must have been so frustrated.

[Anonymous]

12:50..what school is that??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See if you can get her a computer in the classroom. You will have to provide the computer, of course- but many many kids can be better organized with a computer, do better emailing their teachers the assignments, can type faster than they can write, etc.

Good luck and hugs.

Shouldn't be the case, if there's documentation of a need for assistive technology and/or occupational therapy. Schools have to provide the computer, although it may not be the newest . . .

[Anonymous]

At our high school, we have something called local screening/child study. This is basically the first step in the iep process. Bring your documentation from testing. The school will probably implement the suggested accommodations without an iep as long as they are not too intrusive. Continue having these meetings to see if there is improvement. If not, then you have the documentation needed to request formal testing. It is a process, but it sounds like you are in the right direction. Call the school ASAP to schedule the meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:50..what school is that??

Bishop O'Connell's Muller Center for kids with "documented special education needs."

[Anonymous]

OP here. Glad to see I got some responses. My DD has a friend at the Catholic Good Counsel in a program for kids with learning disabilities (after being frustrated by public schools). We're not Catholic and we don't have anywhere the money to go to a private school for kids with LD.

I did just call my DD's high school to try to start getting an IEP meeting set up. Was told that had to go through her counselor, who won't be back until next Monday. So I sent an email in hopes she would see it earlier. I may also try emailing the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Glad to see I got some responses. My DD has a friend at the Catholic Good Counsel in a program for kids with learning disabilities (after being frustrated by public schools). We're not Catholic and we don't have anywhere the money to go to a private school for kids with LD.

I did just call my DD's high school to try to start getting an IEP meeting set up. Was told that had to go through her counselor, who won't be back until next Monday. So I sent an email in hopes she would see it earlier. I may also try emailing the principal.

Don't call, write. There are legal timelines that the school must meet and the clock starts ticking when you write a letter telling the school that you have had your child tested and that you believe that she has 1) and educational disability that 2) has an adverse impact on her education and 3) necessitates specialized instruction. You do not need to put the numbers in as I have, but you do need to hit these three elements in your letter. You should also enclose the testing if you are planning on using it to show that your child has an educational disability that requires special help. Tell them that you are requesting an IEP screening meeting. This is the first of 2 legally required meetings to get an IEP. At the screening meeting, the IEP team (which includes you and anyone else you would like to invite) meets to determine if there is a "suspicion" of educational disability. Then, if the IEP team determines that there is a suspicion of disability, they decide if any further testing is warranted. If so, the IEP team must provide this testing free of charge and will ask you to sign a consent form to have MCPS people do the testing. MCPS has 60 days from the date that you sign the consent to assess form or 90 days from the date of your request for an IEP meeting (whichever is shorter) to hold the IEP evaluation meeting. It is at this meeting that the IEP team (including you and your invitees) will make a final determination as to whether your child needs an IEP. Then they have another 30 days to finalize the written IEP.

You can write anyone at school, but I always write the principal. They or their designee are members of the IEP team, and ultimately they are responsible for supervising the special ed coordinator.

You said you got private testing. What did the testers say about "treatment", "therapy" or "accommodations" that your child should have? If your tester did the testing but didn't provide an recommendations, you should call the tester back and ask them to develop recommendations based on the deficits they found in the testing. This is a normal part of every report. These recommendations are what you should be asking the school to carry out.

The school does not have to use the exact program that your tester recommends, but they must address the deficit. For example, for a child who has difficulty reading because of weak understanding of sound/letter correspondence, the tester might recommend Phonographix reading instruction. MCPS provids Wilson reading program which has similar goals (explicit phonics/letter testing), but is not the same exact program.

Money might be tight, but consider hiring an advocate or attorney to help you at your meeting. If not, plan on reading up on the law and process. There are many good books. Our experience at MCPS is that they will tell you everything is fine until you show them that it is not and that you meet every criteria in the law. My expectation with the system was that I would go into the meeting and tell them that there was a problem and that they would look at the data and the testing and figure out what was wrong and how to address it. I could not have been more wrong. I had to go in and show them why they were legally required to do everything that I wanted them to. Only then would they agree to do anything.

[Anonymous]

School will be starting soon and possibly well before you get an IEP meeting set up and the pieces in place that need to be. I would suggest as mentioned going back to the evaluator who did the testing on your daughter so that you have in black and white what the deficits are in each area that the person found and a list of clear recommendations on what your daughter needs moving forward.

- For me a key score would be to her reading level and her comprehension level or percentage of what she reads. Remember that all course material is presented on a 10th grade reading level so if she is a good two years behind in reading level, she may have real trouble in keeping up in her classes.

- Could/should her academic program placement be altered at all in terms of levels of difficulty based on what you now know? Could she take one less elective and possibly gain a study skills course and make up the class in a summer school program?

- What was suggested in terms of strategies to help her remember what she reads - outlining, note taking?? Can you help her get started on these approaches from the beginning. Would it help her out if you "purchased" her textbooks so she could outline or highlight them as needed to help her cover the material?

- If she is more of an auditory learner, then ask the school division to do what they need to get her eligible for books on tape from Learning Ally ? formerly RFB&D.

In the mean time it is important to be confident and upbeat that she can do this and to praise her areas of strength. I hope she has connected to at least one activity, sport or club in high school so she can really enjoy these years and not just have it academic pressures. I know of your frustrations, but you have to deal with things as they are now. A member of our Book Club, a reading specialist herself, spends every night with her now 10th grade daughter trying to help get her through high school. It is so frustrating and heart braking to see her daughter struggle and her social friends in other classes and a brother who was a top students. Still just take it day by day.

We did not have that option. Our two oldest aughters were in the Top 10 of their graduating class, while our youngest was at the very bottom. She has Down syndrome, but still she learned to read with great comprehension given her cognitive skills and could read just about all of this post and understand it, too. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Thanks previous two PPs. I emailed my IEP meeting request with some information from the report. I think I'll go ahead and email the full report as well and cc the principal on this one.

I will be taking an advocate from the Stixrud Group with me. I'm a single parent and have already paid a lot for the testing, but I know from my experience last year (which I felt like I was a lawyer, which I'm not, preparing for a legal case) that I'm not going to get anywhere on my own.
My daughter is very resistant to me working with her on her school work, and we've had many battles over this. I have bought some of her text books so we have them at home. I don't think her school even offers a study skills class. Her SPL is working with her on that to some extent over the summer. My DD has had such a hard time in school all these years and now just dreads going back. It's so sad.

[Anonymous]

In middle school and HS our fairfax county public schools provide all the kids with 2 sets of books. Your public school should at least be able to do that.
In the end my DD got the study skills class and extra time on tests. I let her decide for herself how much else she wanted but she hasn't asked for more. At 16 or so, I think they have to start preparing for college when accommodations may be nonexistent.

[Anonymous]

Here is an excellent web site that I have listed in resources for parents I have met over the years to help with the issue of "Treansition Planning" called http://www.youthhood.org/

- It is not just for teens with a disability.

- The first paragraph sets the tone"Hello! Hey, we're glad you made it. This site is a place for you, your friends, and other teens. It's a welcoming community for all youth and a place where all youth belong. We want you to be here. This is your place, your space.

Here you can start thinking about what you want to do with the rest of your life. This Web site was built to help you plan for the future. What will you do after high school? Will you work? Go to college? Live in a place of your own? By using this Web site, you can plan for your future right now!"

Is is just a fact that Transition Planning for and with a teen with a disability can be more complicated. Given the huge costs of even instate college, one might want to seriously get to know the local community college to consider if this might be the first step on the leg of higher education. Some aspects of community colleges today are:

- A student can take the required courses for an undergraduate degree that one is weak in without a full load if need be, and spread out over summer sessions, too.

- A student can live at home and save money while getting used to all the transitions which come with college life. And it is a fact for many of these teens that just learning the ropes of independent living with a home base might help them succeed rather than bombing out the first semester.

- A student can do both at a community college besides starting out more slowly, one can also complete an AA degree which besides enabling one to transfer to a four year college many times will give one real credentials for the work world.

- Very, very important is that in the community college there is not the pressure of so many years to complete a degree in or to take a full-time load that there is still in many four year colleges (which again are expensive.)

By junior year in high school, it is also time to have an honest conversation with your teen and his/her guidance counselor to see where the student stands in terms of higher education at this point in time. A 4-year college is not the be all and end all for all students, though it is still trumpeted as so. Take the time to research together and to get first-hand information as much as possible by a visit on each campus with the learning needs center.

I would also encourage a teen with a disability to get out in the summers and do some volunteer work or find a part-time job. For many it will give them some new skills and for many it may well help to build a positive confidence and record of success which as a struggling student, one so often does not feel.