IEP cancelled, but school team says child needs help?

[Anonymous]

My kindergarten grandson went to special resource preschool for the past two years because of speech and social delay. He is on target academically, but still hard to understand at times, has trouble with eye contact, fidgeting, attending to verbal instructions.
My daughter recently met with the IEP team which said he had tested out, which made her feel really good. Then they went on about thinking he needs private testing and special help, but since the IEP has been cancelled they aren't offering any support. She ended up in tears. She has called a psychiatrist but can't get seen until late November.
This sounds like a funding issue to me. We live in a VERY conservative area where there's a lot of pressure to lower special ed funding. The teacher is organized but seems cold and makes extremely heavy use of worksheets and is a big proponent of "talented and gifted" programs. The resource person at the school mocked my daughter for crying and questioned why she would be upset. "It could be a lot worse," was her comment.
WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kindergarten grandson went to special resource preschool for the past two years because of speech and social delay. He is on target academically, but still hard to understand at times, has trouble with eye contact, fidgeting, attending to verbal instructions.
My daughter recently met with the IEP team which said he had tested out, which made her feel really good. Then they went on about thinking he needs private testing and special help, but since the IEP has been cancelled they aren't offering any support. She ended up in tears. She has called a psychiatrist but can't get seen until late November.
This sounds like a funding issue to me. We live in a VERY conservative area where there's a lot of pressure to lower special ed funding. The teacher is organized but seems cold and makes extremely heavy use of worksheets and is a big proponent of "talented and gifted" programs. The resource person at the school mocked my daughter for crying and questioned why she would be upset. "It could be a lot worse," was her comment.
WWYD?

Where does she live? She needs to get an advocate to advise her through this process. We can try to provide referrals to organizations that help families in each state.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't make sense. I'd ask for a new iEP meeting. Our school is refusing services for us as well.

[Anonymous]

Don't take this lying down. Prepare for a fight.

[Anonymous]

OP,

Every area wants to wheedle out of SN services; unfortunately, your grandchild is not alone in this.

That he's doing well academically is probably why they ended services. Schools aren't required to provide every service. They are required to provide services so that a child has access to education, not success by any means.

Does your grandkid have a diagnosis? Your daughter should probably review the past testing they've done. Also, how old is the child?

Most psychiatrists don't take health insurance. If I were your daughter, I'd make an appointment with a psychologist for a neuropsychological evaluation. It basically will test for things like ADHD, anxiety, language based learning issues, etc. This may not be covered by health insurance either, but it will be less expensive than a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is most helpful for medication issues and/or ongoing psychological issues.

She can also request testing through the public school. Check out the Wrights Law website:
http://wrightslaw.com

She can also email them and if they have time they will respond.

[Anonymous]

Also, wherever you live, you can google "the arc" and the town or state, e.g.,:

https://www.arcdc.net

The Arc is an advocacy group for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

[Anonymous]

1 - your daughter needs to understand the process in the state / county she lives in.

2- there are nuances of word choices that are VERY important and she either needs to understand them herself OR get someone who can help her navigate the process in the school.

For example - she needs to say that she is concerned that the inability for teachers and classmates to understand what he is saying will impact your god son accessing the curriculum.

She should make a written request to the school for an OT and Speech evaluation. Once she makes a formal request to the school, the clock starts ticking and they have a certain # of days to respond / complete the assessment.

[Anonymous]

Oh - I'm so sorry to hear how upset your daughter and you must be! It's a tough spot for sure.

I believe that your daughter can say that she does not agree with the IEP team's decision and can ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation. Here is a link on Wrightslaw: http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.iee.steedman.htm

Do you have any private doctors or therapists that the child has been seeing? Do they have written reports that they can provide that demonstrate the child's continuing need? These need to be submitted to the school ASAP. If your child has a diagnosis from a doctor, please submit that documentation as well.

Make sure that all requests submitted to the school are in writing (email is fine).

Your daughter has to educate herself on her child's rights and how to work the system to her child's advantage. I hate phrasing it like that, but the cards are stacked against you. So you really have to know what you are doing when faced with the school pulling the rug out from under you.

This happens to families all over the country. When my child was first diagnosed with autism, I read the Wrights Law book from cover to cover: From Emotions to Advocacy. Many on this forum have read this as a starting point... and constant reference that I go back to!

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

You've gotten some good advice from the PPs. It boils down to your DD having to educate herself and getting an advocate. I'm sorry you all are going through this.

[Anonymous]

Your daughter got screwed. They tried to do this to me too. "Your 4 year old has made amazing progress, she's our superstar, we have no more goals for her!" It does feel good until you realize it's BULLSHIT. They want to cut these kids' IEPs to conserve resources and look like they "catch up" special needs kids, but it's all bullshit. I declined to have my child's IEP canceled and requested a reevaluation. That team still found her ineligible because they only looked at one category. I sent her to kindergarten without one, not by choice, only to have her reevaluated at that school mid-year and found eligible under another category.

Your daughter learned the hard way these people are not out for her or her son's best interests and are full of shit. Now she knows to dig her heels in, demand proof he is no longer eligible and is fully caught up, and to fight as hard as she can for that IEP in the event they ever try to take it away again once she gets it back. Which, by the way, will take about a year since he will have to undergo the whole process all over again.

[Anonymous]

We had the same thing happen and my DS missed two years of assistance as a result. Did they do testing to substantiate the cancellation? They need to do that. And if you don't agree, ask for another IEP. Start the process and they are required to respond. Ask for more testing.

Your daughter is getting conflicting information, but since he's doing well academically, they say he's okay. Your grandson is doing well because he got the support so they need to continue it not take it away! We went from being told when my DS was in kindergarten that he was doing great and no longer needed an IEP. Then a 504 in 1st grade (but a great teacher so he made it through okay). Then in 2nd grade - he really needed an IEP. 504 is worthless. Teachers don't do them. Pay the money and get and education advisor/consultant or lawyer. We had to do that and it was worth the money. 17 hours support which he desperately needed. He's doing well now - great 3rd grade and now into 4th.

[Anonymous]

Your daughter needs some type of documentation that they are urging her to get a private evaluation. If the school has any concerns that a disability exists that is having an academic impact, especially a disability that they have not yet identified, then they are legally obligated to do the evaluation or pay for the private evaluation. Even though the last IEP has been dismissed, after collecting the data regarding ongoing problems and school concerns, your daughter has a right to ask in writing for the principal at the school to "hold an IEP meeting to screen and evaluate for disabilities that may be impacting academic performance due to current areas of concern by teachers and staff at the school." If she received a specific recommendation for private testing, she should document who gave that recommendation and when in her letter.

The school at that point would be required to have an IEP screening meeting within 30 days of the principal receiving the letter. She should bring any documents (ie. past IEP notes, teacher emails, comments on assignments and/or report card or interim reports, private recommendations, etc.) that support an evaluation and suspected disability. Your daughter does not need to identify what she thinks the disability is. Just areas of difficulties the staff is identifying as issues and grounds for recommending the private evaluation. If the school is saying they don't have the resources for the evaluation then your daughter at that point should ask, "If my child needs an evaluation and you don't have the proper resources, then aren't you legally obligated to pay for the evaluation?" If the school refuses or if their evaluation is not comprehensive, your daughter has the right to ask in writing for a "independent evaluation at public expense."

[Anonymous]

Unless your daughter signed off on the IEP dismissal, it's still in force. You need to hire an educational advocate ASAP. They tried to do his to our 4yo in DCPS (who came with an IEP from a charter). The advocate pointed out the illegality of what they were doing and the ship got righted. Sorry you're going through this, but the advocate is worth every expensive penny.