What is the craziest thing you have been told at an IEP meeting?

[Anonymous]

My DD just graduated from MCPS, and the absolute best thing about it is no more IEP meetings!

I did not know my experiences were the norm and apparently we weren't even getting the worst of it. It took me from 4th to 9th grades just to convince them she needed an IEP for LDs. So here goes for our insanity (these are all at the high school level):

1. "All you care about is her grades." (Well, if she's failing nearly every test, but gets As on essays, there is some disconnect, I would think.)

2. DD is diagnosed with a language-based disorder, whose primary treatment is speech-language therapy. From school speech therapist at the meeting: "Well, she can talk just fine and doesn't mispronounce anything." No school speech therapy was approved.

3. The meetings were so horrible, DD started refusing to go. I told her counselor DD didn't feel comfortable and found them very upsetting and the counselor burst out laughing. She later sent me an email apologizing, but still.

4. The school psychologist looked at the private, professional neuro-psych report I paid thousands of dollars for since the school wouldn't test her and said, "I'm not sure if I really believe this, but I think there's slightly more than 50 percent chance it's right."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From an IEP meeting this week in MCPS -

Special Education Coordinator with MANY years in MCPS says, "It seems we are not in agreement and out of time. Let's take a vote."

A vote??? When the MCPS representatives outnumber the parents 5-1? LOL!!

IDEA 1997, Appendix A states –
“The IEP team should work toward consensus, but the public agency has ultimate responsibility to ensure that the IEP includes the services that the child needs in order to receive FAPE. It is not appropriate to make IEP decisions based upon a majority ‘vote’.”

How many of us parents feel the decision is made before we come into the room? How open is the discussion and is the data we present by reputable experts in their fields given due consideration? Nope. This Special Education Coordinator phrased the vibe that was in the room from the beginning - MCPS has the VOTES at the table and they have no motivation to work toward a consensus. After all, what am I going to do? Spend $30,000+ to go through Due Process? Who is willing to enforce IDEA? State of MD - NOPE. The Feds - NOPE.

I definitely think the decision is made before you enter the room. It was when we went in for the 504 evaluation meeting. Luckily they had decided in our favor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD just graduated from MCPS, and the absolute best thing about it is no more IEP meetings!

I did not know my experiences were the norm and apparently we weren't even getting the worst of it. It took me from 4th to 9th grades just to convince them she needed an IEP for LDs. So here goes for our insanity (these are all at the high school level):

1. "All you care about is her grades." (Well, if she's failing nearly every test, but gets As on essays, there is some disconnect, I would think.)

2. DD is diagnosed with a language-based disorder, whose primary treatment is speech-language therapy. From school speech therapist at the meeting: "Well, she can talk just fine and doesn't mispronounce anything." No school speech therapy was approved.

3. The meetings were so horrible, DD started refusing to go. I told her counselor DD didn't feel comfortable and found them very upsetting and the counselor burst out laughing. She later sent me an email apologizing, but still.

4. The school psychologist looked at the private, professional neuro-psych report I paid thousands of dollars for since the school wouldn't test her and said, "I'm not sure if I really believe this, but I think there's slightly more than 50 percent chance it's right."

OMG. Because I'm sure she's more qualified than the evaulator.... (sarcasm.)

[Anonymous]

<<The special education teacher, the primary teacher and OT decided to imitate my DS's stim in over exaggerated way to defend a bully during first IEP meeting in a new elementary school. I know my DS's stim. It's harmless stim when he is super excited and he had done it for years and most people don't even notice it. No one had ever imitated him, not even his peers. I was too shocked to say anything. >>

I actually think this is the worst thing that i have seen on this thread....

[Anonymous]

Can we get the names of these schools? We are in FCPS and haven't experience this.

[Anonymous]

We're in Arlington and things aren't as bad as these posts but...1) even when you have testing and even when they agree the testing's accurate, they still insist on redoing with theirs -- which takes time (talk about a waste of money). 2) DS is in middle school and has dyscalculia - system has no explanation for how DS is supposed to access Math (Choose Present Grade) when he's 3-4 years behind; 3) system abhors talk of private placements ("We're out of time now and we're in disagreement about placement")

Overall, our experience has been good and - again, in our experience - at the school level, people are professional, usually recognize the issues and want to do something. At the Central Office level, however, they frankly are pretty horrible and, for a school system that loves to say how wonderful it is, want to do as little as the law requires to "educate" kids with disabilities, rather than trying to be at the cutting edge. It is pretty awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD just graduated from MCPS, and the absolute best thing about it is no more IEP meetings!

I did not know my experiences were the norm and apparently we weren't even getting the worst of it. It took me from 4th to 9th grades just to convince them she needed an IEP for LDs. So here goes for our insanity (these are all at the high school level):

1. "All you care about is her grades." (Well, if she's failing nearly every test, but gets As on essays, there is some disconnect, I would think.)

2. DD is diagnosed with a language-based disorder, whose primary treatment is speech-language therapy. From school speech therapist at the meeting: "Well, she can talk just fine and doesn't mispronounce anything." No school speech therapy was approved.

3. The meetings were so horrible, DD started refusing to go. I told her counselor DD didn't feel comfortable and found them very upsetting and the counselor burst out laughing. She later sent me an email apologizing, but still.

4. The school psychologist looked at the private, professional neuro-psych report I paid thousands of dollars for since the school wouldn't test her and said, "I'm not sure if I really believe this, but I think there's slightly more than 50 percent chance it's right."

OMG. Because I'm sure she's more qualified than the evaulator.... (sarcasm.)

In MCPS - most school psychologists only have a Masters degree with a certificate that allows themselves the title of "School Psychologist". In the real world, you would need a Ph.D. to practice psychology. Why a person with a Masters thinks they know more than a person with a Ph.D. is beyond me. I actually pointed this out to our school psychologist and he got quiet real quick and stopped challenging the report.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. Very sorry for family who went through this. I hope your DS wasn't in the room.

Anonymous wrote:<<The special education teacher, the primary teacher and OT decided to imitate my DS's stim in over exaggerated way to defend a bully during first IEP meeting in a new elementary school. I know my DS's stim. It's harmless stim when he is super excited and he had done it for years and most people don't even notice it. No one had ever imitated him, not even his peers. I was too shocked to say anything. >>

I actually think this is the worst thing that i have seen on this thread....

[Anonymous]

Good god! These are all bad. I don't know which is the worst, the cancer/eating disorder or tic exaggeration/mimicking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we get the names of these schools? We are in FCPS and haven't experience this.

So no one? What a useless thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. Very sorry for family who went through this. I hope your DS wasn't in the room.

Anonymous wrote:<<The special education teacher, the primary teacher and OT decided to imitate my DS's stim in over exaggerated way to defend a bully during first IEP meeting in a new elementary school. I know my DS's stim. It's harmless stim when he is super excited and he had done it for years and most people don't even notice it. No one had ever imitated him, not even his peers. I was too shocked to say anything. >>

I actually think this is the worst thing that i have seen on this thread....

OMG! I just posted. If your DS was in the room, you are the winner of the worst. I hope not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:vision specialist told me that parents like to think that vision therapy works because "Parents often spend time and money on things just to feel like they're doing something."

teacher here (so not expertise in vision training) but seriously i think it's phooey. training your eyes impacts behavior? not buying it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we get the names of these schools? We are in FCPS and haven't experience this.

Posting the name of a school wold be too identifying for my DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:- We do not need to provide accommodations in (target language), only in English [at a bilingual school where half of the instruction is in target language]

- Your child is not being served well here. If you got him a diagnosis of "emotionally disturbed" we could get him private placement somewhere else.

- Your child is autistic [based on ONE teacher report from a teacher with 2 years of experience, and a psychologist practicing for her first year. Negated by testing from the best in the area]

- Your child will either need to have you along or stay home on field trip days. We can't support his needs.

I understand this one. If your child is prone to run off in an open setting (unlike a classroom) wouldn't you prefer that he stay safe? Not all schools have the manpower to watch a child 1:1

[Anonymous]

NP here. It is the school's responsibility to provide resources to keep ALL students safe.