DCUM SN community, I need your advice!
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Anonymous
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About DS. Age 3- will be 4 in just over two months. In JAN 2018 I had him evaluated at Child Find for his poor speech- he had just turned 3. They laughed me out of the room and said there was zero evidence of a disability. In summer of 2018 though, after his teacher and I shared concerns, he got a MERLD diagnosis. SLP flagged that there’s something neuro a-typical about him. Psychologist evaluated him, said he has a cognitive delay. He’s testing low-average for IQ. She says he’s testing (using non language intensive test) at the age of about 3.1 years old, so a little less than a year behind. That seems right to me. He has intelligible speech in 4-5 word sentences, but beyond that it’s choppy. He can have simple conversations and follow simple instructions. His language and vocabulary grows daily and speech and OT, plus the very intensive work I do with him at home are working. He knows all his pre-academics as far as letters, shapes, and numbers. He seems to have significant motor planning issues, both motor and speech. He has some social issues- mostly does parallel play but has one dedicated day care buddy he plays with frequently. He’s intimidated by groups but interested to make friends in one on one settings. Everyone is divided on an autism diagnosis. He flaps when excited. He lines up trains but “is also playing with them appropriately”. He wants to be around his friends but does not want to necessarily play with them-just near them. We just had two little boys stay as houseguests. He loved eating with them at his table, played with them about 20 percent of the time and talks about them still. He has no behavior issues but a difficult time with attention and keeping still. An ADHD diagnosis may be on the horizon.
The county will offer us a self contained classroom. IEP meeting is in less than 30 days. I asked about inclusive county classrooms. They said none are available. I’m not against self-contained, but I don’t know what he needs. How do I know? I toured an inclusive classroom last week and loved it. Hoping to tour a self contained room this week. I asked my son’s PK teacher what she thinks he needs. She thinks our current private school isn’t the right place. “He’s not any trouble but we just have normal teachers”. But she felt very strongly that he was learning and greatly benefits from being around NT peers. I had a consult with Mary Camarata (MERLD expert) who was adamant that I do not sign anything that puts him in a self contained room. We will see her in person on 3 DEC and are going back to the psychologist soon as well so I can ask her as well, in advance of the IEP meeting. Bottom line- self contained might be the right placement. Or it might not. But it doesn’t seem to matter because the county only has space in a self contained room. They are telling me no space in the inclusive program. (And btw I spoke to the teacher in the inclusive program. She has 2 kids and there is room for four. I was baffled as to why the county is telling me no space but she said she didn’t know what is in the county’s pipeline). Should I just roll over and accept the county placement? Or should I be trying harder to get an inclusive placement... and short of hiring an advocate how can I push if they are just telling me no space? |
Anonymous
| Which county are you in? |
Anonymous
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Op here. My gut tells me that my kid would absolutely thrive in the county’s inclusion classroom. And...as of Friday there is space! But my IEP meeting is 25 days away and I don’t know how to get the placement!
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Anonymous
They have space, they may want to put your kid in another classroom for other reasons, like numbers. |
Anonymous
What does this mean- they need more kids in their self contained preschool? |
Anonymous
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My child is almost one year younger than OP's child, is currently in private pre-k program with itinerant services. His challenges are some behavioral problem, severe expressive language delay, some receptive delay, and some cognitive & social-emotional delay. He is good with number, letter, shape & color, and loves to play with other kids (but limited interaction with them). He also have some autism symptom ( flap hands, line up some toys(but also play in different ways)) & some quirky behavior. He is just labeled developmental delay.
I think my child delay is more severe than OP's child, but mine is never considered for inclusive or self-contained pre-k program. It is because they say he learns better with normal kids, and he just likes to observe & copy other kid behavior & speech. He has been making good improvements in all aspects of delays in current pre-k private preschool ( with normal teachers) with guidelines of itinerant services from special teachers. I think the main helpful factor here for him are structures, fun program & normal kids. I have toured both self-contained & inclusive pre-k program before. I don't like inclusive one ( don't know how to put into words, feel no engagement & does not like the atmosphere) but prefer the self-contained one ( feel every teachers are making special efforts to keep all kids engaged, but I do admit that they all have different needs) more. My child has been trying to copy to act & talk like his current peers at school, even though he is far from there, but his peers love to interact with him. Since he goes to this daycare for 4 months, he has learned to be more behaved ( sit at circle time, line up, wait for his turns), talk more (start to combine 2-3 words & use words to make requests, say polite words), and play more interactively. I was really upset before that he was not considered for any public pre-k program, but DH tells me that he thinks itinerant services are better & fit for our boy since he improves a lot in his current private pre-k program, and he just needs guidelines & support. He is so happy going to current daycare everyday & I hope this is the right path for him for right now. |
Anonymous
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Teacher here
OP, the county doesn't get to tell you if there is "space". You get into his IEP the services/setting he needs, and then they need to accommodate it. It is illegal to say, "well, there is no space in the LRE, so let's try the next level." I teach middle school, but we have had to hire teachers (really subs at that point) to add sections of classes mid year because the number of students has changed. |
Anonymous
| OP, you can and should refuse the self contained classroom. Get an advocate if you need to. |
Anonymous
It’s all made up. |
Anonymous
This is correct. I agree with the PPs who said that you should tell the county that your son is succeeding in an inclusive environment now and you believe he will continue to do so in public school, and that you want him in the “least restrictive environment.” Call around to advocates and see if you can find one. Maybe even just another parent who has been through this in your county? |
Anonymous
This is true. At least in Mo Co they will place your child at the closest school that has space. They do not determine placement based on space availability. |
Anonymous
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OP, I have a MERLD child and they pushed very hard early on to have my child in a self-contained program. It was an epic, all-out struggle. The schools wanted him in a self-contained program because it was easiest for them -- plain and simple. That program had the space and the staffing all set up. To have my child in an inclusive program, he needed a one on one aide, and they didn't want to pony up for that. We had Stephen Camarata phone conference in to one of our IEP meetings, as the IEP team argued for their self-contained classes, Dr. Camarata asked them calmly to provide us with numbers as to how many kids ever move from their self-contained program into mainstream. That immediately shut them up. You want your child in a language-rich environment. A lot of times self-contained classes feel a lot more comfortable, because a child with a language disorder will struggle in an inclusion classroom at times. But with no peer models, how will your child ever catch up in language? Center-based classrooms turn into glorified babysitting. |
Anonymous
Take it. Op, please see a developmental pediatrician when you can if you haven’t done so. Kids with speech delays often have confounding issues. |
Anonymous
The law requires that your child be placed in "Least Restrictive Environment" which means the most inclusive classroom consistent with his needs. In your case, you've already identified the LRE so you need to support your opinion. Bring as much evidence as you can, such as letters from teachers and healthcare providers. They should describe his ability to play with and benefit from NT peers. Send the infonto the school before the meeting and ask if it will be a problem to get the placement. If they hedge be prepared to fight and stick to your guns, or get an advocate. |
Anonymous
Our child was in a inclusion classroom for a year. It was horrible. They put all kids with IEP's regardless of need in it. He hated going to school as he wasn't used to kids acting up and getting physical with him and it really upset him. They also slowed down the teaching as some kids couldn't handle the curriculum. We refused it the next year and it was so much better. People assume kids with language issues cannot function but many can and do just as well as other kids with just minor supports (though our school will not even give minor supports). |