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[quote=Anonymous]

OP - In which way are you worried about an ID/MR label affecting funding later on.  Funding for adult services for anyone with a disability once public education ends depends on a number of things including the aspect of meeting the criteria for disability which at this time is being unable to perform gainful employment to earn Substantial Gainful Activity wage per month gross of $1, 950 for at least a year.   This criteria goes hand in had with having limited financial resources in one's name which is currently $2,000 for an individual. From this perspective, one would then be able to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) at age 18 which is currently $735 a month (tax free) and also Medicaid Health Insurance.  In your case, I think any thought of what it might mean later in life makes little sense because who knows what the status will be of government benefits or government health care.

I suspect your immediate focus is a fear of having your child excluded from some possible classroom settings if he/she has an Intellectual Disability label.  According to federal law all students have the legal right to exposure to the general education curriculum.  In my opinion getting the appropriate designation of disability through a full evaluation as soon as possible ensures that a student will have the opportunity to any support services which a specific disability might  need such as if one does have Autism found as primary for example then perhaps a specialized Autism program at any level would be open.  For a  student with ID, there could well be the opportunity for a smaller classroom setting to learn basic core skills of reading, writing and math as well as the general ed classroom.  I would want access to the flexibility of the widest array of services.

If you do not have other children in school as yet, you may not realize the "push down" of academics now so that by the end of kindergarten there is the expectation that all students are reading and are on a certain level of book.  There is also a "paced curriculum" now in all school divisions so that all kindergarten or first grade classes have the same end year goals for students. With grandchildren I currently see both sides:  in one case in NOVA a girl in K who entered reading well is in the top group and being held back because of teacher control of the class curriculum.  While twins in the Silver Springs area found between K - 2 that one was not clicking as fast as the middle group .  Her folks fortunately got her assessed, into a summer reading program and with a tutor and she is much stronger now in 2nd grade.  She has no disability, but rather was a student mo not ready in K for what is now taught.

My point is that for student who might struggle to keep up with both content and pace in a regular ed classroom for all core subject or for some, that a smaller class setting might be possible.  The idea would still be that the regular ed classroom would be the base  with some pull-out.  I will also note that direct instruction from an experienced special education teacher is a lot different than having a para educator working in the regular classroom who may only have a high school diploma in trying to learn to read or do basic math.

I would focus on getting a full evaluation done with the present level of skills noted in subtests so that you could get the specific disability officially diagnosed and the date of onset.  Then look at where your child is developmentally as one is to enter K and ask about the regular ed curriculum and talk about what the best setting might be.  Another thing to consider is how many ESOL students are in the building and how they are taught basic language skills because again money and resources are limited and if they are in the general ed classroom along with special needs students who need a lot of support, it means a lot of different demands on the teacher/aides.  The IEP is the process by where you will get in writing the academic goals and then you need to find most appropriate setting to have them carried out.

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