Post by matildasun on May 29, 2014 18:51:04 GMT -5
Next week, I have an IEP meeting to review reports, determine eligibility, and possibly write an IEP, for my daughter. I received the reports today. There were not any surprises and she performed about how I expected. I have been a special educator for many years, so I feel prepared for the meeting.
The OT report had the wrong pronoun (male instead of female) in 12 places. I get that some cutting and pasting goes into reports, and I am sure the important parts of the reports are correct, but it still really bothers me. I feel like I need to bring it up. I know how I would handle it if I was this woman's colleague, but I am not sure how to handle it as a parent. As a parent how would you handle this?
TBH- what I would do if I were given such a gift would depend on a couple of factors.
Are you otherwise satisfied with the report? Is it a fair assessment? Do you feel the proposed levels of service delivery are right for your DD? Are you happy with the goals she wrote? Do you feel you are being treated as an equal member of the CSE/CST? If so, I might ask her privately to correct the document. In any case, I would keep a copy of the incorrect one against some future need.
If you are generally very unhappy with the proceedings, I might use this as proof of systematic incompetence.
Child's age plays into this. Your kiddo is pretty young, if you'll be sitting down with an IEP team for the next 6 or 8 or 12 years, I would be more inclined to play nicely. Especially if your child is being serviced appropriately.
Thank you for replying. My inclination is to quietly mention it to the CST chair and ask her to have it revised. I don't have direct access to the OT unless I go through my work email and find her through the directory, and that feels like crossing a line, especially since I am on leave.
I do feel like the report and goals are otherwise accurate. I feel like an equal member of the team, but it is odd to be on the other side of the table, and my experiences as a teacher are with much older children. I am worried that Tuesday's meeting is going to be a bit of a battle, because the psychologist was reluctant to assess her at all, because she was concerned that they wouldn't have a qualifying disability.
For a little bit of background, A has difficulty with her gross and fine motor skills, but is on point socially and academically (other than writing), and does not have a medical diagnoses. She is four, so will be learning to write and I am worried that her deficits will make this difficult. I originally went through infant and toddlers, for her difficulties with gross motor skills, but she learned to walk between the referral and the meeting, so she didn't qualify. I brought her back later and she did qualify, but aged out, and I didn't pursue it further at that time.
Thank you for replying. My inclination is to quietly mention it to the CST chair and ask her to have it revised. I don't have direct access to the OT unless I go through my work email and find her through the directory, and that feels like crossing a line, especially since I am on leave.
I was always able to access professionals through the district or County IU websites- not sure if that would work for you.
I do feel like the report and goals are otherwise accurate.
Do the evaluation reports include goals? Do they suggest an educational need at this time?
I feel like an equal member of the team, but it is odd to be on the other side of the table, and my experiences as a teacher are with much older children.
I bet. FWIW, my bias is that elementary level IEP teams are more warm & fuzzy, but that secondary tend to be more competent. I felt more of a sense of urgency in secondary, but also more push back/less open minded.
I am worried that Tuesday's meeting is going to be a bit of a battle, because the psychologist was reluctant to assess her at all, because she was concerned that they wouldn't have a qualifying disability.
It's a tough age. There's so little expected of the preschool population in terms of educational need, that a lot of kids go unserved in this period. I know plenty of kids who aged out of EI, were evaluated by the district and found not eligible for services in preschool who were found to need them in kindie or first when expectations ramp up.
For a little bit of background, A has difficulty with her gross and fine motor skills, but is on point socially and academically (other than writing), and does not have a medical diagnoses.
Under what are they planning to classify her? Does your state have a loosely defined "Preschooler with a Developmental Delay"? Or will they do something like "OHI"?
She is four, so will be learning to write and I am worried that her deficits will make this difficult. I originally went through infant and toddlers, for her difficulties with gross motor skills, but she learned to walk between the referral and the meeting, so she didn't qualify. I brought her back later and she did qualify, but aged out, and I didn't pursue it further at that time.
Post by matildasun on May 31, 2014 13:53:09 GMT -5
I had a long response written, but it didn't post correctly. Sorry. I will try it again. twinsinmd posted after my original post, but before my edits. I will write her a response as well.
auntie- Thanks for talking this through with me. I was always able to access professionals through the district or County IU websites- not sure if that would work for you.
There isn't a public directory that parents have access to.
Do the evaluation reports include goals? Do they suggest an educational need at this time?
The OT and PT reports have goals and objectives. The PT one focuses on her safety as she travels around the building She still struggles with stairs, especially coming down) and would be addressed with consult services, if an IEP is written. The OT one focuses on pre-writing and writing skills. The educational report also mentions her difficulty with pre-writing skills, and suggests that she would benefit from assistance in this area. She is about a year above in her pre-reading and math skills.
I bet. FWIW, my bias is that elementary level IEP teams are more warm & fuzzy, but that secondary tend to be more competent. I felt more of a sense of urgency in secondary, but also more push back/less open minded.
I really like this team. They were efficient and asked the right questions. I am not unhappy about how any of this being handled.
Under what are they planning to classify her? Does your state have a loosely defined "Preschooler with a Developmental Delay"? Or will they do something like "OHI"? This is the million dollar question. I think the Social Worker/IEP chair was pushing towards a developmental delay, but the psychologist wasn't sure if there would be enough evidence to support it.
Are writing skills expected at 4? I should have said pre-writing skills. She will be entering full day pre-k in September. According to the brochure I was given, they are expected to be able to write all the letters and draw pictures to tell a story, by the end of the year. She struggles with drawing. Her pre-school teacher had some concerns about her fine motor skills and was the one who suggested that I refer her.
I think there is a difference between a badly written reports and mistakes with a pronoun. It's the end of the year, and I'm sure the OT will be embarrassed that it went out like that, but we've all done it when you are getting slammed with 5/10 IEPs per week and reports at the end of the year.
If you want her to be an advocate for your child, you want to be on her good side-so the more casual you make it, the better. In my mind, badly written reports have the wrong background information, missing pieces of the assessment, minimal information (or incorrect) and wrongly scored assessments. At this point, I think I've seen it all. I took DS to get his hearing assessed at the Audiologist through the county, and she had the wrong kids name. In the grand scheme of things, the background was correct, she had just copied and pasted the standard report information and forgot to change it. I called over, and she apologized profusely, and corrected it and sent it out the next day.
I will tell you, in my county in MD, we aren't allowed to provide OT or PT without an additional disability code-DD, OHI, etc. It kills me for not being able to do so, but it's just not possible. It's a related service-which means that the related services are designed to help students benefit from special education programs.
My sister ran into this issue with my niece in NY-and ultimately, she brought her to private PT and OT.
I'm sorry-I know how frustrating it is when you want to provide her with the supports, and you know that the school system *has* the appropriate service providers at no cost, so why should you be required to pay for the services. I'm hoping that they are willing to go outside of that box if it's what she would benefit from.
twinsinmd My initial reaction was to let it go or handle it quietly with the IEP chair, who does not evaluate the OT and seemed to be close with her, since I don't have direct access to the OT. I posted mostly because I was curious about how parents would handle it, because I have a hard time separating my parent hat from my teacher hat. If it was one or two typos it wouldn't bother me, but it was wrong in 12 places. Sorry "Badly written" bothered you. I struggle with thread titles.
I was reluctant to refer her, because I understand how related services work, and I get that it is a long shot. We have been working on both fine and gross motor skills at home, in addition to what they work on in her pre-school program and I hoped that would be enough. It isn't. I am going through the school system first, because I think that having professionals who work in consult with my child's teacher is the best way to help her grow. It isn't about the money.
I had a long response written, but it didn't post correctly. Sorry. I will try it again. twinsinmd posted after my original post, but before my edits. I will write her a response as well.
auntie- Thanks for talking this through with me. I was always able to access professionals through the district or County IU websites- not sure if that would work for you.
There isn't a public directory that parents have access to.
Often these people slip me a business card. But they're all listed under staff on the district websites of the schools to which they're assigned. The district and IU both use a first initial/lastname format for email addresses.
Do the evaluation reports include goals? Do they suggest an educational need at this time?
The OT and PT reports have goals and objectives. The PT one focuses on her safety as she travels around the building She still struggles with stairs, especially coming down) and would be addressed with consult services, if an IEP is written. The OT one focuses on pre-writing and writing skills. The educational report also mentions her difficulty with pre-writing skills, and suggests that she would benefit from assistance in this area. She is about a year above in her pre-reading and math skills.
It's great that they're being proactive.
I bet. FWIW, my bias is that elementary level IEP teams are more warm & fuzzy, but that secondary tend to be more competent. I felt more of a sense of urgency in secondary, but also more push back/less open minded.
I really like this team. They were efficient and asked the right questions. I am not unhappy about how any of this being handled.
Under what are they planning to classify her? Does your state have a loosely defined "Preschooler with a Developmental Delay"? Or will they do something like "OHI"? This is the million dollar question. I think the Social Worker/IEP chair was pushing towards a developmental delay, but the psychologist wasn't sure if there would be enough evidence to support it.
It might be hard to get DD if she's only having motor issues.
Are writing skills expected at 4? I should have said pre-writing skills. She will be entering full day pre-k in September. According to the brochure I was given, they are expected to be able to write all the letters and draw pictures to tell a story, by the end of the year. She struggles with drawing. Her pre-school teacher had some concerns about her fine motor skills and was the one who suggested that I refer her.
So a year from now? Is this a FT private DCC with an embedded preschool or a district/public placement?
auntie Often these people slip me a business card. But they're all listed under staff on the district websites of the schools to which they're assigned. The district and IU both use a first initial/lastname format for email addresses. I just didn't want it to seem like I was using my position in the school system inappropriately, by accessing her email address from the list available to staff. From your response it seems like it is okay to email her directly (I know this sounds ridiculous, but I worry about stuff like this).
So a year from now? Is this a FT private DCC with an embedded preschool or a district/public placement? It is full day public pre-k in our neighborhood school. She will start there this coming September regardless of whether she qualifies for services or not.
twinsinmd My initial reaction was to let it go or handle it quietly with the IEP chair, who does not evaluate the OT and seemed to be close with her, since I don't have direct access to the OT. I posted mostly because I was curious about how parents would handle it, because I have a hard time separating my parent hat from my teacher hat. If it was one or two typos it wouldn't bother me, but it was wrong in 12 places. Sorry "Badly written" bothered you. I struggle with thread titles.
I was reluctant to refer her, because I understand how related services work, and I get that it is a long shot. We have been working on both fine and gross motor skills at home, in addition to what they work on in her pre-school program and I hoped that would be enough. It isn't. I am going through the school system first, because I think that having professionals who work in consult with my child's teacher is the best way to help her grow. It isn't about the money.
It sounds like you are doing a great job. I know it's hard to separate the teacher hat and parent hate-it was just hard to feel out the intensity of your concern with the issue through your words.
If money's not the issue, can you get her into services now over the summer and then hopefully when the IEP is written, they can continue? I have a good friend who is doing a parent/child class not too far from you for OT using Handwriting without tears. She is probably one of the Best OTs I've ever worked with.
Sorry, I have not been back to the thread. They decided to offer her services as a student with a developmental delay. They seem to have made the decision prior to the meeting, so the meeting was pleasant. As for the mistakes, I mentioned them to the chair at the end of the meeting after everyone had left. I framed it as just wanting the OT to know, so it wouldn't be filed with mistakes.
I would be interested in info about the group, although it might be tricky for us to do it since I also have a two year old. Thanks again for all your input.
It's great that they're going to address this early. It'll give her the best start.
DS's fine motor skills were always good; his graphomotor skills were less than ideal. We did a couple different handwriting programs. HWT is a good one and one that a parent can do at home. The materials are pretty easy to come by.