Preschool IEP Issues - Need help!

[isign]

DS is 3 (as of today!!), and is supposed to start attending a special needs preschool at the local public school. He has high functioning Autism, but will be under the DD label. We had the IEP meeting on Monday, with just the teacher, myself and DH. No therapists, or anyone else. I was told that the reason he would be going to this school was to get therapy (SP, OT, and social skills) since he has graduated out of EI. I was pretty disappointed at the meeting - the IEP is generic, goals are pre kindergarten curriculum. There is nothing specific to him on the IEP. I asked about therapy - he will have to wait till he is evaluated, which he just was 2 weeks ago by the district. He goes to OT, private, and even though that info plus a lot more was given to the district, it was not passed on to the teacher.

The teacher asked NOTHING about him. She knows nothing about him - his triggers, how to calm him - nothing. I asked what they did if he had a meltdown. She said they either ignore if it's a tantrum or they restrain him (she sits, puts him inbetween her legs and holds his arms crossed to his side). The thought of anyone doing this to him makes me cry. How would she know the difference? I am very concerned about him being overloaded, something that happens in familiar places, but I feel like I was brushed off. My questions were answered with - that's a question for the OT.

I can not send him to a place that is supposed to be meeting his needs when in fact they know nothing about them. What do I do from here? Can I request another IEP meeting with the therapists there before he starts, even though I agreed that he would start on Tues?

[buttercup]

This is always difficult when you are transitioning from EI to school. The IEP is usually drafted by the teacher, but since he has not been in school yet it is often difficult for the teacher to really know about his needs since she has never had a chance to work with him. Typically what happens is that once school starts, you should be scheduling another IEP meeting within the first 6 weeks or less to talk about his needs and accommodations. During that time (depending where you are) the school system would be doing evals on him to assess his needs. A lot of time (for any student) the first few weeks is difficult because the teachers are learning about the students and their needs and the students themselves are learning to adjust to their new environment. What you should do is after school starts, ask the teacher for a parent-teacher conference to include the ESE teacher and even a therapist. At this meeting you can talk about your son and his needs from a parent's perspective & about the process.

1. When will the ST and OTs be doing their evaluations to determine services?
2. When do they anticipate having an IEP meeting to revise the IEP? If they do not provide an answer, then tell them you want to have an IEP meeting before the end of the first 6 weeks (or any time you feel is necessary). Remember that when you get to the point that you want an IEP meeting, you should put it in writing.
3. Pull out the IEP and ask them to explain every goal and how they plan on achieving the goals. Write it down so you can monitor and even incorporate some of the methods at home. Teachers like to see the team effort with parents. Many times the IEPs focus on transition issues (from project to project, standing in line, etc), learning daily living skills (washing hands, Potty training, clean up) and even communication. The teacher will probably say that methods to promote communication is embedded in every aspect of the class, which is probably true.
4. Ask the teacher if you can create a method of communication between you and her about your son. Some parents have notebooks that go back and forth between school and home. The parents might jot a note in the notebook that Jimmy had difficulty transitioning out of bed so the teacher might be aware that he is having a difficult day. Or the teacher may jot down that Jimmy started using a word and that could be something you work on at home. I personally like emails. Teachers always email me updates on my kids' successes or problems at least once every week.

Those are just some ideas to think about that may help.

[isign]

Thanks for the help. I did not realize that OT and ST were related services, and not automatic. I've not gotten much help from the school district or EI even though we've been working with them for over 1 1/2 years. I was told that he would continue getting these services only if he went to preschool. I thought it'd be automatic, not so much like 'big school'. There seems to have been a pretty big break down.

I called the teacher Fri - and I really am not getting good vibes, that's she's trying to help with this transition. It's more of a 'this is what I've been doing for 15 years, and is how I'm going to keep doing it'. I did talk to the OT and we're meeting Tues morning.

We did testing 2 weeks ago at the county office. I also gave them progress notes from the OT and an ST/Behavior therapist. None of that was passed on to the teacher. I feel like the IEP is too generic, and that there is nothing specific to my son. I asked if he could have something that vibrates to help calm him - the teacher said to ask the OT. The OT told me that the teacher can make accommodations. I don't want to send him to just learn rhyming words, or telling how things are alike or how use positional words - which are a few of the goals -, I am sending him get the structure, and speech, and social skills that he needs.

I know I just rambled a lot, but I'm trying to sort this all out.

[leahmn12]

Hi there,
It's been a LONG time since my daughter was in EI and preschool, but I thought I could at least offer this one piece of advice as you begin this educational journey. It never hurts to bring along an advocate who understands in detail the intricacies of the IEP process. Is there a non-profit agency in your area that may offer this service to parents? During these many years of parenting and advocating for my child with significant disabilities, I've frequently called upon the advice of The Arc and/or PACER center here in MN. http://www.pacer.org/about/index.asp If you are not aware of an agency in your area, contact PACER, and they should be able to help you locate one. Arc is a nationwide organization, and have chapters in every state. http://www.thearc.org/page.aspx?pid=183

Any time I felt confused or discouraged about what was going on with my daughter's education, I would often call my friends at Arc for guidance, and sometimes to accompany me to meetings. This has been invaluable to us, and I hope you can make similar connections to help you as well. Yes, the school is supposed to be your ally, but that's not always the case, depending on the district and the people involved. The purpose of utilizing an advocate isn't to foster an adversarial relationship with the school, but rather, to empower and inform you to be a more effective IEP team member.

Good luck to you!

[isign]

Thanks! I have found an advocate who I've spoken to. I'm going to let the ST & OT meet DS on Tues, after our meeting with the teacher. The advocate asked me to bring by a copy of the testing the school district did, so I'm going to see her just as soon as my little guy goes to school.

Why does this have to be so complicated?

[khaoskat]

When we transitioned from EI to Pre-school based services, when we wrote the IEP, and subsequent IEPs, there was always the SLP there (or speech therapist). At the initial transition one, it was just the one who helped with the testing, after that for the annual modifications it was always the one working specificially with DS2. She even handled the transition from PS to School based services last year.

There is an excellent book about how to write a good IEP out there...it is by WrightsLaw, and they have it listed on their website. I know our local public library carries it, so you may want to check with them. Wrights Law has a bunch of good resources you should check out, and you should check with the library to see if they have them before purchasing.