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Joined: Feb 2007
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kac Offline OP
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My grandson who is 5, has Downs Syndrome. We took advantage of all of the help offered through ECI, Physical Therapy, Special Needs Camps, anyway if it was offered we participated. I quit my job to stay home with him for the first three years of his life, so my daughter could work. Long storey short, when he started school at age three, he was performing above what is considered the "norm" for children in PPCD. For two years he excelled, with the help of a wonderful teacher and 2 aides. This past year over the summer they changed the special education department, his teacher left, he was mainstreamed into a classroom of headstart kids, almost no contact with the special education teacher, who is teaching a 3 year old class,and come to find out, does not meet the requirements, to do the job, she is NOT DOING ! The IEP that was in place, is not being met, and Nate has in fact, according to his aide regressed. I am so upset that all of our hard work, (not to mention our hearts) has led to this. Is it acceptable for the school to make all of these changes, without notifying us beforehand? What do ya'll think would be the best way to handle this situation. I am open to any suggestions or information anyone may have.


kac
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Gecko
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No, It's not ok. Is there a parent advacy group near you that will help you in dealing with the schools? Support groups are a great help in dealing with the schools. They can tell you who to talk to who not to talk to what to say and what not to say to get what you need.

To prove regression request the school to have him reevaulated at their cost by an outside party. If at all possible have the same tests done that were done before. Have as much done as possible and I'd recommend starting with his weak areas.

I can't think of what the meeting is called. But you can request a meeting of the FULL IEP team(if someone doesn't show or they try to schedual last it isn't in you best interested to go to that meeting. Make sure everyone is there.) The meeting wouold just be a review of the tests and such.

After you have the tests done go through the results with a fine toothed comb and note the difference where he is behnd and where he has advanced. No advancement does NOT equal progress (for some reason schools think it does.) Instead it means that something is not working.

Take a copy of his IEP and go through it and see what they are and are not doing. Keep in mind that unless it was written down it doesn't count. Record the IEP meetings. Bring someone who has your grandson interest in mind to be a non-emotional supporter.

Take lots of notes. When you have all your information on his current adn previous test results and the information from his IEP write a nice long letter outlining your concerns. Use the test results to back up your claim. Talk about how he has lost skills. It is no place for emotions or blaming. End it with what you think will be the best course of action and your confidence that they will do this promptly. Include the section of IDEA that forces schools to have a set time to reply. I'm in a hurry and can't think of it off the top of my head. frown

Send it to his schools special ed cordinator, his teacher, the districts sp ed cordinator and the superintendent.

When you talk to the school document who when why summing up the responce you got.

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kac Offline OP
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Thank you so much for the great information. I intend on implementing as much of it as possible. I didnt know we could ask for him to be tested by an outside source, and am going to encourage my daughter to ask for that immediately. She mentioned wanting to hold him back and was told it would be better to promote him and hold him back later, because of bonding with his peers! seems to me he would be more bonded later rather than now. They also said he would be taking a 4 year olds spot, I don't understand if he is in special ed. how may 4 year olds could there possibly be in a regular classroom with special needs?


kac
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Gecko
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When asking the schools for outside testing make sure you make your request extremely vague. Otherwise they tend to do no more then you asked even if it turns out you forgot to request a test.

Make sure it's in writing. I'm told it's over kill but I don't trust the schools so I always send everything certified mail.

Try going here
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Gecko
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Originally Posted By: kac
They also said he would be taking a 4 year olds spot, I don't understand if he is in special ed. how may 4 year olds could there possibly be in a regular classroom with special needs?


Sounds like the Sp Ed program is an exclusive club that only allows certain kids instead of all children with identified disabilities who needs the services.

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First of all, I want to give you some kudos for being such an advocate for your grandson. I believe that when so little is "a given" (as the changing staffing and placement certainly have shown) for a child with a disability, there needs to be a steady, constant champion who will step up when necessary and ensure that the child's special education supports and services are helping them make progress.

It is concerning that your grandson has evidently shown signs of regression. There can be many reasons for this and it is important that you, the parents, and the school team meet to discuss the factors that may have contributed to this regression. I would recommend, too, that the team determine a way to take data (collect information) for at least a couple of weeks to objectively identify what is working and what is not working for your grandson. Is it the mainstream placement? Maybe. Maybe not. Is the teacher highly qualified as required by IDEA 04? Are the appropriate supports in place? Is this a widening gap in achievement that becomes more pronounced with grade progression? These are just some of the necessary things to consider.

It is true that Wrightslaw has an outstanding section (course really) on evaluations. Some of the other parent advocacy links on this site have info on evals as well.

I encourage you to do an internet search for the parent information and training center in texas. There may be more than one. These centers have knowledgeable people who can consider all the specifics of your concerns to give you the best guidance. Just use whatever search engine you would normally use and you should find it without difficulty.

Even though there are some tensions, try to keep the lines of communication going with school. You will find that working through this as much as possible together, while staying on message and focused on your grandson's needs will pay off.

Thank you for posting this to the forum. I hope you'll get some more good ideas from our readers.

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K
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try this link
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kac Offline OP
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Thank you all, we are asking for an AARD Review before school is out. We will send the request in writing to all of the appropriate individuals, so there will be no question of who should be there. ( last meeting none of the key players were there) We have found out that the woman who is the "Special Ed" teacher is not qualified to be teaching special ed. Like I said before, she is teaching a class of 3 year olds. I also was told that all of the information she gave at the last meeting, she was given by my grandson's aide. I am also making a list of questions for my daughter to ask (in case they won't let me talk!) Not likely that will happen as I am pretty outspoken and this is a subject that is (literally) near and dear to my heart!)


kac
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Take lots of notes. When you have all your information on his current adn previous test results and the information from his IEP write a nice long letter outlining your concerns. Use the test results to back up your claim. Talk about how he has lost skills. It is no place for emotions or blaming. End it with what you think will be the best course of action and your confidence that they will do this promptly. Include the section of IDEA that forces schools to have a set time to reply. I'm in a hurry and can't think of it off the top of my head

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KAC,

I'm not sure of the status of your review, but here's a link to a very good lawyer that knows all the ins and outs of the system. He has been successful in helping many parents secure the funding and services their special needs child required.

Child1st lawyer, Scott Wasserman Attorney at Law
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