Child with- Social/Emotional Issues but does not qualify for IEP

Concerned for 2

New Member
My son has been having many behavior issues on the playground and in the classroom for about 3 years now. We requested a full evaluation and now does not meet criteria for IEP. Parent and teacher questionnaires result in autistic-like behaviors but ADOS shows normal. Grades are within limits. He is going to Jr. High next year and we need something in place before then. District is working on a behavior plan but he does not qualify for IEP and we were shot down at idea of a 504. Testing also show signs of ADHD but not significant enough to qualify for services. I am confused at what is the next step and how to request testing or attention to behavior issues that keep occuring in the classroom (they are after all creating a behavior plan), but without an iep of 504 the behavior plan is not worth anything next school year. PLEASE HELP. We have not signed the IEP yet but are confused at what the next step is, who can help me make sense of the IEP results?
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Welcome!

I'm not an expert by any means, but I can tell you one thing - a behavior plan is simply a behavioral IEP or BIP.

Just because the child tests as "normal" doesn't mean that's reality. It means the child tests well.

ANY sign of ADHD should be a red flag. I would suggest that you contact the state board of education and ask for an advocate.

HUGS - others who know a lot more than I do will be here...
 

Concerned for 2

New Member
Thank you. I did call the Jr. High and they informed me in simpler words that a BIP is nothing without an IEP. The district says he does not qualify for services so how do I get that BIP created by the teacher and pupil services to honor that as a behavioral IEP to follow him to the next grade level.
 

P-nut2004

New Member
Welcome :)

Have you tried going to an outside source for testing & evaluation? We fought with difficult children school for an entire school year and got no where on an IEP but once we took her to a psychiatrist (& had nueropsych testing done as well) we found out she has several conditions and did qualify for a 504 plan. I would not take the word of the school system as far as diagnosis goes. Good luck and there are alot of other people here with far more experience than me who will give you great advice, you've come to the right place
 

goin_crazy

New Member
Please please listen to this people and get the testing started NOW or you will not have it in place by the time he starts Jr. High. We were in the same boat two years ago and I am kicking myself for not going ahead to a psychologist for testing. My son is 13 and just now, in the 7th grade and after failing the first sememster, got his diagnoses. I begged the school for help for two years and got nothing. I still get NO help from them. YOU ARE THE ONE AND ONLY REAL ADVOCATE FOR YOUR CHILD AND DON'T FORGET IT. In the long run, it doesn't matter who all you tick off at the school by disagreeing with them. I am speaking from hard-learned experience and from the heart to you. I am about to skip over the Section 504 stuff and go straight to the Special Education coordinator whom the school wouldn't even give me the name of and get something in place for next year before he gets expelled. He was passing school up until this year so they ignored me. To make it worse, he got a Commended score on the state standardized tests last year. I thought they were going to kick him out or send him to JD this week because he keeps just leaving school when he gets mad. I'm here to tell you if you don't get the school's support, and that is where a majority of his day, things WILL get worse. Don't wait. We started the testing last July and just now finished because they had to stop once because he was mad and depressed. So you don't know how it will go. Get it started now, make sure the doctor testing understands the situation, find out who your coordinator is, take the result to them and force them to make the modifications needed and then keep up every single day to make sure some teacher didn't do things their own way. That happens too. I have heard it too much. I am sorry to sound so bleak but I am at my wit's end and came here for some encouragement or direction myself and if I can help just one person, I will feel better. I can't sit by and watch another kid go down the drain like mine did because I waited to go to the psychologist for independent testing.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I'll second the recommendation to get an outside opinion. Schools might have some clue when it comes to specific learning disabilities (but not always!)... but generally, social/emotional/behavioral stuff isn't really on their radar, and they don't want to "look for it" because they don't really want to deal with it.

SO... get an outside opinion. One that will cover all of the bases, and pull together the complete picture. The child may not have a single, "drop-dead" issue (such as aspergers), but may be dealing with multiple other things... and the social/emotional/behavioral issues may not even be the primary problem.
 

rlsnights

New Member
I have a number of questions for you about the situation. I will also make some suggestions about what to do right now with the IEP document at the end. But what you decide to do may change once you have gathered more information from me and other people/resources.

Eligibility related stuff

1. Is your son being suspended or losing class time approaching 10 school days a year due to behavioral problems?
2. Is his behavior interfering with the ability of the children around him to learn?
3. What areas did the school district assess in preparation for the eligibility determination meeting?
4. Do you have copies of their reports?

Goals

5. What services or changes do you believe your son needs that having an IEP would provide?
6. Are you prepared to have your son categorized as Emotionally Disturbed in order to get those services/supports?
7. Is your son having behavioral problems in all domains? School, home, social, public (church, sports, etc)?
8. What do you think is happening with your son to cause these behaviors?

History/What have you done besides ask for school assessment?

9. Has your son been seen by any medical or psychological professional for diagnosis or treatment of these problems? If so, what was their diagnosis/explanation?
10.Is there a family or personal history of mental illness, addiction/drug/alcohol abuse, other forms of abuse (emotional, sexual, etc), trauma (deaths, severe illness of family member, serious car accident - etc) or other unusual circumstances that might be contributing to the problem? For example, an acrimonious divorce? Cross country move following divorce?


As for your options right now:

If you do not agree with the school district's eligibility determination, do NOT sign whatever document you have in such a way as to suggest you agree with the denial.

You have 2 options.

Refuse to sign/agree:

You can completely refuse to sign it, write on it that you did not sign because you do not agree with the denial. Enclose it with a letter to the head of Special Education saying why you disagree with their position. Then ask for an outside assessment called an IEE or Independent Educational Evaluation. You may be forced to actually appeal the decision through the due process system but hopefully the district will decide it is better to give in and do an IEE.

OR

You can also write on the document that you do not agree with the eligibility determination and want an IEE and then return it to them just like that.

Buy time, avoid direct confrontation:

You can state that you do not agree with the eligibility determination and you want the meeting tabled in order for

1) The district to have time to propose and implement a behavior plan and report the results to the eligibility team because you believe the results will substantiate your position that your son is a child with a disability and meets the eligibility critiera for Special Education
2) for an IEE to be conducted or
3) for you to gather more information for the eligibility team to consider (code for get your own assessments done).

I recommend that you contact your local Area Board and ask for help from one of their advocates. Here is a link to the map of Area Boards. The Area Boards are a free service of the State Dept. of Developmental Disabilities. They provide advocates to families of children who may be or are eligible for special education.

http://www.scdd.ca.gov/

Patricia
 
T

TeDo

Guest
I agree with the others. DO NOT SIGN anything you don't agree with. Ask for an IEE or have them done yourself by professionals of your choosing. Get an advocate. You could also locate one through your nearest PACER center. Since you don't have a signature, there are lots of questions. rlsnights lists the questions(#9 & 10) I would also ask you.

You have come to the right place. Give us more info so we can help you better. Welcome to the family.
 

spedconsultant

New Member
Hi,

I wonder if this might help. You didn't explain enough about the social troubles on the playground, but my guess is your child has social issues in other settings as well. It may be that your child has a disability that isn't necessarily affecting his academics, but his functional skills which includes social skills. I would request two things, one, additional evaluation in the area of behaviors and speech to look more specifically at his social function / communication areas. You might ask for someone with expertise in these areas to observe recess and classroom time. The more specific you can be about the issues you see, the types of behaviors and the more you can show how this disrupts his environment, the more easily the team can determine what/if there is a disability and what types of supports/services may be needed. If you child is having trouble forming friendships, engaging in appropriate play/exchanges and trouble with communication (which displays in behavior), then you could/should ask for an independent evaluation to look at these areas (and include observation) as well. The school must pay for it unless they disagree and believe they have enough information. The teachers may just see him as a funky kid, your clarification, may help them to understand your concerns. In the meantime, ask if they have RTI, response to intervetion, and if they can look at supporting him more on the playground and in social settings while looking further into evaluation. The key is he needs help now, you shouldn't have to write something down on paper to get help. Use good communication, be supportive and encouraging and continue to follow through and check up. Try not to be thorn in their side, but help them in doing their jobs and in showing confidence. Sometimes you can get more help with honey...etc.
 
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