One of my dearest friends led me to this forum as I have been struggling with our school for appropriate placement for the oldest of the 2 children I adopted recently. This battle with the school has been ongoing for nearly 4 years now. And recently I have obtained the results of his evaluation - which was heartbreaking. Most of it I expected. But I was hopeful.
His IEP is scheduled for Wed. to review the results. I do have an advocate that is going with me that I hired under the advice of my attorney.
I spoke with the school SW regarding the results and the psychologist's recommendations (that he be placed elsewhere). The SW stated that the team is split - some suggest a special school and others prefer to ammend his IEP.
He is already in Learning Disability (LD) classes - support for reading. He was originally recieving help for math but they pulled that.
They never tell me what his Learning Disability (LD) is - they just say specific Learning Disability (LD). It infuriates me. He's now 11 and in 5th grade. I believe he's dyslexic - that couldn't be more clear. He has great difficulty with reading, spelling, writing, and math. His reading comprehension is not even at the primer level according to the results. Math is limited to basic add/sub. Processing speed is a 70. His short term memory is very low as well. He also has a diagnosis of bipolar - though relatively stable on medications.
I worry that I may have a difficult time getting him into a Learning Disability (LD) school even with the advocate. Everything with them is a battle. When he was in 2nd grade he was threatening suicide - that's when the school decided to get him an IEP - despite my begging for one the 6 months prior to that.
He's clearly sinking. I see it every day he comes home from school. And my heart aches.
Is there anything else I can do to ensure he gets what he needs? If the team is split and they don't let him go to a different school what can I do - or is my only other alternative due process?
I'm scared. And I don't want to fail my son.
His IEP is scheduled for Wed. to review the results. I do have an advocate that is going with me that I hired under the advice of my attorney.
I spoke with the school SW regarding the results and the psychologist's recommendations (that he be placed elsewhere). The SW stated that the team is split - some suggest a special school and others prefer to ammend his IEP.
He is already in Learning Disability (LD) classes - support for reading. He was originally recieving help for math but they pulled that.
They never tell me what his Learning Disability (LD) is - they just say specific Learning Disability (LD). It infuriates me. He's now 11 and in 5th grade. I believe he's dyslexic - that couldn't be more clear. He has great difficulty with reading, spelling, writing, and math. His reading comprehension is not even at the primer level according to the results. Math is limited to basic add/sub. Processing speed is a 70. His short term memory is very low as well. He also has a diagnosis of bipolar - though relatively stable on medications.
I worry that I may have a difficult time getting him into a Learning Disability (LD) school even with the advocate. Everything with them is a battle. When he was in 2nd grade he was threatening suicide - that's when the school decided to get him an IEP - despite my begging for one the 6 months prior to that.
He's clearly sinking. I see it every day he comes home from school. And my heart aches.
Is there anything else I can do to ensure he gets what he needs? If the team is split and they don't let him go to a different school what can I do - or is my only other alternative due process?
I'm scared. And I don't want to fail my son.