IEP Help.

[AMROSE34]

My daughter is 14 years old and in 9th grade. After four evaluations since the 3rd grade, she just recently was found eligible for special education services. She has ADHD inattentive type, she is unorganized, extremely forgetful and is failing almost everything including PE. At the IEP meeting I came in with a list of things to address but it seems they had already written up the accomodations for her. Even though I addressed many problems she has i.e. getting her homework home or back to the teacher, staying organized and on task...etc. The school put into the IEP that everyday she has to get her homework agenda signed and bring it home for me to sign, also she has to pick up every Monday a progress sheet to give to the teachers on Friday to sign, bring home to me and then back to guidance on Monday. OK this is a big problem. We have tried this and it isn't working. If she can't remember to get homework home how in the heck is she suppose to remember the agenda and all the other things they want her to do?? This doesn't seem right to me, I need to know if this is something that they need to help her with or is it all her responsibility? It seems they are accomodating the teachers more so than her. I know she has to be responsible for something but now that she is in 9th grade but this has been a life time habit that the school has enabled because they didn't see years ago that she needed help. So they can't just put something in place and expect it to be done automatically with her. She needs to be retrained. Please help, I have little patience with dealing with the school and need some strong advise. FYI - she had a evaluation outside of the school (paid for mostly by the school last year). The psychologist looked at me after the evaluation and asked "how in the world has this poor girl made it this far?"

 

[Martie]

I have to go to work but briefly, an IEP is INDIVIDUALIZED and it sounds to me as if the SD has given your their "standard" interventions for ADHD. The emphasis these days is on measurable progress. You need to pick some areas in which you think your difficult child needs basic help and get the SD to agree to those goals. I bet someone will come along with a child who has similar problems who might be able to give you an idea of what works and doesn't put all the responsibility on an already disorganized child.

Your daughter is an example of the SD "waiting for failure." RtI is supposed to "fix" this. We'll see in about 10 years if RtI did that (cathc kids earlier before their problems are compunded by being in high school.)

Does your daughter receive resource support. How is her reading level (in other words COULD she do 9th grade work if she were focused on it?) These types of questions are what an evaluation is for and it is difficult to be more specific in a vacuum.

Martie