IEP review set. Need advice

K

Kjs

Guest
Even though we had an IEP meeting in January, his behavior plan is, one warning from the teacher, second warning he leaves. Third warning he goes home.
In his Middle School they have "houses" Each house has about 150 students. Each class period about 25 of those students go to math, another 25 go to science, another 25 go to Social Studies, etc. In his "House" there are the advanced kids, as well as the "normal" kids. so, there is not a class or teacher that is teaching Special Education. There is a Special Education. teacher who sees him the last period of the day and helps with assignments.
Knowing how to do the work is not a problem. it is staying in class, and doing the work. We are trying to work on organizational skills, as he will just leave a class and not take any of his work with him, or he loses it.
I spoke to the district office today regarding Homebound. They are setting up another IEP. Even if it is for a short period of time, I am hoping he will realize how much he really enjoys school. He is a real social kid, had many friends at one time. Just cannot keep them due to his anger. His teachers don't deal with any misconduct. Today the teacher said "time for SSR" He replied, "skip SSR" and he was sent to the office and they called to have him picked up. HE said he did not yell, or even say it loud. He is very bright, very high IQ, does excellent on the state tests (he has learned that if he does good on those tests he can NOT do his work and not be required for summer school) I cannot get him to read a book.
The last two IEP meetings they just put a behavior plan in place which gives him three chances to keep quiet, he also has the opportunity to leave the classroom and go to another room where it is supervised, to pull himself together. he choses not to take that action. I need to know WHAT to ask for in this meeting. They told me today they do NOT have to keep him at school if he is disruptive. They will not babysit him. i need some good facts, and the right words. I tend to lose it, more often lately.
 

Liahona

Active Member
I'm sure Martie will come along with better and more formed ideas. But I'm going to put a few cents in because what your school is doing is really making me mad. They are trying to get rid of him. That is not a real BIP. BIPs are supposed to help the kid not push responiblty on the parent. DON'T do homebound. You are not in an emotional state for it and from what you've said about the way he talks to you he won't learn anything. Something that stood out to me from one of your other posts is that he is trying to get kicked out. difficult child is pushing the schools buttons so he can call you and go home. No more calls. No more going home. That is making him worse. If he has an IEP and a BIP before they suspend him they had better talk to the SD behavior specialist first. Plus, they can only suspend him for 10 days total per school year. Yes, they do have to keep him. Oh this gets me so mad I'm rambling. When is the IEP meeting? How long do you have to get your thoughts together?
 
K

Kjs

Guest
The district office is going to set up the IEP. They will call me back later this week. Yes it is a public school. Just a note to everyone, I am new here and do not understand many of the Initials used. I know what IEP is, but not BIP, or SD. The middle school called the elementary school counselor today. She has been a savior to him in elementary school, and has come and seen him and offered her help anytime he needs it. She has given him her home number so anytime he ever needed anything he could call her. Today, he wouldn't talk to anyone but her. On her lunch she went to see him. I do not know what happened, but after school I was told that "that lady calmed him down". He was not allowed to return to any classes all day. He sat in the office the entire day, and when I came after school they told me they will NOT babysit him again.
 

Sheila

Moderator
I asked for some background info regarding his diagnosis in your other thread.

On what basis was he deemed eligible for Special Education/IEP?

When was the last time he was evaluated privately?

When was the last time he was evaluated by the sd (school district)?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">, his behavior plan is, one warning from the teacher, second warning he leaves. Third warning he goes home. </div></div>

This is not a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP).

One thing you need to ask for IN WRITING via CERTIFIED MAIL is a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA). There's info in the Special Education 101 archives on FBAs.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They will not babysit him. </div></div>

Your son has a disability. If he didn't, he wouldn't have an IEP. So, whether your sd likes it or not, it is their responsibility to educate him. If they can't, it's their responsibility to get people in there that can or contract with those that can.

I'll check back later. With more background info, we'll be in a better position to offer assistance or comments.
 

JJJ

Active Member
They shouldn't be babysitting him. They should be educating him. My youngest has been spending 1-2 hours per day in a rage. It takes 3-5 adults to contain him and get him back to "ready to learn". But they do it, every day. And he gets his work done because they stay focused on the goal of getting him calmed down and back to work.

As Sheila said,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sheila</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
One thing you need to ask for IN WRITING via CERTIFIED MAIL is a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA). There's info in the Special Education 101 archives on FBAs.
</div></div>


An FBA should look at why he is acting up. Is he bored? overstimulated? is the work too difficult? does he have an Learning Disability (LD) (Learning Disability) that is frustrating him? very smart kids get very frustrated by their LDs

If he needs to leave the classroom, he should be going to a counselor or social worker, not a holding pen.

As Sheila said, if you can give us more background we can probably come up with better suggestions.

For now, can you ignore your phone and let them deal with him?
 

Martie

Moderator
"They" do not set the IEP and get back to you. An IEP must be developed and/or modified by a TEAM and you are a full participating member of that team.

Ditto what Sheila said about what you have not being a BIP--also what you have is not an IEP as required by law.

You need to involve local advocate, if possible, because based on your posts on the General Forum, this would not be good time to try to self-educate regarding Sp Ed law.

I hope your SD starts following the law to help your difficult child.

Martie
 
K

Kjs

Guest
I have done so much reading this past week regarding all of this. i have read every link that was sent to me and have a better grasp on what needs to be done. He hasn't had a FBA in several years. I do wonder now how they can set up all these "rules" for him to follow when it doesn't seem that they have made any attempt to find out what triggers his behavior.
I am afraid we are putting him on medication that is not needed. I just believed the doctor when he said difficult child should be taking this medication. I am scared now. As for his current IEP, there are no goals, objectives or benchmarks. Only 1,2 3rd warning you are out.
He is very sensitive to sounds. six years ago he scored in the 140 range on an IQ test done by school. We advanced him a grade hoping to challenge him. Did not help socially, especially now when he is in middle school. Don't know where I would find a local advocate. Everyone just tells me how horrible his behavior is and they will not have it. Thank you to everyone who have offered advice and links. I have gained a wealth of knowledge.
I asked for some background info regarding his diagnosis in your other thread.
He has been tested 6 years ago. We were told he was gifted. Psychiatrist said Bipolar not otherwise specified, depression/anxiety, ODD

On what basis was he deemed eligible for Special Education/IEP?
I was told that if we didn't explore Special Education, he would end up getting expelled from school. With Special Education he will be protected under the "umbrella". He can be very verbally abusive. use to throw things in elementary school, flip over desks, throw books. Has not happened in 4 years.

When was the last time he was evaluated privately? Has never had a formal evaluation. A psychologist did some testing, a long week long testing, with a very long report. That was when he was 2 1/2 years old. Tried counseling, wouldn't talk. Said he's not crazy and he is not going to talk..and he didn't. Went to psychiatrist two years ago when he had a total breakdown at school. Anxiety attack, didn't know where he was, what to do, who to talk to. Asked to be hospitalized. His pediatrician sent us to the psychiatrist he is currently seeing. He has tried Prozac with no affect, then went to Lamictal which seemed to really do well until recently. Has been on Lamictal 150 mg's for about 1 1/2 years. Just raised it to 200 mg's last week.

When was the last time he was evaluated by the sd (school district)? 6 years ago..age 6.

I hope this gives some background. Thanks for all the information.
 

Sheila

Moderator
The info you provided helps a lot. Thanks.

The school district needs to re-evaluate your son. Beings that haven't taken the initiative to do that, you can parent refer him. They must either do the evaluation or show cause why it's not necessary to a Hearing Officer at a Due Process Hearing. Under the circumstances, I'd be extremely surprised if they refused to re-evaluate. But lets go one step at a time.

Revamp the FBA letter I previously posted. Similar to:

Certified Mail No.______________
Fax No. (xxx) xxx-xxxx

March X, 2007

Dear Mr/Mrs. Special Education Director
X Independent School District
Address
City, State zip

Re: difficult child
XXX School

Dear Mr/Mrs. Special Education Director:

My son, ___________, attends ___________ School. He was evaluated and found eligible for an IEP approximately six years ago.

This letter is a formal request and parent consent for a complete re-evaluation including but not limited to health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities.

It's my understanding XISD has 60 days to perform the evaluation.

Additionally, this is a request for a Functional Behavioral Assessment to be performed immediately.

We look forward to receiving an evaluation plan within 5 days of this request. It will be necessary that we receive a copy of the evaluation report together with subtest scores one week prior to the IEP meeting being scheduled.

Sincerely,

Mom
Address

I'm going to close this post and respond with additional info so the post isn't so long.

But presently this is the most important issue to handle so I encourage you to get your letter done and to the sd ASAP.
 

Sheila

Moderator
As you know, it's very difficult to parent a special needs child. So much to do; so much to learn. I've said 1,000+ times that my son really should have come with an Operating Manual.

Self-educating about disability law and school is an additional item on our "must do" list. It's not something that can be done overnight; it takes time. Just keep reading and learning.

There are a lot of advocates and advocacy agencies throughout the United States. Even so, they can be difficult to locate. One place to start looking for an advocate to help you is at http://www.yellowpagesforkids.com .

Early on, I was under the impression that educators knew the best way to deal with my son. I was wrong for many reasons.

Early on, I was under the impression that doctors and other MH and disability professionals

I've taken the long way to explain why multidisciplinary evaluations are so important. More often than not, takes a team of professionals from different fields to sort everything out. The sd evaluation is a multidisciplinary evaluation.

Which brings me to why it's important to get a copy of your child's evaluation prior to the IEP meeting and IEEs (Independent Education Evaluation). This is getting ahead of game here, but you should know that if you do not agree with the school district's evaluation, you can request an IEE. It's at school district expense.

I know medicating a child is a difficult decision for parents. And I know it's difficult to get the right medication(s) in place. Other than that, I'm of no help in that area other than saying that if you are not comfortable with difficult child's psychiatrist, I'd find a different Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist to manage medications.
 
Top