TheBoyHasArrived
New Member
Hi everyone,
In looking for resources for our upcoming IEP meeting, I stumbled across this board. I would love a sounding board to bounce things off of since my in real life friends just don't get this stuff or are on "the other side of the table."
My husband and I adopted our (just turned) 6 yr old son 5 months ago. He is/was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), severe speech/language impairment, mild intellectual disability. We think he is actually Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), s/l impaired, extreme attention issues, moderate sensory issues, possible ID but not sure, and extremely neglected/institutionalized. My husband and I both work in the school system (I'm an Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)), so The Boy attended preschool from 2/12 to 5/12 and is now off for 2.5 months with us.
In the 4 months that The Boy attended school, he learned to play the system quickly. His special needs preschool class had no typical children (nor did his orphanage), and he learned absolutely no positive behaviors or skills. At his progress note in April, he had made 0 progress. Based on that, I started working with him to "re-do" preschool at home in the evenings. Still, he would refuse to demonstrate the skills at school. Between April and June, he made moderate progress toward all IEP goals/objectives (although he has mastered all of them at home).
The school is suggested a contained classroom for The Boy for kindergarten. It's a classroom for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) that is supposed to promote communication. However, for The Boy, he is not only learning the language...he is learning that language is functional. And the classroom is basically silent unless the child is having 1-1 teaching. During the time that is not the 1-1 teaching, the students are supposed to be working independently (read: busy work). Due to his attention and control issues, The Boy is NOT capable of working independently regardless of whether he is in a contained class or a general education classroom. He will need a 1-1 no matter what setting he is in to make progress/not regress. But in the contained classroom, I don't see him making progress in social skills or language.
I verbally requested a FBA three weeks after he started preschool and was asked to give them time to work with him. They did not follow any of our suggestions and continued to treat him as a student with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) rather than a student who was acting out intentionally (which, it was obvious to us that he was), and his behavior escalated at school (pulling staff hair, throwing materials, pretending that he couldn't complete tasks, biting, extended tantrums, etc). The school has repeatedly stated that his behaviors are due to being overwhelmed, frustrated, that he can not control himself, etc...and this is very much not true, but they refuse to be educated. I requested an FBA in writing in April and was told that it was too late in the school year. Now, they are saying the FBA will be completed at the beginning of the school year.
The district has indicated that they plan to place him in the contained classroom with access to typical peers "as much as he can tolerate" with no accountability regarding the amount of time he will spend in the general education (suggestion throw out by the psychiatric was <hr/day). I do not think they can prove this is the least restrictive environment until they have attempted to serve him with his peers and provided supports (particularly the FBA and BIP) in order to help him succeed. Also, The Boy is going to go completely berserk trying to manipulate the staff in the quiet, unstimulating classroom and burn any chances that he has of moving out of the unit if we place him there first. In the district that I work for, we are extremely parent-friendly and it rarely gets to the point where parents are not in agreement with the plan, so I'm not really sure what happens next.
I would like The Boy to be in the regular education classroom for all non-academic times. In reality, I know we will end up re-teaching all academic concepts anyways and would like to maximize his access to the things that I can't provide him--namely, typical peers and learning to move as a group. This kid is going to be high functioning enough that he may or may not receive adult services. He probably isn't going to college, but I would like him to learn to function in society rather than an environment that resembles another institution. He will absolutely need a 1-1 aide to access this environment. I do not anticipate the school district altering their recommendation.
What should I take with me to the meeting? I am planning to read through the IDEA booklet more thoroughly but I don't know what happens if we are not in agreement. Can they place him in the contained classroom even if we do not agree with the IEP? (without taking us to due process). If we refuse the contained classroom, does that mean they are free to disregard the rest of his services? I have honestly never had a parent disagree with my recommendations during a meeting other than to request an additional objective or something, which I am happy to adjust. So, I don't know what happens next. Suggestions?
In looking for resources for our upcoming IEP meeting, I stumbled across this board. I would love a sounding board to bounce things off of since my in real life friends just don't get this stuff or are on "the other side of the table."
My husband and I adopted our (just turned) 6 yr old son 5 months ago. He is/was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), severe speech/language impairment, mild intellectual disability. We think he is actually Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), s/l impaired, extreme attention issues, moderate sensory issues, possible ID but not sure, and extremely neglected/institutionalized. My husband and I both work in the school system (I'm an Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)), so The Boy attended preschool from 2/12 to 5/12 and is now off for 2.5 months with us.
In the 4 months that The Boy attended school, he learned to play the system quickly. His special needs preschool class had no typical children (nor did his orphanage), and he learned absolutely no positive behaviors or skills. At his progress note in April, he had made 0 progress. Based on that, I started working with him to "re-do" preschool at home in the evenings. Still, he would refuse to demonstrate the skills at school. Between April and June, he made moderate progress toward all IEP goals/objectives (although he has mastered all of them at home).
The school is suggested a contained classroom for The Boy for kindergarten. It's a classroom for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) that is supposed to promote communication. However, for The Boy, he is not only learning the language...he is learning that language is functional. And the classroom is basically silent unless the child is having 1-1 teaching. During the time that is not the 1-1 teaching, the students are supposed to be working independently (read: busy work). Due to his attention and control issues, The Boy is NOT capable of working independently regardless of whether he is in a contained class or a general education classroom. He will need a 1-1 no matter what setting he is in to make progress/not regress. But in the contained classroom, I don't see him making progress in social skills or language.
I verbally requested a FBA three weeks after he started preschool and was asked to give them time to work with him. They did not follow any of our suggestions and continued to treat him as a student with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) rather than a student who was acting out intentionally (which, it was obvious to us that he was), and his behavior escalated at school (pulling staff hair, throwing materials, pretending that he couldn't complete tasks, biting, extended tantrums, etc). The school has repeatedly stated that his behaviors are due to being overwhelmed, frustrated, that he can not control himself, etc...and this is very much not true, but they refuse to be educated. I requested an FBA in writing in April and was told that it was too late in the school year. Now, they are saying the FBA will be completed at the beginning of the school year.
The district has indicated that they plan to place him in the contained classroom with access to typical peers "as much as he can tolerate" with no accountability regarding the amount of time he will spend in the general education (suggestion throw out by the psychiatric was <hr/day). I do not think they can prove this is the least restrictive environment until they have attempted to serve him with his peers and provided supports (particularly the FBA and BIP) in order to help him succeed. Also, The Boy is going to go completely berserk trying to manipulate the staff in the quiet, unstimulating classroom and burn any chances that he has of moving out of the unit if we place him there first. In the district that I work for, we are extremely parent-friendly and it rarely gets to the point where parents are not in agreement with the plan, so I'm not really sure what happens next.
I would like The Boy to be in the regular education classroom for all non-academic times. In reality, I know we will end up re-teaching all academic concepts anyways and would like to maximize his access to the things that I can't provide him--namely, typical peers and learning to move as a group. This kid is going to be high functioning enough that he may or may not receive adult services. He probably isn't going to college, but I would like him to learn to function in society rather than an environment that resembles another institution. He will absolutely need a 1-1 aide to access this environment. I do not anticipate the school district altering their recommendation.
What should I take with me to the meeting? I am planning to read through the IDEA booklet more thoroughly but I don't know what happens if we are not in agreement. Can they place him in the contained classroom even if we do not agree with the IEP? (without taking us to due process). If we refuse the contained classroom, does that mean they are free to disregard the rest of his services? I have honestly never had a parent disagree with my recommendations during a meeting other than to request an additional objective or something, which I am happy to adjust. So, I don't know what happens next. Suggestions?