Meeting with SD for IEP

[jodyp]

Hello All.
I have been reading these posts for over a year now and it has helped me tremendously. My 5 yo difficult child has been in diagnosed with ADHD and a bit of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified. He was diagnosed last year when I took him to a develop pediatrician. Following this site, I then took that diagnosis and spoke to the school district and had him evaluated. The sd agreed and he attended the pre-school disabled program this past year. I have an apt with the sd in 2 weeks to discuss his IEP for next year. Eventhough he is only entering Kindergarten, is there anything I should be aware of. I have already agreed that he should attend a smaller sp ed kindergarten where he can get more attention and they will mainstream him with other classes at certain times. I will make sure he gets Occupational Therapist (OT) because he needs it big time. My 2 year old writes better than him! What about Behavior Mod or something like that. My Develp pediatrician. suggested that I look into this privatley but I haven't. My other concern is that my Develop. pediatrician strongly diagnosed him with ADHD, and tendencies of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified. The sd stated that his meets the sp ed classification with the strong diag of ADHD, but not Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified. I don't know if this is something I should push. Any advise?

Briefly, My 5 yo difficult child is a smart kid who can never get enough attention, talks all the time, doesn't understand personal space, can't read facial expressions, wants to be socialable, but his behavior is not acceptable. Gets along real well with kids 1 year younger than himself. Really a loving child but manipulative, stubborn and has some pocessing delays.

Sorry so long.
Jody P

 

[Martie]

Dear Jody,

Glad you finally posted.

I think you have a pretty good relationship with your SD and you need to consider how to preserve that, especially with a child as young as yours.

The "label" does not matter (or if it does to the SD, that is not legal) Your difficult child should get what he needs. In order to actively participate in the IEP meeting, you should know what his needs are. You have a list that certainly sounds reasonable to me given the diagnosis.

What does the current Preschool teacher say about your child's needs? This is a very important piece. I would contact the current teacher and ask about areas of strength and areas that need work. A good IEP build on strengths and addresses weaknesses. I would suggest you look at ww.wrightslaw.com regarding SMART IEPs which is an acronym for specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timely.

Here is the link

http://www.wrightslaw.com/bks/feta2/ch12.ieps.pdf

Please check back if you have specific concerns raised by the current teacher.

Martie

 

[jodyp]

Thanks Marty,
I will check out the website and will contact his teacher, eventhough she will be there for the IEP meeting. I'm sorry, I just don't trust the bureaucratic pocess. I feel that no one at the sd "thinks outside the box", they just follow protocol. Like I had a meeting with the sd in April to discuss what evaluation's they were going to do. The meeting went fine, his teacher said that she is finally breaking through with him, and I made a comment, "that's a shame, to get this far and break for the summer". I noticed the speech teacher look at the psychiatric, and no one said anything. I waited until the meeting was over, and I asked if there are any special programs my difficult child qualify for. Then they offered me an extended school year for the summer. They weren't going to tell me until June....I work full time and have to prepare for childcare. Maybe it's my paranoia, but I don't trust them. I'm new to the system and they know that.
Thanks again
Jody
PS...I work right by Trinity Church, Wall Street. Amazing how that building remained in tact after 9-11.

 

[SnowAngel]

The SD we are moving to has behavioral coaches. Maybe your SD has them as well. I would recomend putting daily communication to and from home in your IEP. Possibly art therapy? Art therapy helps with anger management, feelings and they work on coordination as well.

You are in the right to not trust the SD completely, especially when so many other parents have had problems. I have learned to tape record our meetings. Our new SD will send the kids to a special needs school if its needed to help educate a child. Our personal counselor has family that work in our new SD and was able to find out what they offer. Do you have a support group for parents of ADHD kids? Usually a local group will know more of what is offered at your SD, every state is different. Keep us posted.

 

[jodyp]

Thanks SnowAngel

I will ask them about behavioral coaches. His present teacher fs studing to be certified in ABA and has been working well him him. I only hear good things about the teacher he will have this summer and next year. Art Therepy sounds good, but this kid lacks fine motor skills. And since he lacks these skills, he gets very fustrated with art projects. He is getting Occupational Therapist (OT), but I'm going to insist on another Occupational Therapist (OT) evaluation and additional services. 5 years old and can't write his name. He doesn't even have hand dominance yet. Eventhough the difficult child has made great progress, he is so exhusting.....And we have 2 other kids! I'm uncomfortable with the ADHD diagnosis. I've read the criteria and I agree he has many of those traits, but there is still something else going on there and I'm afraid that we (parents and the school) are not addressing the problems. he repeats things, eats off the floor, (from dirt piles), picks his nose and eats it, has meltdowns, can't say goodbye, and talks about things that are flying around his brain. That often causes problems with peers because they don't know what he is talking about, (and either do I). But believe me, he has come a long way too.....He now wears different shirts (for 2 years would only wear white t-shirts), doesn't repeat sentences as much, can partially dress himself, makes his bed, and has made great strides in explaining his feelings.

oh.....it's tough having a child with needs. I read this board and I say to myself I should be thankful, he is not that bad. But the reality is, is that he brings down the family and prevents us from doing some activities. At times I resent it.
Just airing.............
Thanks for listening
Jody

 

[Martie]

Jody,

Trinity Wall Street is amazing in any ways. My ex-difficult child will not be there next year, so I should take it off my signature. I suppose I should worry where he WILL be, but I don't have to worry about such things anymore...Have hope....they DO grow up, it just takes a while.

Martie