son's IEP meeting

[losthorizons]

well, today I had an IEP meeting at my difficult child's school to only learn that he cannot return. His behavior is so off the charts that he is a danger to himself and others around him. (this is school#4) This was a good school but son cannot control his anger and behavior. He goes tomorrow to the psyschiatrist and I am going to insist that they do a neurological test on him to see if there is anything that they are missing. My insurance as finally said that you have wayyy gone over your quota for the year on what they will cover, so the remainder of the year, I will have to foot. ARRRGHHH!! Its so frustrating when you can't afford to get the help you need. If I was poor I could get medicaid for my kids and get the help they need, If I was rich I wouldn't be worrying about it, but since I am middle class, I go further and further in debt. Hubby and I did our bills three nights ago and found that we are over 74k in debt because of Dr's and hospital bills. Looks like bankruptcy will be right around the corner! I took my youngest daughter to the dentist today and she has to have oral surgery inside the hospital. We haven't been able to afford to take her to the dentist and she has had cavities in her mouth. They have progressed so far that it is doing danger to her gums. She is such a sweet girl and no child should have to be in pain but their isn't a dentist out there (at least in our state) that will do it for free. Oh well, whats one more bill that I cant pay! Hubby and I decided to finally let our car's go back since we had to make a choice on either paying the car payments or doctors bills. I am so hoping that we can find a residential facility to place our son in. Life is and has never been normal in some time. Nami in our state has a grade of D. There is never anything going on around or close to our home town that can help. Not sure what to do anymore. Oh well, tomorrow is another day, so hopefully it will be brighter. Thank you guys for listening as I ramble on and on!

 

[smallworld]

Sara PA says it all in response to your earlier post. I was about to post the same here -- it's the Effexor. His violence and aggression should improve once he is weaned from Effexor.

 

[Wiped Out]

Losthorizons,

I'm sorry it was a rough day. One thing I wanted to mention for you to look into that has been a godsend for us is the Katie Beckett program. It is a program that looks only at the needs of the child and only the income of the child when determining eligibility for Medicaid. Our difficult child qualified and Medicaid now covers everything our insurance doesn't for difficult child.

 

[Sheila]

Sounds like you have more than enough going on to be stressed to the max.

today I had an IEP meeting at my difficult child's school to only learn that he cannot return.

The sd must educate your child. If he has to be educated in an Residential Treatment Center (RTC), it should be at school district expense.

It sounds as if you were just told that difficult child can't go back to school. If they didn't place him somewhere else (self-contained classroom, day treatment facility, etc.), they are non-compliant with-IEP federal and state requirements. If you'll post to the Special Education 101 forum, we may be able to help you with this.

 

[--Eleanor--]

It may be possible to get the school district to pick up the bill on psychological testing. Look up information on "independent evaluations"--the Special Education forum here and the wrightslaw website are good places to start.

Best of luck. (My son also has to change schools yet again due to behavior problems--I'm totally with you on this one...)

 

[losthorizons]

Losthorizons,

I'm sorry it was a rough day. One thing I wanted to mention for you to look into that has been a godsend for us is the Katie Beckett program. It is a program that looks only at the needs of the child and only the income of the child when determining eligibility for Medicaid. Our difficult child qualified and Medicaid now covers everything our insurance doesn't for difficult child.

Unfortunately, I live in Washington State and we don't have the Katie Beckett program in our state but it sounds like something I am going to check into further. Thanks for the heads up! We tried for Medicaid but with my husbands income, we make 7k more a year than what it qualifies us for, go figure!