Did you share the medical evaluation with the school?

Princess_Lily

Did you share your child's medical evaluation report with their schools? Or did you allow them to conduct an educational evaluation without previous information of their condition?

bumpuser511563

Princess_Lily said:

Did you share your child's medical evaluation report with their schools? Or did you allow them to conduct an educational evaluation without previous information of their condition?

We did share the medical eval with the schools it was September 2012, DS's 2nd year in preschool. I requested the school to do their own eval January 2013 of that school year because DS was only getting Speech and the teacher and daycare teacher were calling me every freaking day. There was so much more DS needed like PT and OT and I wasn't going to be called that crazy mom for following my gut.

The school knew we had the medical eval because I told them. I did provide a copy to the school and the daycare.

Princess_Lily

Well, I think you need to add our local charter in the same category in the last post ASD/charter posting below.

I met briefly with DS's teacher, and she said that he may need a smaller, more accommodating class...."but we don't offer those here. Only pullout services, and I think he needs more than what this school can provide." Dr.Google advised me that this is known as "counseling out" families of those with SN.

Today DH and I are meeting with DS's teacher and the Dean of Students for the school, who happens to also be the ESE coordinator. While I have went over breifly what is going on with DS, I am planning on bringing with us all evaluations that we've had in recent weeks.

They may suggest sending DS to the local public school. Needless to say, I've been up all night.

funchicken

We shared, and I bring copies of all the most recent evals whenever we have a meeting, e.g. I just had the private OT re-evaluate fine motor skills.

I'm sorry about how things are going with the school.

Princess_Lily

Thanks. I am so glad I have this group, I love y'all!

Fred, did Char get accepted there? Sounds like an awesome fit!

While the school can't technically kick him out right now, I really have 3 choices. Correct me if I'm wrong


1st. Leave quietly, and get placement in the local public quickly

2nd. Stay. Risk DS getting suspended for his poor behavior, and after a period of time of being suspended, get sent to a backup school until they figure him out.

3rd. Sue the BOE.


It sucks, but I don't want to start off on a bad foot...ya know? I want to think if DS looks back in 20yrs, what would he want me to do? He just wants to be happy in a school...he isn't eating well, he isn't happy here, and he doesn't want to talk about his day. He says he keeps having bad days...I see it effecting his confidence


This is too big of a water buffalo and I'm just one lion in the savannah

CaptainSerious

I STRONGLY urge using caution when sharing actually reports, and even some diagnoses, with any school that had given you reason to doubt if they are working their absolute best to provide your child all the help he needs. The fact is, a medical evaluation just forces them to take your car more seriously. They still are going to do their own evaluation if the medical evaluation did not include all the tests the school typically uses and does not lay out those results in detail.

Many of you know my family's story; suffice it to say that we shared with the best of intentions, and the district tried to use that information to she my son out of services and paint a picture of his as much more disabled than he is, so they would only have to provide basic skills rather than a real, full education. I thank God every day that we didn't also share his actual diagnoses and/or the full medical reports we have.

That being said, we DID choose to share a medical report for my other son even after this happened, because we felt it had a lot of information that would help the school plan his services and nothing they could use to hurt us.

I am a strong believer of only sharing what the school absolutely needs while protecting your family's greater interest. For example, the doctor who did my son's neuropsych eval told me he'd write a sperate letter to the school with the pertinent information, but leave out any personal information that they don't need to know. That way, we evaluation can still be of use to us, but we don't have to give the school everything.

Similarly, you might choose to tell the school the diagnosis/results of the report and ask them to evaluate your son (they can't refuse), which will start the ball rolling under IDEA. They may tell you that they won't give any credence to the diagnosis unless you share the report, but you are under no obligation to do so. Once you request an evaluation, they must do it to remain in compliance with the law. That's not to say they will find your soon eligible for special services, but at least it will get things moving in the right direction.

funchicken

@CaptainSerious‌ I can totally understand your point, and I would hope that most doctors would be able to write a "school copy" that could keep certain details private.

lite-bright

We did share, yes. But we were in the position that 1) we were getting both the educational eval and the private eval done in about the same time frame, and 2) we were dealing with a public non-charter school that couldn't bump us somewhere else. 

DD1 was recommended for educational services on the basis of the district's evaluation. All we had at that point was a dx of a speech delay, not ASD. We got the medical dx the same week as her first IEP meeting -- so for us, since we were not in a position to have to fight for services and our district was and has been very cooperative, the report was mostly to help shape services and sharing did nothing but solidify our position and give useful information. 

It also came in handy last year, when they said that she is doing so well she no longer needed an IEP, to be able to argue back that she has a medical ASD dx and that even if the actual services levels were minimal this year, keeping the IEP in place for the next three years was our desire because she is more likely than other kids to need service levels adjusted. 

It's a very tough call, IMO, especially when you're dealing with a charter situation. You want your kid to get what he/she needs, but if you ask for too much/are too honest you could be denied access to the school entirely, despite the possibility that your kid could still do well there. To go along with @auntie's comparison, if it seems like you need a beamer, they may say we only have used Buicks, so you have to go to the school that has beamers -- but the reality may be that you can only get a used buick no matter where you go, and you ought to be able to get the used buick at the public school of your choice. Unfortunately, they might make things very difficult for you and your son. 

I posted the charter school article to one of the FB groups that opposes the local school board, and a teacher commented that she sees families all the time trying to get their kids off of IEPs in order to go to a charter. Needless to say, they do not feel they would be welcomed if their child has identified SN. 

If he's unhappy and the school isn't supportive, frankly, I'd start doing tours of the other options in your district. I have neither the time nor the money to sue -- which of course is what they count on. 

Princess_Lily

Our district non-charter public school is our Plan B. its known for its accommodations for children who need ASD support, and the like.

Also our evaluation is the school copy too. I have reviewed it, and I don't see any section that should be edited out for privacy reasons...but that is our situation. I will be providing today the speech evaluation as well as the psych eval.


Keep you guys posted, the meeting is at 330p

d.f

I shared but I'm in the same district as Lite-bright and they have been for the most part been accommodating. We had an IEP about 7 months prior to having a Dx. That said I did look into the charters seriously. One heard the word autism and basically said no thank you. I was not willing to fight to have my child in a school where he wasn't wanted and they weren't willing to handle his needs. In speaking with my son's current team they regularly get kids who were removed from the local charters and they're very far behind where they would be of they had received appropriate services. The climate in my district is noxious right now because the "reformers" have taken over our district. I'm not sure how much that has fueled the conversation. The other charter was very welcoming and I loved their SpEd teacher. When I observed the kindergarten classrooms I realized it wasn't the best fit. There weren't any sensory breaks and it was very traditional desks forward, sit in your seat primarily negative discipline (threats of the principal). I had also anecdotally heard about kids being shown the door when their needs increased. I opted for my neighborhood school where the full day general Ed kindergarten teacher has a background in SpEd.

I have a very good relationship with his team and I hope to keep it that way. We're pretty open in our communication

Princess_Lily

Well, yesterday we met with both the teacher and Dean.

They will be showing the school psych the evaluation report. They did take note of the DX and the psychs "rule out" of pdd-nos.

The Dean gave us a behavioral intervention plan, which is basically a pretty way of saying a reward chart...from there we will see how it goes. Its a nice idea, and it may help somewhat...but I dont think its a long term solution. She did say that they will not be tolerating poor behavior (hitting, biting, etc.), which he has come close to doing but hasnt done yet - and will send us to administration now (aka suspension).

Question. Even though I submitted the evaluation reports (both psych and SLP) in the meeting, do I need to still write an Accommodation Request letter?


Now, not surprisingly this meeting didn't bring answers, just confirmation of what we already knew what they were going to say/do. They did a "counseling out" conversation with us. Today or next week I plan on touring the district public school, which is our plan B.


Right now we are watching & waiting for the next week or so to see his DS does, but we are fully prepared to pull him and place him in the "home district school" as they said.

funchicken

Auntie would be better able to answer your question, but it sounds like this wasn't a formal Child Study Team meeting. I think you should definitely write the letter requesting a full, multifactored evaluation and give it to the Dean or Special Education Coordinator or whomever the point person is at the school.They will probably give you a form to fill out with a tiny little space for your concerns. Write "see attached" in that space, and type up all of your concerns and how they have educational impact.

They should schedule a meeting of the Child Study Team (I think they have 10 days). We had, I think, six people from the school at our meeting: Assistant Principal, psych, Special Education Teacher, her intern, guidance counselor, and DD's teacher. I'm trying to get the SLP at the next one. 

It sounds like the meeting you had was more informal. You're going to need to do this regardless of where he ends up, so you might as well get the ball rolling.

Princess_Lily

How do I get the ball rolling for an IEP/504?

Did the ball start when I submitted the evals, or do I need to submit a letter requesting an educational evaluation?

Right now, there isn't anything I can do except wait, wait to see what accommodations he needs. Now, I can transfer him to the district school, but he still will be in a mainstream class until an IEP (if he gets one) is set up.

The charter school is the better of the two, strictly speaking from a mainstream classroom standpoint. Smaller class size, etc. We will just wait and see what comes from their side in a few months. Thank God DS is a visual learner, and does respond well with the chart. Is it a fix? Heck no!


I went to the home district school this morning and spoke with the ESE dept., I think I'm going to wait it out at the charter, once the IEP is in, move him if necessary.

funchicken

Princess_Lily said:

Well, yesterday we met with both the teacher and Dean. They will be showing the school psych the evaluation report. They did take note of the DX and the psychs "rule out" of pdd-nos. The Dean gave us a behavioral intervention plan, which is basically a pretty way of saying a reward chart...from there we will see how it goes. Its a nice idea, and it may help somewhat...but I dont think its a long term solution. She did say that they will not be tolerating poor behavior (hitting, biting, etc.), which he has come close to doing but hasnt done yet - and will send us to administration now (aka suspension). Question. Even though I submitted the evaluation reports (both psych and SLP) in the meeting, do I need to still write an Accommodation Request letter? Now, not surprisingly this meeting didn't bring answers, just confirmation of what we already knew what they were going to say/do. They did a "counseling out" conversation with us. Today or next week I plan on touring the district public school, which is our plan B. Right now we are watching & waiting for the next week or so to see his DS does, but we are fully prepared to pull him and place him in the "home district school" as they said.

I apologize if this sounds harsh, but because of the bolded, I don't think you are in a position to wait and see. If you request a meeting with the CST the school psych should be there, and you should be able to put an immediate intervention plan in place that is more than a reward chart. You need to be able to talk with all of the players, listen to their suggestions, offer your input, and sign off on a plan.

Drop off the letter to them in person ASAP. Both schools are in the same district, no?

Princess_Lily

Thats exactly why I'm concerned!,,Not harsh at all, its honest.

Yes, both schools are in the district. I'm working on the letter this weekend.