Need advice re IEP

bensmommy518

Hello, this is my first post here so if this is not the right forum let me know.  My son has been in Early Intervention since 18months.  He turns three in a couple of weeks and we have his first IEP meeting thisThursday.  What should I expect from this meeting?  They have already told me that he qualifies for speech therapy but I am not sure how often or how much.  (My husband went to the evaluation and he is not the best at relaying information back to me).

will this meeting be pretty much just like all his review meetings in the birth to three program or is it something different?

What types of questions should I ask (other than how often and where are services being administered and who is the therapist and case manager I will have etc).  My husband had said that at the assessment they seemed confident that given his particular delay they would be able to work easily with him and they had some sort of program already designed for his type of delay.  I do have questions about this since we have been working with a speech therapist for 6 months now and this is the first time I (or she) has heard about a set "program" for his type of delay.  I had asked her what they could be referring to right after the evaluation since if it is a magic program why are we not already doing it and she had no idea what they were talking about. 

any advice or suggestions or experiences is appreciated. 

thefuturemrskudla

Hi, the first thing I suggest is to contact the school board evaluation team that did the assessment (the people you will meet with to draft the IEP) and get copies of the reports from the evaluations and any draft IEP they have prepared.

bensmommy518

They have sent me the report from the assessment - basically saying where he falls in the various categories and the results of the DAYC-2 , Preschool Language Scale 5 and the Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation (the three measures they used in the assessment). 

The end says that "his diagnosis of "Speech or Language Impairment" results in the need for specially designed intervention (SDI) in order to participate in typical activities and routines. 

Under recommendations it says that he "needs to increase his sound production accuracy in order to be understood by others during age appropriate activieites" and later that his "receiving speech therapist will share cuing techniques and strategies for sound production, as well as provide pictures or activities to support sound practice in the home environment"

So basically from all that I have his "diagnosis" (which to me seems pretty general but I am a treat the symptoms, not the diagnosis kind of person anyway) and that he will be given a speech therapist.  Not much else. 

I can call them and see if they will send me over a draft of the IEP. 

ToastieSimons

Just remember, you do not have to sign the IEP at the meeting.  You can take it home and look it over and ask advice from others prior to signing it.

This "program" for his delays could simply mean that he fits into their preschool model.  My DS1 was nonambulatory and nonverbal at the eval at 3.  The school district preschool model is mainly focused around autism, and simple speech or mild motor delays (meaning a child only has a delay in one area and is not cognitively impacted).  They decided to send DS1 to a private school that has a program designed for children with more significant needs.

If my son only had a speech delay he would have been a fit for their program.  They would have possibly put him in their preschool program or just provided him with speech therapy.  They told us at our initial meeting with them that DS1 would not fit in their program.  

macchiatto

Can you ask his EI for advice? S/he might have advice specific to your child's needs and how things work in your area. My son's EI was really helpful in prepping for his first IEP meeting.

thefuturemrskudla

My son also has speech for articulation, which is what the report you quote suggests. In that case, the best therapy is often one-on-one, short sessions multiple times each week.

bensmommy518

@thefuturemrskudla‌ how many times per week should I look for? Right now he has once per week for one hour but struggles with staying focused that long.

@ToastieSimons‌ when you say preschool program what do you mean? Right now he is in daycare as he just misses the cutoff for preschool here (sept 1st).

@macchiatto‌ I was planning to talk to his current speech therapist today at our session but she had to reschedule due to family emergency and we will now see her on Thursday after the meeting. I had talked to her a little before but she herself is new to this area and has only worked birth to three here. She told me how it was in her other state but warned me it is often different state to state.

Thanks for everyone for the feedback so far. A lot of times I just feel so clueless about this stuff which increases my anxiety.

hopecounts

often a child with an IEP will qualify for some type CSS (communication and social  skills) or other preschool type program through the school system prior to age 4. 

But it may depend on his specific  needs/diagnosis if they have an appropriate one for him in your district but certainly ask. 

Also do what you can to reach out to other mom's with IEPs, they will probably be able to give you decent info on what you are looking at in your community and what options are out there to ask about. 

CaptainSerious

I highly recommend that you look at your state's department of education website and see if they have a section that covers the IEP process and your rights.  They are required to publish a guide for parents, and many states include this information on their websites.  If it's not there, look around for some information before your meeting regarding the laws and norms in your state, so that you are prepared and know not only what the school can and can't do, but also what your son is entitled to.

Best of luck!

thefuturemrskudla

Short, frequent one-on-one speech therapy sessions tend to be best for articulation issues. What does your private therapist suggest?

macchiatto

So you don't also have an Early Interventionist along with a Speech Therapist? I thought that was usually part of the plan but I gather that's one of the thing that varies state to state? Ours does family training and service coordination and is great for general advice on various services and resources.