Therapy through school district

chach916

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience working  with (or fighting with) a school district to get their child therapy.  We has DS evaluated through our hospital peds rehab and they said that yes he was in need and recommended 2-3 times a week for a year. Unfortunately because he is 3, insurance won't cover and says he must go through the school district.

The school OT will be observing him tomorrow, but from talking to his teacher and speech therapist, I have a feeling we are going to have a fight in front of us and that they will not qualify him.  If this happens, what can I do- besides going private (which we don't have the $$ for.)  

Any/all help would be appreciated!

 

KatFCo

Contact the district's special ed department and ask for the rules regarding age and qualification. If a physician has diagnosed a need for therapy, in some districts, a school OT can't contradict that.

Many times parents need to become their child's advocate. Check out state guidelines on how to qualify for certain kinds of therapy also.

rsd12

I thouught the same thing with our school district. I was pleasantly surprised with the services they agreed upon for my middle son. I figured they were going to say his speech was age appropriate, and they actually enrolled him in their collaborative preschool. It was a lot more services than I anticipated, as my oldest was already getting speech 2 30 min/week. So sorry I did not answer your question.

jlw2505

My DD has an IEP for speech - we had her go through the testing that all kids need here in MN before kindy at the 1st chance we could, a few months after her 3rd b-day.  When she didn't pass that, we were able to get her tested through the Early Childhood Special Ed department.  She qualified for speech therapy and has been in it through the ECSE for 2 years.  This past summer, we took for a private eval due to some issues she was having in PreK - we held her back from starting kindy and in August, she was diagnosed with ADHD and the clinic suggested that she get a 3rd day of speech a week (she gets 2 90 sessions a week at school).  The school told us that they were not able to offer that  so we have to do it privately.  She has an IEP and we will get her ADHD formally added (it is included but nothing formal since she is only in PreK right now and they totally work with us but we will work to get things more formally written as far as what extra things she things before the fall).  She gets 2x a week through school and 1x a week privatley that insurnace doesn't cover and we pay out of pocket for.  We tried to fight it with insurance but got no where.  School is doing all that it can and what they have to do.  I would work hard with the school but be ready to look elsewhere.  I got what we have by taking things to the department head to make sure my DD was getting what she needed.  Stay calm and be professional and keep all documentation of everything - every doctor visit, test, phone conversation, etc.,

kar5162

A need for therapy from a hospital rehab group is not necessarily the same as a need for therapy for the school. The special needs board will have some great resources, but ultimately school provided therapy is about being able to access the classroom and school to achieve educational goals. It's not about what a doctor thinks might be good for the child or what the parent wants.

DS gets a fair amount of PT (3 hours a week), 1 hour of OT, does hippotherapy once a week and attends a developmental playgroup where he gets in room OT (should technically get PT, but they don't have that in this school district and we wanted him in this program vs EI for socialization opportunities). When we get into the school district at 3, he will get PT and possibly OT. It might be provided out of school for a while since he might not actually qualify based on his delays for educational preschool since his delays don't require teaching the way speech/social delays might. Ultimately he'll be on an IEP in the school system though. I don't think they will ever give him the level of PT/OT he "needs" from a physical standpoint since he can access the classroom without walking.