IEP noob questions..

wishesforfish

Please bear with me..we (the case coordinator and me) wrote DS's first IEP a few weeks back. DS hasn't started therapy because he just had gtube surgery and some therapists were not available yet anyway.. He is scheduled to receive speech, OT and PT, all once a week. Feeding therapy is to be covered by SLP and OT jointly.

DS will be two in March (actual age). When we sat down to write the IEP the case coordinator had me list all the goals I wanted met for DS. I did not do much research about this process, and frankly as a layperson I didn't know what to tell her. So we kind of trial and errored our way through and listed a few things that the PT/SLPs in the initial evaluation had mentioned. 

Now that I've had some time to digest this.. I have two concerns/questions:

1. Is this the way it's normally done? The parent tells the caseworker what to write in the IEP? I did not feel comfortable chairing the whole thing because I'm not a therapist .. I don't know. The whole thing seemed off to me. Should I be the one collating all the information and listing out what my son should be doing? This seems like something the therapists (that will be working with him, not just the initial eval) should have more input on.

2.  We were subsequently assigned an SLP who is very pleasant and seems well versed in dealing with speech matters. However, part of DS's feeding therapy is under SLP..and I feel that she has little to no experience with feeding therapy. Much less experience helping someone like DS... Background - DS doesn't eat by mouth AT ALL at almost 2. I think he needs some serious help. And I would like to exhaust state-funded help before I take him to an out of state/out of country program.

 

Any thoughts, wise mamas? 

Justinlove

At his age, he does not have an IEP, he has an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan).  Parents are typically asked what they would like to have their child work towards over the next 6 months in an IFSP.  Therapists can be asked to share their opinions as well (and this becomes more prevalent once they have actually worked with your child).

As for finding an expert in feeding, all SLPs and some OTs have basic training in feeding therapy.  You can ask for another SLP through EI, but my experience from reading many many many message boards/support groups for NPO kids, you are probably going to need to see a specialist--and most don't take insurance.

houndbaby

Like pp said, what you have done is an IFSP and not an IEP. When we did IFSPs with my kids I always sat down with the service coordinator, we talked about the goals and what I though should be the goals. After that she would talk with the SLP/OT and they would fine tune those goals or a add a few of their own, then the service coordinator would share those goals with me and get my approval.  If your not happy with your IFSP you can change it at any time.

As for the SLP with EI, she might be the only SLP employed there depending on the size and funding of your county's EI program. Sometimes there is a bit of money available to see specialists outside of the program, depending on your program and your financial situation, but it won't be much if there is any. It may be worth it to see what your insurance will cover for feeding therapy. You should talk about your concerns with your service coordinator and see what options you have.

Pancake227

Justinlove:

At his age, he does not have an IEP, he has an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan).  Parents are typically asked what they would like to have their child work towards over the next 6 months in an IFSP.  Therapists can be asked to share their opinions as well (and this becomes more prevalent once they have actually worked with your child).

As for finding an expert in feeding, all SLPs and some OTs have basic training in feeding therapy.  You can ask for another SLP through EI, but my experience from reading many many many message boards/support groups for NPO kids, you are probably going to need to see a specialist--and most don't take insurance.

Just a head's up - not ALL SLP's are trained in feeding therapy.  This seems important to you, do more research.  

MaxandRuby

Agreed with PP - your child has an IFSP from now until the day they turn 3. At 3, it becomes an IEP if they qualify through the school system.

For your questions.

1. I've dealt with EI in 3 states at this point. In KS and IA, goals were pretty much written for us BUT I had input and overall you have to agree to whatever goals are put on paper. If you think you need different or more concise goals then just speak up. In TN, I basically wrote out the goals or at least that is how it felt. During my interview with them I told them everything that was most important to me to have worked on. They wrote the goals based on that, the interview, and the eval. They missed some important stuff to me, I notified them the stuff I'd like added, they updated the IFSP, and I signed off on it.

2. In early intervention in KS, the SLP did our feeding therapy. In Iowa, the OT would have done it but he didn't qualify for it. In TN, his feeding therapist is his SLP (she does both and very well). What makes you feel that she has little to no experience with feeding therapy? Are you comfortable enough asking her if she feels comfortable? Could you say something to your service coordinator that you would like a new feeding therapist?

Justinlove

It is my understanding (based upon discussions I have had with 5 different SLPs) that all SLPs have BASIC training in aeromechanical and aerodigestive functions as part of their initial degree.  Some choose to continue their post-graduate study to become more specialized.