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Special Needs
CaptainSerious
member
How specific do your IEPs get?
CaptainSerious
member
Sorry for posting so much out of the blue, but we're trying to wrap up both my sons' IEPs in the next couple days, and I'm full of questions. I'm hoping someone with more experience can guide me.
My older son has been diagnosed/classified as dyslexic, having a language based learning disability, and most recently as having a communication delay. All of it means the same thing: he doesn't understand how language works (including the language of math), and it's affecting his ability to learn. This is exasperated by the fact that he's only been speaking English for two years (we adopted him from Peru). He's going into 3rd grade, and barely reads at a 1st grade level. We've been having him tutored using the Wilson Reading program for the past year, and it's made a huge difference.
We asked that his IEP specify that the school use the Wilson Reading method in teaching him, and they refused. They insisted it was too specific and said we couldn't request something that exactly. They did agree to share the information with his teachers and let them know that we would appreciate if they would use it, rather than require them to.
What do you think? Is this a reasonable concession, or should we push for it? It's just that we know this program works for him. He went from not being able to read at a Kindergarten level to being able to sound out and spell three syllable words in one year. I don't see what good can come of switching to another system and confusing him if this works, and they are familiar with the program, but I don't know if I'm not seeing the full picture.
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Re: How specific do your IEPs get?
This. You can also ask for " multi-sensory approach" to be included in the IEP (but the teacher should be doing multi-sensory anyway)
Asking for a specific program to be used is your preference, not your child's need in the school system. Chances are the Wilson program worked for your child because of the type of program it is. Asking for his reading program to be a multisensory approach is very reasonable and I see that alot in my students' IEPs.You can ask them to put in the IEP under parental concerns that you have seen a large improvement using the Wilson and would like the district to use a similar approach. It won't be mandatory for the district to use it, but you would have a record of it. Make sure that you also contact the school periodically and ask what is being done in order to meet that aspect of the IEP.
I am a related service provider in NJ. One time one of my parents tried to get their lawyers involved and everything trying to get the Wilson approach in their daughters IEP and they weren't able to do it.