|
|
Post by StrugglingAgain on Oct 28, 2004 9:13:32 GMT -5
Brookesmom, I'm so interested in how the meeting at the school went yesterday. My ds is being tested this week, so I know my meeting will be coming up rather soon. Was there something inparticular that seemed to be the issue? Did you have any surprises in the results? I'm wondering what these tests will show. DS also has a huge gap in his verbal and performance IQ (per previous psychologist testing) and I wonder what that means in the school setting. Surely by third grade if ds was bored, I would have known? Hmmmm? Please let us know how it went!!
|
|
|
|
Post by brookesmom on Oct 28, 2004 12:55:46 GMT -5
GREAT NEWS!!!! I got the team to agree to have her classified as OHI and to implement an IEP and additional accomodations. This was my first eligibility meeting ever and it was definitely intimidating. The psychologist launched right into the report and babbled all kinds of test scores at me which at the time was going over my head. She kept concluding that my daughter was a solid average in IQ and ability, blah, blah, blah. She told me she could clearly see that my daughter was learning. What a nut!!!!
At that point I could see that they wanted to see what I thought. I did not hesitate and let them have it. I told them that for 3 years I begged people to look at my daughter and none of her teachers(very good teachers I might add)flagged her with school officials as having problems. I guess they decided finally that the fact that she continually was failing all of her tests that maybe there was a problem. I said that I felt that the school had let her down and she now had not mastered the basics. The psychologist then said that she did show mastery to which several of us replied yes when she was in a one on one situation. Doesn't happen in the classroom.
Finally her General Ed teacher spoke up and said that even with accomodations that have been made and several weeks of medication she is still low functioning in the classroom setting compared to other 5th graders. She fails basically every test. Suddenly they all decide oh yeah she is OHI. We will sit down and write IEP goals next week. More research to do!
FYI to all going through this process. When I sat down last night and really looked over her scores she had lots of "at risk" scores in attention and learning areas and several "significant clinical concerns". But according to them that is average. Even though her IQ tested out on the higher side of average. Go figure. Listen to everyone here. PREPARE YOURSELF! It was VERY clear to me yesterday that my husband and I were the "experts" in the room yesterday. Just glad that my daughter is the real winner here! Thanks for all the support. I will probably have lots of questions over the next week about writing goals.
Chris
|
|
|
|
Post by Sorka on Oct 28, 2004 13:23:51 GMT -5
Yipppeeeee!!!! ;D
Check out that tutorial I mentioned .. it has a nice organizational tool that you can use to write down your concerns etc.. It will be very helpful to you in putting in your two cents in that next meeting..
And in that meeting this is definitely where you want to get a copy of that IEP and mull it over for a day or so.. and then sign it when you are satisfied.
Great job!!!
Denise
|
|
|
|
Post by StrugglingAgain on Oct 28, 2004 14:04:59 GMT -5
WONDERFUL!!! You GO, Girl!!!! Isn't it a shame......as an adult, I'm terrified of "school personnel"! I wonder how they put me on the defensive? I never, ever, ever was in trouble in school....maybe it's because I'm traveling unknown waters? Anyway, if you can do it, then I can do it. I hope they finish the testing on my son soon so I can go in with my armour like you did! Congratulations for sticking to your guns! Someday your daughter will thank you!
|
|
|
|
Post by tridlette on Oct 28, 2004 14:41:24 GMT -5
Chris, I am really glad that this is working out for you!
YOU ARE THE EXPERT, don't ever let them tell you otherwise. YOU are the ONLY adult(s) who will continue to follow her progress through graduation, therefore, you are the ONLY expert on your child.
The HAVE to explain things to you in non-medical, non-legal terms. You are protected under law to have them explain it to you in terms that YOU can understand. If you don't know what they are talking about, hold up the STOP sign and tell them to clarify.
DO NOT let them rush you through the process. Every moment they rush you now, is less work for them later. DON'T let them cut any corners. If you have to have eight meetings to get through all this, make them hold eight meetings. YOU ARE THEIR BOSS, YOU PAY THEIR SALARY through YOUR TAXES. MAKE THEM EARN IT.
***
Now having taken the hard line above, I will tell you that the more cooperative you are, the more you will get from them. Another way to get their full cooperation is to join forces with other parents. Schools have a habit of listening better to a large group of parents faster than they listen to just one or two.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF NUMBERS.
And remember that you CAN catch more flies with honey... but a lot of flies are also caught by manure!
Give them which ever they seem to need at the time. Never lose sight of who ultimately benefits from your advocacy!
|
|
|
|
Post by HooDunnit on Oct 28, 2004 17:22:06 GMT -5
Thank you for that report. Quite clearly, you had to be assertive but not aggressive. The difference is being informed and committed to what you know you want, in this case an IEP. Good going. I hope that some of us can help you with writing clear and measurable goals. As they say, knowledge is power.
|
|
|
|
Post by brookesmom on Oct 29, 2004 15:53:37 GMT -5
Love her new nickname, "Little pumpkin" all 85 pounds of her!!
Chris
|
|
|
|
Post by catseye on Oct 29, 2004 15:59:04 GMT -5
Way to go!!
BTW I bet "little pumpkin" is a holloween spoof!
cat
|
|
