School wants to move 7th grade son from IEP to 504

Our 7th grade son has had an IEP for dyslexia and dysgraphia since first grade. Ths school evaluated him for an upcoming IEP and they are recommending that he be ''graduated'' to a 504 plan. This is since our son, who is smart and a superhard worker, has done well in school- gotten good grades, good STAR testing. Of course, he has had tons of turoring and help from us in order to do well. And since resource in the school was lacking and not a good fit, our son did not get direct services this year. I feel like it would be a loss to be moved to 504 from IEP. Like he is being penalized for all his hard work and sacrifice.Any one else have experience with this? What can I do if the school refuses to keep him on an IEP- ask for independant assessment at district's expense?

Preparing for an IEP for 3-y-o with ADS (BUSD)

My son is 28 months old and diagnosed with ASD. He is mid - high functioning, but is just beginning to use words. Although it hasnt seem like I've had long to appreciate the pre 3 services he's had, I am looking into being informed for his IEP in the fall. I asked the OT about it today and she informed me that they will also do a transition meeting..What I thought to myself, even 9 months away seemed soon! It really stinks to be in an uninformed place after all the research I did for pre 3..I really need to gain more knowledge about this process and also would love advice as to a good parent advocate, if I should get an independent developmental assessment etc. as I would have to get on a list now to get in before his transition meeting in June. We are in the Berkeley School District. I would really appreciate hearing what others have done to prepare for this. I really don't want my son to just be given whatever because I havent done the proper leg work.

There aren't a whole lot of options here in Berkeley, so my advice is to just know your son and know what will work for him. Here are some things for you to ponder:

1. What kind of classroom setting will work for him? You'll have a choice of entirely special ed, mixed (some percentage) special ed and head start kids or a ''full inclusion'' model where he's the only, or one of the only special ed kids in a room full of regular ed kids.

2. Depending on what kind of classroom placement you get, will he need an aide?

3. What other services does he need? Speech therapy? Does he have sensory issues? Does he have physical issues? If so, should he see the therapist 1:1 or in a group?

4. Do you want a home program in addition to his classroom? Are you doing ABA? Do you have an agency you want to work with?

Lots of questions, I know, but just some things to keep in mind. Feel free to contact me directly if you want. Jill

IEP process at OUSD

Anyone out there who has gone through an IEP with Oakland? Our child really needs help with stimming and other social skills (he is probably high functioning autism/asperger's - and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall), but they are saying they don't do this sort of thing, but this will interrupt his and classmates' ability to learn. He received these services in another state last year. Anyone have luck getting this type of therapy through the district? Would also love to talk to someone who could help us with the IEP language and goals. Any suggestions for novice or professionals on this front would be great. anon

Perhaps the District is telling you this since your child is not yet enrolled. Not sure. However, you can request that your child be assessed by the school district by a psychologists and an Occupational Therapist. The psychologist could diagnose your child with Aspergers if warranted since you suspect it and an OT can address the sensory/stimming issues.

Another alternative is to have your child assessed privately or through the Regional Center of the East Bay (510) 383-1200. You can also check out their website, www.rceb.org.

Based on what you said, an occupational therapist sounds like what you need. the therapist can address the stimming issues and provide you with strategies that will help curb the stimming or at least reduce it so that your child can learn. The therapist would write goals for and consult with the classroom teacher.

There are many pediatric OT's in the area. Also, you can pick up this book at Nolo Press in Berkeley, A Parents Guide to an IEP. Good luck. anonymous

Brief summary of the process: 
1. You request an assessment, through the assessment team at 
Programs for Exceptional Children - call 879.3070 to ask for a 
diagnostic assessment. 
2. The assessment intake person will do a phone screening with 
you to hear what's going on. 
3. Assuming that they agree there are issues - and it does help 
to have a referral from a doctor, a preschool teacher, or 
someone else - they will schedule a meeting with you for more 
detail to figure out what kind of testing to do. You have to 
sign to test permission form in order for them to do anything. 
4. They test your child in the areas agreed. 
5. They set up an IEP meeting to review the test results with 
you. Based on the results, they will recommend a school 
placement and course of action. It may be your local school 
with support, or it may be a specialized placement depending on 
what they think your child needs to be able to learn the 
curriculum successfully. 

Please come to the Oakland CAC meetings. The Community Advisory Council is the Oakland Unified's special ed parent group. There you will have direct access to staff, including the Director, from the special ed dept. You will also meet many parents from the district who have become proficient in advocating for their children. It's held the 1st Monday of every month at 314 E 10th St. from 7 to 9pm. You can also join the CAC mailing list by emailing cacoakland[at]comcast.net. Nancy

Battling the school district on son's IEP

Our 5-year-old son has gross and fine motor skill delays. He has been receiving OT and speech through our school district. In addition, he attends the district's special day preschool 2 days/week, and a mainstream preschool 3 days/wk. Last week we held an IEP meeting to discuss kindergarten. The district seems to have 2 possible options - 1)mainstream him in a regular kindergarten, with no accommodation for his motor skill problems, or 2) keep him in special ed, and try to mainstream him over the course of the year. Neither seem like good options to us - he needs something in between. What do other district do/offer, or how do I find out? I have no idea what is really out there, but I do know that our district is not great at innovative solutions! Also, is there some kind of a forum like BPN for parents of special needs kids? Thanks! E

There is a solution in Oakland for kids with speech/language issues, and if the child also needs OT for fine motor delays, he will receive it on a ''pull out'' basis.

Perhaps the district is considering that kindergarten is not really a time of intense fine motor work. There's writing, and art, and fine motor play. But it may be that they think your child will do well socially and will be motivated to work himself on his fine motor projects.

If he's not very motivated in this area, you need to press on the issue and request additional OT, if that's what you think he needs. I'd be more concerned about whether he needs support in the speech area myself; depending on your district and school, kindergarten can be a highly verbal year. You don't want him to get frustrated because he doesn't understand what's expected of him and everyone else ''gets it''. That's where behavior starts to crop up as a problem.

Go back to the IEP table and ask for additional services if that's what you want. If he's more capable than the most capable child in the special day class, you will not want to place him there. Most important - visit each class so you can observe, take notes and visualize how you think he would fit in. hope that's a little help. - Nancy

IEP - does my 3rd grader qualify? (WCCUSD)

Our third grade son was evaluated by his public school (at our request) because he is a struggling reader and seems to need more time than his peers to complete tasks and formulate responses. The assessments found that he is extremely bright, and found only one area of concern (involving visual memory), which is impeeding his learning to read. There was a drastic difference in this score and his other scores.

The upshot is that the school says that he does not qualify for services (reading pull-out help, for example), because he ''tested too high'' and is still at grade level (albeit barely).

Is this the case? He feels very bad about himself as a learner, is struggling to read, and is not making much progress. There is an on-site reading specialist, but he does not qualify to see her. I am not sure what his rights are, or how to even find out! Any insights welcome! WCCSD Mom

Are there issues based on the IEP category?

Has anyone had experience with an IEP when their child has issues that cross many categories but doesn't really qualify under one particular category (i.e. speech, emotional disturbance, autism...).

My son is in kindergarten. He has ADHD and speech delays and currently has an aide. His school is in the process of assessing him & it looks like the category that most clearly fits him (by the school's rules) is ''emotional disturbance''. This shocks me since in all our years of doctors & assessments this has never been mentioned. But, looking at the schools definition of ''emotional disturbance'' he does seem to qualify.

I guess I'm wondering if there are any issues with having him qualify for resources based on the category of ''emotional disturbance''. With all his other issues I never saw these behaviors as a problem, I thought they were just a result of him being immature & hopefully would eventually resolve themselves - it's a shock to learn differently.

I've always been comfortable with him qualifying for an IEP under speech & just want to understand if anything changes or gets limited by us changing categories. The problem really is that althought it's acknowledged that he has serious issues & needs support no one has been able to successfully determine a solution for all his issues.

Thanks for the help. Upset & Confused

Have a look at the rewrite of the Oakland forms if you are in Oakland; they were revised last summer, and there is explanatory material. http://public.ousd.k12.ca.us/docs/1553.pdf (I searched ''serious emotional disturbance iep services oakland'' to find that one. No quotes when you do the search, though.)

Remember that your child is so young that it may be hard for anyone to diagnose authoritatively. Our son went from PDD-NOS to NVLD over the course of 4 years as therapies helped and he aged and grew into his brain and body. You may have one handicapping condition this year and a new one at the next triannual.

So if you want the psych services, be open to it. But as I have said: I don't know if there is a downside. Let's see if there is another answer out there in BPN land. good luck! - Nancy

It feels totally unnatural as a parent, but yields the result you want in the end.

ADHD alone generally only means a Sec. 504, but not special ed, and therefore, no IEP. anon

A child can qualify under multiple categories as well as OHI -- Otherwise Health Impaired. It would be very helpful to consult a special education advocate who understands the process.

At this point, the smart thing to do is to get your child a private, professional neuropsych evaluation. It is money will spent to understand exactly what his disabilities are, how they mask his intelligence, and a roadmap for helping him grow. Children don't grow out of behavior; they learn with the help of parents & teachers, and when needed, therapists. -- Been There

IEP for 5th grader with mental health issues

I've been advised that I should advocate for an IEP (individual education plan) for my fifth grader, who has been out of school for more than three weeks now with psychiatric issues. She is currently doing independent study using work from her teacher at home.

Has anyone from BPN gone through the process of getting an IEP for mental health issues? I'm particularly interested in knowing how long the process might take. We're near the end of March now, and come June, she'll be done with her school for good(they stop at fifth grade). We might get the IEP too late to really do anything at this current school, if it takes a while to get. anon, please

Need help writing an IEP for my son

I was told by my son's Pediatrician that I need to get my son an IEP pronto. I am looking for help in creating and tracking of same. Does anyone know if there is software or an interactive website that would be beneficial? Thank you. worried mom

IEP for Private School Student?

Is this an oxymoron, or can an IEP be established for a student in a private school as a way to obtain government-funded services for the child in-school or out? Who does one go to? What is the impact on the child's academic record? anonymous

There are certainly specialized private schools who take public school students with IEP's, but that is because they contract with public schools and are essentially ''in the business'' of supplying services to them. Usually these schools have nothing BUT referred public school students, who are generally severely disabled. These students, however, start out through the public system. also anonymous

IEP for Gifted Child?

In some states, IEPs are written for gifted children as well as for children with disabilities. It doesn't seem to be standard practice in California, however. Has any of you done this, or investigated it, as a means of getting a more appropriate education for a gifted child. If so, what happened? What did you learn?
Parent of very bored, good kid

I haven't heard of these for students who are GATE though. Plus, I don't think that 504 or an IEP can really address your child's issue. If the teacher is boring, there isn't a whole lot that the plan for your child can do about it. The teacher would probably just give her extra work to do or tell her to bring a book to class and read once the regular class work is completed. (In the teacher's defence, if your child is in an average heterogeneous classroom here in the bay area, chances are there are 35 kids in the room and at least 4 of them are functionally illiterate, and one third to half the class is below grade level. Add to that kids with behavior problems, and then the regular work that goes into the job - preparing lessons from the text, creating new lessons, making photocopies, grading, decorating classrooms, organizing/cleaning a classroom, meeting with parents, involvement in extra curricular activities, etc. ... well kids who are smart and capable of doing the work and bored are probably not the highest priority. That is not to say that your child doesn't have needs that should be met, just that the demands on that teacher are overwhelming and so not every child's personal needs can be met.)

Has your child been tested and designated GATE? If so then the school is receiving money from the state to provide enrichment, and you should ask the school what that is. At some schools it is special feild trips, or books that can be checked out, or a classroom computer, at others it is a separate class. What ever it is, they need to provide services to the students for whom they receive funds. Usually there is a committee at the school that involves parents of GATE kids to determine how that money should be spent also, get involved in it so that it is being spent in a way that will benefit the kids most. a teacher

School district says daughter doesn't qualify for IEP

We just met with the representatives from the Oakland school district to get the results of my 11 year old daughter's IEP testing. We were told that she does not qualify for services, although her test scores range from 3% to 55% with most below 25%. They don't see the "point spread" that would qualify her for services as a learning disabled student. They offered to do assessment to qualify her for services as a Severely Emotionally Disturbed child, which would qualify her for counseling as well as educational support. They said it was an educational diagnosis, not a psychological one. Understandably, we do not want to go this route, because it is not true in her case and we do not want her to be stigmatized this way. She does have social problems with other kids because she does not read social cues, which we feel is part of her nonverbal learning disability, and she does get frustrated and angry when dealing with homework, but she is not severely emotionally disturbed. Her teacher, who also attended the meeting, afterward said to us, "This is bull...." She is in a private school now, which is really hurting us financially, but to receive any services from the district, she would have to transfer to a public middle school. With all the learning and social problems she has, I am very dubious about her ability to adjust and cope in a large, public school. We are in the process of deciding on our response and course of action. We have an appointment with CASE, an advocacy organization for special ed., we are contacting the psychologist who led her social skills group, and the tutor she has been working with for the last two months. Does anyone have any other ideas or successful strategies they have used with the school district?

As I'm sure you have already noticed, you must do a great deal of advocating for your child. The services are available but you must seek them out even when you are dealing with someone who is supposedly providing the service to you. You can e-mail me personally if you have further questions, I work at a center for people with disabilities and can hopefully help you find some shortcuts in the system. Mike and Linda