IEP

Individualize Education Program - the IEP - is the legal document that governs the 'special ed' that your son or daughter will receive. I've done three of these now, they have to be updated every year as required by law. However, since my son was diagnosed in late summer his first IEP was done in September and that is now the recurring deadline date. Not such a big deal last year when he was continuing in preschool with the same (wonderful) teacher. But this year it has been a huge headache.

Following from my last post, our son's school placement had been up in the air all summer. Now we were into the 2nd week in August and it seems as if we had no option but to send him to the neighborhood school, which for reasons (some detailed in last post) did not make us happy or comfortable. However, we received a 'last minute reprieve' - a charter school for which I had got on the waiting list called us after our first meeting with the district to complete our son's IEP. Someone had dropped out and they had an opening in their kindergarten class!

This was literally last minute as our son's first day of school was the next day. We met with the kindergarten teacher at the charter school and enrolled our son. This is a school I would have given my eye-teeth to have attended as a student myself, very rich course offerings, core knowledge focus (like our preferred school that had the autism program). But it was a complete k-12 school that only received limited support from the school district - only 2/3rd the funding per student, no busing, no lunch program!?! It is as if the district would like to see it fail... but it has been around 13 years and is rated one of the top schools in the state (and country as well). So we definitely feel fortunate that our son will be attending a school that is not only academically challenging, but also places an emphasis upon character and discipline. We are hoping and expecting that the latter will greatly diminish potential issues related to bullying and social isolation, whereas the intellectual milieu should help our son meet others who share his special interests.

But since the school has this strained relationship to the district, the IEP process has to be begun all over again... and now with the deadline fast approaching. This was unfortunate, since we did have a very productive meeting (sans the at-the-time kindergarten teacher) with the district, in which our son's former teacher made an impressive presentation (all the more disappointing that his teacher to be bailed on us). But now we had an entirely new team: new teacher, language, OT, psych and had of special services to meet with and get up to speed. Fortunately their school year began after labor day... unfortunately, a week of that time was wasted waiting for the district to supply previous IEP documentation (I eventually went and got it myself and hand delivered it). A meeting was set up, but then the floods came here to the front range in Colorado and it had to be cancelled. Now we were up against the legally mandated deadline... and everyone in my family was sick with a respiratory virus - courtesy of the start of the new school year :)

The good news is that the new team is aware how crazy it is for them to be expected to map out an IEP for a child they either do not know of barely know, and so they understood that what we had to do was create a placeholder until a proper evaluation can be done. 

So you parents out there: get and IEP done BEFORE the transition to a new school year so that those who have the best knowledge of your child's situation can actually contribute to assessing the strengths and weaknesses and setting appropriate goals and levels of support. 

The bad news was that our son's former teacher could not make the newly scheduled time, we had no leeway due to the deadline, our kids were all sick, and we were meeting in a tiny office with the kids screaming in the anteroom because a) they felt lousy and b) could not see their parents.

NOTE TO SELF - always request the IEP meeting to be held in an empty classroom - allows the kids to explore and play while in visual contact with parents but allows parents to devote attention to actual meeting as well. As it was I or my wife (me mostly) was absent from this very important meeting for long stretches trying to placate a sick 20 month old who would not stop crying... which got the 3 year old crying... the noise levels stressing our 5 year old autistic son (and myself). What a miserable experience!!

As to the content of the meeting: our concerns as parents were that the social aspect of our son's needs not be overlooked by a focus on intellectual achievement, as our son could probably do well intelletually even if under a great deal of stress/coping with his social deficits. Also we wanted to ensure that techniques to dealing with the class size were implemented: visual schedules, buddy system, help during unstructured social activity. We also wanted to make clear that we wanted to limit the amount of time he would be pulled from class for his 'special ed': believing that it is better for such instruction to integrated into the classroom material so that a) our son is not missing out on material and b) other kids can benefit from the techniques relayed. It also lessens the potential for our son to be singled out. We met what I take it to be the usual resistance to any 'tampering' or suggestions regarding 'how the class is to be run,' but on the whole this group has been receptive. Given that this was just a placeholder meeting, the true test will come in the next few months. 

At least the next round of meetings should be an improvement, as we only have one direction to go: up!