IEP going into Kindergarten?

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DS was just diagnosed with Asperger's. He went to preschool for a few months, but it didn't go well for him and we pulled him out.

I'd like to get him an IEP for Kindergarten but am not sure what things he'll need in place as I can't predict how he'll adjust.

Of course the school suggested waiting until he's been there a few weeks, but I worry that he'll get off to a bad start and it'll take months to get an IEP in place.

Experiences?

Well, I hate to agree with the school, but it is difficult to make an individualized education plan when you have no idea what problems may occur or what struggles the individual has.

Do you know what problems your child may have? If so it may be easier to offer advice on what supports may be beneficial.

The school sounds so reasonable except for one major thing - the school can (and probably will) take up to 60 days to evaluate your child from the time you sign the Permission to Evaluate. And the summer doesn't count. So if you wait until a few weeks into the school year, you won't have an IEP until the spring - 60 days to evaluate, 30 days to generate the report and go over it, then the IEP meeting ...

If you disagree with their evaluation and need an Independent Educational Evaluation done (at their expense), that will push things back even further. Don't wait. The evaluation should be done asap. If there aren't a lot of accommodations needed now, that's okay. An IEP can be changed at any time. If you get an IEP in June, and you are concerned about its suitability, schedule another one, for review, in October. Don't wait until October to start the process. You already know that pre-school didn't work out, so you know what some of the issues are. Start there. As parents, you know a lot more about your child than you, or the school, give you credit for.

Thank you, that was exactly what I needed to hear. I'll send a request letter tomorrow.

I should mention that the school is a good one, it's an accelerated program that you have to test into.

I guess that's why I hestitate to push for an iep before starting, I am hoping they'll work with him regardless. but, i guess i'm not willing to risk it...

Welcome to WP!

I don't know what DS means, but the IEP is a living, evolving document that can follow your child through school for the next 14 or 15 years or so. You will have plenty of time to adjust and tweak it. My suggestion is not to worry so much about the IEP at this stage, but focus on developing an open, cooperative, and communicative relationship with your child's teachers and get their feedback on how s/he is doing, what works, what doesn't, etc. For example, there was a period of time in elementary school when I was communicating almost daily with a teacher on how minor adjustments to my son's diet affected his behavior in school...not an IEP thing at all. But through this process we discovered that certain breakfast foods resulted in better school performance. The teachers are your most important resource for finding out how your child is doing. So I suggest you give the IEP time to develop, and focus instead on getting to know your child better in terms of school performance, make friends with the teachers and school admins, and let the IEP sort of develop in its own time. Best of luck!