IEPs and school disputes

Post Reply New Topic

My son was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old and was immediately placed into early intervention and then special education. He is now 10 years old and we have moved to a new school district. They have re evaluated him and determined he is no longer eligible for an IEP.
The tests show he knows how to respond to social situations appropriately and his academic skills are all very strong. The problem is, while he is able to provide appropriate answers when asked about hypothetical situations, he does not actually employ those skills in real life situations. He is structure bound to the point of being completely inflexible. He has angry outburst when changes are made. He has thrown books across the classroom, knocked over chairs etc. He needs social coaching in most situations.
Both his teacher and the special education teacher have reached out to me letting me know they disagree with the decision to remove the IEP.
I guess I just don’t know how to fight this. It’s infuriating that the district can ignore the recommendations of the child’s teachers and parent, and solely make a decision based on some tests. Has anyone had any experience with this?

Hi,

While I have a son on an IEP, I’m not sure how I would address your situation. There is a great Facebook group called Parents of Children with HFA, I believe. I’ve seen a lot of similar questions asked there and you will get a lot of answers quickly. A lot of time I see parents recommend hiring an advocate for your child’s IEP meetings. The know how to cut through the red tape and get your child what he needs.

They are only education specialists, in the end. Not actual doctors. You can appeal to the school district to reinstate his IEP privileges base on his medical DX.
I made sure to keep fighting until I had a specialist evaluate my son at age 4. Some school districts have terrible teams and support though. I homeschooled my son a year to catch up regression during attendance at the crappy school and then enrolled him in better schools.
It was a very tough battle for me seeing as how I have to keep focus and attacks up undiverted by my Aspie traits. But I did it.

Nope, he doesn't need social coaching. Kids are smart, they know perfectly what to do. Don't ever look down on them. Treat them like equal-rights fellow human beings. The moment you think you know more than them, and that they need to be lectured, you are not treating them as equal-rights fellow human beings. Nope. The kids are not the problem. The adults are the problem.

Take a look at this article. Print it out, give to the teachers.

http://www.eikonabridge.com/fun_and_facts.pdf

You need closer communication with the teachers. You need to let them know fun things your son has done at home, they need to let you know incidents in school. This way, your son's negative world and positive world can become connected, at home and in school. None of that needs an IEP. It just requires good will.

How can you become authoritative in front of teachers? Well, take a look at this recent thread. Skills matter, like the two bears climbing up the slippery slope. http://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=370229

Happy New Year!

Teachers should document the occurrences of these outbursts in class.

An IEP goal would be the reduction or elimination of these outbursts.

Yes, treat him like an equal person....but an equal person should not throw books when angry. They should find a more constructive way to express anger.

I offer you this...

When you say “they re-evaluated him and said he no longer qualifies for an IEP”...are they saying he in no longer on the autism spectrum? If this is how you interpret their findings...then WHO came to this conclusion? Having received a formal diagnosis at three should be all that he needs to justify having an IEP until he is 21 years of age.

Not sure how things are done in Mass. but in Virginia, if you don’t agree with the schools findings for any evaluation you can request a second one at the schools expense. If this is an option, for you, I would suggest it.

It is your child’s right to a fair and appropriate education under the IDEA.

I would also suggest you contact a disability law center in your area. They will have resources that define these processes from a legal standpoint and can definitely help you navigate these waters.

Most school systems also have a Special Education Council of some sort, if yours does, this may be a good place to talk with other parents of children in special education programs. This could be a good place to draw from their experiences but also to see how the school is handling their children that may lend to “a Trend”.

In the interim, I would appeal this decision, all the way to School Board if need be.

Document, Document, Document. If you are presented with something that you don’t agree with, don’t feel obligated to sign it right then and there. Ask to review, confer with the other parent, etc.

I have two children that are in elementary school, and both have been diagnosed with ASD. As a parent advocate, I have come across some situations where the school would have liked to have been able to tell me, “we can’t do this” or “we don’t have the resources for that” or “your son is doing just fine academically, he doesn’t need all of these accommodations”, etc, etc. It is a balancing act between what you as a parent might want based on the child’s needs VS. what the law requires them to do. The answers are found in the middle most times, but based on what you have described, the school is way out of line here.

Best of Luck with this. If need be, you can hire individuals to be a 3rd party at the “IEP Team Meetings” or Your states Dept. of Education should have intermediaries for these very situations.

Kind regards
Shark