school problems

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I'm not a parent but I figured parents would have more experience with this.

I want to attend highschool again but when I entered public school the first time I didn't even last half of a year it was so disastrous. I don't have a diagnoses so I couldn't get an IEP or anything. I'm currently homeschooled.

So my mother calls the school and asked about getting me an evaluation-- she calls the special education department and leaves a message. 2 days go by, no reply. So she calls again. The main office told her they knew nothing about that, switched her over to a guidance counselor. The guidance counselor told my mother that the school couldn't provide an evaluation for me unless I was enrolled in the school. I don't understand how I can go back to school without an IEP and all that set up for me first, however. (also, I have younger sister with autism whom has had IEPs all set up for her before she goes to school along with an evaluation-- this happened at the elementary school however) And my mother was told that schools HAD to provide evaluations.

So the guidance counselor puts her on hold and talks to the lady in charge of special education. Apparently even SHE thought she couldn't provide me with an evaluation unless I was enrolled in the school, but then admitted to not knowing anything about it. She also said she didn't call us back because she was too busy to talk to anybody (yet is not too busy to talk to the guidance counselor )

My question is, is it really true they cannot provide me with an evaluation unless I'm enrolled in the school? What are the specific laws/protocols on this? What should my mother do if the lady doesn't call her back again? Thank you very much.

I would suggest checking out the Wrights Law website (can search in Google) because I think that the district is required to provide an evaluation as long as you reside in the district, even if you do not attend public schools. The exact law is IDEA but I cannot do a quote off the bat.

The first suggestion is rather than a phone call, your mother needs to send a letter to the director of special education, along with a CC to the superintendent, Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested. This way, there is proof that the request was made. This way, you mother has proof that the request was made in case this ends up going to special hearing. She should also force them to send her a written answer rather than over the phone. This way, she has a written trail.

If the district is acting like this, do you honestly think that they will follow an IEP if one ends up being implemented. You may be better off simply remaining in homeschool rather than trying to force the district to follow the law.

The specifics of what a school can and cannot do vary from state to state and sometimes district to district, so I really cannot answer your specific question. What I CAN tell you is that going through the a school to get an evaluation is going to be one l o n g and v e r y s l o w process. It takes patience, persistance, and not a little bit of pushing.

Have you looked into getting a medical diagnosis? If you have an evaluation from the medical community, I believe the school HAS to accept that, and go straight into accommodation (504 plan) mode, and possibly IEP mode, depending on the rules in your state. Not all areas require an IEP for Asperger's students; some only set up 504 plans for the physical aspects (noise, sensory issues, etc - but no workload adjustments or services). You may want to know the local differences there before going in, as well. It can be a homeschool project

The reason why they are saying that is that in order to qualify for services, there needs to be an educational need. If you haven't been in a more formal school setting, it would be hard for them to see if there is an educational need. The educational need is federal law. If you are having difficulty after a few weeks or a month it would be easier to request an evaluation. Especially if you are in high school and are asking for it yourself. That is so wonderful. Like DW said, the process can take long but don't lose hope!! There are other ways like she said. I would try to get that medical diagnosis. That would make things go more quickly for you. If you have that dx., you can start school with a 504 plan in place. You can at least start with something. They would have to follow that. Maybe that is what you need, accommodations.

I have an idea. You seem to do well with written communication. Maybe you can find the school counselor's and/or school psychologist's email addresses and email them. I would include some of the information you wrote on here but add a little more. Perhaps the psych and other team members would agree to do the testing right when you enroll. If that happens, then they can have a meeting the day you start and talk about ways to help you out and make you feel more comfortable when they are testing. I still agree that you should really try to get that medical dx.

I hope it all works out for you.

In the meantime, I am wondering if they have any science clubs in your area. I know that around here they have astronomy clubs. I am sure there are other science clubs. Maybe the high school has clubs like that. I don't know how they would be, though.

In my experience, a medical diagnosis does nothing. I spent thousands of dollars on them to prove my point to the schools. The school will say that is clinical and they are not doctors. They only will consider your diagnosis if it effects you educationally, and apparently my son was doing fine in that area (this was preschool, he could count to 10 that we worked really hard to do). I have a diagnosis of autism for my son and the school won't even talk about it. I also have a diagnosis of a disability in pragmatic language, and on my son's IEP they did not address pragmatics. When asked why, they said that kids in kindergarten don't use them. What you can ask for is a Child Study. You may not get evaluated right away, but they will be required to watch closely, and at the first sign of trouble then they will evaluate you and provide appropriate services. Be careful, if they have an idea of their own, they will test to that. It's biased. They have no money for high functioning children.

Check out WrightsLaw.com, and get an advocate or lawyer, or if you can't afford that, find someone to coach you that is familiar with the school system and how they operate. Maybe a support group in your area. If you walk in a meeting with a lawyer they may grease the squeaky wheel.

Good Luck!

check out IDEA

If at all possible I would first try to get an evaluation from an autism/AS specialist that is NOT affiliated with the school district. School systems can do evaluations but I have generally not been impressed. My son's school system simply failed to recognize his AS. They sent out a "school psychologist" to evaluate him. The trouble with that is that school psychologists don't have the specialized clinical training that clinical psychologists do. In my experience, school psychologists often know little about AS so you may be told you don't have it when you do (or vice versa).

I would directly call the Department of Education, County School District, City School District etc, SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area, we have them in CA) etc and formally request an evaluation via phone and follow up in writing. In addition I would also contact the principal at the High School that you plan on attending and again make a formal request with them. IDEA gives you the right to an evaluation. I would do this before you re-enter high school.

In Northern CA we have family advocates / family resource agencies. I would look to see if there are any in your area. They advocate for you and will attend IEP meetings and assessments with you. They are a wealth of information and they usually know the laws and do not let the district try to "pull a fast one' on you.

I agree support groups in your area are also a VERY GOOD source of information and science clubs are always fun.

I have been fighting for my two boys for 5 years. I have an IEP in place for 1 the other we are still fighting for and I have an autism diagnosis from renound universities. The district says it is a medical evaluation and they need school based evaluations. If you can afford an outside eval and think that the outcomes may help you in daily life (meds, support etc) then go for it. But if you are going only to help you get the IEP, you will most likely just waste your time and money becuase the school will most likely ignore it.

GOOD LUCK with everything and enjoy high school, where ever you land!

Well the lady in charge of special education finally called us back scheduling a meeting to discuss it with my mother. But a snow day on that day canceled school. The lady now isn't returning any of our calls again to reschedule...

Why does it have to be so difficult?

Thanks for replies by the way, very helpful.

I have to agree with the few who said that having a medical diagnosis does very little. My son has been dx'ed for almost 2 years now, and the school couldn't possibly care any less. They fall back on the idea that it's a clinical diagnosis, and that we have to prove educational need. My son gets average grades, and his state test scores are normal. However, that is only about 1/4 of the picture. He has major anxiety - he's on 20 mg Lexapro each day, and that takes the edge off. He's very VERY stressed about school. It used to be easy for him, but he's in 4th grade now - and we've seen his grades drop from A's and a few B's to C's and a couple B's. He used to have a group of friends that he'd play with, but that group has kind of grown up and moved on without my son...so he gets teased a lot now. He will still try to play soccer with kids, but his sister tells me that they push him down a lot and call him names. Of course my son never mentions that...and I wouldn't have ever questioned any of it except that last weekend I found a pile of stuffed...or rather, UNstuffed, animals in his closet. He'd beheaded one, ripped the stuffing out of another, and cut the foot off of yet another one. I asked him what happened, and he tearfully told me that he just gets so mad and stressed about school because the kids are mean to him and the work is so hard, that he just grabbed scissors and did it. I went straight into the school office on Monday morning and gave them a written request for an IEP. I don't know what will happen, but I don't plan to stop bugging them until we get what he needs. I shouldn't HAVE to pull him out of school and homeschool him - I expect them to do their job, and like I said, I'm not stopping until they do. I live in Southern California, and quite frankly - it's about the worst place on the planet to be asking for any kind of help right now, but I don't care. I'm not asking for special day classes, or anything that is going to require THAT much extra work... It's going to be a tough fight, but one I've put off for long enough.