Help - iep for freshman with LD/ADD

I have some IEP tips on my web page.
http://expage.com/socksandfriends
Also Ash posted some great links a few weeks back entitled strength based IEP’s.go to the search above and put in starnegth based IEP’s.

I believe the very first thing I would address with my child in high school would be preservation of his self esteem,at all costs. A strength based IEP does this.

example,if your son reads better,in a quiet room,then this should be a major objective in the IEP.

If your son could do all subject work at grade level if someone else read to him,this should be a big objective in the IEP.

You don’t mention the difficulties he has,but these a just a few examples.
What would help him graduate school? What walls are there preventing him from doing grade level work?
This is where I would go first. Yes,remediatin is important,but remediating a nine grader with a good self esteem is far easier then remediating one who feels like he can’t do anything.

Good luck.

and the counselor,

I vividly remember my son’s fourth grade teacher saying to me,”your son must understand that he will need a job where all he has to do is fill out forms”
wow,right? 4th grade at that. I calmy asked if she had ever told my son this,no,not yet” was her answer. I then told her,” I work with physically disabled kids,most had to break down barriers to learn to feed them selves”. The one thing,the only thing that helped them to do this was having a parent who would not ever let them feel like there was anything they couldn’t do. Do you want to make my son feel like he can’t become anything he wants? Is this what you would want for your child?” “no” was her answer. then I told her,and the rest of the IEP team at the table,”please write down on the meeting notes,and place it on the IEP if necessary,no one,no one,will ever tell my son what he will do or can’t do when he graduates from high school. If this is ever discussed again,I will file a discrimination complaint with the office of civil rights.

They knew I meant it,we continued on with the IEP meeting as if nothing ever happened,but this statement will always be a part of his educational file,and attached to his 4th grade IEP. You might not have a choice in regards to counselors but you sure gave them a warning,your son might be talked into dropping out of school,but you have documentation of this not being a topic of discussion,your still the legal gaurdian,and I would not hesitate to file a discrimination complaint if this develops. You can also request that any meeting your son has with this counselor,that you be made aware,and will be in attendance.

I truly hope your meeting today went well.
This is my first time entering the sight.
I have a 2nd grade son, and this is his second year with an IEP.
I have a dear friend who’s daughter (now a freshmen in college), had LD services throughout her grade school and high school year.
Do not give up, do not let him drop out.
Einstein was “LD”.
If you feel uncomfortable with the counselor, you have to speak up; however, you need to get the inside “scoop” on what counselor would be best suited for your son.
You need an “angel” watching out for your son at school.
That angel is there, you just need to find them.
It may be the social worker, it may be a teacher, it may be the school bus driver. All of these types of folks have the inside track to things you would never find out about on your own.
Talk to other parents of LD kids.
Be on the look out for someone who tends to voice discontent with the status quo.
Best wishes!

How does this show up?Amber wrote:
>
> I truly hope your meeting today went well.
> This is my first time entering the sight.
> I have a 2nd grade son, and this is his second year with an
> IEP.
> I have a dear friend who’s daughter (now a freshmen in
> college), had LD services throughout her grade school and
> high school year.
> Do not give up, do not let him drop out.
> Einstein was “LD”.
> If you feel uncomfortable with the counselor, you have to
> speak up; however, you need to get the inside “scoop” on what
> counselor would be best suited for your son.
> You need an “angel” watching out for your son at school.
> That angel is there, you just need to find them.
> It may be the social worker, it may be a teacher, it may be
> the school bus driver. All of these types of folks have the
> inside track to things you would never find out about on your
> own.
> Talk to other parents of LD kids.
> Be on the look out for someone who tends to voice discontent
> with the status quo.
> Best wishes!

Hi,
Thanks for all your messages, They did help guide me in the direction of the information I was looking for, and will need over the next few years too. Both messages pointed out some very vital information for me.
The IEP he had last year was strength based and this seemed to work well. The school does want to help with building up the childs self esteem and they focus on positive and working towards goals. And if something was not working, then would try another way to help the student succeed. I must say this past year was the best year for him and the school really worked with us for a change, and I did not feel like I was constantly battling for everything that he needed! Plus he was in Special Ed classes and inclusion, too and this made a big difference.
We have been lucky in that my son’s self esteem has remained preserved, so far, and I have always told him that “Yes, he was having difficulty in school but we will find a way to help you and keep doing the best you can do!”

He will remain with Special Education and inclusion in his freshman year. I was told to go to the school before he started and make sure his schedule was the one they just did today, and to let them know that I will be available to them during the year! And to go weekly if I have too, to make sure his IEP is being followed! They did the transition service one today too and he is on track for a standard diploma - nothing is on there for a GED for him. They are also suppose to help test him for voc assessment in the fall too.
Also, was told that there is another guidance counselor that will work with the special education students and to see that person too. But I had been told things like this before too - and it wasn’t the case. So will know more about it this summer!
Thanks for all the information and will be going over everything again. I know High School is going to be more challenging! For both him in his studies and me dealing with the school. We are both going to learn. Except that I had previous dealings with them before and know a little of what to expect!
Gwen

Hi Amber,
You are right!
I know, that he knows, that a GED is an option that is out there, as his older brother ended up dropping out of school and got his GED.
But he didn’t realize what a GED was, and I never really told him
We have just been going along planning towards a diploma and working towards that, plus vocational tech in the future and that is what went on his iep today.
The IEP went well and We are satisfied with it. There is still alot of information for me to go through and find concerning his needs over the next 4 years. The one thing that seems to bother him the most is his age (16) - he is older than most students so am working on that with him. His teacher this year was excellent with the responses that she gave the other students when they questioned his age! That was one reason why they wanted to put him in an alternative school one year because he was a little older than the others!!.
But it did work out well this year. And looking forward to another successful and challenging year too!
Gwen

On Monday I am having my oldest sons IEP must admit I am a little nervous. I have had several conversations with his current case manager and what she proposes sounds good but I have not had the opportunity to talk to the “receiving” end of the team. He is also entering high school next year. He has had so many years of “failure” and has just started to taste sucess that I hate to see his team change. When he entered middle school (new district in a new state) he had experienced so much negative that it was surprising he had not given up. Now after 2 years of caring understanding teachers who have helped him to see that he just learns differently and is not stupid we must change teams again. Your story of how your IEP when gives me encouragement that mayebe it won’t be so bad. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Lisa,
I hope your IEP meeting goes well on Monday.
It really does make a difference in having people on the team that are supportive of your son and his goals! And seeing him succeed, and his self esteem go higher - well, then all the challenges we go through is worth it, seeing him reach his goals!

I constantly tell him to do his best, focusing on his work and leave the “other stuff” to me! In other words, let me lose sleep over something, not him !

Like the year before last when I got the letter where they wanted to place him in the alternative school because of his age. Well that may have been a “good” option, but I recieved the letter and when I called the guidance counselor, she DID NOT have time to talk with me and I had a lot of questions about this school. She kept saying “we want to do what is best for” my son, yet she could not discuss this with me! So I said no.
That fall I made phone calls to our school board member, and told him about my son and how the 504 is not being followed in this school and if something isn’t done, I was going to report the school to the State of Virginia, as they were getting funds for his getting assistance with the 504. Well, he assured me that I would hear something from him and gave me another person’s name that I needed to call and let him know what was going on. Then I also made a phone call to the Superintendent of our Schools.
Needless to say, I woke up the next morning and the phone rang and it was the Principal of his school, calling to tell me that there was no reason why the school he was going to now, could not meet his educational needs and asked me what had happened and I told him everything. From then on, he was a very strong advocate for my son too. I also had one last final round with that guidance counselor and I think she realized, along with the others present that day, that I knew what I was talking about in regard to my son and his rights, etc. I did not have to deal with her again! And my son never knew about all the people I talked to about him until after everything was all said and done! All he could say was “wow” thanks!. That was where I again stressed how important it was for him to do the best he could do and I would always back him up!
I do feel lucky that he will tell me anything that goes on that I might need to help him with, and he had a very good year!
So I guess we are both going to learn alot over the next four years too!
Please let me know how it goes with your son! I am hoping for the best!
Gwen