Question - IEP

Your son’s issues sound very similar to my daughter’s. She is mildly ADHD and severely dysgrafic. Sixth and seventh grades were her worst years.I am wondering what kind of accomodations your son’s IEP allows.My daughter would spend an entire evening working on her homework—those middle school busy work assignments are killers—and she still would not be finished. Eventually her IEP was written to alleviate this situation. For instance, if the assignment was 25 math questions, she could do 10. In language arts and social studies, she was allowed to write phrases instead of complete sentences. These accomodations did a couple things. The shorter assignments were doable. She could demonstrate that she really did know the answers. For the first time, she was able to complete her assignments on time. That greatly helped her self-esteem. Then the outbursts stopped.In general, I think a child like this should have less to do, not more. Asking him to go to the principal is requiring a child who already has more than he can handle to do one more thing. Of course, going to the principal for any reason is embarrassing to a child.You know your child best. But, I specifically ask that my daughter always be allowed to go out for recess. She needed to get out, get some air and move around. I think keeping a child in for recess is punishment. I wouldn’t punish him just because he writes slowly and cannot get the work done in the same amount of time as everyone else.Another thing we did for our daughter was support a hobby that she was good at and really enjoyed. This too helped her self-esteem.None of these changes came about quickly. We worked with her and her teachers. We tweaked the IEP. Eventually, she started doing better in school. She also changed from a sad, angry person to a happy, lively one. Be patient. The changes come slowly. In eighth grade, they told me my daughter would not go to college. One teacher even recommended her for all day special ed. We didn’t accept that.She just finished her first semester at a major university with 3.0 GPA. Your son can succeed too.: My son has had a history of school failure. In the fourth grade he
: was tested and found to have a learning disability in writing. He
: also was identified as behavior disorder due to outburst in
: response to written assignments. I have some concerns regarding
: his IEP mainly three concerns: His primary disability is writing -
: I’m concerned that the 6th grade resource teacher is referring him
: to the 7th grade BD teacher. Another concern is my son’s avoidance
: pattern. He will out wait any adult. I wanted to know what could
: if anything be done to make sure that when he came to school with
: his homework still undone that they would have him miss recess and
: lunch as planned. It has not been happening for at least two and
: half months. The schools response to that was he was at fault for
: not finding the principal and turning in his sheet that reported
: he needed to stay after. My thought was why would he go find the
: principal,he doesn’t like written work. Am I expecting too much of
: his school to follow through with the consequences that they have
: set? The third area of concern when I go to do an IEP I sign a
: sheet stating I was at the meeting. I have yet to sign anything
: indicating that I agree with the IEP. My concern is how do I let
: them know I do not agree with the IEP. Any feedback would be
: appreciated. Thanks Nan

Nan, I’m going to address the last question 1st… you must either sign the IEP or provide a written response saying you disagree within 10 days. Failure to respond is taken as agreement. Don’t let the 10 days pass. When you get the IEP, feel free to mark it up. Delete what you don’t like, add what you feel is missing, ask questions in the margin, such as “what other option is available?”. While the team is working towards an end IEP everyone can agree on, services must continue at their current level.If the school has failed to perform as outlined in the IEP, try to work it out with them. (MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR CONCERN IN WRITING, to maintain a paper trail!) If they still fail, bring in an advocate from the outside. If that still doesn’t work, or the situation is more time critical, file a complaint with your states compliance office. I know that sounds drastic, but it will prompt action.I am disheartened to find another instance of a school who failed to address the acedemic cause of a students frustration, and just fell back on the old “he is EBD” line. Your son is probablly just frustrated, and tired of fighting a loosing battle. Go to bat for him. Have his assignments modified until you get to a correct level for him… the goal is to make him feel successful and regain his self-esteem. Don’t let the school pressure you into pushing him. He will let you know what is do-able. Options you have are to let him answer test orally, or tape record the answers to his homework. The idea is to prove he knows the material, not to prove he can’t write! If you have a computer, try a voice recognition program, and let him dictate his responses to the computer. If that works, the school must provide that as an “accomodation” to your son. Fight with them, for him! And remember to document all your conversations. The school will only document what is in their best interest— less time, less money, less service. Per fed. regulations though, your son is entitled to an education, at public expense, that is appropriate for HIM.Good luck!