Time to complete adn IEP?

there is nothing stopping you from initiating some modifications and seeing if they help. also in California, I know there are provisions for an emergency IEP and parents can request an immediate IEP due to the child’s problems. I think the best thing you can do is be understanding and to document the behaviors you see, even if you don’t have a label. Like poor posture, trouble sitting still, difficulty writing, slow writing, eye contact, and what stops you from modifying the amount of work, placement of the child in the classroom, and activities that tell you what is hard for them. I have a child who they don’t identify and even with a 504 there is no services and we are forced to do it all. Nobody says you can’t reduce the amount of homework, reduce the amount of work on a page. I have never seen a miraculous IEP. First they declare them eligible and then they figure out a plan. You can save lots of time by trying things that will not only help to identify the problem but indicate what modifications might help the most. The thoughts of a mom who is very frustrated with a bad district.

I’m curious as to why you feel the child has to have an IEP before assistance is granted. I’m a special education teacher in a district where more and more regular education classes look like larger special ed. classrooms. We are all eductors and feel we know best about our students, but there seems to be this mindset that if the child is not performing at an average ability then it is a special education issue. Trust me, there are not enough spaces available to help all kids in a special setting that may need help. Until we begin to train all teachers in differentated insruction and modifications, children will continue to fall through the cracks. As this child’s teacher, start with what he or she can do. If this child can answer questions orally but works very slowly to write answers down, there is nothing stopping you from letting him show what he knows this way. If he’s the kind of kid that needs to move around the room, allow him a bit more space, or an alternate space to move to when appropriate. There are so many things you can do for this child. You should talk with your special ed. people for suggestions about this particular child’s needs, but don’t forget to capitalize on his strengths as well.

The reason it takes so long to “declare” a child eligible and develop an IEP is to prevent reg. ed teachers from using Special Ed. services as a dumping ground for every child not living up to regular classroom expectations. The other posters are right when they tell you not to wait around for an IEP. In fact, we require that the reg. ed teacher develop, implement, and document strategies that they have tried with the student and have found ineffective for a six week time period before the student can be referred for Special Ed. services. It’s about not labeling kids inappropriately. As a Resource teacher I am more than happy to help the regular ed teacher develop strategies to assist struggling learners and systems for tracking effectiveness of those strategies. Take yourself to one of your Resource people and lay it all out.

Also remember that psychologists and other support personnel who must test the student are frequently spread thinly around a school district and may only be available to evaluate the students one day per week. Their caseloads are incredibly huge in many instances. Many of the things we do are required by federal law—not optional. Be patient….we want to help you and your struggling learners. :D