Hi!
I have a 7 year old son that has Epilepsy and he was born with Chiari Malformation of the brain. I am currently working on getting an IEP together to submit to the local school and I need some input. My son’s worst problems are missing out on things in class due to the types of seizures he has during the day. He is getting help with his reading from a Title 1 assistant at the school but at this point, that’s the only assistance he is getting. I submitted a letter to the school requesting a CSE. Do I have to wait until I hear back from them about the CSE before I can initiate things on the IEP?
I really need to know what specific things to request for my son. Things that my son will really need and be able to use to help him earn his education!
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Tonia
Hi, Tonia. I am not a parent of a child with Epilepsy or Chiari Malformation of the Brain, but I have worked with students with same conditions. First, I am not sure what a CSE is. First off, I would say that the services your child needs should be determined from the results of his evaluation and based on his present levels of performance. Since he is 7 I am assuming that he is in 1st grade? He may need an additional adult in the classroom to assist when he is having a seizure- are they grand mal seizures? If so, I would really think that the extra adult would be essential. Also, do they have a consistent schedule that they keep in the classroom. This would help him to be able to get back on track once the seizure is over. It might also help for him to have a buddy each day that would help him catch up on things that he missed during a seizure. This buddy could share their work samples with your son and the extra adult could help him complete them. He may need an extra 10-15 minutes added to his school day or with your permission, those minutes could be gained by bringing him back to the classroom early from lunch, provided he is done, or he could skip the morning assembly and go to the classroom to work with the teacher one on one, or miss 5 minutes of a related arts class- like PE, art, music, etc. Just some ideas that worked with students I have worked with in the past.