Jump to content

Menu

OH Elizabeth or Anyone Else in OH


RebeccaS
 Share

Recommended Posts

Oldest dd (almost 15) was diagnosed with autism a few months ago.  It was done through a psych eval and our local adolescent mental health facility.  Our county's Department of Disabilities will sometimes offer services to ASD kids, but we met with them and they determined dd was too high functioning to warrant any services.  But, she is struggling incredibly socially.  Her therapist found a school near to us that works with ASD kids.  It's a small school (K-12) and I was interested in taking a tour.  In order for her to qualify for the school, though, by Ohio law she must have an IEP and she "has to be identified and categorized as Autism on the ETR (Evaluation Team Report)."  Dd has always homeschooled.  I wasn't even sure about IEP's and homeschooled kids since by homeschooling her I essentially do whatever she needs to make her year successful.  I feel very out of my depth in navigating this for her.  Do homeschool kids get IEPs?  And what is an ETR/who administers it?  I'm finding lots of non-answers on the internet regarding IEPs for homeschooled kids.  And I'm totally lost on the ETR.  Any help or direction you can provide would be awesome because I'm feeling overwhelmed at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you gone to your local school and asked them to start the process toward an IEP?  I don't have personal experience, but my sister, whose kids don't attend PS, had them develop an IEP for her daughter.  I believe the law requires the PS to do this regardless of whether you are attending there.  But it can take some time.

 

I understand there are significant scholarships in Ohio for autism services.  Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The ETR is the process (culminating in a meeting) to determine whether or not a student qualifies for an IEP. It involves testing (or reviewing reports, etc. for students privately tested). It's a tricky process. If you can get an IEP, it's worth the hassle. You would go through your local school district to get the ETR/IEP process rolling. 

 

First, find out more about the scholarships--if you like the school, that is awesome, but there is more to consider if you are going to take the plunge. First, it's possible the school might give her an IEP, but not list autism as the qualifying condition. If so, you fall into a different scholarship category and amount. You can search the state database for providers in your area for both kinds of scholarship providers. You will want to cast a wide net--in some cases, providers will come to your home, so distance is not always a really big deal.   https://scholarship.ode.state.oh.us/   The site is a bit clunky. Some providers, but not all, have websites of their own that you can search once you verify from the database that they are an actual provider.

 

School Choice Ohio can help you navigate the databases and the process. http://www.scohio.org/

 

I would also consider speaking to an advocate to see if you want help with the ETR/IEP process.

 

Besides legal books like the Nolo book on IEPs, and Wrightslaw, I would strongly recommend this book about the "people" side of the process: https://www.amazon.com/When-School-Says-How-Get/dp/1849059179

 

The Coffee Klatch radio network has lots of podcasts (new and old) about IEPs and things like that. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree. As a homeschooler, you can request for the public school to evaluate her, because you suspect she has learning disabilities. The school will not just accept the diagnosis that she has but will run their own testing. The ETR stands for Evaluation Team Report, which is the summary of all of the testing and the results, along with a determination of whether or not she would qualify as having a learning disability or having an educational diagnosis of autism. As kbutton mentioned, the school does not have to list autism as the disability on the ETR if there is not evidence that the autism itself impacts her ability to receive an appropriate education. Schools seem to not like listing autism as the category if they can use another category instead, because once they identify autism as a hurdle for learning, they have to provide services for it. And the services can be $$$$. So having autism does not automatically qualify a student for an IEP.

 

That's just a warning, so you are not surprised if that is the outcome. With that said, it is really worth asking the school to evaluate her and see what they come up with. The scholarships have deadlines that you won't want to miss, so it's best not to delay making your written request to the special education department of your local school.

 

They may tell you that they don't write IEPs for homeschoolers, and generally that may be their policy, but they MUST provide evaluations (unless they say they do not see evidence of possible disability -- but you have your report, so that should be your evidence). And they MUST write an IEP for a homeschooler with disability who wants to apply for the state scholarships, even if they would not normally write an IEP for homeschoolers. I had my local school district tell me that they don't write IEPs for homeschoolers, so that can happen. You sometimes have to educate the school district on the law and procedures if they have not worked with many homeschoolers before, which is why it is great to read up on the law.

 

I know it is intimidating. But you can do it! And people here are willing to share what they have learned, so keep asking questions.

 

Oh, by the way, social skills is addressed by a speech therapist. When you get along in the process and the school has agreed to evaluate, you will sign a "permission to evaluate" form that checks off all of the areas that will be evaluated. Make sure that the speech category is checked. And make sure that the area of suspected disability (another box on that form) has "autism" checked and that they don't just check that they are looking for learning disabilities. The right boxes on that form have to be checked, or they won't do that aspect of testing and will say that it was not requested for them to do it.

 

It's a big process, and you will need to get a grasp on what is involved. But you can do it step by step, and the first step is to write the letter to request evaluations (don't just call -- write the letter and hand-deliver it, so you know it has been received). The school has 30 days to respond to that letter, so you can use that intervening time to do some research.

 

 

Edited by Storygirl
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Story is right about checking the correct boxes and such on the first form. BTW, you can download blank versions of all the documents related to the process from the ODE website. http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Special-Education/Federal-and-State-Requirements/Ohio-Required-Forms

 

The book Whose IDEA is this? is Ohio law on special education. Your child needs to meet the qualifications listed in this book in order to be eligible for an IEP.

 

The hardest part about getting autism listed is to have them agree that they need behavioral help (if they do), and then to tie the issues directly to the autism as the reason it's hard to school the child. It can be done, but it's tricky. I pointed out all the misunderstandings that created friction of all kinds, and I also pointed out all the times the misunderstanding created an academic problem even if it didn't cause him to fail something.

 

You will want to think about school and about how things would go down in school, and then find all the things you can to bolster your case--how your child behaves in any group setting where demands are made, etc. You will want to document how you currently support your child as well.

 

The school might (it doesn't always happen) try to paint you as not being a good teacher because they don't have to provide an IEP for a child who has been neglected educationally. 

 

While the school may or may not feel that the diagnosis alone qualifies your daughter for an IEP, they do have to accept the information from outside reports by qualified people. They are valid. That's one of the boxes to check on the early form--that you will be submitting reports as well as agreeing to whatever testing the school does. You should also tell them that you'll be providing information about your concerns AS HER TEACHER and then fill out your own assessment form. You basically list problems you have, list how that plays out with descriptions of specific times things have gone wrong due to autism, and then list what supports you think she needs to succeed. You must have all of those things, and they must all spell out how it's related to autism.

 

If you are not sure how the problems you have in school are related to autism specifically, these books were a big help to me:

https://www.amazon.com/Different-Minds-Children-Asperger-Syndrome/dp/1853029645 (my kiddo with ASD is also gifted)

http://www.prufrock.com/School-Success-for-Kids-With-Autism-P1247.aspx

 

You really need to paint the picture for them of what the difficulties are. It's hard to expose yourself like that, but you have to do it. My son doesn't test poorly academically, so being able to show them where the hang-ups are, show them that he doesn't self-advocate (or sometimes even realize there is a problem!), and things like that, and then spelling out exactly what he needs for support (composition was  BIG DEAL for us), the ETR team was able to see very specifically that my son needed an IEP. 

 

We were not asking for behavioral services at the time. Maybe we would have had more pushback if we were. At any rate, we had those services added through the provider so that we can get scholarship money for them. The provider has to file extra paperwork to have that work out. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oldest dd (almost 15) was diagnosed with autism a few months ago.  It was done through a psych eval and our local adolescent mental health facility.  Our county's Department of Disabilities will sometimes offer services to ASD kids, but we met with them and they determined dd was too high functioning to warrant any services.  But, she is struggling incredibly socially.  Her therapist found a school near to us that works with ASD kids.  It's a small school (K-12) and I was interested in taking a tour.  In order for her to qualify for the school, though, by Ohio law she must have an IEP and she "has to be identified and categorized as Autism on the ETR (Evaluation Team Report)."  Dd has always homeschooled.  I wasn't even sure about IEP's and homeschooled kids since by homeschooling her I essentially do whatever she needs to make her year successful.  I feel very out of my depth in navigating this for her.  Do homeschool kids get IEPs?  And what is an ETR/who administers it?  I'm finding lots of non-answers on the internet regarding IEPs for homeschooled kids.  And I'm totally lost on the ETR.  Any help or direction you can provide would be awesome because I'm feeling overwhelmed at the moment.

 

Ok, I'm going to reply to this cold, then I'll go back and read what other people wrote.  They're also in Ohio and have also navigated this.

 

First, you have a brand new diagnosis, yes?  Honestly, I would encourage you to slow down on MAJOR decisions until the information has had some time to sink in.  I don't think you have to be reactionary.  Whatever was working before is still working, and maybe you can find more options than you yet are connected with. 

 

Two, I'm not sure you're understanding the nuances completely.  All the autism charters and SN charters around here are MORE THAN HAPPY to take your hard-earned cash.  So when they say you need an IEP, that means to qualify for the Jon Peterson or Autism scholarships.  They are two separate scholarships, with their own rules, both with big bucks to help you.  But I would be SHOCKED if the school won't take you if you just show up with cash.  We do things with our autism charter, and we're not enrolled.  They're more than happy to do cash pay.  It's $30K a year, base price, but anyone with the dough can enroll, yes.

 

Three, the county cannot say you don't need services at all.  They're saying you don't qualify for funding from them and services from them.  Fine.  That's often the case with kids.  My ds qualifies, but it's because his disabilities affect multiple areas of his life.  Only having ASD isn't enough, like just the medical diagnosis.  They wanted to see how many areas of independent living it affected.  He is affected in at least 3 areas, so he qualifies.  So it's ok and not a statement that she's not ASD enough, wouldn't benefit from therapies, etc.  The board of developmental disabilities is looking at independent living.  Their criteria should be on their website.  It's just one avenue to get help, and you should ABSOLUTELY be pursuing helps from all the other options!!  You're doing the right thing there.  If they sort of made you wonder, well don't wonder.  You're right to get her access to everything you can.  

 

Four, have you looked at ODE's site for the autism scholarship and the JP?  Start with the autism scholarship, because that's what you want.  It has a rolling application, and it's the most flexible, meaning it's your best help.  When you go to ODE and look up autism scholarship, click for parents and then find a provider.  Their website is nasty, but keep looking.  Once you get into the system and start searching, you'll see that their "find a provider" thing is pretty fab.  You can look up by county, by fiscal year, by discipline, etc.  So, for instance, to find a behaviorist look under Behavioral Services.  I would search not only your county but the surrounding counties.  Sometimes a provider will have a main location farther from you and satellite locations closer.  To find those things, you have to broaden your search, kwim?  

 

Five, the IEP process can be kind of tricky, depending on your school.  The autism question is a BIG BUCKS question.  They have $30K a year on the line from the state, but even more than that they have the cost to the school for total placement if you were to return and have it become obvious they could not meet your needs within the school.  Because these students get SO expensive, it is not uncommon for schools to fight.  There are sticky wickets you need to know.  Personally, I would not write the school until you learn how the process works and until you get your documentation and think it through.  It's very hard to sort out once the ball gets rolling.  I'm not saying take forever, but take a few days, a week, make your plan, then write.  You can even consider hiring an advocate to use from the very beginning.

 

Some schools will see your medical diagnosis of autism and go sure, yes, rubber stamp, done.  However that is not the law and not what they are legally obligated to do.

 

If they are following the law, they will:

-use the federal/Ohio definition of autism, which does not match the current DSM definition you were diagnosed under

-look for significant effect on language, because it is included in the federal definition of autism

-look for evidence that the autism (and not anything that could be accounted for with lower labels like anxiety, ADHD, SLDs, etc.) is *affecting her ability to access her education*.  In other words, if she's getting her education just fine, but she's just a pain in the butt, they can, without blinking an eye, REFUSE to give her an IEP and only do a 504.  They can refuse social skills goals.  They can refuse anything they want, if she is able to access her education.

 

An IEP is a statement that she requires specialized services to access her education.  If she is currently successful, you will have an uphill battle.  And because you homeschool, you have even more trouble gathering the data to demonstrate that behaviors or other things are occurring that affect her ability to access her education.

 

Your school may be a dream to work with, or this may be the start of a long saga involving lawyers.  My advice is hire an advocate or lawyer from the beginning, because schools are a pain in the butt.  They know every trick they're going to use on you, and you know NOTHING.  

 

It can be done, and if your dd needs this, you will get it done.  My ds has an IEP, and others have gotten them.  But it's challenging, in a homeschool setting, to help the school gather enough evidence that things are affecting their ability to access their education.

 

Your best route is to see if your insurance will pay for a BCBA and begin with one.  The BCBA can give objective reports and documentation of behaviors (DATA, schools love DATA) to substantiate what is going on and how it affects her ability to access her education.  The BCBA is your best point person for intervention anyway, and bringing one in is what finally got us enough data to convince the school stuff was happening and that it wasn't my fault.  So whether your school is swimmingly easy or fights you, the BCBA is what you need in the long run.  And to find the BCBA, look under Behavioral Services in the provider list from ODE.  Be aware that not everyone in there is a BCBA or even a behaviorist!  Some are intervention specialists who took a workshop and have opinions.  They may or may not do ABA and may or may not be qualified.  So work through the list carefully and sort it out.

 

Keep talking, keep asking questions.  You'll sort it out.  Bringing in a BCBA is a win-win.  You know she needs social thinking work, and the BCBA is the person to do it.  You really don't want to wait the 6-9 months (or more!) that an IEP can take.  You want to get that started pronto.  Make sure that your testing/evals so far gave you documentation on language and pragmatics.  If you don't have those two scores, don't do any work with the BCBA till you get them.  An SLP can do those.  They would be worth it to pay for privately, if they haven't been done yet.  You might pay $300, but you're doing it to try to get $30K, kwim?  Language is in the federal definition, so the school may want to see impact there.  And the pragmatics, that's your social thinking.  You want low scores on that to have it documented before you start intervening, kwim?

 

As far as the autism charter, they can be really good.  Make sure you're solving the real problem.  Do you need a school, as in do you have a schooling problem?  Or do you have a behavior at home problem?  The people at school are not trying to make your home work better.  You would STILL need a BCBA and at home ABA to make your home life go better.  The charter school will solve school.  If you need to solve school, fine.  I decided, for me and our house, it was unacceptable to have a situation where school was working and home wasn't.  So I use the scholarship to have ABA and behavioral work at home.  But, that's your call, your mix.  I'm just pointing out it could take both, that sending her to school will not magically fix EVERYTHING.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kbutton gave you links to ODE, some books, etc. ETR Process Chart - Centerville City Schools  Here's a link to the ETR process chart for Ohio.  The "consent to eval" form that they will probably try to have you sign at the very first meeting is EXTREMELY important.  This is their first chance to screw you, and the things they do there can't be undone.  You don't get a recourse like "Oh, but I didn't know to ask xyz!" because they go tough luck, wasn't on that form.  

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

SLDs are a lower tier on the scholarships than autism, and if you go in saying SLDs and sign a consent form for SLDs, you're screwed and have to wait till the end for the ASD question.  You need all your evidence lined up first.  Indeed, they will go as low as they can.  If they can skate by with SLDs plus social skills, they will, rather than giving you the full ASD diagnosis.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OhE's last two posts were about that box checking on the form that I mentioned.

 

We've been flooding you with a lot of information. I'm sure it sounds daunting. You might feel like running the other way and not even attempting the IEP process. I understand that. I was there, at that point, with those feelings, for quite a while.

 

But you can educate yourself. Knowledge is power. You can do it!

 

If your daughter doesn't qualify for an autism designation by the schools (most of the previous posts were all about how hard it can be to get that designation), she may still qualify for the Jon Peterson scholarship, depending on what her educational needs are. The JP scholarship is worth different amounts, depending on what the designated disability is. And you can use it, not only for private schools, but for private tutoring or services if you continue to homeschool.

 

You said your therapist found an autism school for you to consider. That is great! But don't decide that that is your only option. Look into what else might be near you. Sometimes it takes some digging to figure it out, but finding the right placement for her will be worth the time it takes. I agree with OhE that the provider directory on the the scholarship website is a great resource, though it can be cumbersome to use. Looking through it can give you a picture of what is offered in your area.

 

Do you suspect any learning disabilities other than the social?

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What level ASD was your diagnosed with?  Our ps has a stated position that kids with ASD 1 do NOT get IEPs in their district.  They just say that flat up.  It varies from district to district, and ODE has not given ANY legal guidance or directives to the schools on how to interpret the definitions and the law.  It's actually really frustrating, because in one district a dc might be a shoe-in and get it, bam, no problem, and in the next district they fight tooth and nail.  I wish ODE would clarify and give directives there to make it more consistent.  

 

So I agree, don't be afraid, be brave, plow forward.  In the end, when you have the funding lined up and have access to the services, it will be worth it!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DS17 was recently evaluated by a psychologist and diagnosed with ASD-1 and NVLD. He had previously been diagnosed with anxiety by his pediatrician and a psychiatrist and is being treated for it (with medication and counseling). In her written report the psychologist included his anxiety diagnosis because she said that is the one that will be most helpful in getting him educational accommodations if he needs them in college. Apparently anxiety matters more than either ASD-1 or NVLD (or both). Go figure.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anxiety will be tier 3 on the Jon Peterson in Ohio.  ASD is a higher value scholarship, tier 5 on the JP.  So again, this is why you line up your documents and evals, because yes they will try to knock you down to anxiety, tier 3, and say you should be grateful, rather than giving you the higher scholarship for ASD.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just floating an idea here, but I wonder if the schools push back on an autism diagnosis when they know the child will require ABA or other behavioral services. 

 

BTW, Ohio is redoing their IDEA book in January, I believe. Also, it sounds like they might redefine how progress toward IEP goals are measured. In the IEP, it states how each goal will be monitored and how progress will be reported (and in the ETR, the observations and testing use similar language for each person who submits a report to the ETR). The state is apparently considering changes to what those definitions mean. That part may or may not become reality--I was told that the state often changes stuff and then goes back to an older version. Who knows. Depending on the timing of everyone's IEP and ETR stuff, you might want to ask about those changes. I heard about this from my kiddo's IEP team. They were very straightforward about it because it affects them and their reporting if it changes.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everyone's replies were so helpful and so overwhelming.  lol  I read through it twice, but I know I'm going to have to go back again.  Thank you again to everyone.  Taking time to give such detailed replies was incredibly helpful.  

 

I'll try to answer a few questions.  She was diagnosed with ASD Level 2 as well as Specific Learning Disorder, with impairment in Mathematics, accurate and fluent calculation, and accurate math reasoning, Moderate ADHD (combined presentation), and Major Depressive Disorder with Anxious distress.  Although she was only officially diagnosed in May, it was assumed she was on the spectrum and her therapist worked with her as though she was since last September 2015 so I had over a year to at least comes to terms with her diagnosis, even if I didn't actually figure anything else out.  Her therapist suggested looking into outside help because the more we delved into this, the more I realized just how much dd was struggling and trying hard to cover up at home.  Homeschooling is not going well academically, however, both her therapist and I agree that public school would not be in her best interest due to her anxiety which is currently off the charts.  Therapist brought up the possibility of the school, however, both she and I are looking into it because while she knows about it, she can't recommend it since she hasn't visited it and reviews seem mixed.  Some people love it, some hate it.  So I'm not totally sold on it and it wasn't something I was considering for this year, expecting the process to take a very long time if we decided to go that route.  

 

Ok, I'm going to reply to this cold, then I'll go back and read what other people wrote.  They're also in Ohio and have also navigated this.

 

First, you have a brand new diagnosis, yes?  Honestly, I would encourage you to slow down on MAJOR decisions until the information has had some time to sink in.  I don't think you have to be reactionary.  Whatever was working before is still working, and maybe you can find more options than you yet are connected with.   Agreed!  But I also know from navigating other social service types stuff for her (BCMH) it can take a long time to get results, so I had planned on it taking quite a bit of time.  I'm not sure yet what she needs, I just know I feel the clock ticking since she's almost 15 and 9th grade.

 

Two, I'm not sure you're understanding the nuances completely.  All the autism charters and SN charters around here are MORE THAN HAPPY to take your hard-earned cash.  So when they say you need an IEP, that means to qualify for the Jon Peterson or Autism scholarships.  They are two separate scholarships, with their own rules, both with big bucks to help you.  But I would be SHOCKED if the school won't take you if you just show up with cash.  We do things with our autism charter, and we're not enrolled.  They're more than happy to do cash pay.  It's $30K a year, base price, but anyone with the dough can enroll, yes.  You are positively right on, here!   :p  And yeah...we don't have the kind of money required to fund school out of our pockets.  

 

Three, the county cannot say you don't need services at all.  They're saying you don't qualify for funding from them and services from them.  Fine.  That's often the case with kids.  My ds qualifies, but it's because his disabilities affect multiple areas of his life.  Only having ASD isn't enough, like just the medical diagnosis.  They wanted to see how many areas of independent living it affected.  He is affected in at least 3 areas, so he qualifies.  So it's ok and not a statement that she's not ASD enough, wouldn't benefit from therapies, etc.  The board of developmental disabilities is looking at independent living.  Their criteria should be on their website.  It's just one avenue to get help, and you should ABSOLUTELY be pursuing helps from all the other options!!  You're doing the right thing there.  If they sort of made you wonder, well don't wonder.  You're right to get her access to everything you can.  Yes.  I worded my post badly.  She does not qualify for services from them.  They are, though, the biggest provider of services (as a conglomerate, if you will) in my county.  If I lived just one county north, I'd have a lot more options.  but, I don't.  Their website was, unfortunately, not helpful for someone new to navigating things and the mental health services seemed to think she'd qualify as they recommended we pursue it.  I hated wasting their time just as much as my own.  

 

Four, have you looked at ODE's site for the autism scholarship and the JP?  Start with the autism scholarship, because that's what you want.  It has a rolling application, and it's the most flexible, meaning it's your best help.  When you go to ODE and look up autism scholarship, click for parents and then find a provider.  Their website is nasty, but keep looking.  Once you get into the system and start searching, you'll see that their "find a provider" thing is pretty fab.  You can look up by county, by fiscal year, by discipline, etc.  So, for instance, to find a behaviorist look under Behavioral Services.  I would search not only your county but the surrounding counties.  Sometimes a provider will have a main location farther from you and satellite locations closer.  To find those things, you have to broaden your search, kwim?  Thank you!  I had not done that yet, but I"ll make sure I look into this.  

 

Five, the IEP process can be kind of tricky, depending on your school.  The autism question is a BIG BUCKS question.  They have $30K a year on the line from the state, but even more than that they have the cost to the school for total placement if you were to return and have it become obvious they could not meet your needs within the school.  Because these students get SO expensive, it is not uncommon for schools to fight.  There are sticky wickets you need to know.  Personally, I would not write the school until you learn how the process works and until you get your documentation and think it through.  It's very hard to sort out once the ball gets rolling.  I'm not saying take forever, but take a few days, a week, make your plan, then write.  You can even consider hiring an advocate to use from the very beginning.  This is good info to know.  Thank you.

 

Some schools will see your medical diagnosis of autism and go sure, yes, rubber stamp, done.  However that is not the law and not what they are legally obligated to do.

 

If they are following the law, they will:

-use the federal/Ohio definition of autism, which does not match the current DSM definition you were diagnosed under

-look for significant effect on language, because it is included in the federal definition of autism

-look for evidence that the autism (and not anything that could be accounted for with lower labels like anxiety, ADHD, SLDs, etc.) is *affecting her ability to access her education*.  In other words, if she's getting her education just fine, but she's just a pain in the butt, they can, without blinking an eye, REFUSE to give her an IEP and only do a 504.  They can refuse social skills goals.  They can refuse anything they want, if she is able to access her education.

 

An IEP is a statement that she requires specialized services to access her education.  If she is currently successful, you will have an uphill battle.  And because you homeschool, you have even more trouble gathering the data to demonstrate that behaviors or other things are occurring that affect her ability to access her education.

 

Your school may be a dream to work with, or this may be the start of a long saga involving lawyers.  My advice is hire an advocate or lawyer from the beginning, because schools are a pain in the butt.  They know every trick they're going to use on you, and you know NOTHING.  

 

It can be done, and if your dd needs this, you will get it done.  My ds has an IEP, and others have gotten them.  But it's challenging, in a homeschool setting, to help the school gather enough evidence that things are affecting their ability to access their education.

 

Your best route is to see if your insurance will pay for a BCBA and begin with one.  The BCBA can give objective reports and documentation of behaviors (DATA, schools love DATA) to substantiate what is going on and how it affects her ability to access her education.  The BCBA is your best point person for intervention anyway, and bringing one in is what finally got us enough data to convince the school stuff was happening and that it wasn't my fault.  So whether your school is swimmingly easy or fights you, the BCBA is what you need in the long run.  And to find the BCBA, look under Behavioral Services in the provider list from ODE.  Be aware that not everyone in there is a BCBA or even a behaviorist!  Some are intervention specialists who took a workshop and have opinions.  They may or may not do ABA and may or may not be qualified.  So work through the list carefully and sort it out.  Our insurance does not pay for a BCBA or ABA right now.  Dh tells me that this will change effective next year, so we just have to sit tight and wait for that to go into effect since we're almost there.

 

Keep talking, keep asking questions.  You'll sort it out.  Bringing in a BCBA is a win-win.  You know she needs social thinking work, and the BCBA is the person to do it.  You really don't want to wait the 6-9 months (or more!) that an IEP can take.  You want to get that started pronto.  Make sure that your testing/evals so far gave you documentation on language and pragmatics.  If you don't have those two scores, don't do any work with the BCBA till you get them.  An SLP can do those.  They would be worth it to pay for privately, if they haven't been done yet.  You might pay $300, but you're doing it to try to get $30K, kwim?  Language is in the federal definition, so the school may want to see impact there.  And the pragmatics, that's your social thinking.  You want low scores on that to have it documented before you start intervening, kwim?

 

As far as the autism charter, they can be really good.  Make sure you're solving the real problem.  Do you need a school, as in do you have a schooling problem?  Or do you have a behavior at home problem?  The people at school are not trying to make your home work better.  You would STILL need a BCBA and at home ABA to make your home life go better.  The charter school will solve school.  If you need to solve school, fine.  I decided, for me and our house, it was unacceptable to have a situation where school was working and home wasn't.  So I use the scholarship to have ABA and behavioral work at home.  But, that's your call, your mix.  I'm just pointing out it could take both, that sending her to school will not magically fix EVERYTHING.  This is a good point and something I need to figure out.  Unfortunately, we're a bit of both there, though I can see from reading through, that qualifying for an autism scholarship might help more in that we could put it toward therapies (That I think she really needs) and tutors.

 

I feel like there was more I wanted to address, however, I've been writing this over the course of a few hours trying to handle kids and dinner.  I'm going to show it to dh as well since we're both trying to wade through this.  I have an appointment for a week from today to actually tour the school and see if it's even something we want to pursue.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All autism schools in the state are going to be on the autism scholarship provider list, so make sure you look at the list.  It's going to take you a while to call each provider on the list, but it's worth the effort.  A lot of places try to get things under one roof.  So like it will be a behaviorist who also has tutors to do academics and OTs and...  So you''ll have one provider and lots of access.

 

Your insurance will probably balk at having the ABA people help with academics, just my guess.  You really need the autism scholarship.  The autism scholarship has a rolling application.  That means as soon as you get an ETR that puts ASD as the disabling condition, the wheels will start turning.  Even before they have the IEP written, ODE will help you get things going.  Like that super fast.  And you CAN get an ETR done in, what, 60 days?  That means you start soon, you're talking January you could have the scholarship going.  It could be this fast.

 

The problem is, with that list, your school *could* try to screw you and say the anxiety (tier 3) or SLDs (tier 2) are affecting her ability to access her education and not her ASD (tier 5).  So that's what you must prevent.  You must not sign anything or allow it to get turned that way.  And with ASD2, this should be a done deal, kwim?  

 

I think what I would do, in your shoes, is look at your own data, make sure you have enough data on language (since it's part of the definition), and go ahead and make the formal written request.  Focus on the ASD.  And consider getting a paid advocate to help you sort through it.  It will cost you money, but not as much as what it will cost you if they go tier 3 (anxiety) instead of tier 5.  But hopefully with the ASD2 they won't!  Hopefully this will be easy.  You're just going to have to take the plunge.

 

That's your best way to get the money to help your dd.  With the $30K scholarship, you will have access to what you need.  And, frankly, with the situation you're describing, if you don't have providers, maybe you'll move.  But hopefully there are providers on the list already!  And people can be added as providers.  Sometimes a farther away BCBA will hire people and help you and just skype to supervise.  All kinds of things happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...