Meeting w/ school to go over dd's eval on Tues....

[farmgirlinwv]

I'm not pleased so far. They were kind of secretive about it. She met w/ a councelor once for an hour. She was very vague about what she was doing and dd just said it was stupid. Dd met w/ a teacher for eval for 1 hour x 3 days. The way she described it, he was just testing her to see what she knows.

 

I asked for testing for LD's and whether or not she may be ADD! :glare: I know what she knows! This eval was for me! What should I expect or ask for at the meeting?

 

FYI, I suspect dyslexia, dyscalculia, and possible ADD, along w/ visual deficits.

 

Thanks,

 

Lisa

[newbie]

I'm not pleased so far. They were kind of secretive about it. She met w/ a councelor once for an hour. She was very vague about what she was doing and dd just said it was stupid. Dd met w/ a teacher for eval for 1 hour x 3 days. The way she described it, he was just testing her to see what she knows.

 

I asked for testing for LD's and whether or not she may be ADD! :glare: I know what she knows! This eval was for me! What should I expect or ask for at the meeting?

 

FYI, I suspect dyslexia, dyscalculia, and possible ADD, along w/ visual deficits.

 

Thanks,

 

Lisa

 

You have the right to request copies of those tests and any other records they have prior to the mtg. I would get all of those before. Postpone meeting until rcd. There is no need for secrecy, ask them to fax or email.

 

I always make sure I have all tests and IEP goals from each person prior to mtg. So, I can go over and mark what I agree/disagree w/.

 

The idea is to bowl you over w/too much info. at meetings. You need to be as prepared. Make sure you ask by email, b/c it is written. I think wrightslaw has record requests or sample letters.

 

The more professional looking the better. Also, good tip is take goodies, it makes everyone happy.

 

Need any other tips, just pm me.

[farmgirlinwv]

Thanks. I'll contact them. The meeting is set for Tuesday. I'd love to see the results before the meeting.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

:grouphug:

I do wonder why certain schools behave so secretely? I had this happen also. Newbie gave you excellent advice so I'll only concur with everything she said on that. I would definitely postpone the meeting until you have had time to see/read/fully review the report.

[farmgirlinwv]

Thanks! I just sent an email to her advocate w/ the school system. We'll see how it goes.

[Dobela]

To determine a LD they must first do a test determining IQ and then a series of achievement tests to see what she knows. They then compare the scores to see if there is a gap in potential and where she really is. If there is a large enough gap, then you have an LD. Schools also do not diagnose ADHD. That is a medical diagnosis that comes from the medical field. You should start with a family doctor for that.

 

Honestly,the school most likely won't tell you any named disability other than a general learning disability in a particular area. They just do enough testing to see if the child qualifies for their special education program according to state guidelines. For more specific diagnoses you will most likely have to take school results to another psychologist and let them do more specific testing in the weak areas.

[msjones]

You have the right to request copies of those tests and any other records they have prior to the mtg. I would get all of those before. Postpone meeting until rcd. There is no need for secrecy, ask them to fax or email.

 

I always make sure I have all tests and IEP goals from each person prior to mtg. So, I can go over and mark what I agree/disagree w/.

 

The idea is to bowl you over w/too much info. at meetings. You need to be as prepared. Make sure you ask by email, b/c it is written. I think wrightslaw has record requests or sample letters.

 

The more professional looking the better. Also, good tip is take goodies, it makes everyone happy.

 

Need any other tips, just pm me.

 

"The idea is to bowl you over w/too much info. at meetings."

--I have to disagree.

 

When I taught public school I participated in many IEP meetings, and never once did we all agree beforehand that the goal was to frustrate or "bowl over" a parent. Certainly, a lot of information is presented quickly (especially at some of the initial meetings), but that is because there is a lot to talk about and usually not a lot of time.

 

I agree that a parent in an IEP meeting should be prepared to take notes, ask questions, and obtain all relevant paperwork; but I have never known any school personnel to deliberately attempt to aggravate or overwhelm a parent.

 

If you feel the meeting is too rushed, or you don't understand a lot of the test results or anything else, ask for another meeting to clarify what you need to know. The school personnel will want you to understand everything, and should be glad to meet with you again. It may be helpful to have another person come with you, so you'll have 2 sets of ears to take in the info.

 

The goal of the meeting will be to begin to develop a plan to best serve your child at school. I hope it won't feel adversarial or defeating. It could be the beginning of a very positive relationship with the school -- I hope so!

[farmgirlinwv]

Thank you Mrs. Jones. I spoke w/ the councelor this AM. She was trying to help me not be overwhelmed by the results of her testing. She did not do well. The councelor felt this wasn't truely indicitive of her ability, but felt her ability is still low-average. I'm going to pick up the results today.

[newbie]

"The idea is to bowl you over w/too much info. at meetings."

 

--I have to disagree.

 

When I taught public school I participated in many IEP meetings, and never once did we all agree beforehand that the goal was to frustrate or "bowl over" a parent. Certainly, a lot of information is presented quickly (especially at some of the initial meetings), but that is because there is a lot to talk about and usually not a lot of time.

 

I agree that a parent in an IEP meeting should be prepared to take notes, ask questions, and obtain all relevant paperwork; but I have never known any school personnel to deliberately attempt to aggravate or overwhelm a parent.

 

If you feel the meeting is too rushed, or you don't understand a lot of the test results or anything else, ask for another meeting to clarify what you need to know. The school personnel will want you to understand everything, and should be glad to meet with you again. It may be helpful to have another person come with you, so you'll have 2 sets of ears to take in the info.

 

The goal of the meeting will be to begin to develop a plan to best serve your child at school. I hope it won't feel adversarial or defeating. It could be the beginning of a very positive relationship with the school -- I hope so!

 

I respect what you are saying . In a lot of cases the IEP run smoothly and there are people that are willing to help you.Like my friends ds, they did no testing, said he needs to go to private school, b/c they could not accomodate him. And that was that. But, in my dn's case that was not true.

 

Do you really think that a school board wants to offer more services to a child, that runs into budgetary issues. I have read many books , one being the one by the WRights and they talk about "gatekeepers". I believe this is the truth in most cases.

 

In my experience, my sis was bowled over from day one and too ashamed or embarrased to ask questions , b/c she thought they are the professionals. After working in this system for five yrs., I have taken over the case and I question every professional and do loads of research. The last IEP was 4 days and sixteen hrs. That , of course was a triennial and ITP.

 

These are very important mtgs. , I respect all spec. ed teachers, some are way better than others though and really have the kids best interest at heart. But , the key is to work as a team and if there are players not playing the game, request other players to come in. My pt. is its not advesarial, it can be sometimes overwhelming and lonely, that is coming from the parent/adv. side.

 

By no means am I bashing special ed teachers, I am just trying to offer support to parents who are asking for help. :001_smile:

[newbie]

How did mtg. go?:grouphug:

[farmgirlinwv]

The meeting was cancelled. I'm going to p/u the paperwork though. They want her physical first.