happycc Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 (edited) Well the Regional center psychologist was dead certain my son has pdd and needed to be in some kind of social setting. But the school district special ed preschool psychologist doesn;t think so and doesnt think he will qualify for special ed preschool because he is much higher functioning than the other kids she has seen-those who never got any early intervention. Now what? My heart wishes: that he is normal and doesn;t need any special ed preschool. I did ask the school psych if I should get a 3rd opinion but she didnt seem to think so but that could just be the school district talking and not really her. Edited July 14, 2012 by happycc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I haven't dealt with the ps system so I can't offer much advice. Are there alternative Pre-K programs in your area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 My experience with public school evaluations is that the child needs to be pretty low functioning before they are eligible for services, simply because the ps doesn't have the money to pay for everyone who could benefit. And I'm pretty sure that ps personnel aren't allowed to suggest services that they can't provide because the child hasn't met eligibility requirements. Recommendations from evaluations that occur outside of the ps system tend to be more honest in that they address the actual needs of the child and not some arbitrary requirement. Because of this, I would be inclined to go with the recommendations of the psychologist at the regional center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I agree with Kai-you're hitting two sets of requirements. The first is diagnostic. The second is "what is the child legally entitled to because of his/her level of functioning". The 2nd is ALWAYS going to be more conservative than the first. You might want to see if there are any private groups that do special ed or inclusive preschools, if you're inclined to agree with that recommendation. There are at least two churches here that I know of that do, and that have sliding scale rates. In both cases they're good programs, and since the special ed preschools in the schools are tailored to lower functioning students, for a higher functioning child, are likely to be a better fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 is not an option for us at this point... I would have be giving him therapy at home for preschool then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 The school district's incentive is to deny as many kids as they can get away with. You need to file for due process, and you can also seek an independent evaluation at the district's expense. Get yourself a copy of the Nolo Complete IEP Guide: How to Advocate for Your Special Ed Child by Lawrence Siegel (you will most likely be able to get it through your library). If you have the funds to hire an advocate or an attorney, that would be super-helpful but be forewarned that it can get very pricey (especially a lawyer). With budget cuts, parents really need to be the squeaky wheels in order to get any grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Good ideas....I just don;t know if I can do the FIGHT again. I tried with my 18yrs old, again with the 8yrs old and each time deny deny deny!!! Meanwhile I end up having to take them home and work on them myself and with my oldest one he ended not getting anything and now wants to quit school altogether now. I get tired of professionals saying your kid needs social ps schooling and needs special ed but the school districts don;t provide the services your kid needs and make a big stink about it when you ask them for it and then they say there is nothing wrong with your kid but your parenting. Then they get offended when you take them out of school and homeschool them. You are looked at as your anti government or something. Gee I wonder why?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 My older son's church pre-school had a few full scholarships available, and my current little kids' church pre-school does scholarships also, but I think mostly price reductions. It is part of their mission to allow children to attend a religious pre-school, if their parents would like them to, instead of going to a secular pre-school only b/c price. I understand this might not be an option, or might not be a good option for your child, but I don't think there is anything to lose in filling out a scholarship application, if a place might be a good fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I highly recommend the Wrights Law website for dealing with IEPs. To any meetings, I used to bring a tape recorder and let them know that the meeting will be taped. Most ARC's have advocates to help you fight for your child for free or small fee or you can hire a private one. IMO, the quality of therapies my DS received from the school system were subpar compared to private therapy. See what your insurance covers. Also, if you have a college near you that has a program for OT/PT/Speech/etc, they will take on kids for the graduate students to work with to graduate. They can have a wait list but call and ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I can't help with the ps part of your problem. But if your insurance will cover private OT and/or speech etc that would be a start. And being that your ds is 3 he cannot by law be denied any early intervention services your state offers. All of that will help. PDD is so misunderstood because our kiddos are so high functioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I can't help with the ps part of your problem. But if your insurance will cover private OT and/or speech etc that would be a start. And being that your ds is 3 he cannot by law be denied any early intervention services your state offers. All of that will help. PDD is so misunderstood because our kiddos are so high functioning. At 3 they are part of the school system not early intervention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 At 3 they are part of the school system not early intervention. It may be different in each state, I guess, because here in my county they offer early intervention until age 6. <shrug> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 It may be different in each state, I guess, because here in my county they offer early intervention until age 6. <shrug> California has EI until the 3rd birthday, and then the school district has the primary responsibility with the Regional Centers providing wraparound services like ABA (if the insurance mandate doesn't apply), social skills groups, etc. Preschool would fall under the school district's responsibility. I got an independent eval with a developmental pediatrician through our insurance before my district started its initial IEP assessment in part because I was concerned about eligibility after my DD aged out of EI. The district ended up concurring with the diagnosis so I didn't have to fight but going in with an independent eval I think put them on notice that we would be likely to fight any attempted denial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolineN Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I got an independent eval with a developmental pediatrician through our insurance before my district started its initial IEP assessment in part because I was concerned about eligibility after my DD aged out of EI. The district ended up concurring with the diagnosis so I didn't have to fight but going in with an independent eval I think put them on notice that we would be likely to fight any attempted denial. I think this would be the best route. Is your son 3 yet? Do you have time to get him into a developmental pediatrician? My son turns 3 in October and I'm thinking about this as well. Although my oldest two are on the spectrum and in the school system (my 5 year old just finished at the sdc pre-k) so my son's case manager through SARC thinks they're already holding his spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herekittykitty Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Personally I would give more weight to a private evaluation than one provided by the school psychologist. I have also had both for my son. The private psychologist has no agenda and can be totally neutral, whereas the school psychologist may be dealing with other factors that affect where your child is placed. I would agree that often children have to be quite far behind/below standards in order to qualify for what they need. Also, at our school, the school psychologist does not diagnose - they collect data to determine if a child is discrepant from his/her peers in a certain area/s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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