Bramble Patch Academy Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 DD, age 4, has some sensory issues. She also has fine motor delays, had hypotonia at birth, two heart defects, laryngimalacia, and a paralyzed left vocal cord. Her pedi has been reluctant to DX her with SPD. Her genetics tests (basic and macroarray) were normal. Her cognitive skills are excellent. Her vocab is two years ahead. We meet with her pedi tomorrow and he will decide whether to refer her to a neuorologist and a neuropyschologist. The nurse in his office was pushing for an IEP last time we were in. So I have some concerns. First, is it really THAT important to label her? She is in good health. Her ASD snd pulminary stenosis are under control, she is gaining weight... Do we need to know "why"? It doesn't seem important. Second, can they force me to get an IEP or have services at the school? I am no afraid they will scream educational neglect if I don't put her in school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceAHomeschooler Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I think you receive a variety of opinions on this. If she is doing well academically, does not need accommodation, and is capable of learning I see no reason for a label. Who do you think will say you are neglecting her because you do not send her to school? Home educating is becoming more and more "normal" because of the state of our public school system. If your child is well cared for I cannot imagine anyone saying there is neglect going on. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 If you're pleased with how she's doing, if she's healthy and learning well, then I would not worry about pursuing an evaluation now. Sometimes learning issues are not apparent in the early elementary years and only start to cause problems later. If that time ever comes, then you may decide you need an evaluation to determine what the specific weaknesses are so you can address them. As you near the high school years and you see that some of the issues are affecting her learning, it may be worthwhile to get evaluations so you have a paper trail of documentation started for any accommodations that become necessary for things like the SAT and college. I am thankful that we finally got a correct diagnosis even if it took until the teenage years, but I know very well an evaluation at age four would not have helped my dd. In fact, it could have really led us down the wrong road. She may have been incorrectly diagnosed with something like ADHD, and I may have attributed her difficulties to that, started her on medication when things got really rough, and never pursued the CAPD evaluation, which has been life-changing. However, if dd had had speech or other language difficulties, it would have been a completely different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Patch Academy Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 I think you receive a variety of opinions on this. If she is doing well academically, does not need accommodation, and is capable of learning I see no reason for a label. Who do you think will say you are neglecting her because you do not send her to school? Home educating is becoming more and more "normal" because of the state of our public school system. If your child is well cared for I cannot imagine anyone saying there is neglect going on. Good Luck! We live in a small town...where literally everytime someone realizes we homeschool, I get negative feedback. I let DDs OT go because she pushed headstart or pre-k every session. Our last Pedi flat out told me unless I had a degree in education I should not homeschool. Our new pedi (and last option unless I drive 150 miles) is more open but his nurse is on my cass to get an IEP, get her services at the school, etc... She slso brought up the S word last visit. DD, since I "quit" the OT 4 weeks ago and bought books to do it myself, has learned to write 4 letters. Not well, buts its progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 We found our neurologist to be very helpful. He found some things that we can do now to hopefully prevent further issues down the road (supplements, etc). The neuropsych helped us know where the girls were doing in each area, strengths, weaknesses, etc. They didn't push for school. We homeschooled until 7th grade with each of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 (edited) My son is in public school and has an IEP. My understanding is -- they must have my signature to have him tested. There is a thing where they can still have an IEP if the parent cannot attend the meeting, but I don't think they can get to that point without some previous signatures. I don't really know what happens if a parent doesn't like the specifics of the IEP and doesn't want to sign for that reason -- there is some guideline for that, though. I don't think anything you mention sounds like neglect. Schools typically do not give labels, either, that I am aware of, and they can't make you go to a doctor and get a label. That is up to the parent to do if they want. Now teachers can say they want you or encourage you to do this or that, but if you tell them you are not interested, I think they have to go with that, as far as I know. I think you can just say "no thank you, but thanks for letting me know about these opportunities, maybe next year" to the nurse. I am sure she means well, and it would be helpful information to another person. Edited October 2, 2012 by Lecka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I have had both horrible and wonderful experiences seeking services for my son. No matter where you go or what you do remember you know your child best, if something seems off, it probably is. IME what the laws says the school can/cannot do and what the school does are two very different things. Some people have great experiences even in the worst of schools, others have horror stories from the best schools. Every state is federally mandated to have a parent training center that you can go to to be trained to advocate for your child. I took my son to see a neuropsychologist. She did a battery of tests and decided he had Cognitive disorder-NOS. She also came back with an overall IQ of 87. She also said that everything I was doing was perfect and to just go slow and not to expect much. I read up on what Cognitive disorders are and then looked at my son and decided she must have tested the wrong child. I took my son to a learning disability specialist that tests to find the cause of the learning disabilities and to correct them rather then just write my son off as slow. The first thing the tester found was my son has severe visual processing problems and severe central auditory processing disorder. The tester also explained that because of the auditory processing problems a standard IQ test would not be accurate. He did a non-verbal IQ test and came up with an IQ of 126 but admitted that that is probably low considering how severe his visual processing problems are. I was given a list of referrals to specialists for vision therapy and to treat his central auditory processing disorder. I waited until my son was 7 to pursue testing and he was 8 before we finally got real answers and a plan in place. I do not regret waiting, but I think the horrible experiences left a mark on my son and really harmed him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I wanted to add that the first thing I did after I learned about my son's visual processing problems was to take him to one of the specialists I was referred to to get tinted glasses made. The first day he wore them he mastered place value and could borrow subtraction and carry in addition. He was excited because he could see what I was talking about and the numbers were not jumping around the page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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