So this is for the nwhole group, the veterans ho can or could quote case law.. and those of us not so solid on what they( school) must provide.. and of course for all the psych students:))) We are in a new school district, our sons disability was slashed and we had to bail on the last month of our lease... long story short all of our children nwill be in a new shcool. Up until now we were doing really well inr eagrds to special ed teacvhers and placements. Our oldst was outsourced to a school that was like and extension of family, our second oldest had a special ed teacher that sets the bar:)) A fabulous teacher with a heart for kids.. now we are at figurative square one in a title one district demographically a step downwhich I shall guess emnas that funding for the boys being outsourced is right up there with the existence of purple zebras that sing my favorite songs form Glee.. non existent. In the last several eyars I have bene a a very peaceful lull of not ahving to fight tooth and nail with the school. At it's worst point we did 6 IEPS for two boys each in one year.. and , my health took a nasty hit. Next eyar mostliekly we will homeschool our oldest, but.. it all depends on what the new district can offer. My IEp skills have become dull.. anything, any jog of my memory re thigns like LRE, IDEA, and NCLB would be helpful things have changed quite a bit. thank you for your repsonses!! Coffeemom
shannonj wrote this reply on Jan 28, 2010 2:04 pm
I can totally understand how stressful those IEP meetings can be--especially starting in a new school where no one knows you or your children and so you are truly their only voice. We have been there regarding being at odds with the district and having to get legal support--me crying at the IEP and then learning to be stronger, hence, more respected....and finally coming to a mutually acceptable IEP....But that has been a long time ago, and my brain hardly allows me to go back there. I would recommend going straight to the Wrights Law website for resources: http://www.wrightslaw.com/ .
Also, do yo have a local Autism Society? Looks like there are several listed here:http://209.200.89.252/search_site/chapter_list.cfm?program_name=&state=AZ
In Maine--not sure about Arizona, our local Autism Society lets members borrow books/DVDs etc. Membership fee is something like $25 a year---and they will mail the books to you---and provide a mailer for you to mail it back when you are done. You might want to call them and see what resources they have in regards to IEPs and the law in your state.
Good luck!
- KevinLivsDad wrote this reply on Jan 28, 2010 8:25 pm
Sometimes communities have agencies w/advocates. These advocates are usually great people & know the laws & biz of IEP's. Sometimes, these advocates are pro-bono. If, you can research your community to see if any such people are around to help you. I did it & am forever thankful. Peace & godspeed ~ Kev
- coffeemom4 wrote this reply on Jan 28, 2010 9:03 pm
Thanks Kev! we havew a few it's just the sounding out oif the new school whether they are under the impression that we are still in eth stage of deer caught in the headlights ir whether we have learned the ropes, our first elementary district was essentially trial by fire, finding out who we are and how strong we could be. Our next hurdle is praying that the bus driver is kind that seems to eb the deciding .. tip in the scales of the day. Really tired here, so If I am not quick to reply I apologize:) thanks again!!
- coffeemom4 wrote this reply on Jan 28, 2010 5:34 pm
thanks Shannon:) I wish, here they pump the brakes when you use the correct terminology or correct them legally, like on the phone, I know darned well the must provide transportation.. I did find out this morning that D will be outsourced to a school in a better district that has aprogram very similar to where he went to school since sixth grade, I quickly called his old school and principle to say thanks, she is sending him pictures of ehr daughter's dog, and his old school had a school mascot, a cat named sigmund. I am familiar with Wright's law, it has just been so long since I have donned the mom boxing gloves to go talk wiht "the team" Arizona has it's gem resources and fabulous teachers , our education system her eis the bottom of the abrrel sadly the people within special ed that you want to adopt, honor they hit burnout.
here we have ASA, autism coalition Organization ( awesome group). the amount of resources is stretched thin in general, after our youngest qualified for early intervention I found contacts, btu I need to pull together the rest of the enrollement stuff, more later thanks again !
