As I mentioned in my post above, that wasn't our experience at all nor what our K teacher told us about "special accommodations," but it would all depend I'm sure on how severe the issues/special needs and requested accommodations are. Our teacher said so many little tweaks can so easily be made in Kindergarten. Same with getting an IEP before you even know how they will do in K/if any of their issues will carry over--really depends on severity/issue I think. And if one child was having the kind of effect on an entire class that you describe, then the school should be blamed in great part for their handling of it.
shimmerstar, you have a whole summer to figure things out to get some plans going to help him out. Who knows how he'll be doing in Fall, and even if he gets a "formal diagnosis," not all diagnoses have to be revealed. Again, I don't know exactly what you are looking at, but one thing I can tell you is that my son matured so much just over the summer alone. And the difference between Fall and even now in Spring? We have some bad days at home, but with his confidence and social maturity? Amazing difference!
If a child's issues can be fixed with "tweaks" then s/he doesn't need an IEP. I do know of school districts that will write up an IEP for kids with minor problems, but mine does not. You have to have real issues and months of documented evidence on file in order to create an IEP, which is why it is best to start the ball rolling early in my district. I was under the assumption that the OP's child has severe issues, since she is mentioning evaluation and Asperger's, but perhaps her child's issues are minor.
As for the bolded part, could you elaborate? As an elementary teacher of a student who has kicked and punched teachers and students, thrown classroom materials, ripped books, knocked books off the shelf, thrown chairs, shoved desks, and wrestled with the huge security guard on a daily basis all because he doesn't feel like adding 2+2, what is the school supposed to do to help that child and his classmates get a proper education? Perhaps you have some ideas I could share with the special ed teachers and principal, since none of their approaches seem to be working.
As an elementary teacher of a student who has kicked and punched teachers and students, thrown classroom materials, ripped books, knocked books off the shelf, thrown chairs, shoved desks, and wrestled with the huge security guard on a daily basis all because he doesn't feel like adding 2+2, what is the school supposed to do to help that child and his classmates get a proper education? Perhaps you have some ideas I could share with the special ed teachers and principal, since none of their approaches seem to be working.
This is a totally different situation. I was referring to your anecdote, where it sounded like there was one "disruptive" (not violent) child, no assistance for the teacher from the special ed department bc the child was not yet part of the special ed system, and no other adult there at least trying to assist the student or teacher, leaving an entire classroom of students ignored. This other situation is extreme, where it sounds like every possible outside resource and person has been brought in, and still the situation cannot be controlled. I am very sorry to hear that you are going through this.
ETA: Regarding the other, yes, more serious stuff will require an IEP. I was thinking (maybe hopeful for shimmerstar?) more on the "less serious" end of the spectrum of things that could be going on. We have other avenues in our state that are like a step or two down from an IEP, and IEPs themselves at our school are quite rare even though there are certainly kids with ADHD, sensory issues, and the like. The other documents are more common at our school than IEPs. I may have also been thinking of Asperger's differently than you since there is such a range. And I just wasn't sure from her other thread/posts that the OP's child's issues are such that they will know exactly what he needs until Kinder starts, that's why I said what I did.
Shimmerstar...FWIW, I wear the hat of a Special Educator in a public elementary school but also the hat of having a DS who has some needs that "could" potentially necessitate an IEP at some point down the road (if issues aren't resolved before then). So I will just give you a couple thoughts. I am assuming you do not know the principal at the school where your son is going to attend. This is a crucial point because not all principals are created equal. I have worked in 4 different elementary schools and 1 high school during which time I have served under 9 different principals and some of them would welcome you wanting to sit down and give them a heads up about your son without judgement. Others would have the "oh Lord...where can I stick this kid that will cause me the least amount of headache so I don't have to deal with him?" look the entire time you are telling them about your DS. Without you knowing the personality of the principal at your son's school then I think it might be best to hold off until school starts and do what Taurus did...just kind of pull whoever his teacher is to the side and share a few things with her that might help her be prepared to deal with him and like Grenouille said not catch her completely off guard. I can tell you if your school is anything like mine...what is going to happen is, if your DS truly becomes a problem (i.e. behavior starts affecting academics, focus, his ability to interact with his peers, etc.) then his teacher will refer him to the team of people who monitors students whose teachers have concerns about them. In my building that is called SIT (School Instructional Team). Our SIT is run by the VP and we discuss students, call in the teacher to share their concerns and put a plan in place for interventions. We revisit every 90 days to see if the interventions are working. But at a certain point...if nothing is then the child is sent straight to the IEP team for possible evaluation.
I say all that to say...you may just want to see how things play out after you put a buzz in the teacher's ear that first day about your son. Sit back (although I know it's hard) and see how A) she handles it and B) your son handles school. If it gets to be too much the school will bring him before their team to see what can be done to help him and you might be pleasantly surprised at the results because it doesn't ALWAYS lead to an IEP (perhaps a 504 plan would be more appropriate). Good luck.
Last edited by pocahontas; 06-07-2012 at 07:20 PM.
At 24w 4d my little boy...became an angel 11/7/07 Rainbow baby arrived 12/6/09! Added a dash of PINK 4/9/11
This is a totally different situation. I was referring to your anecdote, where it sounded like there was one "disruptive" (not violent) child, no assistance for the teacher from the special ed department bc the child was not yet part of the special ed system, and no other adult there at least trying to assist the student or teacher, leaving an entire classroom of students ignored. This other situation is extreme, where it sounds like every possible outside resource and person has been brought in, and still the situation cannot be controlled. I am very sorry to hear that you are going through this.
ETA: Regarding the other, yes, more serious stuff will require an IEP. I was thinking (maybe hopeful for shimmerstar?) more on the "less serious" end of the spectrum of things that could be going on. We have other avenues in our state that are like a step or two down from an IEP, and IEPs themselves at our school are quite rare even though there are certainly kids with ADHD, sensory issues, and the like. The other documents are more common at our school than IEPs. I may have also been thinking of Asperger's differently than you since there is such a range. And I just wasn't sure from her other thread/posts that the OP's child's issues are such that they will know exactly what he needs until Kinder starts, that's why I said what I did.
The student in my anecdote is different from the one mentioned in my later post. The anecdote student would scream at the teacher, throw things, and try to jump out the window or run out the door. Once the school knew he had Asperger's, and he had a full time aide assigned, he was able to be removed from the classroom pre-emptively and things improved dramatically. But still, a head's up that this child had serious needs would have been appreciated and I don't see how the school was at fault for not being able to help him sooner since his parents didn't notify the school of his issues. Now, if the OP's son's issues are minor compared to this, I think notifying the teacher/school is unnecessary. But if her child has true, serious needs that can't be accommodated with "minor tweaks", then I think the school should be notified.
My DS has an IEP for sensory processing disorder. He's also in a gifted and talented program within his school, so he's "twice gifted." He's finishing 1st grade. I got a lot of crap about it from both ends (why would you put an impaired kid in g&t? how can a kid with issues also be smart? If he's so smart, why should he get special services? etc.) Last year, his kindergarten teacher was alarmed from the get-go, and had difficulty handling him all year. She kept suggesting we downgrade him to a general ed class because she thought his issues were leading to learning problems. This year he got a much more experienced teacher who seemed to "get" him and his issues, and he's been doing spectacularly academically, with many behavioral roadbumps. A lot depends on the teacher.
He's had the IEP since he was 3 and in preschool, so it's nothing new. He gets pulled out for OT and counseling and has special accommodations for testing, and his classroom teacher deals with the rest. And I always try to make sure his teachers have as much information about him as possible--it's not like they're not going to notice his behavior right away!
My father is an elementary school principal and after reading the responses here, I called him and asked him what he would recommend in this situation. I hope it's helpful!
He says not to contact the school now, wait until you've done the eval. He says that school administrators will be back at work 2-3 weeks prior to the start of school in the Fall, and that would be an appropriate time to talk to them, after you've finished the evaluation. Any information you give them before then is anecdotal, and they can't necessarily develop a plan based on that. An evaluation will help them adequately prepare.
He says he think that it IS really important to talk to the school, though, not just wait and see how it goes. Preparing the administration and teachers for a child who may need extra support allows your child to have the best possible experience. He says that if school starts off on the wrong foot for a kid, they can develop negative associations with being there that are challenging to overcome. He also said that you never want to surprise a school with a child that may be prone to violence and serious acting out (although it doesn't sound to me like this is what's going out with your child), as it's dangerous for the child, other students and staff. If the teachers are prepared from day one to work with your child's needs and particular issues, your child is going to have a much smoother entry into Kindergarten.
He asked if your child had been in preschool locally. He said that if that was the case, and the administration and teachers there seemed to have a good understanding of your child's issues, that it might also be helpful to connect the school principal with the administrator at the preschool, in case they want to reach out for additional information. He said this is an "only if you want to" and only if you feel that the preschool's input could be truly valuable.
Good luck with the eval. We did one last year for our son and while the process is a bit of a pain, we thought it was enormously valuable in helping us learn to provide the best environment for his particular challenges. I hope this is the case for you, as well. I also hope that when you communicate the eval results to the school, that you feel a lot of support from them.
My situation was different I guess in that we had no idea when we started K if DS had something specific going on or was just a bit socially/emotionally immature, so nothing we would have notified the school of would have made him sound any different than any other potential Kindergartener. (ETA: It was always mostly at home where we were having major behavioral issues.) Since the OP already has assessments underway, the situation is different. And if it's something that over summer she finds out should/will require an IEP for the benefit of her son, then yes, I can see informing the school as soon as possible.
shimmerstar, I will be hoping all the best for you and your son and for as little worry as possible for you this summer!
Gren, if a child had "serious needs" and a parent didn't reveal them, that is very sad indeed.
Just bear in mind that although it can be seen as a stigma, an IEP is actually in place to give your child the best support and chance of success. With an IEP, the school is mandated by law to help him (with OT, PT, speech, counseling or other services), and to not be punishing about his behaviors. I've had a lot of different feelings over the years about my DS and his IEP and about the problems it caused finding him a kindergarten (private schools made no secret about not wanting him, and in the end, it was the strength/mandate of his "g&t" testing score, also considered a special need, and not his IEP that found him an appropriate public school), but ultimately I've been very thankful to see the results of all the services he receives.
My dad is a school psychologist and he agreed with what rosebud posted. At this point, school is done. He's not doing evaluations over the summer. But if your son has a medically defined condition, he would be at the top of the list for evaluation in the fall. Otherwise, it's just parental concern and he wouldn't do an evaluation until the teacher requests it.
Thank you all SO much for your opinions, experiences, and thoughts. I cannot express how grateful I am that you were so willing to add your insights, and even that some of you would seek information from those "in the know".
I know our district does not do any evaluations over the summer. I think the most plausible idea is seeing how things play out with all his appointments and contacting the school before we start back. I don't think his teachers would say that he has severe issues. His behavior at school seems to be 90% okay and 10% not. He has just been so explosive lately and I don't know what changed. We are also going to therapy over the summer to help him deal with these problems, no matter what is causing them.
As for me not worrying, I've been finding that impossible! What a way to spend my summer.
Reply With QuoteOriginally Posted by Grenouille
Rainbow baby arrived 12/6/09!
