Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional IEP Mtg - Dysgraphia/Writing Accomodations Help.

So, we had the IEP meeting today. It was a little rough but we got everything we needed for DS in terms of accommodations. I was prepared and it was the first time I felt that I was strong (and supported thanks to my advocate) against bullying and steamrolling. It was the first time I left an IEP meeting not feeling as though I had been bullied, pushed around and dismissed as a crazy person who wants to enable my DS's disability. I had writing samples and private OT evals showing my son over two years delayed in his writing. I showed them samples this time - of all of the reversals, etc. They were taken aback when I pulled out the private OT evals as they asserted, with a dismissive wave of their hand, that DS's writing skills are not at a 4 and 5 year old level. It says clearly "age level: 4.8-4.9 years" in these private evals by OTs at a well known established therapy practice.

Anyway, the advocate didn't say much but having her there helped and when she did speak it was good and quite effective. I felt like when it was clear they were dismissing me, she stepped in and didn't allow the issue/concern to be dismissed. She also made sure they addressed every point on the "parent agenda" I drafted. We even discussed the para incidents.

Okay so the one snafu is what to do when DS wants to continue writing beyond the accommodation set limit. So, the accommodation is now "DS is to be provided a scribe for more than 3 lines for each major writing assessment and assignment" ... Personally, I am surprised and a bit skeptical that DS actually turns down scribing because DS is always happy for me to scribe for him. Anyway, apparently what happens is that DS is very creative and often wants to continue his thought before a scribe can get to him or doesn't want to be interrupted in his train of thought. How do we deal with this situation without basically losing the accommodation to "we'll scribe when DS asks for help or looks fatigued." Any ideas?

ETA: I talked to DS and he says the reason he sometimes declines is that some days he just feels like he can write and other days he feels he can barely write a line.

Good job marytheres! You have been working incredibly hard and you finally got to see some of the fruits of your labor.

We have the same issue where DD apparently sometimes asks to do more writing. I am all for her writing if she wants but as you said not when it opens the door to being told "Do as much as you can yourself before you ask for help." Wanting to try to do more should not cause these kids to be forced to more. They have good days and bad days - I'm not sure why but they do. With my DD there is also the sensitivity of not wanting to appear different, not wanting to disappoint the adults she is working with and just plain wishing her disabilities don't exist. (We have been told that unlike many/most children with her set of challenges she is "painfully aware" of them...) Also if she is left to do her own writing she gets access to only a small portion of the curriculum. As I pointed out at our last meeting in the time it would take her to fill in 1 or 2 answers the rest of the kids in the class would probably have finished the entire worksheet and moved on to the next task. She will either complete only a small portion of the task at hand or miss the next one. That is not providing full access to the curriculum.

My suggestion, which was adopted, was to say "DD will be 'encouraged' to write one sentence and will be 'allowed' to write up to (_____ #) sentences." The spec ed teacher pointed out that no one should insist she write on any given day because sometimes she just can't. If it appears that DD wants to write more than the upper limit and is becoming frustrated she can do more while with the service providers who work with her on writing tasks and the number can be revisited at future IEP meetings. (The teacher expressed her desire to be able to be included in the list of people who could use her own judgement and allow DD to do whatever amount of writing she thought was appropriate. I guess what came next could be described as "verbal blunt force trauma" as I listed the reasons why this teacher should not and could not be allowed to exercise such judgement...)

In terms of him having to wait for the para to help him I would say this too comes under the heading of "providing access to the full curriculum." If he needs a para to write, and he is expected to complete a writing assignment, it is incumbent on the school district to make that para available to him. To use the wheelchair analogy would they have him sit there and wait for a wheelchair while the rest of the class went on ahead to (fill in the blank activity)? By the time they got him his wheelchair and wheeled him down the hall what percentage of that art/gym/music class would he have missed because his disability prevented him from walking down the hall with his class? In that scenario they would understand it was their responsibility to have the accommodation ready for him when he needed it rather than have him sitting on the side waiting for someone to allow him to access his education along with the rest of his class.

Oh this is good... why SPECIALLY TRAINED SPECIAL EDUCATORS can't come up with anything close to these kind of suggestions and accommodations really surprises me... What the heck are they learning in these "special" "education" classes? This is the first time they have a student with dysgraphia/writing disability? Anyway, This is good! Thank you!

LOL at the "verbal blunt trauma" - good work!

Okay so our current accommodation reads "Provide a scribe after three lines of writing on developmentally appropriate lined paper."

So, I am thinking perhaps we should make it:

"DS will be 'encouraged' to write up to two lines of writing on developmentally appropriate lined paper and DS will be permitted to write up to 4 lines."

I will add, like Pemberely did, that if it appears that DS wants to write more than the upper limit and is becoming frustrated he can do more while working with the paras who work with him on writing tasks and the number can be revisited at future IEP meetings.

What do you all think?

As you currently have it written the district is not required to provide the para until AFTER he has written 3 lines which is why they have him sitting there waiting for a para to come help him. Is that what you want or do you want him to have the help of para available sooner? Are you comfortable with having the para (or DS) decide how much writing he should be doing? Personally I would be concerned about allowing a para who you have previously said tells your son that he should be doing more writing (i.e "You should be doing what Peter is doing") to decide if it was appropriate for him to write more than the agreed upon amount. I don't know your DS's situation, though, so it's hard for me to comment beyond that.

In our case the only people approved to have DD do more than the IEP specified amount of writing are the spec ed teacher and the OT. DD's para who really "got her" resigned last week and we don't trust the classroom teacher farther than we can throw her. For my DD the act of writing really gets in the way - it may not be as much of an issue for your DS, though. We are hoping to move more towards the keyboarding situation MoN describes but have been stymied so far on the Assistive Technology front. Your DS may be capable of more handwriting than my DD so I don't want to steer you down the wrong path.

Maybe I would consider wording more like "Developmentally appropriate lined paper will be provided for all writing tasks. DS will be encouraged to write up to 2 lines on any task independently. A scribe will be provided for any task that will require DS to write more than 3 lines. If he requests to write 4 lines or more _______" I don't know exactly what to ask for that will make you comfortable that he is actually wanting to do this extra writing and not being subtly (or not so subtly...) pushed to do it. In our case it is getting her away from her classroom and/or classroom teacher. If she makes this request in the resource room we know it is genuinely coming from DD. If it is in the classroom we believe it is most likely a result of pressure placed on her by the classroom teacher and/or wanting to do what the other kids are doing. Have you determined if there is something that your DS interprets as putting pressure on him to conform or are you comfortable that it will really be his desire to do the extra writing? If he wants to write more - are you comfortable with that or is there some reason that his written output NEEDS to be limited?

Congrats on the successful IEP meeting!!!

Re the scribing - I think that I'd leave it at "scribe will be provided for any written work longer than xx # of sentences"... and tell your ds that's the way it's going to work, and that if he gets frustrated and wants to write more on his own, he can do that at home. Will he miss some opportunities to write when it might not have impacted him? Maybe. OTOH, the thing I'd be most concerned about (outside of potentially having the teachers think he was going to be able to grow out of the accommodation) is that when my ds was younger, he really didn't know his limits re what the impact of handwriting would be - in many ways. One of those was fatigue - he didn't realize that if he spent 15 minutes writing he might become so tired that he couldn't give 100% on the next class assignment, or that he might burn out by the end of the day and be either frustrated and unhappy at home or not be able to complete his homework. When ds was younger he also didn't realize the difference in the quality of his handwriting vs what he wrote with typing/scribing. DS was also highly driven by not wanting to be different than the other kids, so there were times when he chose handwriting over accommodations because he simply didn't want to be different. So for all of those reasons, if it was my ds, I'd not give him the option to write more in class if he felt like it.

I've been in the position where ds' school argued that they wanted to remove an accommodation because his teacher claimed ds was choosing not to use his accommodation. I argued (successfully) to keep the accommodation by showing the same documentation (neuropsych report, testing results, examples of classroom work). When the teachers and school staff tried to assert that "ds isn't choosing to use his accommodations" I just kept nicely stating "he needs accommodation ___ because he's dysgraphic, this is an example of his work with and without the accommodation.." etc. Sooooo.... I also wouldn't overly worry that your ds is going to create a situation where the school takes an accommodation away simply because he wrote more on his own occasionally. Especially if he's writing more than 3 sentences because his para isn't available immediately - that sounds more like an argument that the para needs to be more available!

Hope that makes sense

Best wishes,

polarbear

Thank you so much, both of you. Ugh, this is so difficult! Part of the problem is the school now wants something very clear because I threatened to "employ our procedural safeguards" if I find that DS isn't getting his accommodation so this situation when DS wants to do more is touchy for them. And I don't mind b/c, as hard as it is to get it right, I like the idea of it being very specific so that I can hold them to it and DS doesn't end up in situation where he does too much.

After mulling this over and talking with DS and reading your replies and suggestions. I have re-worded it to this:

“Developmentally appropriate lined paper will be provided for all writing tasks. DS will be encouraged to write up to 2 lines on developmentally appropriate lined paper on any task independently. A scribe will be provided for any task that will require DS to write more than 3 lines and DS will be permitted to write up to 4 lines Developmentally appropriate lined paper if he clearly indicates he wants to do so.”

This is scary because I do want to respect what DS wants and feels capable of in terms of writing on any given day but I am, of course, like you all very concerned about the impact of handwriting on him - the fatigue, especially getting burned out by the end of the day, frustrated and unhappy at home, etc. I wonder could I ask for a report each day of how much he wrote so that I know and can correlate his fatigue level, emotional state and even how to handle homework that day?

Based on our experience - and only our experience - I am cautious about requiring the child to request this. It may be fine - with our first grade teacher last year I would have been perfectly comfortable. This year - no way. Not only has the teacher disregarded the IEP and required DD to do it all herself when the para was out but once we finally got the school to provide a substitute para DD was told she was "lazy" and "disrespectful" for "trying to get out of doing her own school work." The IEP needs to be worded in a way that absolutely anyone who reads it will know what needs to be provided. In other words "writing task" = "para support". Maybe something requiring that DS and para alternate writing the first 6 lines and all writing is scribed beyond that level? If DS consistently requests to write more than this himself you revisit the IEP? This way you would be assured the para support is provided and DS can't by definition be required to do more than allowed.

i.e. "Developmentally appropriate lined paper will be provided for all writing tasks. On writing tasks of 2 lines or less DS will be encouraged but not required to write independently. Para support will be provided for any writing task longer than 2 lines. For a task 3 lines or longer DS and para may alternate writing 1-2 lines each. Para will do all writing after DS completes a maximum of 4 handwritten lines."

The alternating is not essential but would hopefully ensure that he is receiving the para support and is not "choosing" to write beyond his comfort level because he does not want to wait for him/her.

ARGGGGGHHH,

So, I was suppose to get back them (the IEP team) on this whole issue about what to do when DS wants to write more... that was what was said at the iep meeting - "think about it, talk to DS. Get back to us on how you want to handle DS wanting to write more..." SO I did, after chatting with you all here I wrote the following:

"Dear [Person sending draft IEP],
Thank you, this is wonderful. However, I have given more thought to our discussion about the scribing accommodation, as the team had asked, and I spoke to DS about it, as the team had suggested. I also talked with some private OTs about the accommodation. As you will recall, we were concerned about situations when DS wants to write more on his own and what to do then. Our current accommodation reads "Provide a scribe after three lines of writing on developmentally appropriate lined paper." After some careful consideration and speaking with OTs and BDS, I am thinking that we should make it as follows:

“Developmentally appropriate lined paper will be provided for all writing tasks. DS will be encouraged to write up to 2 lines on developmentally appropriate lined paper on any task independently. A scribe will be provided for any task that will require DS to write more than 3 lines and DS will be permitted to write up to 4 lines on developmentally appropriate lined paper if he clearly indicates he wants to do so.”

I am wondering if I could perhaps get a very brief report each day of how much Ben wrote so that I know and can monitor his fatigue level, emotional state and even how to handle/modify homework that day? Let me know what you think! Thanks!"

So I get this back in response from Mr. Principal:
"Thank you for your further thought on how to word specially designed instruction related to Ben's writing needs. It would be best to discuss this in the context of an IEP meeting. The team can be available to meet at 8:00 A.M. On the following dates: Thurs. 4/11, Mon. 4/15, Wed. 4/17, and Fri. 4/19. Let me know what would work for you. If these dates are not workable for you we can certainly go back to our calendars."

He such an A$$. Anyway, We just had a new very involved OT eval done yesterday at a place that also treats dyslexia/dysgraphia we should get that report within the next two weeks. We also have a neuropsych eval at the beginning of MAy. I am thinking of saying to this guy "okay let's leave it at 3 lines for now and I'll sign the NOREP. {I am actually okay with that at least temporarily, particularly given polarbears's good points} and lets' hold off meeting again and discussing mroe changes to to SDIs until after all of the upcoming evals."

What do you all think?

I am pretty certain what is coming in the next month or so is a dyslexia or dygraphia diagnosis. The OT evaluator yesterday seemed to be very concerned about it - and becasue she tested DS without him reading she was not distracted by his good reading skills. She seemed to do a lot of reversal testing on him with letters and shapes, etc. She was surprised at his reading level given what she saw in here testing and she said she fears DS will fall aprt when the reading requirements increase. I think we are at least looking at a dyslexic dygraphia diagnosis coming from someone soon.

By the way this principal is getting to be a nightmare - I feel like the principla is going to make this as uncomfrotable for me as possible to punish me. Seriously think he is tryign to tire me out by forcing a meeting everytime we want to tweak the the IEP (although it backfired on him last time becasue I was not intimidated or bullied and aended up feeling that meeting had been a great idea!) He knows 8 am is hard for my advocate and me so he is using this to make it hard on me and also to try to get me without my advocate, I think.

Anyway, Sorry I keep bothering you all with this but I haven't a lot of other resources Any help advice is appreiaciated.

Is the principal the person who really drives the IEP process at your school? I'm just curious because at our school it was the SPED staff person who was *really* technically in charge, and she would have been the person that would have made the decision re whether or not another meeting needed to be held to make a change in wording of an accommodation. She also reported to a SPED chairperson in the district rather than only reporting to the principal, so I think the district chairperson helped to prevent situations like a principal acting on emotion from getting out of control or acting in a way that wasn't in the district's best interests. I'm just curious if you have a SPED staff person at your school, and if so do you think he/she has any kind of power over this decision, or do you think the principal is simply digging in and wielding his power and there's no changing his mind? If you have a reasonable SPED person, I might just drop in and talk to her or give her a call and ask if this small update to the IEP couldn't be handled via phone calls - we did that for a change in our ds' IEP and it worked fine! (Of course, we didn't have our principal acting as a roadblock).

I'd also ask your advocate what she recommends.

And... I'd do my best to simply ignore the fact the principal is digging his heels in and making mountains out of molehills. Respond to his email per mon's suggestions, and offer up the times *you* (and your advocate) are available to meet - make sure all of the times you suggest are workable times for both you and your advocate. Your principal can't insist that the meeting happen at 8.

I'd also only suggest dates after the next eval comes in, since it's 2 weeks away.

Hang in there - you're really doing a GREAT job of advocating - I'm sorry your principal is being such a bottle neck in the process!

polarbear

ps - don't know how your district is set up, but we also had a team member from our district office sit in on each of our IEP meetings to be sure that the school members followed district policy etc. I don't know for sure if this was routine in our district, or something that happened at our school because our school had been in trouble for violating the spirit and law of IDEA in the past... but if you have a person like that who is sitting in, you might also give them a call and ask if this is really something that warrants a meeting. My gut feeling is that if the SPED team members are ok with the change to the wording, they will be motivated and able to get the change through without a meeting - because I'm guessing that they have more meetings than they can fit into their days to begin with, and scheduling endless meetings over something that could easily be agreed to on the phone isn't high on their agenda, kwim?

The Special Ed director seems fine but she is never around (thoughh she is cc'd on some things). The Ass. Spec Ed Director is involved and I can not stand her. She is not friendly to special needs at all - she is often accusing me of "micromanaging DS" "enabling his disability" and "shortchanging" She does not like DS getting these accommodatiosn at all. But she also seems to not have much power - it seems the principal tells her what to say and do.

Re the 8am thing, that's part of the problem also. Principal said there is no way he is ever meeting again at any other time other than 8am! I don't understand how he can do that! How about even 9am or 9:30am - he said it takes the teachers away from instriuction and he can't do it and he require the teachers to be there after their union hours! So it has to be at 8am.

What a jerk.

I do have a phone call into the advocate and am waiting to hear from her.

In the meantime, I am thinking of responding with this:

"Another meeting on this may be a great idea! Thank you so much for suggesting it! I thought that at the last meeting I was asked to think more about the issue of what to do when DS seems to want to write more than permitted by the accommodation, talk it over with DS and report back to the IEP team. I have done that in my previous email. Now that I have had time to think about it and discuss it with some other professionals, etc., I feel much more prepared and do have more ideas about how to handle the accommodation in light of the IEP team's concerns expressed on Monday. I am also, however, also very comfortable (for now) with leaving the accommodation as it is. I was simply trying to make it all more flexible for you and the teachers given the concerns expressed by the teachers on Monday.

There is an additional consideration, DS just had a very in-depth evaluation yesterday (Occupational Therapy, Auditory and Auditory Processing, Dyslexia/Dysgraphia, etc) and I will get the report in approxmiately two weeks. Additionally, we have a neuropsychological evaluation coming up as well. So, I am thinking maybe we should just proceed with the current IEP and defer formally meeting again until after I get all of the results of these evaluations? Based on my discussions with the evaluator at yesterday's evaluation, I have a strong inclination that some sort of formal 'dyslexia/dysgraphia' diagnosis will be coming in the very near future. The evaluator said yesterday that the amount and the extent of DS's reversals in the tests she gave are certainly not "typical" given his age, intelligence and grade level and are definitely a cause for a great deal concern (finally some validation); therefore, much of the IEP will most likely need more tweaking and updating anyway once those evaluations are complete and we know the results.

As we all know, anyone can call an IEP meeting and I certainly respect your right to do so. I have no problem meeting - after all, DS is my child and I will whatever I need to do to ensure he has access to his education and is properly accommodated. Therefore, of course, I would be more than happy to check with my advocate and my husband and get back to you on some dates and times. It is my understanding that IEP meeting times have to be workable times for both my advocate, my husband and myself so I apologize that I can not guarantee that we will be able to accommodate you request for an 8:00 am meeting but we will do our best and I am sure we can come up with some workable alternative times that are good for ALL of us, if an 8;00 am time is not possible.

If after discussing this email with the rest of the team, you find that a formal meeting is unnecessary, you are certainly welcome to cancel it and address this one concern that I was asked to think over and reported in my email. Or, you are welcome to cancel your request for a formal meeting and leave the accommodation as it is. I am fine with either. I am almost positive we will be meeting again, probably more than once, before the start of next year to revisit the issue of this particular accommodation. Otherwise, I certainly look forward to meeting with all of you again to bnrainstorm and discuss! Let me know how you wish to proceed.

Sincerely,"

Hmmmm, interestingly, the Special Ed Dir was not cc'd on any of this just the assistant special ed director. I will start including the Special Ed Dir as she for the district not just this elementary school so, like you say polarbear, she may put a bit of a check on the principal's power and emotion. I don't know really what she is like but I am thinking she may provide some needed 'objectivity' to this situation.

This should be a template letter - spot on a perfect blend of being assertive and acommodating!

Thank you MON !!!!! This board is wonderful, thank you everyone! Gonna draft that and send to advocate for approval and thoughts but I agreee that it's perfect!

I honestly do not think they would even understand this accommodation. I also think it is way too vague for them and it lends itself to quickly becoming a situation where DS starts writing more and more, etc.

It seems to need to be spelled out very, very clearly for them ... otherwise it becomes "well, he seems fine" and less and less scribing is provided. And the accommodation becomes "when he asks if he seems fatigued"

I cc'd in the Special Ed director on our email back and forth and I do believe I detect a change a tone in Mr. Principal's last email. I am thinking maybe Spec. Ed. director is a bit higher than principal since she is SpecED Dir of the district and perhaps he became more conscious of his tone. He still wants to meet and that's fine. If we are meeting then I feel like we should be prepared to have a good in-depth discussion about this, so I am outlining 'brainstorming ideas' and my concerns now so we can have a really good discussion. It could be yet another really good meeting for us. And why not... might as well take advantage of getting everyone together to have a really good back and forth on getting this accommodation hammered out. But I still can not guarantee a 8am meeting time as I do want my advocate to be there and he is the one insisting that every time I send an email discussing or tweaking the iep we MUST MEET so....

So, just yesterday another example of teachers and paras, etc. not being educated about DS's IEP, disability, etc. DS's gym teacher is now teaching them "health" this semester. Btw, gym teacher is a super guy, very good with and to DS and lovely to me (so far anyway...) Now that he is teaching "health" writing is involved in the class. DS had to ask for help with writing yesterday. DS said gym teacher was surprised and confused by DS's request and asked DS if he gets this sort of help form other teachers. DS said yes but gym teacher decided to make sure and put the question to the class, "Does DS get help with writing routinely and form Mrs. Homeroom teacher?" I mean, really?? And then they (principal and rest of IEP team) balk at my concern that the paras and other staff working with DS are not educated properly about DS's disability!

Apparently, however, this all went fine, Gym Teacher was lovely about it and not shaming (at least DS didn't feel weird or shamed) and DS was fine with it all. And the class was all like "yup, DS gets help with writing." Gym then said "Okay no problem, then" and helped him. But this really could have gone very badly. I don't want to get gym teacher in trouble at all so I probably won't bring it up...but really!

Well, I talked to the advocate and she told me to ask him if other in "specials" he is getting his accommodations because she said if the PE/health teacher doesn't know there is a high chance none of the specials teachers were given the IEP. I actually didn't think this case. As it turns out she is right, I asked DS about his other specials classes. He teared up and said there is a ton of writing library classroom and he never gets any accommodations there. He shared that he has been afraid to ask for his accommodation because the library classroom teacher is "very unpleasant" and he is "afraid she will not believe him or will make fun of him" (I know this teacher b/c I volunteer at the school and she is mean).

So, advocate says we have to send a email/correspondence clearly documenting this. I did so without emotion or threats just a please be advised" and just a 'please give specials teachers IEP and talk with them asap' email but I am so upset. It specifically says in the IEP these people need to know. This is exactly what I have been complaining about - paras, teachers and staff that work daily with my son do not know he has an iep and what his accommodations are... No wonder he started breaking down in January - the writing in all of the classes really started picking up then. I am upset. I really thought this school was better than this.

We got into a big brew-ha-ha over this sort of thing at the last IEP (based on the fact that paras were clearly not properly informed and educated about DS's accommodations) and they acted like I being 'that difficult mother.' I wanted to maybe have paras in the IEP meetings - they said "no" not really sure why. We ended up saying there would semester meetings with paras by the teacher (not DH and I) re ds's accommodations.

What the heck do we need to d oto make sure all of DS's specials and paras know what DS needs? I don't get their names or emails in the beginning of the year otherwise I would just email them myself!

Did I mention how upset I am? No wonder DS was starting to deteriorate.

That's infuriating and unacceptable that they aren't taking the issue more seriously. Shy of having your son carry a dossier of documentation just in case, I don't see any channels you haven't pursued to get the staff at the school singing from the same hymn book.

Thanks MON and Aquinas. MON, sounds like you have really 'been there, done that' with this stuff. Amazing you got 'in trouble' for being informative - it actually helps them to be protected if everyone knows what they need to know and do!

I'll have to be even more pushy about it in the future, I guess. I actually had this concern in the beginning of the year and clearly verbalized it on a number of occasions. The teacher assured me she would share everything with the specials teachers and paras when I asked for the names and contact info of each specials teachers. This year is his first year but we (parents) are not even given the name of each specials teacher (there is a directory but if I don't the name...) Anyway, I asked again about this at our 1st IEP meeting at the end of September (back then I was specifically concerned about the specials teachers) and again asked for names and contact info. I was assured again that each specials teacher and para would be informed. A mandate that all staff is to be informed about DS's IEP and accommodations was placed in the IEP to appease me. So, this is yet ANOTHER violation of the IEP. At the last IEP meeting I got more insistent about having paras at the meeting (as well as other teachers such as special teachers) - this time I was met with great resistance and again an assurance that everyone is informed. {They also basically said DS was lying about what the para said to him. Things got heated. The advocate pointed out DS has no reason to lie and principal said 1st graders are known not to be accurate with their accounts of what happened to which I responded employees are know to purposely lie to cover their butts. But I digress}
At that point I really thought the specials teachers were informed and that there were not any real problems there. I had no idea things were getting this bad for DS in specials. So DS was getting no accommodations in specials and he had a para putting him down for needing accommodations . And they wondered why he was "irritable" and I love their solution, which was "I know! He needs social skills class!" I think the lot of them need socials skills classes!

I'll have to look at how to call an IEp meeting and formally put the request of the attendance of paras and specials teachers in my next IEP request. If they refuse (which based on the reactions I have gotten in previous similar requests is most likely) and this crap happens again I guess that is just more fuel. But I really don't want problems. I want DS to stay in this school and be happy and properly and appropriately educated. I mean, c'mon some of this stuff is not that hard or complicated.

marytheres I can tell you that after beating my head into a brick wall over and over about IEP violations I found the silver bullet was a meeting with the superintendent. It wasn't easy to get - the district staff see it as their job to keep parents away from her. Once we laid out what was happening she handed down word "the IEP is to be followed to the letter." You may want to consider this route.

Remember that my situation has gotten *very* contentious so take this with a grain of salt. I would absolutely not take it upon myself to notify the paras or the specials teachers. That is not my job. If the people who are responsible for implementing the IEP choose not to do their jobs I will NOT do it for them. I will go to their supervisors and have them insist that they do it properly. I have come to realize that often school districts rely on the naiveté and inexperience of parents. Even smart, committed, educated parents have a learning curve. The number of times I have said "If I knew then what I know now..." Well now I know and I have learned the hard way. If it is in the IEP they have to do it. Period. If they don't I will hold them accountable.

Of course I have a situation where we have a principal who has been intentionally trying to cause DD harm - I don't get the sense that you have that. There may be some disagreements about what your DS's needs are or how best to meet them. They may think you are overprotective or "enabling". But if it is in the IEP they have to do it. I would consider asking your advocate about accompanying you to a meeting with the spec ed director or superintendent. I think that will be your best bet for addressing the big picture of how you and this school (or school district) are going to work together moving forward.

This is exhausting and frustrating and feels as though it is a bottomless pit at times. Stay strong. You are doing what needs to be done for your son and you are doing it well.

I don't know ... I don't recall seeing anyone titled with this role. But I think it is the special education support teacher as she is the one who drafts the IEP and sends it to me, etc...

Thanks so much. I have started cc'ing in the Special Ed Director... maybe that will help.

hmmmm looking now. I think I have only seen LEA next to principal and asst. dir. of spec ed.

Nope, no one is labeled as "IEP coordinator" on the sign in sheet or anywhere else that the names are listed.

Thanks Mana! I'll add that to my outline of concerns and suggestions to be discussed at the upcoming IEP, i.e., that we should designate a coordinator who is responsible for informing and apprising all of DS's teachers. Even though it's not federally mandated, we should be doing it because clearly there are issues when there isn't one.

Okay so quick question. I talked more with DS about "library classroom" class. Apparently, there has been a great deal of writing in there all year. DS never got help. He tearfully shared about different assignments how he wanted so much to participate in them but just couldn't keep up and couldn't write, including tests for the class. I want to see this work. I want to see how bad it is.

I now have the library classroom teachers email and I actually see her every Monday b/c I volunteer at library exchange.

Do you think I could request to see DS's all year long work? I get that from his main teacher but I never see anything form the specials teachers. Should I request a parent teacher conference with her? I really just want to see his work product.

Or should I just let it go? I am really interested in seeing the work DS produced in this situation where he was not given a scribe.

I was thinking of requesting that she bring his work to Library exchange this Monday (or next) so I can see it. We have another IEP mtg set up for the 23rd to hammer out the specifics of the scribing accommodation. This may be really good stuff to show why he needs the scribing and how bad he *really* is.

Thoughts? Advice?