Mk13, I'm in a bit of a hurry and can't respond meaningfully to everything at the moment, but just wanted to mention that the "Health Plan" your ds has for allergies may be more binding and formal than you think it is. Some school districts (ours included) handle food allergy issues through what's called an "Integrated Health Plan" (IHP) rather than having a 504 or including them in IEP accommodations. Our experience with the IHP was that it's been every bit as meaningful as a 504 would have been *here* because the district does honor it in the same way they would a 504.

The flip side of that is - when you're dealing with food allergies and young children, our experience has been that although some teachers and school staff are understanding and care very much about following the necessary protocols... and other adults simply don't believe it and cause problems, and it wouldn't matter if it was a 504 or an IEP or an IHP or um, possibly God lol. Hopefully as time has gone by people are becoming more aware and understanding - but fwiw, dealing with our dd's food allergies during K-2nd grade were every bit as challenging in terms of advocacy as dealing with 2e issues. And very stressful too - I hope your experience is much better.

Anyway, re the paperwork/documentation - I'd ask the schools you are considering sending your ds to what their food allergy policies are, including what kind of documentation/paperwork they require and use. But be sure to ask about logistics, who eats where, what foods are allowed in the classroom etc - all of those questions ultimately matter more than whether or not your child has a 504 or an IEP or an IHP. The guarantee the paperwork offers *is* important, but it's been our experience that the type of paperwork, for this type of issue (not for academic issues) is a bit of a wash - each works equally well from what I've heard. It's the people implementing the plan that are more of a challenge!

Best wishes,

polarbear

Last edited by polarbear; 04/12/13 12:29 PM.