Had meeting with school about need for awareness and some small accommodations regarding vision and its impact for ds. Felt good going in, had been given advice about what to say and how to answer questions by the tester. Instead, the school member felt that he self- accommodated, and they didn't see any need for more. Arrrgghh.
Hopefully, the teacher (whom we like and so does ds) will helpful. Awaiting to hear when we will have a parent teacher conference.
Sorry for complaining. Feeling somewhat frustrated, but hopeful the teacher can/ will help.
Meleesa, I am feeling so very frustrated for you!!! Would you like to list out for us the accommodations you were asking for? I'm also curious if this was supposed to be a 504 meeting, or if it was just an informal meeting with staff to discuss accommodations? I think it's worth thinking through in detail how you will respond to ridiculous comments such as the "he's self-accommodating" etc before you meet with the teacher, and I would also suggest sending an email summary of the meeting discussion to each of the meeting participants just to get it on the record. It's possible that things may work out a-ok with this teacher this year, but if your ds has vision challenges that aren't going to go away, you'll want accommodations in writing. Typically that would be through a 504, but there are times when a school might do the same through a "health plan" - but both are formal, written documents that the school is required to follow.
Another point to consider when talking to his teacher (and for future team meetings) - what happens re accommodations when your ds is with other teachers for pull-outs like music, pe, etc?
I'm also curious - have you thought of asking the person who wrote the vision report if they've heard of schools in your district not honoring the requests for accommodations? If you get the feeling that this is something that is just a situation with your school, you might want to call your district's 504 coordinator's office and ask them what the procedure is for formally requesting a 504, and would it be typical to have a 504 with the set of challenges your ds has.
Best wishes,
polarbear
ps - I would want to know specifically what they felt your ds is doing that is providing "self-accommodations". If they can actually offer up an example, then you have an example of a need for an accommodation. For example, if he gets up and moves closer to the board on his own to read what's on the board, then the staff has just affirmed that he needs to be seated close to the board.
Another reason to get their specific description of the meaning of "self-accommodation" is to be sure they aren't "reactions/coping mechanisms" instead of "accomomdations". For example, if he's squinting or shifting his paper around to a bizarre orientation or having to get up and take a relaxation break because the effort of focusing is too hard etc - those are reasons he needs to have his formal (requested) accommodations in place.
FWIW, I do think it's possible to get along with vision accommodations without a 504 plan - my dd's teachers have always been willing to let her have the accommodations she needs for her vision challenges in class and have been very understanding about her vision issues. However - I would absolutely seek out a 504 for her if we ran into a situation where teachers weren't being cooperative and understanding or if I felt her issues required accommodations on testing - even if she was getting those accommodations during testing in the classroom, you need the 504 to guarantee the accommodations on state etc type testing.
