Hi Pipersmom,
Several thoughts here:
--Has the school district done its own educational evaluation? They are required to do so before they can say she needs or doesn't need an IEP. Even if they are taking outside results into account. The Wrightslaw book From Emotions to Advocacy is good in spelling out this process. Their website is helpful too.
Deedee, The school has not done it's own evaluation yet, in VA, the SCT meeting is the very first step, and that is where they'll decide if an educational evaluation is needed. I have been to the Wrightslaw site, and suspect I'll be frequenting it quite often. When Piper started school I went through this process trying to get a 504 into place for her CF and it was a nightmare.
--The diagnosis ought properly to be either High Functioning Autism or Asperger's; Asperger's is assumed to be high functioning, which simply means "without mental retardation." The term high functioning means nothing with regard to the severity or mildness of the autism symptoms, only that IQ is not impaired.
It is an Asperger's diagnosis on the official paperwork, I suspect the Dr may have expressed it to me as "high functioning" simply because 1. I had no prior warning they were even looking at Spectrum Disorders, and 2. Not that there is a "typical" Aspie, but some of her presentation is very mild.
--How prepared is your school likely to be to give all the accommodations the dev ped recommended? It's a good list, but it's a big list. Know which ones seem like the essentials before you walk into the meeting, but start negotiations with the dev. ped's list.
I have no idea how likely they will be, but I would say prob less likely based on past experience, lol. My plan is to walk in with a couple lists, one with things I consider "essentials" and then a list of "would be nice" things. Of course, the list of things I provide them will have the whole shebang.
--They are not supposed to determine IEP status by academic achievement alone but also by "functional skills" kids learn in school (including social skills). You should be able to look at the state standards for things like social studies to argue that the Asperger's impairs your daughter's ability to participate in group projects and so forth, and she needs remedial services to help her do so.
--You will want to think through what aspects of the list require personnel (services, like PT, OT, speech, access to special ed teacher) and what part are just accommodations (reduced homework; things a teacher can do). If it looks like only accommodations they may try to give her a 504 plan instead of an IEP. An IEP is better for the Asperger's--for instance, a speech therapist or special ed teacher can facilitate learning social skills, PT should work on the gross motor, etc.
Thank you, that helps a lot. I hadn't even considered PT for the gross motor skills, but it would definitely be a positive for her.
--You should be prepared by knowing your district's and state's rules regarding who is served in the TAG program. Some places just go by testing and some by teacher recommendation (much harder to deal with for 2E kids). In either case they are not allowed to deny entry based on disability.
They go by a combination of testing, teacher's recommendation, and academic performance. The principal does have experience with Asperger's, and seemed very open when I spoke to her this morning. She's also included the TAG teacher in the SCT meeting, so I'm somewhat hopeful on that end of things.
HTH,
DeeDee
Thank you so much, I'm trying hard not to get overwhelmed with the whole process and any advice/info is extremely helpful at this point.
-Amanda
