There is a very stressful time for every parent who has a child on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) at school.
The time when they are being notified that their child is being reevaluated for services.
I got the notification Declan was to be reevaluated a couple of weeks ago. I was given a form to fill out asking for my input. I was given an allotted amount of time to fill it out.
And I did something so uncharacteristic of me.
I put the folder face down and to the side. Ignoring it.
But now, my time is running out – this is important stuff here! I need to turn this folder over, open it and begin the paperwork!
I just don’t want to. I don’t want the dreaded change.
So, I sit back and think. How is Declan doing?
I think he is doing very well in school. He is reading well. He is willing to do some writing activities he refused in the past. He enjoys math – when it is easy.
Where are his weaknesses?
If he doesn’t want to do an activity, he won’t. Socially he is a loner. He has a hard time trying to interact with other students and hit another student repeatedly when he was misunderstood. Gym – any regular class activity where there is a possibility of him losing in a game, he refuses to participate. He gets easily flustered if he does not understand an activity and requires breaks.
A reward chart was put in place. All the negative behaviors are gone. When the teacher sees Declan getting flustered, she sends him for a break. She does not require Declan to participate in class games. Instead he can learn about an animal or planet online and give her a three-sentence written report on it.
In short, she helps him shine. With her support, he is doing very well!
I am so happy he is doing so well. But what will happen when he is reevaluated? What will the evaluator see? What needs will be apparent?
Here’s the thing. I have always left Declan’s services up to the school. When we started with special education services when he was three, I went with their flow. They told me what they were going to work on in his different therapies – and I said okay. They said he needed a 1/1 aid – and I said okay.
I have never had any reason to get huffy. His special education school and now his elementary school have always had Declan’s best interest in mind. They bring in and retract services based on Declan’s needs.
Great!
But each goal, each service has always been written into his IEP. Now his IEP may change.
Okay. I guess.
You see, Declan has never been seen as a behavior issue. He is not yelled at. Declan is not punished or admonished, he is supported. He has always been given that perspective from the start. And that is why I always said – okay do what you need to do.
Declan does not feel bad about himself because of his needs at school. He has not adopted the notion “I am a bad kid” or “I am a bad student.”
And I never want him to think he is.
So, what happens if he continues to appear to be doing so well they take services out of his IEP? What if one day they take away the IEP altogether? Will that support base always be provided to him if he is not identified as a person with different educational needs?
I don’t know. I feel his current school will continue to support him. But once he leaves there and goes to middle school or high school and he doesn’t have something in writing to support him – I have concerns.
I may be making a great big hullaballoo about nothing. Maybe nothing will change. Maybe just the small stuff will change. And playing the “What if” game really gets you nowhere.
I guess I know what I am going to say on the forms now and better just get to filling them out.
It most be a nightmare to go through that process repeatedly. It must drain you. In the UK it’s a nightmare to get the new Educational Health Care Plan. But once you have one you don’t need to ‘reapply’, the school arranges an annual review meeting (lasts about 20 minutes) to discuss if the plan is being observed and talk about how this years funds will be spent. Usually this means not much changes – as the money goes direct to school to pay for a bit of Teaching Assisant Support. Our wonderful Health Service provides its services for free (just have a long waiting list). The worry is that each year the plans become more difficult to get for new kids and the funding allocated gets smaller. I think you deserve several donuts when you get round to doing the form. Good luck.
The IEP meeting is yearly as well and it sounds similar to the meetings you have. This reevaluation thing happens every few years – I think the last one was three years ago maybe? And it is one of these things they could just take the IEP away completely if the evaluator no longer thinks Declan has any needs that require assistance. They are a nightmare – I just might get a dozen (or two) once I am done! 🙂
It is started that Isabelle has a 1 on 1, she is 14, and it never happens, unless it’s exam time, and then she may get someone that she has never met to read the questions to her, and write out her answers. She is going back to exams, and both her, and my daughter are so stressed about them. The school have never provided everything she needs, and my daughter is on to them almost daily. She has 2 years left there, and it would be even worse if she was taken out, and put in another school.
That must be a nightmare for her. Every time a new person is introduced to either assist or test Declan he fails. He can’t look at the person (they are unfamiliar to him) so he can’t focus on the question. It’s so hard. Here is hoping for the best for Isabelle in her last two years!
I don’t know how my daughter manages. It’s a full-time job
Our IEP time is in September. It always is tough because school has just started and you never know how things are going to go that year. But, I think maybe you need to say on your re-evaluation form that he is doing well because he feels supported and not admonished for behaviors and that you fear without that he will start to slide. My son just this year, he’s a sophomore in high school, has been moved to a 504 plan. Less stringent but everything he needs is written into it – breaks from class, extra time on homework, no writing by hand only typing…. I hope that your son continues to get all he needs.
That is true – you are right. He is doing better because he is supported and I would need to point that out. That is good to know about the 504 – I am sure we will be going to one eventually and it is good to get some feedback about it. Thank you! I hope the same for your son too.
It is definitely a stressful time! I hope it goes well! 🤞
Thank you! It is on my list to do today – yet it is still sitting there 🙂 I will get it done yet!
Your kids are lucky to have an interested and involved parents! Too many kids today are not given the support they need to help them learn. Look at the violence in the world. Maybe they just needed help when they were younger!
That is true! Thank you!!
I think I understand what you’re saying. Clients are often telling me they want to get off their meds because they’re feeling so good. The reason they’re feeling so good is that they’re taking their meds!
Declan is doing well because he’s getting so much good support, and I can understand why you’d want to keep it that way. Certainly, I think a lot of kids have behaviours that are labeled ‘bad’ only because they don’t meet the rigid standards of most classrooms. I’m so glad Declan has a teacher who cares that he does well and has positive school experiences. This environment is clearly allowing him to thrive and he deserves nothing less.
Thank you! Yes – that is what I am saying. I realize they are going to make some changes – I just don’t want everything to disappear because he is doing so well.
We’re updating next week, I’m so not ready!
Goodluck, hope it goes well 😊
Thank you! For you too!
IEPs strike terror into the hearts of all parents. It can get harder as they get older and I have heard of some schools doing what you fear. But an equal number of schools support and maintain the supports needed. I’ll admit, I raised heck when they took my son’s one-on-one aide away. But as they’ve said, he isn’t escaping at school. They have staff and teams to support the problem if it arises. But, regardless of the changes, you’ll be keeping an eye on his development and will act if needed to intervene where you see an issue. But, I understand the fear. That’s the fear of getting it wrong on your end. I think it’s good that we want to stay on top of things, but don’t let your fear cripple you!
Yes, you are right – thank you for the reassurance. I am sure some things will change (mine will likely lose his 1/1 this round – but he is not fleeing either anymore) but not everything and not all for the bad. And if I need to intervene, I will – you are right. Just another step in the process!