Getting accommodations while waiting for IEP
I also posted this in Support 11, so sorry if you're reading this twice....
I just met w/ our educational advocate today and she met P for the 1st time. It went well and P got to tell her what he liked and didn't like about school, about the bullying, how he always loses things and how much he hated writing. (lol) She gave me two great suggestions. First, she wanted me to write a letter just documenting the fact that he is being bullied and that he received that note put in his backpack by another student. The note said " I am your worst nightmare. Youll never see me coming. P stinks" They spelled his name wrong too. :)
The students involved with the note received a serious incident report. I wrote my letter to the school tonight, just stating the facts and then ended the letter by stating, "I am satisfied with the course of action taken, but am concerned about this sort of behavior happening again. I highly encourage staff to be vigilant and watchful so that my son is not the continued target of bullying."
Her other suggestion was to write a letter to help with the difficulties we are having with getting P's teacher to do a darn thing to help him without an IEP/504 in place (It's coming). She had me request a SST to "explore and secure accommodations that P so very much needs in the interim." This is while waiting for the Initial IEP meeting which won't be until after the winter break in January.....that's a LONG time to wait for accommodations if the teacher isn't willing to make them on her own. And apparently, she isn't. (Grrr)
On his list of requested immediate accommodations: minimal handwritten tasks, extended time to complete tests and quizzes, shortened work if needed, prompts to refocus, prompts to turn in work, prompts to bring needed materials home, movement breaks in class, support during group activities (reminders such as how to work in a collaborative team, how to negotiate, compromise, etc.), Support during placing for group activities (not placing him with classmates who he doesn't work well with), praise and encouragement, assistance with organization as needed.
I thought someone may benefit from this...
~ Cassie
DS, 10, "P" Pediatric Bipolar, (Was Dx'd: ADHD, Anxiety, ODD....still on the fence of a correct Dx... he may even be on the spectrum...time will tell) Lamactil (225 mg.), Seroquel, 200 mg (stopped 10/26/11), Risperdal, 1 mg (started 10/26/11)(Did have 3 hrs/week in home therapy for 6 months, but we just stopped it b/c he was so unstable, it was a waste of money at this point)DS, 7, ADHD which severely affects all processing and very low fine motor skills. Takes 7-1/2 Mg Ritilin 2-3 times a day. BP is a possibility, but we needs to see how much behavior is learned vs biological. Hope to see that once big brother is stable on the new meds.DD, 2 years - happy and mostly easy, but still very much a toddler