OHI or EBD
My son currently has an IEP with OHI classification for ADHD. He now has been diagnosed with bipolar nos and he needs more services than he's currently getting (and probably more than his current school can provide. They are pushing for me to change his classification to EBD and saying that he probably needs to go to another school with a self contained EBD classroom.
I think I understand the pros and cons and I think that if I can check out the particular classroom settings they want to send him to, I might consider it... But I'm not going to agree to that if the setting is too restrictive, or with severely aggressive kids, etc.
What I'd like to know is how many parents have kids with each of these classifications (are most bipolar kids given one or the other classification), and feedback as to whether anyone regrets using the EBD classification.
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Chris Stanley- DS 11 ADHD ( ?) ODD, Bipolar NOS
currently taking Lithium, Risperidone, Melatonin
Is there any way you can go check out the school they have in mind? I think it really depends on what he needs, and what they can offer. I know some people have gone the EBD route in order to get the appropriate services, but it probably varies from place to place.
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Brenda,51, TBMF Parent to Parent Volunteer
Mom to A, 17 1/2, BP, Tourette's, OCD, ADHD: Eskalith CR, Lamictal, Cytomel, Allegra
E, 16, BP,AS: Seroquel, Eskalith CR, inositol, Buspar
B, 14 1/2 & H, 11 1/2
Married 18 years to DH, 51
FROM TBMF: Do not start, stop, or change medications or other treatments for yourself or your child based on what you read on this Website or elsewhere on the Internet. Information presented here should not replace the considered judgement of a doctor who knows you or your child.
From 2nd grade through 10th grade my son was on a 504 plan for Nonverbal Learning Disability. In August he was placed on an IEP with ED (aka EBD) as his primary clasification and SLD as his secondary clasification. I do not regret having him clasified as ED. I have not felt he has been treated as a trouble maker because of the clasification. I do feel that the process of getting him clasified as ED helped the faculty and staff at the school he was in understand that he wasn't just being opositional and defiant. Being clasified as ED may have made it easier to get him into a therapeutic day school when it became obvious that he could not remain in the alternative public high school he was in, but I cannot be certain because there was never a dispute about the need for the therapeutic day school.
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Beth in CA
DH - Husband & Father
DS 16.7 - BP II, NVLD, GAD, Borderline Personality Traits, Transgender (Female to Male) and gifted
Invega Sustenna 39mg monthly, Topamax 100mg AM & PM & Lunesta 2mg PRN
IEP for ED & SLD - 11th grade at a therapeutic day school
Thanks for the responses.
Brenda- I am hoping to set up visits to observe the classrooms.
Beth- thanks for sharing your experience. It's good to hear some positive feedback on this issue. Most of the BP advocacy groups (including the Balanced Mind Foundation) recommend using the OHI classification. I suppose that's because there's so much variation in the ED programs available in different districts, and the fact that some of them are inappropriate for BP kids. Hopefully I'll be able to classrooms if our ED classrooms are a good fit for my son or not.
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Chris Stanley- DS 11 ADHD ( ?) ODD, Bipolar NOS
currently taking Lithium, Risperidone, Melatonin
Here all of the district and county ran high school ED programs are located on large (1600+ students) high school campuses. My son dropped out of high school within 9 weeks of starting 9th grade because he was overwelmed by the size of the high school he was in. We had to place him in a small (max 125 students) alternative high school. Also, the county ED program has many students that externalize, so the program has a history of having violent students that they have to call the police on. Yelling and violence are triggers for my son.
When it became obvious that my son needed an ED program there was no question that he would need to be placed in a non-public school (a state approved private school) due to the location of the district and county ED programs. The school he is in now is small (max 75 students) and a vast majority of the students internalize, so violence is very infrequent.
I believe the reason most BP advocacy groups recommend the OHI clasification is that in many districts the ED clasification has a stigma attached to it. Frequently the behaviors are viewed as being within the child's and/or parent's ability to control but the child and/or parent chooses not to control it. When my son was in 1st grade I went to a national CHADD conference. I overheard teachers bad mouthing students and parents of children clasified as ED, esp those who were also diagnosed with ODD. At that point I swore that I would never allow my son to be clasified as ED or diagnosed with ODD. It wasn't until my son attempted suicide in April '11 (10th grade) and I had several conversations with my brother (all 4 of his children are bipolar and had/have an ED clasification) that I came to understand why I needed to have my son clasified as ED.
Basically, the stigma associated with the ED clasification is the same as the stigma associated with MI. I believe that along with fighting the stigma associated with MI, BP advocacy groups and other MI advocacy groups should be fighting to have ED changed to MI and have the wording changed to reflect the fact that MI is a brain illness. By changing ED to Mi, as teachers are educated about MI they will automatically connect it with the IDEA claisification.
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Beth in CA
DH - Husband & Father
DS 16.7 - BP II, NVLD, GAD, Borderline Personality Traits, Transgender (Female to Male) and gifted
Invega Sustenna 39mg monthly, Topamax 100mg AM & PM & Lunesta 2mg PRN
IEP for ED & SLD - 11th grade at a therapeutic day school
Before visiting find out of the program has a name (i.e. the county program here is called Horizon) and then search the newspaper archives, police archives, etc for it. If it doesn't have a name search for police call to the school it is located at. This will help with determining if the program has a history of violence.
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Beth in CA
DH - Husband & Father
DS 16.7 - BP II, NVLD, GAD, Borderline Personality Traits, Transgender (Female to Male) and gifted
Invega Sustenna 39mg monthly, Topamax 100mg AM & PM & Lunesta 2mg PRN
IEP for ED & SLD - 11th grade at a therapeutic day school
Sorry, duplicate post.
ThanksThanks for the additional details. What I don't get though is why, for example, a student like your son couldn't receive the same services and placement under the OHI classification. The law says that services and placement are to be determined by the child's individual needs and not by diagnosis or classification, doesn't it?
Chris Stanley- DS 11 ADHD ( ?) ODD, Bipolar, NOS
currently taking Lithium, Risperidone, Melatonin
It's all about money. I know the federal government provides different levels of funding based on the clasification of the student. Some states may also provide different levels of funding based on clasification. For example, until July 1, 2011, in California county mental health departments were responsible for special education mental health services, up to and including the non-school portion of RTC, for students clasified ED. For example, in an ED classroom the district would pay for the the SDC (special day class) portion (teacher and aides) and the county mental would pay for the therapeutic part (i.e. therapists and psychiatrist). Different levels of funding and/or funding sources based on clasification creates an incentive for districts to require certain clasifications for certain services even though doing so is in direct violation of IDEA.
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Beth in CA
DH - Husband & Father
DS 16.7 - BP II, NVLD, GAD, Borderline Personality Traits, Transgender (Female to Male) and gifted
Invega Sustenna 39mg monthly, Topamax 100mg AM & PM & Lunesta 2mg PRN
IEP for ED & SLD - 11th grade at a therapeutic day school
Ok, I thought it must be somethinglike that. Thanks for the info.
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Chris Stanley- DS 11 ADHD ( ?) ODD, Bipolar NOS
currently taking Lithium, Risperidone, Melatonin
When my oldest two boys started Pre-K here in GA it was a nightmare. Everything was so different than it was in Missouri. Even though the boys both have IEP's it still took over a month before they were able to start school. BUT now that they are established in the school and I am beginning to learn how the system works, I am very impressed. The current teacher is suggesting that ACE be placed in a special ed Kindergarten class. I am 100% in support of this as I know he needs the extra guidance and I'm not sure that his behavior would be as tolerated in a regualar classroom setting. The great thing is that I have all ready been told I can visit the classroom THIS YEAR to make sure I think it will work best for ACE. Now, I said that I support this 100%, dad does NOT. I worked in Group Homes before and every thing was about 100% integration into society. And I think dad is more concerned about how ACE might be treated by other students down the road if he is "seperated", whereas I am more concerned about my son starting off on a solid foundation for his education. (hope that all made since)
On another note...I guess I've got my work cut out for me. All I know is that my sons both have IEP's and that ACE's includes a behavioral plan. All of these other abbreviations are throwing me off...LoL. Then again, I have only dealt with IEP's for preschoolers.
Carrie
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“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
― A.A. Milne
Carrie - 34, Mom to 3 boys, PTSD (childhood sex abuse victim) no meds
ACE - 5, Georgia Pre-K, IEP, Adopted, DX ADHD, ODD, Sensory Integration Disorder, Speech Delay, Possibly Autism (Bio mom and bio grandmother are BP) --- Meds: Clonadine & Intuniv
JJE - 4, Gerogia Pre-K, IEP, Speech delay, Perfectly Healthy
GRE - 3, Perfectly Healthy
Jon - 29, Dad / Been with mom for 7 years (not married YET)
Scooby Doo (mini dauchshund) and Ms Kitty (calico cat)