The IEP Discussions...

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I have a read a lot of posts where parents have IEP in place for their children with asperger's. What made you decide this was necessary? Were their problems in school? Was it preventative?

Thanks,

Michelle

I thought everyone that had a child in special ed had an IEP. If there's a label, then there is an IEP because this child isn't considered a free-agent of the general ed curriculum. They may have "special" needs to address...dyslexia, ADD, they may need "visual learning" aids even moreso than the average student.
Here's an example of one girl in my son's class: she's of average intelligence and was always mainstreamed because her mother refused special ed due to the stigma (her own stigma) of it. She was offered it repeatedly. Her child can't understand spoken language to the full extent that she needs to. The hearing center in her brain can't process the information. She needs things "written down". This calls for an IEP. General ed students are assumed to be able to understand "lecture". If a teacher needs to give a written transcript of a lecture to a student before she lectures, this is a "special" need. This requires an IEP. This student has been set apart from the rest of the class because of this special requirement. This
usually gets put in writing because this will most likely be an ongoing situation throughout the student's school life. A parent can't approach a teacher and say, "Hey, look, you'll have to give my child a written transcript of all your lectures throughout the year." This isn't done. This is an educational "issue", not a "favor". General ed teachers don't have time to spoon feed someone who is in need of special ed. It's not fair to the rest of the students. Everybody would like a written transcript of a lecture ...wouldn't you? An IEP on the other hand makes it fair. The teacher "will" honor your request if you have the paperwork. If you don't, then it is up to the parent to find outside tutors, tape-recorders, transcriptionists, etc... Everybody MUST pull their weight. No exceptions. "ALL" kids are entitled to an education in any way that they can get it but you'll need paperwork if it's a specific need. "Should a person be called a cripple if they're walking with a crutch?" They're walking aren't they? Sometimes crutches are necessary if you desire to walk through life instead of crawling on your belly. A person should never be ashamed to accept the right kind of help....especially if it's being generously offered.

Well, I ask because I have now heard that many adults have never been diagnosed and have gone through school alright. My own son has other conditions and we didn't create an IEP until this year (5th grade), because there weren't any real issues caused by not having one.

So that's what I am wondering-- once you have the diagnosis, do you automatically get an IEP?

You don't automatically get an IEP once you get a diagnosis. However, people have a tendency not to seek evaluation (which leads to diagnosis) if there isn't a problem, so I imagine most children that get a diagnosis get an IEP because they have problems. This isn't necessarily true, however.

My son was diagnosed with autism and they wouldn't even talk about it. He had an IEP for Language, but it was painfully obvious that he needed speech. Just because you have a label doesn't mean you will get an IEP. If the diagnosis interferes with the child's education, then an IEP is necessary to accomodate certain needs, such as writing down a lecture, giving visual supports, giving more time on tests etc. If your child is doing fine, I would let him/her go and count your blessings. If your child can do fine without accomodations that's wonderful!! !

My son was diagnosed with autism and they wouldn't even talk about it. He had an IEP for Language, but it was painfully obvious that he needed speech. Just because you have a label doesn't mean you will get an IEP. If the diagnosis interferes with the child's education, then an IEP is necessary to accomodate certain needs, such as writing down a lecture, giving visual supports, giving more time on tests etc. If your child is doing fine, I would let him/her go and count your blessings. If your child can do fine without accomodations that's wonderful!! !

We got our diagnosis because we wanted an IEP. While an IEP requires that the school be able to point to something on their list, having a diagnosis does not require an IEP.

The reason we wanted an IEP was because there was an obvious gap between perceived intelligence and the ability to perform in school. My son's main issue is from a co-morbid, in that he cannot write due to "loose joints," and the emphasis on writing was shutting him down in first grade. So, we needed an answer (we didn't know about the loose joints or the AS) and a protocol, and we needed it fast. What we got was actually more than we realized we needed, but pretty much all of it came in handy at one time or another:

OT
Speech therapy (pragmatic speech and social skills)
Counseling (to talk through the problems lacking in social skills can create)
Resource (mostly to work on academic deficits, specifically writing, visual tracking, and spelling)
Accomodations
- preferred seating so he can wiggle and move
- an escape clause, which allows him to leave the classroom without permission if feeling overwhelmed
- shortened written assignments
- additional time on tests
- a special environment for tests, when desired
- a hand signal system with the teacher for different behavior type issues
- the ability to deliver reports verbally, by dictation, or on tape, instead of writing by hand
- permission for us, as parents, to cut down or alter homework using our judgement

Personally I love the IEP - It gives us a great review about how well a child is doing and where they are scholastically as compared to where they should be for their age in any given area.

My daughter has had IEP testing since pre-school, those tests and evaluations have helped her schools put her with teachers who are best suited to meet her needs.

We have always mainstreamed her, up until she was in 4th grade she was pulled out of class for specific subjects and for some 'group interactions'.

When she finished 4th grade she was at the level she should have been at to begin 4th grade. Her maturity and social level was just about at the beginning of the 4th grade level also. While she tested very high (junior high and high school level) in some areas - she was severly lacking in other areas. We made the decision based upon her IEP's to hold her back in 4th grade and allow her to attend class as any other student - doing the same work at the same pace as the rest of the class. Because the IEP tests are good for three years, the school was able to set up a program specific to her needs. She was able to skip a unit of her regular class work (one of the areas she tested very high in) and take what would be considered a 'study hall' with a teacher who could help her with extra tutoring in the subjects she had trouble with.

She is now in 7th grade and in regular classes. She had to drop one of her elective courses to have a support class (tutored study hall) but she's an honor roll student now. She'll have to take an IEP at the end of her 8th grade year and we actually hope she will still qualify for the additional support.

You can view the IEP as something to be ashamed of - after all - no one wants to think their child is not as intelligent or able as the other children. However - you should look at it as a tool to bring out just how intelligent and able your child is. It's like private school attention in a public school setting. The IEP's have helped my child excel, not something many parents of 'normal' children can say. Much does depend upon the school district - the school and the staff, in our case we have an excellent relationshp with the schools and I do believe our own involvement and open mindedness has only made this educational experience better than we could have ever hoped for.

I just have/had an IEP to get extended time on tests for stress relief. Doing things to relieve stress is always a plus!

We are only just getting IEPs for our sons (the meetings are this afternoon, wish me luck!). Although my sons were dxed halfway through grade 2 (they are now in grade 4), the school said that an IEP wasn't necessary, because they were willing to give us the accommodations and services we were asking for without one, and while this was true we now believe not getting IEPs was a mistake for 2 reasons:
1. both of my sons' funding apps. were denied, and the outside autism education specialist, that we have now brought in to help us advocate, said that not having IEPs meant that our app.s weren't taken as seriously
2. although the school is more than willing to work with us on our sons' needs, without a concrete plan that holds everyone accountable in specific ways we keep coming up against a huge gap in what the school is willing to do and what actually gets done on a consistent basis in the classroom. We are hoping that an IEP helps to address this gap.

As far as whether they need the accommodations and services themselves, my sons are both high functioning enough that they could probably muddle through, but they would be in MISERY and year by year they would get farther and farther behind academically because of all their organizational problems, lack of fine motor for handwriting proficiently and constant social misunderstandings. I shudder to think how the school system would have treated them years ago, without the AS diagnosis.

My son has had an IEP since kindergarten and it's always been behavior based. He has had speech and occupational therapy with goals like sustaining conversation, eye contact etc etc. Now that he's in 6th grade I realize he really needs help with executive dysfunction. Has anyone had an IEP to help with the ED associated with AS? His doctor wrote something for the school, at my request but only said he was "easily distracted". This doctor is not an AS specialist and he has no clue. This will be my son's main problem in school and throughout life and I can barely help him because I have it too.

We've talked about it at the annual meeting, but good solutions are hard to come by. There are systems school wide that we take advantage of, and my son's teachers know that it is CRITICAL for them to use them, so that we as parents can help keep our son on track. Copies of outlines (my son cannot take notes), posting of assignments on the SchoolLoop system, etc., are all very solid tools. The tight time between classes remains an issue, because my son takes longer to clear up and set up. We've talked about allowing him to be late, but that creates another issue, because many of his teachers grade "do now" work, which starts before the bell. He is given a little leeway with it, however, and that helps (the grade is the grade, but he won't be put in detention for missing the work or being late). We bought bungee laces for his sneakers so that changing to and from PE could go faster, and I reorganized his school work over Christmas break into folders instead of a binder (each class now has two folders in a color unique to the course; one folder is labeled "storage" and the other is labeled "current" - this is working MUCH better for him). I figure that right now I am my son's executive organizer. I may be lacking in it myself, but I've learned a few tricks over the years to help me get by, and I'm passing these on. School will always expect more than he is ready for, so I assume it's my job to bridge that gap.

I just sat through my son's annual IEP meeting and I am furious beyond words I have lost all faith in the public school system being unwilling to do anything to help my son. In fact I believe this experience is hurting his self esteem. I feel backed into a corner facing an enemy that I do not know or understand and have no means of fighting...completely helpless. Kind of like trying to fight the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles)...its impossible.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm feeling particularly jaded against public school systems and IEPs just about now. We've worked so hard to make an IEP that makes sense, but what good is the IEP if the school refuses to do anything with it? And the only recourse is for me to sue the school district? Grrrrrr......

Thanks for replying. I had to zip back to work earlier. I can see that getting them to utilize a system to help my son would be an uphill battle. I have organized my son's binder also in decreasing order of importance. Stuff he needs now, stuff in progress, stuff for study notes. Still he crams his papers in his bag willy- nilly. It's tough for me to advocate for my son when I barely manage myself.

Hi Aimless, I don't mean to sound negative, but middle school has been a disaster for my 14 yo son due to challenges associated primarily with executive dysfunction. We have tried many different accomodations and changes to his IEP over the past 2 yrs, but in our case the school disctrict just doesn't seem to give a cr@p about his failing grades because his "acuity" testing scores went up a little bit. They just have not been following through on the IEP goals/objectives, and they don't seem to care. I've pretty much had it with the public school system, and I haven't found a private school near here that I'm convinced is any better. Again, I'm not trying to spell gloom and doom for your situation, but I just wanted to share our experience, which hasn't been good. See my post above. Anyway, good luck. Let us/me know if you find a strategy that works.

No problem. I'm trying to be philosophical about it. If you have an inquisitive mind you will seek and learn for the rest of your life. Think how many people graduate from high school or college and just stop using their minds. My sister home schooled hers and I actually saw my niece and nephews get excited about learning once they were out of the classroom. They made it to college too.