Expert: Catherine Ridenour - 11/17/2008

Question
QUESTION: Thank you so much for your time and insight, in advance.  Our son has PDD NOS and has also been diagnosed as having  Aspergers Syndrome.  His is 7 years old and very high functioning with struggles in cognition, motor skills, and muscle weakness in his fingers and legs.  

He is a 2nd grader at a wonderful IB school in Whitemarsh Island (Savannah), GA.  He is currently in an inclusion class setting with about 4 other children in similar circumstances as his.  

Our saving grace has been early detection and intervention, as well as great medical coverage through Tri-Care; we are a military family.  A huge issue for us has been dealing with getting his services and outlines in his IEP together.  

His school keeps trying to cut or reduce his services because they say he does not fit the profile (according to their testing) of having autism.  They say he is a slow learner.  His medical team (Primary Care-Giver, Pediatric Developmental Doctor, Pediatric Therapist, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist) and I disagree.  He has been under the care and intervention of private care specialist with "some" services provided by the school.  

The problem is that his therapies are all scheduled on one day of the week (Monday) which results in him missing a day of school per week.  Even though his teachers are singing the praises of how far he has come and how well he is doing 2 of his teachers are making a big stink about him missing that one day of school.  I was told that if he misses more than 15 days of school, excused or unexcused, he may be required to repeat the grade; at the principals' discretion.

During a recent IEP Meeting I requested that a General Statement be entered into his IEP that states his therapy "may result in him missing up to a day of school".  I provided letters from all of his therapist and doctors confirming his appointments for the year, as I have for the past 2 years he has been at that school.  When I got the notes back from the IEP that issue was totally omitted from the IEP and notes.  I inquired as to the omission.  His inclusion teacher told me that it was not an IEP item and therefore was not amended to his IEP.  Can they do that?  

I contacted the Board of Educations Director of Special Education and she side-stepped the question before conceding that the general state could be added to the Parent Concern block of the IEP.  That only means it will be noted but will not require action or provide protection from truancy policies for my child.  Additionally, his inclusion teacher has "suggested" that a social worker may be called in if we do not find an "alternative" to our current schedule.  

His principal discussed the ramifications my son's absences may have on AYP (Acadamic Yearly Progress) for the school.  She also noted that many of the people she has sought for assistance are reluctant to provide a clear path of resolution out of fear of negative retribution to their positions.  For me, my son is the priority; not AYP.  Although, I do understand the negative reflection of attendance the school is trying to avoid.  But my son is not truant!  He is a special needs student seeking medical intervention for his over-all health and wellness!  Don't they get that?  (Don't answer that. Smile)

How can I find out the rules for what can and/or cannot be put into an IEP?  They list of rules that I was given at the beginning of the meeting did not address that at all.  Where can I get that information and protect my child?

ANSWER: Hi Patricia,

This is a disconnect between the federal law governing special needs students and state law governing all students. The law was poorly written and the spirit of it was not to punish students with special needs but the strict application can certainly do so.

Schools have a financial incentive to cut back services. You are providing so much, because of your excellent insurance, that they get off cheap as it is. Point out that taking up the slack will fall on them if he cannot attend the therapies he now receives. Do they really want to pay for that? Despite how well he is doing now, the social demands increase rapidly as kids age. New problems will continue to arise and downgrading his support is a sure way for this to snowball and set him back.

To be fair, is there any way for him to get some of this in after school hours? If the travel involved is extensive, a one day regimen makes sense. If not, you don't have much argument.

I am going to give you the link to the government site listing the rights of the IEP, but you may be at the point where you need to enlist an attorney to protect your son.

One other comment. The school cannot override the diagnosis of a medical professional team like you have on board. Again, talk to an attorney who specializes in advocating for children like your son. Don't get "nasty" with the school unless you have to but know your rights from an expert in the legal field.

http://www.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html (official government guide to the IEP)

Best wishes,
Catherine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Catherine,

Thanks for the insight and resource to the IEP Guide.  I saved the file and will review it thoroughly!

To answer your question regarding therapy during school hours, for the last 2 years we have been able to schedule his appointments so that he only missed a half day of school .  This year, he added PT to his therapy schedule.  His team  was not able to scheduled sessions at a time that allowed him to make it to school for a period of time deemed "long enough" to not be considered absent.  

We live 45 minutes, by car, from his school (Only 2 schools have inclusion programs in our district.) and about 75 minutes via school bus.  It isn't feasible for us to take off another day of work to take him to therapy in the same office he receives his services from.

I read somewhere that the school has to provide us with information on free or low cost legal/advocacy services not representing the school or the district.  Are you aware of such a provision?  

Answer
Hi again,

I'm sorry, I don't know about that provision. However, when you do contact a legal adviser you should immediately ask if they have any relationship with the school district or other conflicts of interest. They are required to disclose this.

I was asking how far the therapy office is from home and/or school. Again, point out to the school that if he can't get service outside of school they will be on the hook to provide them at district cost and to provide transportation to the service if they cannot provide it inhouse.

I honestly don't see why they don't just include this therapy as part of his IEP and call it attendance to an off-site program. Probably because they can't count his body in attendance so they can get their state funds for the day. We ran into this as well.

Catherine