Expert: Tim Runner - 2/10/2012

Question
Tim,

Last year, at my son's annual ARD meeting, my wife and I intended to disagree with the district OT's report and recommendation and request an independent evaluation. At the time, we were told that if we disagreed with the evaluation, it would mean that the ARD would end in disagreement. We ended up compromising and settling for consult OT services instead of the direct services my son had been receiving. We did state in the minutes that we did not agree with the district OT's recommendations.

Is it possible for us to now disagree with that assessment and request an independent eval.? We're continuing to have disagreements with this therapist as to what our son's needs are. Her evaluation showed him to be below average, or very below average, in every area, but she still recommended that OT services be discontinued because he apparently had learned to "compensate for his deficits." Not only do we not agree with this, but she herself has contradicted herself within ARD meetings.

We do not understand why, but she seems intent on finding a reason for him to not receive OT services, regardless of any assessments. We've submitted assessments and recommendations from our private OT.

Our son is 10, has mild autism and is currently vruj5in the 4th grade. This new IEP will primarily be implemented during his last year of elementary school. My wife and I feel that he's at an age where we have to insist that he receive any services he needs and is entitled to.

Any advice you give is greatly appreciated.

David

Answer
David,

What you were told at the last ARD meeting is not true -- they were just pressuring you to sign and agree. The law gives you a line item veto: you can agree with the placements and services you want while not accepting the ones you don't like. When you disagree, then the previous IEP dictates what your child is to receive. The concept that the student is "compensating for his deficits" is ridiculous. In the extreme, this could be used to justify not giving speech services to a student that has serious articulation problems. "He makes others understand what he is trying to say." When a student has significant deficits, the law says the school must provide the needed services.

In the case of your experiences with the OT, I'm afraid this is fairly typical because, as school districts loose funding, they add more students to the loads of their service providers, such as OTs. As a result the OTs are trying to spend less time serving each student.

You have the right to ask for an independent OT assessment at any time. If your medical insurance will pay for one, I suggest you have one done and be sure it includes the recommended services (i.e. 30 minutes per week individual, or 60 minutes per week individual). Also have them indicate what the OT should be working on with your son. Once you get this assessment report, present it to the school district and ask that they implement the recommendations. This will require another IEP. The odds are they will not agree and offer an independent assessment. You should agree. The independent assessor must be agreed to by you and the district. You can ask your insurance paid assessor for advice on the names the school offers.

If your insurance does not cover an independent assessment, then you should write a letter to the school requesting an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) in the area of OT. Explain why you feel this is needed. The district can respond by agreeing or by saying no. They also have the option of filing for Due Process against you, but this is unlikely. If they agree, you can work with them on selecting a mutually agreed to assessor. When they propose names, look up their websites and call them to make sure you are OK in their selection. Ideally, you want someone that does assessments for many others besides school districts.

The law allows you the opportunity to withdraw your consent, but it needs to be done before the new services are implemented. In some cases you still can, but it gets tougher as time goes by. The approach I have stated above is what you do if the new service level has been implemented.

I wish you and your son the best,
Tim Runner, Advocate
Advocates for Kids
Email: timrunner@gmail.com
Phone: (949) 582-3601
You can learn more at my web site:
www.special-education-answers.com