I signed an IEP - It just Is

My son has been on an IEP since he was in first grade; he is now in 5th. His IEP falls into the category of Other Health Impairment. My son has a number of medical conditons including Epilepsy, Anxiety Disorder, ADD, Sensory Integration, Tourettes, and Tremors. Along with these medical issues he has a number of learning disabilties. Reading is real difficult; right now he is reading at the level of year-end 2nd grader. He is about one year behind in math. And is not able to print or write.

My experience has been if I come up with a recommendation backed by a medical professional the school will put the suggestions into the IEP. My son has had extensive neuropsych testing by neuropsychologists who do not work for the school. My issues fall into 3 categories:

1. If I or medical expert do not present an idea to adjust the educational process to make my son's needs, the school rarely comes up with ideas of their own.
2. The goals in his IEP never seem to get accomplished. He has always been rated "Making Progress." So I don't see items accomplished.
3. When something is agreed to and it involves assisted technology, the school does not devote enough time to get the technology working or integrated into the school setting. For example, they tried for 2 years using voice recognition software and never did get it working. I even bought the software for at home. We got it working, but the school did not.
4. I beleive my son lost out on any progress for his entire 4th grade due to attitudes of teachers.
5. The school does not seem capable of dealing with a child that is in the middle of the road between main stream students versus severly mentally handicapped.
6. The school is not capable of dealing with disabilties that may be related to psychological factors.

I feel like my son is being left to fall further and further behind. They show no urgency in anything they do. They just seem to be going through the motions.

Our son has an IEP because of ADD and dysgraphia. We mentioned it to the teacher at the beginning of the year and she knew that part of the IEP was that he would go to the resource room for his writing work. I brought his IEP up again at Halloween because of problems our son was having in her classroom--problems that would be addressed by the seating suggested in the IEP. Then at conferences, we again mentioned it. He was being given timed tests that he wasn't passing despite having the knowledge and ability. We pointed out that he was supposed to be given extended time for timed tests or be allowed to do them orally. The teacher refused to do either saying, "I don't know how you're supposed to give extended time on a timed test."

After a lengthy email exchange with this teacher in early December, I finally referred her to a specific paragraph and line in the IEP. She replied that she had not read his IEP. I was furious that after having my son in class for several months and knowing that he had an IEP, that she hadn't bothered to read it yet. When we talked to the principal about it, she said that some teachers prefer not to look at a student's file so that they can be given a "fresh start" each year.

As a mom of a son with special needs I have attended MANY IEP meetings and I have refused to sign before. I have had to remind the school of my rights, my son’s rights, etc. I have written goals and objectives before the meeting to help the school officials come up with the best program for my son. The IEP process is necessary for a child to receive a fair and adequate education but to work for the child the process requires a parent that is not afraid to advocate for their child.

My daughter has had an IEP since fairly early in her school career; I cannot remember if it was first or second grade. She is now in 9th grade, and repeated 6th grade.

Her IEP is for a significant identifiable emotional disability (SEID), as reaching past her comfort zone is very difficult for her. In one wealthier school, this got her time with a school counselor, but when we moved to a less wealthy school, there were not sufficient resources to assist her. She does have some emotionally linked issues that we have worked with over the years where the IEP has helped, such as a strong distaste for good hygiene that still plagues us to some extent. She has been in special education math and reading up until this year. The reading is because she overloads in a large class and is less successful; the math is for an inability to grasp math concepts. Despite this, and despite annual verbal requests for testing, the previous school district has not tested her for dyscalculia, a learning disability for which she has a preponderance of symptoms. With no diagnosis, however, I cannot count on assistance for that LD, nor assistance should she actually make it to college. Her hatred of school makes college somewhat unlikely, at least right out of high school.