IEP Question of the Day--Why Is My Childs School not Using his/her Communication System?

Question from Parent:

Linda:


Thank you very much for sharing this valuable information with all of us.You helped me a lot when I had my first IEP for my daughter (you probably don't remember, but I'll never forget)anyways, I have a question for you. I live in California and my daughter's school is supposed to be using my daughter's communication system but I feel they are not doing it. A few reasons that make me think that way are:


1.- When I come to observe, I have never seen anybody using it.


2.- The book looks perfect, like brand new (it hasn't been used)


3.- The speech therapist made some comments that make me think she doesn't get the idea of the system.


My question is, what do I do to get the staff trained with the system? BTW the system we are using is the one used by Linda Burkhart. I feel everybody involved in my daughters day should be trained with the system directly with her. I have showed them how I use it, but it is not the same. It is in my daughter's IEP that they should be using the system, and they say they are doing it, but so far I don't have proof of that. For me it was very hard to grasp the concept behind the system until I went to a conference and saw the developer.


Answer:

You may be missing an important person on your daughters team. I went through this with my daughter who is nonverbal and relies on Augmentative Communication. During Preschool I quickly learned that the SPLs in our school were not experienced with Augmentative or Alternative Communication. They were pulled from working on Speech Articulation into classrooms of kids who are nonverbal. They had no idea what they were getting into. Although they were trying, the children were not receiving the services they needed. For example: Augmentative Communication requires a high degree of technical skills and computer knowledge. Some SPLs do not have that training as some do not even like to use the computer. The result was the classroom would go through three SPLs a year and sometimes parts of the year had no staff. Never mind the goals on the IEP were not worked on.

Two years of advocating and mediation and my daughters services in that area are absolutely great now. What Happened? I made them write in her IEP that Kaitlyn would only receive SPL from a Therapist who was trained in Augmentative/Alternative Communication. When they didn't have that type of person on staff they had to hire someone. Kate's Augmentative Therapist came from a local hospital. She worked with Kate on developing all kinds of communication systems. When it came time to trial the MyTobii she came to the evaluation and gave her input. She knows how to calibrate it, set it up and work easily with any computer generated devices. She teaches everyone in the class how to use her communication devices and makes sure they are using them throughout the day and properly. Note: If your child is working with high tech. devices you also want to mention that in your statement.

Not only did Kaitlyn benefit from this SPL/Augmentative Therapist. The school saw how well she did, realized what they had been missing and hired her full time to work with all the nonverbal kids.

If I only knew to put the following one sentence in her IEP it would have saved so much wasted time: "Kaitlyn will only receive services from a SPL that is trained in Augmentative/alternative Communication since she is nonverbal."

Also, it helps to put consults in writing on the IEP. If the school does not know how to use a communication system than putting one to two hours a week for staff training from a outside consult can help. You can even compromise on having a consult come in to teach the SPL and Classroom Teacher once a week for a couple hours instead of direct services.

You can make sure progression with the communication system is one of her goals with objectives on her IEPs. Then they need to track her progress automatically. But really..if they don't know how to use the system no matter how much effort they put forth still may not help the child.

I can go on about noncomplaince and reprimanding etc..but I am a digger.(meaning I will try to get to the root of the problem to solve it). I found that complaining did nothing and the actual problem was not having the person trained to do this type of work in the school.

Good Luck and really push for that much needed person on your team!!!

(Advocates, People Familiar with the Linda Burkhart system and others welcom to comment)

IEP Chat

Hi: I thought since I do a lot of IEP Advocacy maybe we can chat together on topics. I always can use new suggestions and I have a lot to share.

I have two kids on IEPs and I am a Special Education Advocate for kids in Foster Care.

Today I'd like to speak about what to expect at an IEP meeting.

Prior To IEP

• Get letters from Drs. and Specialists to state how much services your child needs. For example: If you believe your daughter needs 3 sessions of PT make sure a Ortho. can write a letter on your behalf. Also very important to get letters if you feel your child needs a one to one aide. In that case get a letter from the child's Pediatrician and other Specialists.

• Look over the request for evaluation forms. Make sure they have all the tests that your child needs. Sometimes the school may not do an evaluation but cut a service. Sometimes all it takes is a reminder to them that they need to do an evaluation before a cut in service. Once they do that most times they find that the child still qualifies. If your child has behavioral issues you also want to request a Psychological Evaluation.

• I always ask for evaluation reports before the Team Meeting. The school is required to provide these to you two days prior to the meeting. Make sure you put your request in writing with a date. If they don't get the reports to you and you feel that you really need them prior you can ask them to reschedule the meeting. I only do this if its absolutely necessary since it puts off the meeting and services. Also, they need to tell you in advance if a team member can't make the meeting. If you go to the meeting and find half the team not there you may want to ask for another meeting. It is one of your rights.

The IEP Meeting

• Bring a Picture of your child and keep it in front of you. This is your focal point during the meeting for when you get nervous or when you need to speak up for a service. Also, try to bring one person with you to the meeting for support.

• You should go into the meeting with goals and vision statements. Also, have a sheet of paper that says: Concerns, Addressed How and Responsible Party, Resolved, Yes ,No in columns. During the Meeting write what you speak about. Ask that the sheet be attached to the IEP.

• Listen to the teams reports and evaluations.

• Offer Suggestions for Goals.

• Bring up your concerns that you may have. The Infamous "Service Grid". Make sure you advocate for services and timeframes on the grid. OT, PT, SPL are they group or one to one (specify), are they 30 minutes, 45 minutes etc. and how many times a week. Do you need a consult from different specialists to home or the classroom? Will the therapists make up time if the child is out of school for how many days?? Will the services be provided by a therapist or therapy assistant. Many times a parent assumes that their child will be getting PT two times a week. Come to find put they are getting PT from a student assistant two times a week overseen by a PT and its in a group setting.

• Discuss Extended School Year. A topic all on its own. Boy have I learned a lot about ESY. It doesn't actually mean that your child will regress to get services. It means that the time delay between services will be prohibitive for them to progress. Also, I learned that any time a child has emergent skills they will find that summer services are even more important. Think, times when a child is learning to read, do math etc..

• Discuss Transportation Needs.--Does your child need working AC and Heat on the bus?, Does your child need an aide on the bus?

• Placement can only be determined after all the service needs are discussed. At this point in the meeting you can say: based on the evaluations and service needs what type of program modifications for the classroom/alternate setting do you suggest? They should have some ideas in mind. Ask them to visit those classrooms to see if they are appropriate.

• Never sign the IEP at the meeting. Ask to look over the draft when they send it to you. Make sure the goals are meaningful and measurable. Some IEPs offer goals that are very watered down and not measurable. It will make it easier in subsequent years if you have goals you can track. Make sure all the services you requested are in the IEP. If you have a strong opposition or can't agree on a service sign off on the IEP but reject the portion you don't agree with. That way they can start with the services you do agree with. I have only rejected an entire IEP once and that was because most of the team did not show up, the facilitator was a substitute and never sent the information along to the person drafting the IEP. Most times I work with the school to compromise on services. A few times I had to reject a portion of the IEP, a couple times we had a meeting that settled the issue and once I needed to go to mediation.

I have tons more information on IEPs but this is just a basic list to get the topic going. It is my hope that a lot of people will blog with their suggestions etc...