cedricandsophie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2014
I’m just getting caught up with all the notes. And what I am stating here might have already been addressEd.
I too have been through the special Ed system for our daughter who has Down syndrome which of course is a totally different situation. And my husband is a lawyer so we always had legal representation. I would just offer a couple thoughts. We were eligible for a variety of special Ed programs including speech therapy, but the therapy was only 20 min a week because That’s all the school was required to provide. We had a private speech therapist that our daughter had seen for years. She always came to our IEP meetings Both to inform them on what she was doing and the progress she had seen and also be our advocate for our daughter. Of course we paid for her time for prep and for attendance. If you can afford it and haven’t already done it, I highly recommend private therapy on top of what the school provides. again, I’m sorry if you are already doing this since I haven’t read each note in detail.
We were also very lucky to have one incredible teacher who understand our daughter and her needs and developed wonderful approaches designed to make her as successful as possible.
you have mentioned the corrupt nature of the school system, which obviously puts you in an antagonistic position immediately. My experience did not highlight the corrupt nature of the system but the fact that resources are very limited and for the most part, these people had my daughters best interests in mind while dealing within the limits of their system And what they were rewarded for. Personally I believe most civil servants and teachers want to do a good job but have so many obstacles to hurdle. Often it’s helpful to try to see their perspective and put yourself in their shoes. While every parent with a special kid wants to fight for his or her needs to the death, I quickly found ways, during my journey through the special Ed system, to try to collaborate rather an argue. My husband could be the bad cop and I played the good cop. That approach combined with a friendly smile to start each meeting did prove useful occasionally.
my grandson was also having issues in grade school. he and our daughter were living with us at the time. He was having significant anxiety when asked to read, doing multiplication tables, etc. the school kept saying he was fine, because obviously they were not interested in testing him because then they would have to do something. We sent him to a private neuropsychologist who did extensive testing and came up with several diagnosis for learning deficiencies that explained so many things. Nothing bad when taken individually but when combin Ed they were making his life and school experience miserable. We gave the report to the school, along with the recommendations from the psychologist and the school quickly developed programs to help him adapt and become more successful. We also hired a private tutor that was with him from grade school through high school, attending IEP meetings and was a true advocate for him.
obviously we are blessed to have the financial resources to do all this, but I thought I would pass these ideas along. And if I am being preachy, I apologize. So many of us have fought long and hard for our kids and we have each developed approaches that work best for us.
Good luck.
I too have been through the special Ed system for our daughter who has Down syndrome which of course is a totally different situation. And my husband is a lawyer so we always had legal representation. I would just offer a couple thoughts. We were eligible for a variety of special Ed programs including speech therapy, but the therapy was only 20 min a week because That’s all the school was required to provide. We had a private speech therapist that our daughter had seen for years. She always came to our IEP meetings Both to inform them on what she was doing and the progress she had seen and also be our advocate for our daughter. Of course we paid for her time for prep and for attendance. If you can afford it and haven’t already done it, I highly recommend private therapy on top of what the school provides. again, I’m sorry if you are already doing this since I haven’t read each note in detail.
We were also very lucky to have one incredible teacher who understand our daughter and her needs and developed wonderful approaches designed to make her as successful as possible.
you have mentioned the corrupt nature of the school system, which obviously puts you in an antagonistic position immediately. My experience did not highlight the corrupt nature of the system but the fact that resources are very limited and for the most part, these people had my daughters best interests in mind while dealing within the limits of their system And what they were rewarded for. Personally I believe most civil servants and teachers want to do a good job but have so many obstacles to hurdle. Often it’s helpful to try to see their perspective and put yourself in their shoes. While every parent with a special kid wants to fight for his or her needs to the death, I quickly found ways, during my journey through the special Ed system, to try to collaborate rather an argue. My husband could be the bad cop and I played the good cop. That approach combined with a friendly smile to start each meeting did prove useful occasionally.
my grandson was also having issues in grade school. he and our daughter were living with us at the time. He was having significant anxiety when asked to read, doing multiplication tables, etc. the school kept saying he was fine, because obviously they were not interested in testing him because then they would have to do something. We sent him to a private neuropsychologist who did extensive testing and came up with several diagnosis for learning deficiencies that explained so many things. Nothing bad when taken individually but when combin Ed they were making his life and school experience miserable. We gave the report to the school, along with the recommendations from the psychologist and the school quickly developed programs to help him adapt and become more successful. We also hired a private tutor that was with him from grade school through high school, attending IEP meetings and was a true advocate for him.
obviously we are blessed to have the financial resources to do all this, but I thought I would pass these ideas along. And if I am being preachy, I apologize. So many of us have fought long and hard for our kids and we have each developed approaches that work best for us.
Good luck.