Has anyone had their child evaluated through the Individualized Education Program (IEP)?

I believe the school psychologist does the IEP evaluation. We did not need to take that step, but my 9 yr old son has a 504 plan for OCD. It appears that I may need to set up another one for my second son, who started having seizures, six months ago.

When my son's doctor (PsyMD) first wrote the diagnostic letter, I had him change a few things, because I didn't even recognize my son is his description. The doctor revised a bit, but insisted that the letter had to be rough, because we were asking for accomodations that needed to fit a federal, legal standard and definition.

The 504 plan meeting was intimidating at first, because I didn't know what to ask for. But, then I saw that the school experts were there and they offered suggested help. They were very accomodating and pleasant and I really felt like my son had a team behind him.

The accomodations are simple - more time on timed tests, an assigned buddy to help him get his homework turned in (he tries to keep it until it's perfect)...also, the teacher has my son paraphrase back the assignments, because he tends to get caught up in insignificant details, like if the assignment says to "write about three things that the main character enjoyed about the performance", my son will find in the text where it says that the character "appreciated" something and my son will insist that "appreciating" something is very different from "enjoying" something.

My son's school also tries to insist that they only do IEPs if the child is 2 grade levels behind. I found out that it isn't true, but we didn't need an IEP, so I didn't look into it any further.

"Only a life lived for others, is the life worthwhile" - Albert Einstein

Good luck. Sending good thoughts your way.

My 4 yr old has an IEP due to speech / language delays and they did his test at the public school and they tested him for all kinds of learning disabilities and there was no cost.

My 8-year old daughter was evaluated in December 2007. It was 2-days of testing at a different school, with a 3rd day possible if she was unable to finish it in 2-days. Then there was a meeting with the evaluator (psychologist), 2 school district reps and reps from her private school. It was completely covered by the State since it was recommended. Good luck!

There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one!

How old is your son?

I'm very glad we had our son evaluated. Once my son turned 3, I began to notice that his speech and social skills were behind his peers. Because he could read and was really musical, I waited for another 6 months before I could admit there might be real issues. I was silently terrified that he was autistic.

After insurance-covered hearing, neurological, psychological and speech evaluations it was determined that he was not on the autism spectrum but would benefit from speech therapy. We began that, and then had him tested within the school district. He went into the Developmental Preschool in the Madison School District and got more help with speech, and some occupational therapy. His growth has been tremendous.

He will begin Kindergarten this year on an IEP getting speech and occupational help both at school and privately.

I love to see how confident he is feeling with friends!

My advice is to keep pressing the school and the insurance companies in a friendly way to get what your child needs. And make everyone explain what all those abbreviations (iep,ot,etc!) mean until YOU understand what is going on.
Hope this helps you in your journey, sending you good thoughts.

Okay, no matter what his age ... Don't let the public schools blow you off. If it ends up that he does need an IEP, you may as well establish, from the beginning, that you expect the school district to hold up its end of the bargain (as will you).

You might have to be the pain-in-the-backside Mom, but, unfortunately, often only pain-in-the-backside parents get schools to pay the attention to their kids that they should have all along.

You can make it easier by being a pleasant pain-in-the-backside. Instead of asking, "Why hasn't my son been tested?", ask, "When will my son be tested?" If the answer isn't acceptable, say, "I don't think it's in his best interest to wait until the fall, because we'll miss any chance to work with him over the summer; is there someone else I need to speak to?"

I'm paying taxes so that kids get all the benefits of a free public education (including intervention testing), so I get a little riled when parents end up having to pay for testing, counseling, etc. -- all mandated by the state -- because the school or school district is recalcitrant.

We had our son evaluated in school. But I will say, you really have to push to get the tests you want.

I've had my son on an IEP since first grade for speech, but in second grade his teacher was sure he was ADD. I felt as though she just wanted him medicated for that. We pushed for learning disability tests at our pediatrian's suggestion. She and I were both not open to medication as a first option.

Schools do have to deal with a multitude of kid issues. And so only you are your child's real advocate. If you feel something is missed, keep asking.

After being told by our son's teach that I had to go through our insurance for a behavioral evaluation, I learned through a coworker's wife that I could request a psycho-educational evaluation (that phrase unlocked a battery of tests I could never imagine asking for specifically). That evaluation was the first step to discovering our son's learning disabilities and understanding some of his anxiety about school. We also eventually went to a developmental pediatrician for further guidance.

All I can say now is I have a much better team in place at school to make sure our son succeeds. But I ask for everything I can. All they can say is no.

Good luck.

Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.

Everyone is mentioning the public school system to do the evaluation. My experience was different. We went privately to Pediatric Speech and Language Specialists (for a speech evaluation to assess comprehensive of language and his expression of language and if those 2 were at similar levels of accomplishment), and to Scottsdale Fiesta Pediatric Therapy (for PT and OT evaluations, but they do speech too). B/c my son was just 2, we never considered dealing with a school system that he wasn't a part of.

That said, yes, everything was 100% covered and considered "in network" by BCBS (we have the PPO). Both facilities are part of our network, and we were asked to only pay the $20 copay for the evaluations. No big deal.

Plus, then none of the hassles and garbage with "persuading" someone to evaluate them. We just made the appointment and went in 3 days later and it was done! Started therapy the following week. All of my son's therapy was also covered by our insurance. We paid 10% of the covered amount. Meaning, if billed amount was $200/hr, insurance had a contracted discount that they'd reimburse at...say $70/hr. We paid 10% of that, so $63 from Blue Cross, and $7 from us. $7 of the $200 was easy to budget for.

Good luck! :)

Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 7 yr. old daughter and a 5 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.

Hello. I certainly wish you well as you continue to gather information so you can make an informed decision as to what kind of support your child might need in an educational setting. As a teacher for many years, I have always felt a responsibility to find the key to teaching every student.

The children that I teach are the smallest of learners ages 2-3. It is interesting to sit and just watch the children interacting with eachother and the materials. Sometimes a child might have difficulty concentrating and become a behavioral problem as a result. In some cases, providing hands on activities such as food preparation, art, or even gross motor opportunities help the child who needs a bit more movement before settling into a more structured learning environment.

If your child is in school I would definitely talk to his teacher and see what resolution plan she/he has in place. I would also hope that you are doing a dietary assessment along with any other assessment you are considering. It never hurts and in many cases - helps.

I would definitely make sure that your child is in the right learning environment. Brilliant children can be very sensitive and what appears to be a learning disability can very well be a teaching disability.

Jan Katzen-Luchenta AMI CFP
www.nutritionforlearning.com
www.iluminhealing.com

Jan Katzen-Luchenta
Nutritional therapist - www.iluminahealing.com - Montessori educator - www.nutritionforlearning.com

Yes. My daughter who is now 16 years old has had multiple evaluations. It is as one person stated. The special education department will ask your child some questoins and maybe do puzzles etc. It is not stressful as long as you don't get too far into the what ifs. Good luck. If your child does end up in the iep system feel free to contact me. We have many years experience with two children with special needs and learning disabilities.
Take care.

I recently moved back to Massachusetts from Arizona City (Casa Grande, Eloy area) due to a family member being sick. Needless to say we're not happy and are moving back to Arizona once our little one is in 1st grade (to avoid having to pay for daycare! UGH!) which is in 2 years. We want to relocate back to the Queen Creek, Gilbert, Tempe, Mesa or Chandler area.

Our oldest son started showing signs of "late blooming" when he was just a toddler. (He was born in Massachusetts) My son's doctor's just kept saying that he'll catch up, well he never did, so I started seeking out specialists. He was diagnosed at 6 as ADD, ODD and OCD. That's when all the different kinds of medicines came in to play. I had him tested for Asperger's Syndrome, they said no, but little did I know that psychologists with the school system said that he exhibited signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder. He's had an IEP since he was 5 due to language delays, gross and fine motor skill delays, etc. He was receiving Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and was in a special classroom, all done thru the schools for no cost to me.

We took him off of all the medications completely in August of 2006 and he's been med free ever since, and doing well. When we moved to Arizona in March of 2007 we found out about the Autism diagnosis by the schools when we went to get him back into school after moving. The special education director met with me personally after getting his psychoeducational evaluation from his Massachusetts school. We immediately discussed putting Zachary into a special education school in Pinal County on the Eloy/Casa Grande Line. The school specialized in teaching children with moderate to severe learning disabilities, and I tell you they were AWESOME!

There were 4 teachers in the class to 7 students, and they had a schedule that they adhered to. Zachary got help with all of his shortcomings and the campus was huge with a pool that they used during PE and a horse therapy program that he loved. He learned more during his time with that school then all the years of being in a separate classroom at a regular school.

Studies have shown that kids are being diagnosed with Autism earlier now than before. It wasn't until my son was 12 that we found out he was actually autistic. He has problems socially interacting but he works on that every day. They can diagnose autism now as early as 3. If you feel there is something wrong with your child's development, pursue it and INSIST! Don't let doctor's keep telling you that your child is a late bloomer and that they'll catch up. 10 years ago that's what they used to do, and now the medical profession is finding out that it was the wrong thing to do.

Good luck with your child, I hope you get the answers you're looking for. I can't wait to move back to Arizona, I miss the sun!!!

Kathie
2 years till we move back to Arizona - and counting!!! :)

An IEP can be written by many different professionals. It is simply a 6 month goal plan for your child to meet their physical and/or cognitive needs. It is re-evaluated 6 months later, to monitor achievements and another one is written.

It really depends on what your Doctor is trying to identify as the diagnosis. Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists can write these. The school also sets up an IEP if needed. If your child is under 2 and requires PT/OT/and or Speech therapy...and your insurance will not cover. I recommend contacting the DDD. They will come to your house, evaluate your childs needs, provide services, etc.