I'm confused. If the school is going to trial the fm system, then it sounds as if it is covered by IDEA. Accomodations under IDEA are only for school use, though. Such equipment still belongs to the school/district. To get the equipment for home use, you need to go through insurance company.
Our home district doesn't want the liablity of using home equipment (not the new district though)...so hearing aids/fm systems are provided by the district and the kids can use them 24/7.
The law provides that if the child needs assistive technology it can be used at home because school work and related school activities happen outside of school time. For example, kids who need some kind of electronic communication system (push the buttons, says the sentence or words) that goes with the child everywhere when enrolled in the school. Same for writing technology etc. But of course it depends on the district how they are going to interpret this etc.
Your district sounds willing to provide accommodations almost like you would need to fora 504 plan, they are just doing it based on his having health concerns that can affect his school performance. It may not be practical for him (at his age) to have it at home. You can probably make sure that when you give him directions things are quiet, you are facing him, you talk slower, your voice is of an adequate volume, you double check to see if he understood etc., just as easy
OK, here is a route you might try when you hit that point (presuming they hold off on the global diagnosis).... Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) falls under Learning Disabilities. Now, the IDEA category of SLD (specific learning disabilities) has specific criteria he will not at this time qualify for (based on your testing results)....BUT one could make an argument for OHI (other health impairment). Until he qualifies for an IEP, what about a 504 (never stop pushing for the IEP but at least you will have things officially on paper and some schools do very well with 504 plans, some clearly do not....given your district is offering an accommodation even without one maybe they would be good with it?, you could put in accommodations like being able to take a break if overwhelmed, having preferential seating, making sure the teacher is facing him not facing the white board or smart board or whatever they use, using visual schedules, task boards like you have at home etc.... along with the FM system if it works out)...just a thought at this point, what do you have to lose? In the end it formally gives documentation that there have been accommodations tried already and this is sometimes required by schools in the IEP process...they ahve to show X number of strategies tried through the general education setting before consideration of an IEP. THis worked beautifully for my sister, my nephew had a 504 plan and even though they didn't do well with it, they couldn't ADMIT that so she was able to say in her evaluation request that many strategies had been tried for a full year as per the district 504 plan etc... and he is at the end of an assessment already), whether he qualifies we dont know but it sure did help push things along.
I can't wait till you get through that waiting list for the private assessment you said you are waiting for. I am really hoping he will get a medical diagnosis of some kind, since your school is not seeing the symptoms to qualify him educationally (I am spoiled working in school districts with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) teams that include university professors who teach for autism certificates, we often identified kids long before and even against findings of medical teams since medical diagnosis is not part of the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) educational label---sure can help though!)
Anyway, at this point, what can you do but push for every accommodation you know he will be need and who knows, he may be one of those kids where the early, more visual and structured years meet his learning style and if that ever changes you will be on top of it because you have heard the stories and know the deal!
Wow, this post is all over the place...sorry I have had two phone calls already this morning....hope it makes a little sense.
(not sure this helps but kind of what I was thinking....) from writeslaw...
[h=3]Other Health Impairments Not Mentioned in IDEA's Definition[/h]
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, other health impairments can also fall under the umbrella of IDEA's disability category besides the ones specifically mentioned in the law. The U.S. Department of Education mentions specific other disorders or conditions that may, in combination with other factors, qualify a child for services under IDEA–for example:
- fetal alcohol syndrome (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)),
- bipolar disorders,
- dysphagia, and
- other organic neurological disorders.
The reason these weren't specifically mentioned in IDEA's regulations? According to the Department:
…because these conditions are commonly understood to be health impairments…The list of acute or chronic health conditions in the definition of other health impairment is not exhaustive, but rather provides examples of problems that children have that could make them eligible for special education and related services under the category of other health impairment. (71 Fed. Reg. at 46550)
Note that the Department uses the phase 'could make them eligible'—could, not does. Other aspects (adversely affected educational performance, a child's evaluation results, state policies) are considered in determining eligibility for services under IDEA, not solely the existence of the disability or condition.
If your child has a health impairment that isn't explicitly mentioned in IDEA or is mentioned in the Department's comments, you may be able to find more information about that impairment by using the Search box that appears on every page on our site.