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Guest
Lucky me, I had a manifestation hearing re my 16 yr old and an IEP re my 11 yr old all on the same day last week. Think I've just about de-stressed from that day now. LOL
I'm doing OK so far on the 11 yr old. All teachers agree with me but school admin still fighting to keep him in a non-verbal class just because of numbers. They know I'll fight it and monitor what they're doing in fact because it's often not what's on paper.
Re the 16 yr old. He's been classified SLD since 2nd grade. Current HS he's been in more or less all year (believe it or not!). It's a mainstream HS with easily over 1000 kids. They say he has no behavioral problems. He's had a few incidents that they ignore. Nothing hugely abnormal for a 16 yr old boy I guess. They refuse to look at prior history, they will only look at current behavior. He's failed almost every class he's taken this yr. Some only for lack of attendance. He's been suspended over 30 days this yr already. They decided to give him after school tutoring to help him "catch up" for the end of yr tests instead of suspension again. Thus their conclusion (which they told me they were putting my objection in writing to) was that it's not a function of mental illness. They refuse to look at the fact that he's in a group home and has been in many over the last several years now. "No behaviors in school" so not relevant they say. He's on medication, not relevant. He is chronically absent not because the group home didn't drop him off but because he's always smoking in the parking lot. Hopefully only cigs but he's also been testing positive for pot.... they just haven't caught him with any at school. They say this chronic refusal to go to class is not due to a disability but "normal" for teens. Specific comment was that "we've got dozens like him, they're not disabled." I agreed to forego the 3 yr re-evaluation because they told me they didn't think he'd qualify under SLD anymore and so he'd lose the IEP. But if I agreed to forego it he'd keep the IEP. I said fine. They have, since the first day, refused to provide the service he needs which is to be walked to class from the car, to each class and to the car at the end of the day as has been the case in every school for years now. Alternatively put him in a self-contained class for BED which they don't have. They put all the BED kids in an alternative school which I'm told he won't make it a week in for a variety of reasons. So I refuse to put him in there.
I asked by e-mail for an IEP mtg months ago and got no reply... yes, Sheila, you told me to do the certified mail but I don't have a printer. This time in the hearing I asked for a full IEP evaluation towards a BED classification. They insist this is going to throw him out of IEP. Who cares? He's failing everything anyway because they won't get him to class. My son denies he has any mental illness or that there's anything vaguely unusual about him. So they look at him in every manifestation mtg and he says he did it just because he wanted to denying any other reason and they deem it not a function of the IEP. They say they don't care what a psychiatrist report or psychiatric report says. If he's not had problems in school which they apparently define as fighting, he won't get an ED classification.
Sorry so long and disorganized. I am at a point that I don't know what to do. He'll do the same in summer school and keep doing it until he gets kicked out of this placement. Since he OD'd the mental health people are defining him as a risk and won't be releasing him soon. So despite his hopes he's not coming home soon.
Can't addiction, by DSM definition a mental illness which he is displaying by chronically smoking in the parking lot, be considered ED or OHI? Current psychiatrist will probably say BiPolar (BP), cannibus abuse, ODD, CD. I'd like to see impulse control disorder on there too but don't know if she'll do it. Does any of what she'll put on paper get him an IEP classification by definition?
I'm doing OK so far on the 11 yr old. All teachers agree with me but school admin still fighting to keep him in a non-verbal class just because of numbers. They know I'll fight it and monitor what they're doing in fact because it's often not what's on paper.
Re the 16 yr old. He's been classified SLD since 2nd grade. Current HS he's been in more or less all year (believe it or not!). It's a mainstream HS with easily over 1000 kids. They say he has no behavioral problems. He's had a few incidents that they ignore. Nothing hugely abnormal for a 16 yr old boy I guess. They refuse to look at prior history, they will only look at current behavior. He's failed almost every class he's taken this yr. Some only for lack of attendance. He's been suspended over 30 days this yr already. They decided to give him after school tutoring to help him "catch up" for the end of yr tests instead of suspension again. Thus their conclusion (which they told me they were putting my objection in writing to) was that it's not a function of mental illness. They refuse to look at the fact that he's in a group home and has been in many over the last several years now. "No behaviors in school" so not relevant they say. He's on medication, not relevant. He is chronically absent not because the group home didn't drop him off but because he's always smoking in the parking lot. Hopefully only cigs but he's also been testing positive for pot.... they just haven't caught him with any at school. They say this chronic refusal to go to class is not due to a disability but "normal" for teens. Specific comment was that "we've got dozens like him, they're not disabled." I agreed to forego the 3 yr re-evaluation because they told me they didn't think he'd qualify under SLD anymore and so he'd lose the IEP. But if I agreed to forego it he'd keep the IEP. I said fine. They have, since the first day, refused to provide the service he needs which is to be walked to class from the car, to each class and to the car at the end of the day as has been the case in every school for years now. Alternatively put him in a self-contained class for BED which they don't have. They put all the BED kids in an alternative school which I'm told he won't make it a week in for a variety of reasons. So I refuse to put him in there.
I asked by e-mail for an IEP mtg months ago and got no reply... yes, Sheila, you told me to do the certified mail but I don't have a printer. This time in the hearing I asked for a full IEP evaluation towards a BED classification. They insist this is going to throw him out of IEP. Who cares? He's failing everything anyway because they won't get him to class. My son denies he has any mental illness or that there's anything vaguely unusual about him. So they look at him in every manifestation mtg and he says he did it just because he wanted to denying any other reason and they deem it not a function of the IEP. They say they don't care what a psychiatrist report or psychiatric report says. If he's not had problems in school which they apparently define as fighting, he won't get an ED classification.
Sorry so long and disorganized. I am at a point that I don't know what to do. He'll do the same in summer school and keep doing it until he gets kicked out of this placement. Since he OD'd the mental health people are defining him as a risk and won't be releasing him soon. So despite his hopes he's not coming home soon.
Can't addiction, by DSM definition a mental illness which he is displaying by chronically smoking in the parking lot, be considered ED or OHI? Current psychiatrist will probably say BiPolar (BP), cannibus abuse, ODD, CD. I'd like to see impulse control disorder on there too but don't know if she'll do it. Does any of what she'll put on paper get him an IEP classification by definition?