Resolutions .... Sometimes Yes, Sometimes Hmmmm

 

TO RESOLVE OR NOT TO RESOLVE

There are tons of influencers out there who are very focused on the benefits of New Year’s resolutions – and a growing batch who say that making a promise to yourself that you break by January 4th is one of the most stressful and unproductive things that a person can do. Somewhere in between is where you need to figure out what works for you, and forget about whether it’s “right” or “wrong” from the world’s perspective!

The one thing that a new year does give you is at least a sense that things “could be” different – more progress, more money, more time (oh wouldn’t that be wonderful!). However, when the clock tips over to 2024, we still have the same old stress, baggage and unresolved issues we had in 2023. Combine that with a history of not being heard and your kids not receiving the support or services that you were certain they needed, and the stress feels compounded. We can work on that together 🙂

BIG THINGS CAN COME IN SMALL PACKAGES
In an attempt to give you a gentle shove in the right direction, I’d like to offer 3, just 3, doable steps that could have some really great impacts. 

– Look, REALLY Look – I talk to parents every day that never miss their child’s IEP meeting, but when I ask them what’s it in, or how the goals are implemented, they have no idea. Take this time before the second half of the year starts and READ the IEP, page by page. There will be parts you agree with, and there will be parts that you don’t. You will find things that you don’t remember talking about at the meeting, and you might find things that you adamantly oppose. That document is the legal contract that you have with your school. It is important, and it gives you tons of power – IF you know how to use it.

– Start with 3 – From your review of the IEP, make a list of 3 things that you want to change or accomplish, along with possible solutions. If you’re not sure what 3 to pick, talk to a friend, fellow mom or dad of a child with a disability, advocate or spouse. These could be things like increasing inclusive education by 90 minutes per day, obtaining language therapy for another session per week, ensuring that the reading curriculum is actually showing progress on assessments and not just based upon someone’s opinion, etc. You want to stay focused on manageable requests so you don’t get overwhelmed in the process. 

– Talk to the Mirror – 90% of communication is through body language, but we hardly ever take the time to actually look at our body in preparation for one of the most important events that exist for kids with disabilities – the IEP meeting. Take that list you created, find a nice quiet space that has a mirror (bathrooms are great for this) and talk to the mirror like you plan to talk to the person running your IEP meeting. You might need to do this several times over several days. If your previous experience is that the people at your meeting talk too fast, or over you, tell them in advance that you have something to say and want to have the floor before they respond. – Oh, and don’t forget to put this stuff in the Parent Input section of the IEP.

Hopefully I gave you a taste of 3 very doable, yet uber important, ideas on how you can start off 2024 on a better foot than you left 2023!

If you need help, reach out. 

You might find some helpful info and video content on my website’s blog page. 

Wishing you a 2024 of good times, family joy, great progress and even greater sleep 🙂

Warmest,
Stacey

It's a Fidget Time of Year

 It’s December. The Poem, The Night Before Christmas, says that “visions of sugar plums danced in their heads,” but it’s not just sweets that keep kids up at night, or amped up during the day. This month is filled with excitement – parties, school shows, presents, visits from relatives, or trips out of town – and let’s not forget, TIME OUT OF SCHOOL (again)! All kids are feeling a bit off their normal routine, and most can benefit by having access to fidget items. 

For some kids, giving them access to fidget items can not only calm an overstimulated brain, but help save a child who’s on the verge of a meltdown. Integrating ways for them to squeeze, squash and stretch can come as a pleasant distraction and a source of calm. The tactile stimulation can help engage the senses while giving proprioceptive input where it’s needed most.

Assess Your Own Working Environment

If you’re a parent who’s sitting at a desk right now, look around you. Chances are good that you either see things that could be considered fidget items or you’re using something as a fidget item without even realizing it. It’s not uncommon to dig through an office desk and find spinners, paper clips that bend in all types of different directions, pens and pencils that are good for tapping and clicking and desk lamps that have more than one brightness setting. Most humans engage in some type of self-stimulatory behavior, but we tend to not give it a name unless we happen to have a medical diagnosis, as bizarre as that sounds.

What to Look for in a Good Sensory Item

Fidget items should be unassuming gadgets that kids can use in school or wherever they go. The best ones are the ones that give a sense of calm and regulation. It definitely takes trial and error before you can expect to find the perfect toolkit of sensory integration items.

While you are creating this toolkit, keep the following benefits in mind:
1. Gathers the sensory system. These tools should provide enough sensory stimulation to meet the child’s needs for touch, movement, and pressure.

2. Redirects pent up energy. These items help channel excess energy, thereby preventing restless behavior. Kids get to release their energy on the items without disrupting those around them.

3. Creates a sense of calm. When many of us experience stress or anxiety, we tend to resort to sensory activities like pacing, shaking a crossed leg, twirling hair… All of these things help us to gather our system in order to function. Kids are no different.

4. Promotes focus. Because their internal sensory needs are being met, it’s easier for children to concentrate and complete the tasks at hand. Giving them ways to get their excess energy out while settling their mind and body makes for a little body that is more ready to learn.

5. Improves mood. Oftentimes when we get into a bad mood it’s because we are overthinking or perseverating on something that is upsetting. Engaging with a fidget item not only helps redirect our sensory system, but also our thoughts. Especially if your child happens to really like the activity around this fidget item, their entire mood can flip.

Fidget Ideas

A few items that can be used in the back seat of the car, as well as a classroom, are listed below. Be sure that the items that you consider are age appropriate. There is nothing cool about a 16 year old carrying around an item that’s meant for a four year old, so keep that in mind. If your child has an occupational therapist, talk to them, and get their advice on what would be best.

Poppers. These items are all the rage right now. You see them everywhere. Walk down any toy aisle in Walmart, Target or even your local convenience store and you’re likely to find some type of plastic popper.

Wacky Tracks. This keeps little hands busy because it is movable, and easy to hold. It can be kept in a classroom desk, or in the sensory station.

Water beads stress ball. I have to admit, I really love these. I attend a lot of conferences and it’s a smart company who gives them away at their table because I end up carrying it around, squishing it all day long 😊 and kids do too! But, make sure it’s strong enough to not break, or that the child is old enough to understand not to break it open.

Noise-cancelling headphones.  They say, “silence is golden” and for a child who gets overwhelmed by too much noise, this can be a goldmine that every sensory kit should include. In addition, many special ed classrooms include a student who makes loud sounds from time to time, and every child should have a way to maintain their own peace.

Wearable wrist spinner for older kids. I think this is VERY cool! I don’t know the brand, but this type of item can be discreet, easy to use and very attractive to other kids (friend magnet).

Tangle manipulative. These use to be so great for my son. He loved just flipping them around and making all kinds of shapes.

Kickbands for Classroom (or kitchen) chairs. If you’ve got a kid who’s always “antsy”, these bands that get wrapped around the legs of classroom desks are great. I’ve seen some classrooms where teachers placed them on all classroom desks (and those have been general education classrooms).

Wiggle Cushion. I can’t express how many kids I’ve seen helped by wiggle cushions. They can be purchased in the color of the classroom chair so that it’s not noticeable by others. The kids get input and are actually reinforced at the same time.

Pencil pushers. These are cool because they go right onto the pencil or pen, so your child won’t need to go digging around for a fidget while they’re working on a classroom assignment. Plus, it’s pretty inconspicuous to use in a general education classroom.

While you’re out or online holiday shopping, grabbing a few of these might help make things a bit easier during this chaotic and overstimulating holiday season. AND they might be a huge benefit when it’s time to go back into the old routine post-holiday break!

PS – If your child has sensory needs, and they attend public school, your school should be ordering them – not you. Find the ones that you think might work best and call your school to request additions to their sensory toolbox. These can also be added to the Special Considerations section of their IEP.

Not All Accommodations Are Allowed on Standardized Testing

 Each year when you have your child’s annual IEP meeting, there’s a place that you need to sign that you understand that not all accommodations that your child might have on their IEP are allowable during standardized testing. Did you know that? This reminds me of Procedural Safeguards. Every year you sign a paper that says that you understand your Procedural Safeguards, but quite often when I ask a parent about that, they tell me that they didn’t sign it, when in reality, they did. It is extremely important that you know and understand what you are signing during these meetings.

Accommodations Not Allowed for Statewide Testing

Standardized testing is meant to see how children measure up against the so-called “norm”. Most of us within the disability community despise that thought because we realize, probably better than most, that everyone is different, and everyone has a different learning style and a different pace at which they learn. So, while this testing may seem ridiculous, it is the tool that the system uses to measure progress, or lack thereof. While most children with disabilities receive special education, at some level, they are often the same ones that score below expectations of children at their grade level, and this is not simply because they have a disability. Oftentimes it’s related to subpar instruction that they receive and how their abilities are not equally considered with their disabilities. There’s a saying that children should be taught in the way that they learn, but sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the predominant experience by children with special needs

If you want to see a list of accommodations that are allowed, you can go to this link. For this week’s informational e-mail, I wanted to share some of the things that are NOT allowed on standardized tests because I have actually seen quite a few children lately whose schools don’t even seem aware of the non-allowable accommodations. This means that parents cannot solely depend upon their schools to implement what’s found in the IEP and need to gain as much info as possible to keep a step ahead.

When a student uses an accommodation that is not allowed, the test results may be declared invalid by the state if it is found out (FDOE, 2017a; 2017b). Examples include the following:

• Oral presentation by a test administrator or text-to-speech for passages in statewide standardized assessments reading and writing items
• Signed presentation for passages in statewide standardized assessments reading and writing items
• Use of devices to check spelling or grammar
• Use of a calculator for computation in grades 3-6 statewide standardized assessments in mathematics
• Use of multiplication charts or tables
• Use of manipulative materials except when approved for use with braille materials
• Use of assistive devices that violate the purpose of the test
• Unlimited time to complete a test session
• Peer assistance

This list is not all inclusive, but it focuses on the ones that tend to get people into trouble if they’re not aware of them. These are allowed within the classroom setting during teaching times, but are not allowable on standardized testing. In a nutshell, when a student is taking a reading test, they have to read the passage. The point of that assessment is to determine if the student can actually read the words and figure out what those words mean. No one can read the passage to the child as an allowable accommodation. That is why it is so vitally important that children learn how to read. To be clear, children don’t learn how to read in order to take a test. Children learn how to read so they can gain information from the written word. If that is not happening with your child – if they are not learning how to read – contact your school and ask for the literacy coach to conduct a reading assessment to determine why they’re not reading and to make recommendations for a curriculum that best meets their learning style.

One More Thing

There is something called a Unique Accommodation. According to the Dept of Education, Students with severe deficits in decoding that result in “nonreaders” as defined by the FLDOE as:
▪ Based on the child’s response to already attempted services and accommodations.
▪ Documented evidence, after exhausting all less intense services, that the student can only demonstrate their reading and writing knowledge with this unique accommodation. The successful use of this unique accommodation must be shown in the classroom prior to being considered for use on any state assessment.

The Eligibility Requirements Are:

• Documented severe deficit in decoding
• Current IEP
• Evidence-based intervention in Tier 1 and Tier 2 DAILY instruction to access printed text
• Data to support the student’s effective use of a reader, audio recordings or text to speech through a reading accommodation assessment
• Shows proficient scores in daily instruction (formative and summative assessments) when the audible accommodation is used

This “unique” accommodation might sound good, but it’s not to be considered until after every effort has been put forth to help your child learn to read for themselves.

I hope this has been helpful. Please share with others who may benefit from this type of information.

WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD PARTY GUEST?

Our schools spend so much time and energy teaching kids, all kids, a significant amount of information that they’ll never use. I totally understand the concept of exposing kids to different fields of study to help them identify their unique abilities or interests, but as we know, there are only so many hours in a school day, and some of the things being missed are critical to a fulfilling life of relationships and personal happiness. 

In this weeks ‘tips’ I wanted to include something that’s hardly taught and most people figure out the hard way. For most, the ‘hard way’ means that we make the mistake, learn from it and don’t make that same mistake again. For people with disabilities however, not only do the judgements from the public tend to be harsher, but without guidance they may not even realize they made the mistake in the first place.

Since the holidays are upon us, I thought I would start there. We typically refer to this set of skills as soft skills. These include unspoken rules like what to say in public vs private, how to keep your opinion to yourself if you don’t like a friend’s new haircut, or what kind of comments are bad in a public restroom. These are things that can get us into big trouble with friends, supervisors and even the police. They are way more important than most people imagine, and most definitely deserve our attention. 

ARE YOU A GOOD GUEST? 

Being a good guest isn’t as easy as just showing up. Think about all the skills that we have to learn just to get invited! If you’re a parent of a young child, consider this a heads up! Kids who don’t get invited to parties could be lacking social skills that no one at school is even telling you. This means that you need to ask the questions…

1. How many children does Kevin interact with each day?
2. Who does Layla talk to at lunch?
3. What does Peter do on the playground? 
4. How does Sharon handle group projects in your classroom?
5. How often does Javier initiate interactions each day?

If kids are going through a school day interacting with no one but the teacher and aid, chances are good that peer relationships will not grow, and as a result, there’ll be no invitations to parties and after school gatherings. The good news is that you can change that! By using the above sample questions, let your teacher know that you’d like to begin making changes TODAY!

For those who are high schoolers or adults, and parents too for that matter (I’m always learning), being a great guest is an art. And since many people just don’t want to say anything, you could make a huge mistake, but not even realize it until you’re not invited back. 

SO, WHAT’S THE SECRET? 

During the holiday season, it’s all the more important to make sure you don’t accidentally ruffle any feathers, and we’ll go through a few of those here. 

Arriving Early—Or Very Late

You might think you’re being considerate by arriving a few minutes early or, conversely, “fashionably late,” but hosts usually hate it either way. “Many people assume that coming early to a party is very thoughtful and appropriate. However, arriving early is highly intrusive!” says Maryanne Parker, owner of Manor of Manners. For people with autism who can be strict rule followers, they may assume that a 6:00 party means that they need to be there and settled in by 6:00. But if the host is still setting up, she/he will most definitely not appreciate the early arrival. They are not likely to say anything, but they will file that away for future reference. “If you have a few options, such as 5:50 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 6:10 p.m., and 6:20 p.m., the perfect option is 6:10 p.m. Many people mistake fashionably late for fashionably rude. Being late is never fashionable.”

Bringing Food if the Host Didn’t Ask You to

If you’ve been invited to a birthday party or dinner party, don’t bring food unless the host specifically asked you to make a dish—and that goes for a bottle of wine that you expect your host to open during the party. This is where reading the invitation is important. If it’s a potluck, it’ll say so. It’s also customary to ask the host what you can bring. If too many people bring desserts, then there’s not enough real food to go around 🫤

Showing Up Empty Handed

If you’re not bringing a dish, that doesn’t mean you show up empty-handed. “Always arrive with something for the host,” says Diane Gottsman, etiquette expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas. Choose a small, tasteful gift to show your appreciation for being invited. This might include a plant, art books, flowers, or a set of teas. All will work well for you! 

Bringing an Uninvited Plus-One

If you are invited to a party, YOU are invited to a party. Chances are that the host has put a lot of thought into planning the event and another person could upend that by bringing someone unexpectedly. If you feel like you really need that other person to be there, check with the host in advance to make sure it’s ok. Never make assumptions.

Being Dismissive of Other Cultures and Holidays

November and December are packed with cultural holidays. If you happen to be invited to a gathering that celebrates something that you don’t, and you decide to go, do a little research in advance as to what might be expected. “If you find yourself in a house where the tradition is a prayer before the meal [for instance] and you are not particularly religious or have different religious beliefs, the only appropriate way is to join the prayer silently and not to make demonstrations and rude remarks,” says Parker. 

Bringing Up Divisive or Political Topics

This is a really hard one in today’s politically driven climate! Lots of people want to talk politics, but unless you know how to handle conversations that sound more like debate than a social gathering, steer clear. “Try to refrain from talking about politics, religion, and money. Avoid oversharing about health issues you might be experiencing currently,” says Parker. If you find yourself going down a controversial rabbit hole, it’s perfectly ok to excuse yourself for a potty break, fresh air or drink. 

Consuming the Conversation 

Nearly everyone likes to talk about themselves. A good party conversation starter is, “What do you do for a living?” Or “How do you know __(host)?” These questions should get your conversation going, but be careful not to immediately switch the topic to your preferred topic of conversation or forget that a conversation is TWO WAY, allowing time for the other person to speak while you show you’re carefully listening. 

Overindulging in Food and Drink

Not everyone has the same fill line telling them when enough is enough. This requires paying attention to what other people are doing and how much food is left. You never want to take seconds if there are people who still haven’t had their first, and you most definitely don’t want someone to be able to say, “Yikes, he’s back for more!” Once you’ve gotten your food, don’t hover around the food station. Mix and mingle. Too many glasses of wine should most certainly be avoided. Especially if you’re someone who doesn’t drink or only drinks on rare occasions, a good rule to follow is, “One and Done.”

Regifting in the Same Social Circle

Unless the host has told you to bring a ‘white elephant gift’, don’t bring a gift that someone else has given you. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: Would I want this gift for myself? If the answer is no, then don’t bring it, donate it. 

If you do decide to regift an item, don’t regift in the same social circle. These gifts are only acceptable if the gift has never been opened, never used, and looks brand new.

Moving Place Cards or Settings Around

If you go to a party, wedding, or other event that has place settings, don’t move the cards around so you can sit next to whomever you’d like. If you find yourself sitting next to someone you don’t know, then take the initiative, introduce yourself, and strike up a conversation.

Overstaying Your Welcome

Don’t be the last one to leave. Keep an eye on other guests to see when most people are saying their goodbyes and plan to do the same. Generally speaking, when you can smell coffee brewing, it’s time to plan your exit, but don’t do so abruptly. Be certain to find the host, thank them for inviting you and compliment them on the wonderful evening or event. 

There are about a million more ‘rules’ to know when attending holiday parties, but the biggest one is to have a good time! Sometimes it takes going to a few, laying back to see how your host manages their party and actively participate as seems appropriate. 

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS

Unfortunately, far too often, I find both parents and teachers seem to think that by the time a kid gets to high school, they are who they are and that they don’t have the same potential for growth as they once did. DON’T THINK THAT! I have literally seen students come out of segregated “special” program classrooms in middle school, get what they need and become honor roll students in high school, or get the job offer of their dreams when finishing up their high school experience. Yes, it is hard to constantly be told how low your child’s FAST scores or iReady scores or Brigance scores or…. are and not have a sense of dread and defeat, but I encourage you to dig down deep and push that garbage right out the window. If you’re anything like me, you learn something new ALL of the time, and I am certainly NO spring-chicken. If we’re breathing, we can be learning, and it doesn’t matter who you are, what your needs are, what someone else with fancy letters after their name has determined your IQ to be – you CAN learn new things and create better outcomes towards a more meaningful future.

 

EASY TO USE HIGH SCHOOL TIPS

While I try to get down off my soapbox, in this week’s email I wanted to share some tips on how teachers (mostly, but parents you can do this too, AND you can encourage your teachers to give this stuff a try) can implement some pretty simple strategies into their classrooms to build and encourage comprehension, expressive communication, and interaction in the high school environment from the Center for Secondary Education for Students with ASD. If it were me, I would arrange the following tips into a checklist of sorts and cross them off as I implement them and watch for an impact.

 1.       Visual Supports

Provide objects, gestures, pictures, or written cues to support comprehension and expressive communication in the classroom.

• Use pictures or writing with verbal directions and questions to support understanding.

• Give cards with conversation starters, topics, or jokes to promote interaction during lunch or other times during the day.

2.    2. Additional Processing Time

Build in extra time for support in processing and responding to directions or questions presented to the class.

• Make sure to pause for at least 5 seconds after giving a direction or asking a question

3.     3. Opportunities for Communication

Arrange the environment in a way that encourages, and even necessitates communication.

• On occasion, put away materials that are necessary for a familiar routine (e.g., worksheet) so the student has to communicate in order to get the materials.

• Embed times for casual conversation during the day, just as you would see students doing during the day, similar to what you may see during passing time between classes.

• Use topics of interest to the student during class to increase interactions.

• Offer students the opportunity to communicate a choice whenever possible.

4. Modeling

Demonstrate and identify appropriate use of communication and social skills.

• Take short videos of other high school students (or your student) modeling appropriate communication and social skills and show the videos to your student. (I LOVE THIS ONE)

• Use classroom staff or peers to model skills live (e.g., turn taking in conversation, initiating an interaction)

5. Peer Supports and Social Connections

Find other high school students that may be able to support the student with communication and social connections in class or around school.

• Find clubs or sports teams for the student to join that align with his/her interests

• Arrange a lunch group with other high school students (e.g., Lunch Bunch)

• Start peer programs or have high school student interns in your classroom

 

About six years ago, I heard about the Peers as Partners in Learning program that was developed by the Florida Inclusion Network at Timber Creek High School in Orlando. This program CAN be replicated, and you can see a video on it here. If you’ve got a kid in high school (or you one day will), check out what they have accomplished, talk to your administration, and find out when they can start. 😊 Many of the above suggestions are part of the work they’ve done at Timber Creek and can be replicated on any high school campus – What is needed (as is in most cases) is a little push by a passionate parent!

 

For more blogs packed with lots of info, check out this page or this page or this page.

 

Happy Advocating!

 

 

 

A Dozen Red Flags of a Hot Mess IEP Meeting :o

For many parents, the annual IEP meeting is something that incites a great sense of overwhelm, frustration and doom. This is probably one of the reasons that tons of parents don’t even show up. Most of you might find this really hard to believe (because you’re passionately involved in your child’s education), but it’s true, there are schools where less than 25% of the families attend the annual IEP meeting ☹

This not only has a negative effect on their own child’s education, but it impacts other families as well. Think about it… If you are the only parent asking for paraprofessional support so that your child can be successfully included in a regular classroom, that could be the reason they look at you like you’re a crazy person as they tell you that, “Nobody gets that here.” When we ALL show up, systemic change is possible.

 

LOOK OUT!

There are some things to watch out for when it comes to IEP meetings. Being familiar with these in advance will help you recognize what’s possible and how to circumvent certain issues BEFORE they pop up:

 

-          The school calls to set the annual meeting within 3-5 days of the due date. This generally means that they nearly forgot all about you and are scrambling to get it done, OR they typically wing-it and don’t put much thought or emphasis into planning in advance.

-          If you’re in a school district that gives parents a draft of the IEP a week before the meeting, and it’s nowhere to be found, this is cause for concern.

-          The goals in the IEP, or worse yet, the Present Level of Performance, has another student’s name in it. This means that it’s a copy and paste and that the plan isn’t as “individualized” as you might think.

-          The Present Level of Performance only includes testing data from the assessment that they MUST do for all students – state standardized tests. But tests that actually show how your child thinks or what they CAN do are not included.

-          You get to the meeting, and they inform you that they have 30 minutes to get an annual IEP done when this is the first time you’re seeing any information on current assessments or the proposed goals.

-          Before you get to the meeting, the person who runs your IEP meetings tells you that the services will remain as is. That’s called Predetermination and is not permitted in IEP meetings. Do NOT let this happen.  Your input is required under federal law.

-          Goals are generic and you’re not really sure what will be measured to determine if the goal has been mastered. This could be like, “Johnny will know how to make new friends in a year’s time.”

-          There are missing members of the IEP team, or they breeze in and out while the meeting is taking place. The IEP team has 5 required members – for ALL IEP teams (parent/student, general education teacher, special education teacher, local education agency representative, evaluation specialist)

-          You ask for data supporting the claims of the IEP, and team members look at one another as though to say, “You have that information, right?”

-          The same goals appear on your IEP year after year. Students are covered by a law that says that they should make meaningful progress, which is different for each kid, but “meaningful” is not what the supreme court refers to as “de minimis”, which is an ever-so-slight improvement.

-          No one seems to have any answers when you ask, “What else can be done to help my son learn how to read?” (or other areas of learning)

-          Every IEP meeting should include discussion about inclusive education, no matter who your child is and what their needs are. After all, the goal of special education in general is to give kids what they need SO THAT they can be more prepared for a regular education environment. Waiting for the child to change who they are is NOT the answer. It’s the system that needs to change to accommodate the needs of the child. Some kids are included all day, some for just a portion, but the goal for all kids is to move in the direction of the least restrictive environment. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

Remember that the IEP is a federally enforced document that gives you and your child protections like nothing else can. If it’s not written, it’s as if it wasn’t discussed, so don’t just talk about it… document it. A great way to do that is to utilize the Parent Input section, which is HUGELY important. Here is where you want to document what your concerns are, what you think your child needs and what you’re providing outside of the school setting. Oftentimes, when a parent puts their concerns and requests in this section, it motivates the rest of the team to get more creative in securing the education that your child deserves. 

Need some guidance?  https://staceyhoaglund.com/

Educational Evaluation Time... Yes or No?

 For some reason, I seem to be getting more calls this year from parents who are seeking answers in relation to their right to request a psychoeducational evaluation from their school. Yes, parents do have that right. Quite often, whether a student has an IEP already or not, the school will say that they have to first do RTI (Response To Intervention) before doing an evaluation. While, yes, schools have to do RTI, that is not a reason to delay the parents signing a Consent to Evaluate. It is sometimes used as a delay tactic and should never get in the way of moving forward on an evaluation that is needed.

Main Reasons to Request an Evaluation

 

If your child does not have an IEP, and you suspect that there is a disability that is negatively affecting their education, you can request to sign a Consent to Evaluate. This evaluation is usually a full psychoeducational evaluation that is comprehensive in nature and can consider many different types of educational impacts related to disabilities. Since most people reading this article will be parents of children who already have IEPs, I won’t get into the specifics of the initial evaluation, other than saying that parents have the right to sign a Consent to Evaluate if they have concerns about their child’s education related to a disability.

 

When your child already has an IEP, every 3 years the team needs to “consider” testing, however, there are two main reasons to formally evaluate.

 

1.      If you think there may be another disability that is significantly affecting their education and you want that to be considered. This oftentimes looks like a child who is originally evaluated and determined with a developmental delay, and later the team needs to consider autism spectrum disorder. An evaluation is needed to make that switch. There are certainly other conditions that would warrant an evaluation of this type regarding eligibility.

2.      If your child is not making the progress that you or other members of the team would expect them to make and it appears as though the interventions are not having a positive impact, this is another reason to evaluate. The evaluation should look for both the skills and abilities that your child possesses. On intellectual and academic testing, looking for high scores will help give insight into how your child takes in the world and processes information. Once you understand how they think, then a conversation needs to take place of how to teach them, what curriculum would align with the way that they learn and identify where more energy should be spent. If you use a curriculum that is contrary to the way the child learns, you are very likely to have the same academic outcomes year after year – and all not good.

 

Times to Be Cautious

Many parents think that psychoeducational evaluations are needed every three years and that it’s something that they should have, because they can. As with anything, sometimes you have to be careful of what you wish for – there could be negative side effects that many people don’t know about or think about. I attend IEP meetings quite often where a child is, say in 2nd grade and the teacher sees that the child is struggling and tries to convince the parents to do an IQ test so that they “won’t have to take the standardized test in 3rd grade”.  (What parent doesn’t love the idea of getting their child out of standardized testing that is likely to stress them out?) Attempting to avoid standardized testing is not a good reason to evaluate, especially not in the younger grades. If a child is struggling in school, then it’s time to look at how they’re being taught, in what type of classroom and who is doing the teaching.

When a student is evaluated, and if they obtain an IQ score of 67 or lower, the likelihood is very high that the team will remove the student from regular standards. In fact, they need that 67 or lower IQ to do so. We know that students with disabilities are not good test takers, and a test is only a reflection of how someone did on that day, at that time and in that location. If a student is evaluated and removed from standards, it is important to know that the team is changing that child’s future with a simple strike of the pen. When students are removed from standards, and placed on alternative assessments, there will be no college degree seeking program in their future nor regular certification in a trade or vocation. For some students, this is appropriate, and the focus will be on independent living and job skills so that they can receive the instruction they need in order to prepare for the world of work after school has ended. But most students with disabilities are on, and should remain on, regular standards regardless of their diagnosis.

I was that parent.

When my son was in 4th grade, having had a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation done just a few years prior, I thought that I wanted updated testing to see how he had changed, given all of the interventions we were providing. What came back from that testing module was significantly lower scores than he had previously received. It turned out that the testing instrument that was used that second time was not only not the same as the first one, but it did not take into consideration that he was much stronger nonverbally than he was verbally. I had to jump through a few hoops for those low scores to be removed from his educational record. We did not test again until he was tested through Vocational Rehabilitation when he was in 11^th grade and preparing to graduate.

 

If there is a reason to test, do it. If it’s just because you think it might be good, then talk to someone who knows and understands why you would test, and what types of tests would be a good idea towards the outcomes you seek. This could be an advocate but could also be a parent who has gone through themselves.  Wrightslaw.com has some good info and guidance on this topic as well.