Any Advice for Kindergarten IEP Meeting?

Have you thought about talking to an advocate? There is a group that offers free advocats in missouri. www.ptimpact.com is their website. http://www.yellowpagesforkids.com/help/mo.htm is also a good website with resources on it. I hope this helps; the first IEP is the most important!

B.,

My 7yr old also has mild Autism, he attended Bright Beginnings part time during his Preschool years in which they followed through with his elementary school. He is in the Park Hill School District and they have been Wonderful. We have had several IEP Meetings one recently to discuss what their plans are for the next school year. He begins his day with his social teacher and they map out his day. We started kindergarten on a point system. Earning points through out the day for each cirriculum according to his behavior. My sons Autism is more Social and transitioning from one activity to the next. This worked well for him. He attends Speech and OT. This year he has graduated off of the point system and is now on a checklist for organizational skills as this is now where he is having his most difficulties. He makes a check after he does each thing he needs to do ie.. put coat and backpack away. Get out morning supplies. etc...He was doing math on a one on one basis with his social dev teacher because he had a hard time focusing in large classroom environment, but he has recently gone back to reg classroom because he is doing great at math. I would make sure you have all questions and concerns written down so you don't forget anything. The school pretty much had everything mapped out for him and everything they have done has worked well. I have great confidence in our school and they all work hard with him and enjoy him. He is like a complete different child from when he began school. He exceeds the school requirement for reading for a first grader and he didn't know how to read at the beginning of the school year. I wish him all the best and if NKC school district is anything like Park Hill they will be great with him. If you haven't done it yet, you might consider putting him in the Summer Explorations (summer school) to get him transitioned into the Kindergarten routine.

J. C

B. I wish I could be more help to you. My 2 years and 4 months old was diagnosed with Autism when he was 19 months old and he has three therapists each week. We are also going next month to meet with the school district to get him into Pre-K when he turns 3 years old. I don't even know what to expect when it comes to the door to door bus transportation or anything. This has been a hard year to go through. He is the sweetest boy and very loving. I look at my nephew who is 6 months younger then my son, and he is talking and doing all sorts of things. Boy does it ever hurt sometimes. I did not help you, but it helps to talk about what we are going through.

L.

I have been thur two IEP meeting with my son who is currently in the Early Childhood Special Education program. He receives speech and OT as well. Our first IEP meeting I took all his past therapy records with me. Not only will you be deciding what type of therapy your son will be receiving but how much per week. Just remember that the ball is in your court and push for anything that you want to continue. If he is receiving OT now, chances are you will want to continue that. I'm not in the same school district but my experience has been great. I have never felt that my son needs more therapy than what he receives at the school. He is doing great and has come leaps and bounds. Good Luck and I hope your experience is as positive as mine has been.

My youngest son who is now 15, was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when he was in 2nd grade. I also work in SPED and think you should read as much as possible about the disorder. Many children have minor problems with PDD and others suffer greatly. Each child and case is different. My son has changed so much over the years and overall he has been successful. He has struggeled with certain things, mainly organiztion and communicating with peers and teachers. I would make sure your son gets some kind of social skills training at school. They should provide classes for that.Listen carefully at the meeting, take your 10 days to read and re-read the draft and feel free to ask for anything you think will benefit your child.

I used to work in Early Childhood Special Education in NKC and have attended many Kindergarten IEPs.

You should know that you can't just ask for services. Your child should have gone through an evaluation. The results of that evaluation will dictate which services he will receive (i.e., OT, speech-language, etc.). Then you talk about the specific skills he will need in each of those areas to make educational progress in kindergarten and those will be written into the IEP. Then you talk about the amount of therapy time needed to meet those goals, and finally, where the therapy will take place (in classroom, in pull-out therapy, etc) and what type of classroom he will be placed in. All of the specifics you work out with the IEP team.

I know that you know your child best. Best advice: Work WITH the school staff instead of going into the meeting with a list of demands. And remember that nothing is set in stone. The IEP can always be changed. If something doesn't work or needs to be added it can always be talked about again.

Best of luck

R.