IEP, IFSP...huh???

IEP = Individualized Education Plan (for children 3 & up)

IFSP = Individualized Family Service Plan (Birth - 3yrs.)

As a former special ed teacher, I can tell you that parents hate that a speech delay/impairment is considered a disability. It is more a term used for the legal description of the services you are receiving.

Also, just because a child was born with something or has a medical diagnosis doesn't mean they qualify for services through the school district. There is specific criteria that a child must meet (done through testing and assessment) to be eligible for services. Each disability category has its own criteria and I've seen a child not qualify in one area but another area that wasn't expected and parents get upset because they are concerned with the "label" that their child qualifies under.

Don't worry about the term disability, it is all legal jargon. But definitely ask a ton of questions!

My daughter has an IEP, and was also in First Steps. She is considered disabled, and is on SSI, she has a seizure disorder and although she is four and a half her physical ability is that of a two year old. Luckily though, her cognitive ability is actually advanced to that of a six year old. According to the school district she is classified as a young child with a disability. The school district we were in originally, there was a bully in her class, and she was always coming home with scrapes and bruises. I let most of it go, but when she came home in March and had a bruise from her lower back to her knees, that was the straw that broke the camels back. I asked her what happened and she said the little boy had pushed her off the slide. So the next day I called the school, and they confirmed he had pushed her off a four foot slide platform and they didn't even call me. So I pulled her out of school and homeschooled her all summer, and now we have moved to a new school district, and she actually starts pre-school in the new district Monday, So my advice is to make sure you are a part of the team, and know what is going on with your son at school. Ask lots of questions, and get the answers to those questions. If you think it is important, it is important, it is your child.

I was just talking to a friend about his. Her daughter is blind. She has a disability/blindness and is also a bit delayed due to this. But they keep referring her back to a mental disability. My friend has to keep fighting the system to put her in the appropriate programs. So, this is in Texas, but in my experience a lot of states seems to be a little *slow* at getting these things. All you can really do is be sure to clarify this, as each place has a different lingo and set of procedure.

My son is on an IEP. He went through early intervention because he can't speak and mild mental retardation, cognitive delays, HIs fine and gross motor skills are delayed. Hes 11 but mentally 4-5 and very very smart. He had a seizure at 2 and they did a CTScan and found nothing wrong, so they did an MRI and other testing and found that he has a lack of creatine in his brain. At 3, early intervention helped us transition to preschool and then they helped transition to kindergarten which he got all day because of the delays and stuff.
IEPis an individualized Education Program. First you do an MF something or other. The IEP lets you plan out your childs education for the school year and you can change it at any time. For instance, if you want potty training, the school has to do it or sorting change, the school has to do it. This way its written down on paper and them not trying to say otherwise. We've had to lay into the school a couple times for things they didn't want to do because it was an inconvience for them. YOu get to visit the classrooms and stuff to see how everything is setup and you;ll meet the speech therapist and all that. Theres other programs but i think its depends on the needs of your child. My son spends doing some things with his typical peers and things like math that he wouldn't understand, he spends doing in the special needs room.

My daughter qualified for speech therapy through early childhood intervention here in TX and as soon as she hit 3 she transferred over to the local school district. Yes, it is through the special education dept., and she technically is a "special needs child with a disability" but all that does is qualify her for services. I'm lucky in that the school district where I live is excellent and they provide wonderful services. Now that my daughter is in 1st grade she still gets pulled out of class every few weeks for speech therapy, and once a year I have to attend an "IEP (Individual Education Plan)" meeting that basically is just to confirm that she does in fact still need/qualify for services.

My son has ADHD/ODD and receives services under the same umbrella, and yeah - it seems weird to me that both kids - with such different diagnoses and issues would both be "labeled" and kids with disabilities. I try and just think of it as just a label that the district needs for their paperwork. They certainly have never made me feel that they treat any of the kids in their programs with anything but love and caring.

I hope you find success with all your kiddos in your district. You'll be working with them for the next few years - if you go into each meeting feeling like you're on the same team, it helps.

Well hello, kinda glad that Blunt didn't succeed in dismantling first steps. :) Honestly when he proposed that I flipped a nut because if it wasn't for first steps I wouldn't have had a clue where to go with Andy.

So pretty much what happened was while we were still working with parents as teachers he was identified as a child in need. He wasn't talking, ya know? So they got me in touch with first steps so he had speech and occupational therapy until he was three but since he had so many issues they continued until the fall. Then he went to early childhood at Mehlville, our school district. He had the absolutely worst teacher on earth. I hate her to this day. Most of Andy's early teachers hate her. She still teaches there, go figure. She told me, of my three year old, that I just need to accept that he will be my burden for the rest of his life! Yeah hate that ....!

The other teachers in the early childhood were great. The only problem was that stupid teacher was supposed to coordinate things and she would send him for stuff he didn't need and neglect what he did need.

The transition to kindergarten was a breeze.

Not sure what exactly you want to know but as you know I am on the other side of the state. :)

Oh don't worry too much about the labels they all shift once they get into kindergarten. Mostly just make sure he is getting the services he needs.

If you go to this website you can find a lot of info or links to info about IEP's and such in Missouri. They are a really good resource.
http://ptimpact.org/
Good luck!

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We had First Steps for my youngest son. He is on The Autism spectrum, we had amazing experience with First steps and the early childhood ed program here in Missouri. For us First Steps was all free ( it is income based) I don't know what the qualifications are. You should have a mediator that you can contact with all your questions.