[Busymommie]

The thing with changing the label from DD to MR or OHI~the whole story to that is:

Our school system, not sure if it is just North Carolina or not, will only label a child as DD until age 8. A re-eval is done at 8 to determine a new classification. Then Re-evaluations are done every three years.

A concern I have with changing her classification to MR comes from what I have seen in the upper grade levels at several schools in my area ( I worked as a one on one for a while in one of the separate high schools)

I have seen the same thing your friend said about "giving up" on the MR kids. Not as in they don't do anything, just that the expectations are lowered and the focus turns into life skills not education. Before I get stoned for saying that- Life skills are very important BUT so is education.

There is no way to know what a child can achieve in their lifetime, those with disabilities and those without. I met a lady recently who has an adult son with autism. When he was two she was told that there was no hope for him to be anything, and when she bucked against those words she was told " you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear" Today her son is a college student in Boston and works part time for an insurance company. At his last yearly job review he received the highest raise of anyone else in the company.

How many other kids like him are out there only being taught "life skills" due to the MR label? I don't want that for Riley and I know you don't want that for Tom.

Last year when I got Rileys IQ results from the school I was crushed, those numbers said she is MR. That is one thing that makes me anxious about the neuropsych testing. I know she has made some gains over the last year but like Dr. Boyd said the gap between Riley and her typical classmates is widening and becoming more evident. Testing for a 7 year old who has been in school for two years is not the same as what you would do for a 5 year old who has yet to start K yet. Those numbers, no matter how much I prepare myself for it are going to knock me off my feet.

From what I understand, and know as of right know OHI is a better classification to have and leaves more doors open educationally.

This is a snippet of why I am so glad I have the opportunity to attend the Wrights Law workshop next month.

Sometimes I wish I didn't know, I sit on the phone on hold at work a huge portion of the day and think about Riley's future and how self sufficient or how much support she will need at age 20, 30, 40 ect.

[lilac7700]

Denae, I am so sorry to hear all the anxiety adn heartaches you are going through. I dont know anything about the school part of this stuff yet, as Paige is not even 2 yet. But I know how you feel when they do these tests to compare against our babies "typical" peers. Paige's gap betweeen her and her peers is also widening. I wondered if I was the only one who thought about the self sufficency later in life of my child. I would get even more depressed because I thought I was being selfish. I am scared to death of not knowing the future, as I'm sure all of us are. This day by day stuff sucks! But we do have each other to lean on, to learn from. And stories like the one you told of the kid with autism goes to prove we have no way to know where our kids will be, typical or not. But we are doing the best that WE can. Anyway, lots of love to you and your family. By the way, what is Wrights Law?

[Dmom3005]

Denae

You are doing the right things to get Riley the best education and the best
forward steps she can have. I know that in Derrick's case he was classified
as Learning Disabilied but it wasn't getting him what he needed because of
the need for adult services to come in a few more years. He is a 9th grader,
he is also labeled OHI and Communication Disorder too. But to get the
adult services that he will need, he needs the Mildly Handicapped or the
MR title to a small degree at this point. It however in his case isn't going
to change the fact that he is getting education, he has a teacher that
believes that every child is entitled to learn, and be educated.

It was because of this that I went after the change. So he has three titles
on his IEP now, and a IQ that falls in the Learning Disabled area but he falls
in the Mildly Handicapped because of his abilities and reading levels.

So you are doing the right things, I too wouldn't have wanted the MR title
at the age of 7.


THe Wright law is a group that goes around the country and does seminars
in different areas. THey teach about the Federal Law, I get a list of where
they are at in different area's at different times of the year. IF anyone wants
to know when they are at a specific place let me know. I am a advocate
for Indiana's special Needs agency, and I train and do trainings for Indiana parents.

We are a non-profit agency, so my trainings are free.
Donna

[Busymommie]

It is so normal for ALL parents to worry about what the future, and for many parents it is needless worry, but with our kids we HAVE to know and have a plan, at least I do. Who would take care of Riley if something happened to me? What about 20 years from now? It is not like a typical kiddo who in 20 years will be an adult and should be self sufficient.

Wrights Law is a great resource for special Ed Law and IEP information.

http://www.wrightslaw.com/

[langansmom]

I completely agree with where you are coming from, Denae. You are such an amazing mom and Riley is so lucky to have you there to keep pushing the envelope and make sure that she gets the best possible education and the best chance to reach her full potential.

The re-eval every 3 years is actually federally mandated in the IDEA. I believe that the states all have different subclassifications but they all have to follow the minimum requirements of the IDEA. There are some scary things happening in some school districts- pushing for IQ testing to have kids declared MR so that services can be scaled back- all to save a buck. It frightens me to death. This is not my area of practice but I have taken a few special ed cases b/c the stories break my heart and I have been helping parents at my daughter's school, when the school system tries to change placement. It's a fine line for me- we get everything we want from the school system so far (after our initial IEP battle, b/c now they know we're both lawyers and they know we know our rights and aren't afraid to fight for them), but it scares me when I see these other parents getting intimidated and beaten down. I can't come out and full out fight for them without worrying that Langan will be punished. So I am helping behind the scenes- making sure the parents know their rights and know that they can fight and get what their children need. Sneaky Wendy.... It's just sad that it has to be this hard. Seems like when you are raising a SN child then just maybe the system should try to make it even a tiny bit easier on you.... Sigh. Sorry for the ramble. You can tell this issue is close to my heart.

Anyway, all that to say that the Wrightslaw seminar is a GREAT idea. It is such an amazing organization- I use their website all the time and have two of their books. Can't wait to hear how it goes for you!

Hugs to sweet Riley!

[RathyKay]

Originally Posted by Busymommie

I have seen the same thing your friend said about "giving up" on the MR kids. Not as in they don't do anything, just that the expectations are lowered and the focus turns into life skills not education. Before I get stoned for saying that- Life skills are very important BUT so is education.

No stoning here. You got what I was trying to say. I have not observed this myself, as I only know a small portion of the spec ed world, and that's from 1st grade and younger.

Originally Posted by Busymommie

and think about Riley's future and how self sufficient or how much support she will need at age 20, 30, 40 ect.

I wonder about Tom, too. That special needs trust is still on my list of things to do. This summer, Claire actually talked about having Tom live with her when she grows up. It was sooo sweet, and what I'd really like for the long term. I'm trying to do my part to raise the kids to be friends with each other. But, she's not even 8 yet. We have the teenage years to suffer through, and hopefully she'll still feel the same way when she is grown up.

I tried digging out Tom's IEP, but I only found the goals. I'm not sure what they have him listed under. At one point, he was listed as visually impaired, but his vision has improved and he doesn't qualify for that as his primary....reason for IEP??? I may look again later to see if I can find a copy of his top page. Otherwise, I'll wait until his triennial review in November, which I await with a mixture of curiousity and dread.

[RathyKay]

I signed the paperwork to start Tom's triennial review this week. When I turned it in, his teacher told me that the vision specialist also wanted to evaluate Tom to see if vision was still his primary disability. Hah! So, I guess that answers my question about what Tom's classification was. It doesn't answer the question of what they will now classify him as. At this point, I don't want to ask.