Eligibility: SCHOOL SAYS NO TO IEP, NEUROLOGIST AND NEUROPSYCH SAY YES

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Michelle:  Last year my son was assessed at school for an IEP and basically said that there was nothing wrong when clearly he pretty much failed a lot of the testing that was done. I paid for a second opinion with the neuropsychologist to come to neurologist and had him evaluate with an audiologist for auditory processing disorder. So he was diagnosed with mild intellectual disability and auditory processing disorder. The specific one is called prosodic deficit.  neurologist also confirmed that he has brain damage due to seizures that he suffered as a infant. So now I have to present all this information at the second IEP meeting that I have requested. where do I begin and how do I proceed with this?

  1. I’m not sure which thread to ask this question. If a district ignores (wholesale – all students) certain types of disabilities since they aren’t specifically listed in their regulations (e.g., auditory processing disorder) is that subject to contract law? Looking at a higher level – not individual IEPs, rather, the contract the district has with the US DOE to follow IDEA, ADAAA, and 504 in exchange for funds. (Say, for a child with comorbid disabilities – the school may decide to ignore those for which services are more expensive, and identify only the less expensive ones – yet still collect the $15K or so from the USDOE for their efforts – and this is happening across the district).

    • If a school is not following federal rules, the state education agency has the responsibility to correct this. If they do not a complaint to the federal department of education could lead to an investigation. That is what happened several years ago in TX.

  2. Either of these diagnoses may help to qualify your child for special education services, however, there must be documentation of how these disabilities are impacting him academically. Request a meeting in writing and explain that you do not agree with the committee’s decision to find your son ineligible and you want to re-examine the evidence. Bring with you all private reports and any documentation you have that demonstrates your child is not working on grade level (standardized test results, report cards, etc.) Ask the teacher to bring work samples. Ask for specific reasons why he does not qualify.
    It’s a start.

  3. It sounds like your child can qualify for an IEP. YOu may request an IEP meeting with the school and either have your professionals on the phone via a conference line or in person. BE prepared to pay for the professional to show up. Did the school provide you with documentation on the refusal of the IEP? I hope you did not sign that form. You do not have to sign anything you don’t agree with. YOu may need to seek help from a legal professional as your next step. Normally when a school has information from such trained people they will work with you.

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