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Article: "Help! IEP Time" on Aspergers: A Mom's Eye View

Just wanted to draw your attention to an excellent series of articles about the IEP (Individualised Education Programme) on Aspergers: A Mom's Eye View (http://asdhelp.wordpress.com/)



This is a very detailed article which covers;
  1. Does your child need an IEP.
  2. Three major steps for Preparation for an IEP
It's well worth a read!

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Comments

Unknown said…
And I thought this post was going to all about me.... It caught my eye seeing that I'd just done Tristan's IEP the other day...

I have 2 points regarding IEP's - not enough time is given. Teacher's think that 30mins is enough time to talk through every detail about your child.
Secondly, there is not enough funding and help given to kids with problems.
March 25, 2011 at 12:55 PM
John Robison said…
I wish I had the patience to go down that IEP road with my Aspergian son, but I just could not do it. Eventually he dropped out of school, took the GED, and enrolled at community college. They have transfer to the regular Umass system after two years, and that just seemed simpler.
March 27, 2011 at 1:45 AM
Joanne Houldsworth said…
John - I agree that it takes a lot of work and a huge amount of patience to make the IEP process work...And not just during the initial phases of eligibility and planning. Making sure the plan is implemented in accordance with what was agreed, takes constance vigilance as well.

It sounds like you and your son arrived at a viable alternative, and I'm sure Cubby will find his niche successfully. For younger kids (my son is 10) though, homeschooling or private school might be the only other alternatives.

BTW - I was a pleasure speaking with you at the ASPEN conference yesterday. I really enjoyed your talk and can't wait to read your new book! Good luck with it!

Joanne
March 28, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Tom said…
We have been waiting for the IEP meeting for months, before Christmas, but nothing yet. We always get the "almost but more paper work!" They railroaded us into a 504 Plan at first & that was pretty much a dead end. We are trying to be optamistic about an IEP though, Oklahoma Schools are not known for being AS friendly! Great blog by the way!
March 29, 2011 at 8:44 AM
Joanne Houldsworth said…
Tom - I'm so sorry that you are being delayed so much...so frustrating!

Doesn't Oklahoma have time limits by which things have to happen? (In NJ an initial meeting must be held within 20 calendar days from the date of referral to determine if an evaluation will be conducted. From that point, the school must conclude the evaluation and hold the eligibility determination meeting within 90 days.)

Perhaps you should investigate Parental Rights in Special Education for your state, if you haven't already done so. Knowledge is power!

And if your state doesn't have any official policies regarding timing, I would still follow-up frequently on status to keep your child in the forefront of their minds....you don't want to lose a whole school year if you can avoid it.

Good luck!
March 29, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Tom said…
Joanne, thanks for the advice. We have blown up phones & rolled out sleeping bags (so to speak) at the school board & are now starting to make some head way. Its like you have to break a leg or two just to get a head! Thanks, I love your blog!
April 3, 2011 at 1:24 AM
aspmom said…
My hat is off to the parents who fight and advocate for their children in the school systems.

Very relieved that homeschooling lets us avoid the battle of IEPs!
April 5, 2011 at 5:43 AM
Ersht said…
This is from the perspective of someone who's been through getting on an IEP in high school (for completely different reason): I really wish that I had either dropped out (like John Elder Robinson mentioned) or gone through regular school. The IEP didn't prepare me for much post-high school, and was really a waste of 3 years worth of time. Now that I was dx'ed with AS many many years later, I know the social struggles I experienced in high school just made my situation worse, leading me to believe I probably would have dropped out. Trying to do college now to go to a 4 year school just emphasizes that I didn't get what I should have in high school.
April 28, 2011 at 9:48 AM
Miguel Palacio said…
A family member who also had autism left school at the 9th grade. Then immediately got his GED and immediately enrolled in College and has been going part time. Got sick of highschool, was getting bored to death, found it sub-par. The high-school tried to label him as a "drop-out" when in fact he became a college "drop-in".
April 25, 2015 at 11:42 PM
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