Joey'smom
02-03-2005, 03:04 PM
Has anyone ever hired and advocate for an IEP meeting? I always wonder if the school district truly has your childs best interest at heart or are they just recommending the minimum that they have to offer ? One family I know hired an advocate and their child received more speech and ot.
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mango2
02-03-2005, 05:26 PM
Definitely get help if you're not an expert on all the Federal and State laws regarding education for developmentally disabled people, but be very careful at first to not turn the IEP into an adversarial situation. Take your time and try to work together with them until they try to screw you.
If you're one of those people who can remember all those rules, safeguards, benchmarks, and acronyms, then you can go it alone. That said, I don't know all that stuff and I went without help. I ended up spending thousands of dollars on lawyers and doctors. These days I have a much easier time, but also lower expectations.
If you're one of those people who can remember all those rules, safeguards, benchmarks, and acronyms, then you can go it alone. That said, I don't know all that stuff and I went without help. I ended up spending thousands of dollars on lawyers and doctors. These days I have a much easier time, but also lower expectations.
findingdx
02-03-2005, 06:11 PM
Check with you special ed department they should have given you parent advocates as well as (paid by the school district) mediation advocates you can use. These are free of charge and i have used mediation, it levels the playing ground- they tell everyone where to sit all the way threw who can talk when. I also use a state advocate progom that is free of charge. What state do you live in?
IBGECKO
02-03-2005, 06:33 PM
If you receive services from your local Regional Center, then your service coordinator should go with you, and it won't cost you a dime. I've always had my service coordinator there, and when I began to experience problems with the school, I brought an attorney, though I feel that this can be overkill. If you feel the school is screwing you, it's best to give them lots of rope to hang themselves. They will be on their best behavior if an attorney is present. An advocate, paralegal or Regional Center representative is more than adequate, and far less expensive, or better, free. You are entitled to tape record the meeting, as long as you inform them in writing that you intend to do so. I highly recommend you do this. That way, should you need to get an attorney involved, you can simple turn over the tapes, and it is like they were there! Good luck.
Joey'smom
02-03-2005, 07:07 PM
So far the school has been great. I just am completely lost on what to expect from them. I tend to just go with what they offer. Joey has made remarkable progress since early childhood preschool. I may use an advocate at his next IEP meeting so I know that Joey is getting the maximum . Thanks for your responses.
Al & Matt's Mom
02-03-2005, 08:19 PM
I live in NJ. We have an organization (COSAC) that offers IEP review. I don't know where you live, but maybe you have something similar.
NineLives
02-03-2005, 09:52 PM
We had an advocate at our last case conference and it was wonderful having someone who really knew the laws. My sister in law works at a school and has sat in on case conferences. The school employees would meet before the parents came in. When parents would request more speech or OT they would always try to get out of it. After the parents would leave they would say if the parent had fought a little harder for it we would have given in but what they don't know won't hurt them. I would say yes definitely get an advocate. There are alot in our area that are willing to do it for free. They've been trained by different agencies on disabilities.
Joey'smom
02-04-2005, 09:54 AM
Ninelives
That is exactly the reason why I want an advocate! Everytime we meet, they leave me in the schools office while they discuss what they will be offerring. I have waited 30 minutes before they call me in.
That is exactly the reason why I want an advocate! Everytime we meet, they leave me in the schools office while they discuss what they will be offerring. I have waited 30 minutes before they call me in.
NineLives
02-04-2005, 06:53 PM
I agree with you skoolsyk. Throughout my sons 12 years there have been school employees also advocating for him. We've found that it's usually the administration and special services directors that have given us the most flack. I will admit though that we go into those meetings on the defensive. I hate it that we feel that way, but the way the system works as a parent we feel very outnumbered when we go into those case conferences and like Joey's Mom we've waited outside while they all get there stories together too.
skools
02-04-2005, 07:04 PM
{REMOVED}I'm happy to see this board so parents can support each other!!
Castsashadow
02-06-2005, 12:04 PM
Personally, I don't recommend an advocate if you have not already had a bad experience. You should tried to be as informed as you can going into the meeting. We have a "parents for children with special needs" group and they can answer any questions we have. The problem with an advocate is it can sometimes lead to an adversarial type of situation where the school system is less likely to be cooperative.
Good luck,
David
Good luck,
David
I Love LJC
02-09-2005, 01:42 AM
I dont understand this.Why even send your special needs child to school if they cant get services. What are they suppose to do just go and sit in class?