SHReed
05-13-2005, 10:59 AM
I hope that someone can answer me FAST! I'm going to request a meeting soon with the Special Ed dept. of our school corporation to discuss Extended School Year for my son this summer. I was originally told that he would not be eligible because 1)he is high functioning and basically he doesn't need it compared to lower-functioning kids and 2)the program is not funded by the state. But, after looking into Special Ed. law for the state of Indiana and contacting a consultant there, I learned that the school corporation cannot deny my son Extended School Year services based on the category of his disability nor on the cost of it. So before I go into another meeting with the school corporation, I want to be prepared. Have any of you gotten Extended School Year services for your children, and if so, what was the extent of the services? They're probably going to ask me what kind of services I'm thinking about, and I just don't know what would be available. Have any of you gotten your school corporations to continue speech and/or occupational therapy during the summer? I would greatly appreciate any input or helpful advice that any of you might have!
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off kilter
05-13-2005, 02:17 PM
I would suggest strongly you do the leg work on a program or services. Best case you go into the meeting with a summer program name or a detail of services. Make sure any one who knows your child ie. his Dr. writes a letter supporting your plan. Do a web search for special needs summer programs in your area. Contact any and all special needs offices in your area for information. The key word to use when requesting summer services is concern over regression of skills.Type in "Indiana summer programs Autism" for your web search. Remember even if your school system will not pay for services. Indiana has a number of summer programs and camps for kids with Autism and many of them offer coverage of fees. Keep us posted.
gin2001
05-13-2005, 07:05 PM
Lexi's school is going to do extended services with her and the other little boy in her class. We are going to get OT, PT, Speech and DTT. They are going to get everything they get during regular shcool. She will only go about 3 days a week. If she had to go all summer without these things we would be starting all over again next year. Good Luck with getting what your son needs this summer.
Gin ;)
Gin ;)
jasiusmom
05-14-2005, 09:05 AM
Our son is HFA and he was invited to the ESY at his early childhood special ed preschool. It is 5 days per wk-half days for 3 weeks--we are in midwest, USA. He was invited, even though he has met his goals because of the concern that there could be a regression of skills if he stopped right now.
Good luck.
Good luck.
CindySue74
05-14-2005, 03:00 PM
From what I know, schools are only required to provide EYS to students who will REGRESS over the summer if they are not in school. My son will get EYS this year...3 days a week for 4 weeks. The idea is not to learn new skills, though, but to maintain skills so that they are not lost.
You need to figure out what the law in your state says about EYS. The "team" will have to agree that your son meets the "requirements" listed for EYS.
You may want to check out wrightslaw.com and search extended year services. They have an extensive site that discusses special education laws.
You need to figure out what the law in your state says about EYS. The "team" will have to agree that your son meets the "requirements" listed for EYS.
You may want to check out wrightslaw.com and search extended year services. They have an extensive site that discusses special education laws.
SHReed
05-16-2005, 11:34 AM
Here's an update on our situation - I've found out that there is going to be a summer school session for kids going into 1st grade and I've signed up my son for it. Even though he is academically ready for 1st grade, it will be good for him to reinforce what he's learned in Kindergarten. But I was still concerned that summer school wouldn't address his main area of difficulty, which is communication and social skills. After the director of Special Ed at the school basically shot me down when I asked her for ongoing speech therapy for my son, I asked his teacher for her help and her opinion. She said that it's quite possible that he could get speech this summer - she spoke to a special ed teacher and scheduled a special meeting this week to discuss it. She said that the regular speech therapist is not available in the summer, but that there may or may not be another speech therapist they can get. It seems to me that if we agree that my son needs speech therapy this summer, it's the school corporation's responsibility to find a therapist - am I correct? At least there's hope now that my son will get what he needs this summer and it's a good thing that I kept pushing the issue. I just had to talk to the right person. (You'd think that the director of Special Ed would be the right person, yet she was the least helpful and tried to get out of providing anything!!) The school corporation is going to get sick of me by the time my son graduates, but they're going to realize very quickly that I will nag them and push them and do whatever it takes to get my son what he needs and is entitled to!
MOM23ANGELS
05-16-2005, 09:24 PM
try to have your son's teacher attend the meeting with you. (and any other therapist or teacher that sees him). the school board will really feel the pressure and probably agree to summer services if the recommendation comes from the teachers. i had my sons teacher, speech therapists, ABA supervisor and occupational therapist at his IEP meeting. I didn't have to say a word and got my son everything and more that we asked for. good luck.
casey2291
05-17-2005, 10:16 PM
Hi,
A couple of other people got it right on the dot. EYS is for children who might regress in their skills over the summertime. Like someone else said, it is not intended to teach children new skills, but maintain what they already have. If your SLP can prove that there was no regression in skills over breaks such as Christmas or spring break, they he may not qualify for speech services. Your SLP should be keeping a data log on your son's progress. Good luck to you.
A couple of other people got it right on the dot. EYS is for children who might regress in their skills over the summertime. Like someone else said, it is not intended to teach children new skills, but maintain what they already have. If your SLP can prove that there was no regression in skills over breaks such as Christmas or spring break, they he may not qualify for speech services. Your SLP should be keeping a data log on your son's progress. Good luck to you.