Today's the day!

[LianneV]

So today is the day I've been fighting for since January.  This past month a lot has gone on in our house, so to be honest, I had kind of not pushed it, and then they called to schedule it, the one week I was going out of town, of course.  So it is this afternoon.  I am very nervous.  I don't know what to expect.  I had asked for the school nurse to be present as she is much more helpful than the district nurse.  I asked this of the woman in charge of special needs, ieps etc and she said not a problem.  When the school counselor (?) called to schedule the meeting, I brought it up and amazingly she hadn't received that request, so she said she would try to have her be there.
So I don't really know what to expect today.  I need to bring up the fact that despite the fact that they said they would send a letter home about the change of policy, they never have, unless somehow DS is the one kid who didn't get a paper.  I'm mad at myself for not pushing it, but I  was trying to just get to this stage that I didn't want to make them more annoyed about this. 
So my question is, if this is the 504 meeting, does that mean they agree he is eligible, or is this the meeting that determines it?   Do I have to agree with everything they write or can they do whatever they want (which is what the
woman tried to tell me) when can i push the no peanuts in his classroom policy?
i know i have more questions, but I can't think of them right now.

[CMdeux]

This may be a "dual purpose" meeting-- that is often how the process works in practice, Lianne.

That is, there will be a short (hopefully) review of data and your doctor's letter, etc, and then a form will be passed around which establishes eligibility (hopefully) or says why the team finds the child ineligible.

If it's the latter, then walk away from the meeting at that point.  DO NOT DISCUSS ACCOMMODATIONS, and make it clear that you'll appeal the decision.

Remember-- eligibility first, accommodations AFTER.


Accommodations can be anything that you-- and the team-- feel is necessary and workable.  This is going to vary tremendously, and it's the reason why this is an INDIVIDUAL plan.  "Policy" doesn't work for disabled individuals because their individual needs may differ substantially.  Some general tips:

a) if you have trust in another member of the team, listen to what s/he is telling you about daily workability within the school setting-- THEY have the expertise on that side.  That is their role here.  (Doesn't mean that you have to agree-- more like "I hear what you are saying, and I respect your opinion").

b) YOUR role is to be the expert on managing your child's disability in the real world.  NOBODY else on earth is better at that than you.  YOU ARE THAT EXPERT.  Period.  Own that.  If you know that something is inadequate or dangerous-- say so.




Good luck today!!   

[LianneV]

Ok ever get that feeling where things go so well, you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop?  It went pretty much perfectly.  He was deemed eligible without any discussion, this was basically a review of the accommodations.  My main point, the whole reason this started was getting him a peanut free room.  Remember the principal said there's absolutely no way she would put it in a 504 plan?  Well it's in there! Any food that has peanuts/peanut products, or processed in a factory with peanuts will no longer be allowed into his classroom.  So now they can't change that on a whim when they feel like it! They asked me how I felt about other snacks that don't have the warning, and I plan on going into more detail with the nurse and the teacher to establish more detailed rules about that.  They are also going to look into allowing him an extra set of epis in his  classroom and they were open to the idea.  I swear I saw somewhere that either our state (washington) or federal law says that a child deemed 504 plan eligible is allowed to have them in his room.  I couldn't say for sure so I didn't push the point, but at least they were receptive to the idea.  With the exception of washing their hands after lunch, which I realize is quite difficult to accomplish, I'm very happy with how things went. 
As we were going through things they mentioned the responsibility of sending a letter out and the counselor said "I assume that's done" and I jumped in and said um no, not since the policy was reversed nothing has been sent out.  So the principal "made a note" to do it.  I'm kicking myself for not trying to establish a deadline but things were so civil, i didn't want to ruin it.  So I will give it a week, and then if I haven't seen the letter, I'll speak up.
I'm very proud that we got this done, but I still have that feeling, like it was too easy, even though it took 2 months of meetings and pushing them to get it done, but I still worry that maybe they left themselves an "out" of some sort and I don't see it.  I hate being so cynical, but I don't have much faith in the school. 

[CMdeux]

Nope-- not "too easy" just means that you did a GREAT job advocating and they were reasonable people. 


Way to GO!!   

[Mookie86]

Nope-- not "too easy" just means that you did a GREAT job advocating and they were reasonable people. 


Way to GO!!   

  

Clearly you'd already done the legwork of having made your case for what was needed, they'd already thought about it, and there wasn't much left to do at this meeting!

[Mfamom]

Nope-- not "too easy" just means that you did a GREAT job advocating and they were reasonable people. 


Way to GO!!   

 

[notnutty]

Nope-- not "too easy" just means that you did a GREAT job advocating and they were reasonable people. 


Way to GO!!