"They" think that my son needs to be in a special day class in order to learn. Apparently the "IEP team" determined that this was best even though Pedro and I are part of that team and our opinion was not asked for
Our wish is that Liam go to his neighborhood school which is three blocks away and his sister attends. Our school is our community. We have been a part of it for three years now.
Here we are heading to Math Night. We live three blocks away
Liam liked it so much he didn't want to leave.
6/12/15 update
Sounds like our voices have been heard
Here is what I prepared and read in the meeting:
We feel we should elaborate with more detail our hopes and dreams for Liam. SLO is a small community and we love spontaneously bumping into friends at Farmer’s Market, knowing our mail carrier and saying hi to people as we walk to school. This is what it means to be part of a community. We see Liam living independently, working and contributing to his community. We see him walking downtown and seeing people he knows and engaging in conversation.
Being part of the community can’t start too early, and in fact, Liam is already part of many communities. Liam has been going to our neighborhood school since he was a baby. When his sister was in preschool, he would sometimes sit on the floor next to her during the initial circle time. Other kids would put their arms around him. During sister’s kinder and first grade years we walk in to pick her up at the end of the day and half the kids turn around and shout “Liam!” He hugs every teacher his sister has introduced him to. When I gave an art lesson in her class, he followed me around also pointing to the kids art work and making his own “comments”. When one of his first grade buddies said “Hola” to him, gave a hug and walked away, Liam called after “Como estas?” Spontaneous speech in two languages! The first grade class made get well banners when he was in the hospital. Inclusion starts from the beginning.
We see the school as being supportive of the strong education Liam receives at home. Home is an environment ripe with learning and rich in language and has been since day one. Especially since we have essentially homeschooled Liam. He has had no therapies or services for almost a year, and he has gone from 30 words to maybe 200 or more, in two languages- with couplets abounding and spontaneous phrases emerging. We aren’t asking the schools to be the primary teachers of our son, but to be one piece of a community of educational support which includes us as parents. We are looking to give Liam a preschool experience in the community that already embraces him. It takes a village!
As the evaluations saw Liam as being so far behind developmentally, it was a wake up call to us as parents to rededicate to his home program which we had been slack on for many months. A renewed dedication to exercise and self care is one of our many steps to being even more dedicated and enthusiastic parents. There’s some straight up honesty for you! In the last 2 weeks Liam has learned all his colors, much of the alphabet and is working hard at sequential processing activities.
Liam loves Pacheco. He loves the teachers and many of the students. He loves walking to school and being part of the group. He deserves the opportunity to go to his community school and give it his best shot. Can’t we find a way to give him this opportunity?
Also:
Goals for Liam:
Liam will flourish in an environment that supports his understanding and expression in two languages. Liam will benefit from teachers who understand his language/cultural background.
To be ready for a 90/10 Language model at Pacheco, Liam needs more exposure to Spanish in a classroom setting.
Liam will maximize his full potential by learning and playing with typically developing peers, fully included in a general education preschool with support.
Because of his delays, Liam will benefit from an instructional aide part time to support him in a fully inclusive classroom. Behavior is not an issue, but toileting, fine motor and perhaps transitioning need support and attention.
Liam needs help to continue to improve articulation and expand his utterances to 3-4 word sentences. He could benefit from techniques using straws, whistles and horns to improve facial muscle tone. Liam learns well with 1:1 speech therapy.
Processing is the key to much of Liam’s development. With individual support and focus on increasing Liam’s visual and auditory processing, his potential will grow by leaps and bounds.
Also:
I understand we have a lot to talk about today. I’d like to get down to the nitty gritty if we may.
Liam will be attending Pacheco preschool in the Fall. He could benefit from- and he is entitled to- some support and that is why we are here today. We would like to continue working on his goals and making modifications.
1.We would like to take him for speech therapy 2-3 times a week. If there is a law or policy that prohibits him from receiving those services at his school we will take him to PEEP. We have transportation covered, even though he qualifies for it on his IEP. 2.We think the right Aide could be very beneficial to him in the classroom. Special Education law states clearly that he has the right to try inclusion with support.
I understand that you are offering what is typically available for a child in this area with a similar diagnosis. However, you are failing to offer a full range of options, including full integration in his community school with typically developing peers, which is the only placement that meets the definition of LRE as intended by State and Federal laws, best practices and his right to be educated in the same school that he would attend if he were not disabled.
We are not ignorant of his delays, but we will not consider a SDC until he has been given the chance to attend his community school and we can evaluate his progress. The proportion of disabled to non disabled children in a class should more accurately reflect the community, which is why the “reverse inclusion” you mention does not seem sufficient.
You must be familiar with the Holland Case in which it was decided by the court that a disabled student could be educated in a regular classroom “if the student can receive a satisfactory education there, even if it is not the best academic setting for the child”
Liam will benefit socially from a typical preschool. He will not be disruptive to the learning of other students. It will not cost the District more. and he WILL meet some of his goals successfully there.
The US Department of Education’s Draft Policy Statement of Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs states:
(page 3) Defining Inclusion
That is from the Dept of education. If you want me to send you all the other research that supports Inclusion I am happy to do so.
Under LRE requirements, the IDEA presumes that the first placement option considered for each child with a disability is the regular classroom the child would attend if he did not have a disability.
Diane in your emails you mentioned all the ways in which the IEP Team offered or determined things. It felt very exclusionary. Absolutely no one in this room knows Liam like we do. Correct me if I am wrong, but the tone indicated that your offer was all or nothing.
Liam’s disability is not severe. The first page of his IEP indicates that he cannot function well in a preschool with peers. This is not accurate. Let me repeat that we are not denying that he has delays. But he has A LOT of potential and many of his goals can be met in a regular classroom. They are skills that most beginning preschoolers are trying to acquire.
Can we work together on this?
Also:
Liam has a sense of humor which shows itself in both English and Spanish.
He plays for long periods of times with balls and dolls with a lot of focus. He will play with his sister or independently beside her.
He loves books, the library and his bedtime story routine. He will “read” favorite books independently or bring a book and ask for it to be read.
He shows pre-writing skills, recognizing his name, several different letters, and making marks on a page as he says out loud the letters of his name. Liam has learned to read some high interest words.
He uses spontaneous speech in courteous ways, expressing “Thank you” for something or saying “bless you” after someone sneezes, without prompts. He mentions the the kids from preschool and makes attempts to tell us about his day.
He kisses his sister when she cries.
He is curious and attentive. Loves playing ball, dancing, jumping and hanging from a bar. At his soccer class with typical peers one mom commented he was the best in the class!
At the same time, he has some needs. Liam needs help and practice with annunciation, and expanding his phrases to 3 and 4 words. He has an emerging strong will and will occasionally walk away and not stop when asked. His processing level is of utmost concern and as it improves, so will all areas of his development. No test can measure his potential.
He has UNLIMITED POTENTIAL and he is ready to take on the world!
And finally:
What do we want Liam to learn?
To be curious and to try new things
To be excited to go to school every day.
To play with other kids.
To communicate in a way that he is understood.
To continue to differentiate between the two languages he knows.
To understand and participate in routines.
To go potty independently
To follow directions well without too many prompts, and to increase amount of directions/steps he can understand and follow through on.
To steadily improve fine motor skills.
What do we want teachers/other professionals to know:
To have high expectations
To see him as Liam, and not as any earlier known ideas about Down syndrome.
To know that he can understand more than he can communicate
He needs time to respond when asked a question.
He is learning and processing two languages- there is a lot of activity going on in his head! This is a good thing.
He loves to learn.
He has a bright and illimitable future ahead of him- we can all help make his dreams come through.
It starts now.
That was a lot!
It's funny. I worked hard to get him there. Seems so obvious and simple, but I wanted him to go to our neighborhood school where his sister is. Duh. But he happens to have some delays because of that pesky extra chromosome and the "professionals" were required to recommend a Special Day Class at another school because the teacher has special training and, as one pointed out to me, slowly, with every word pronounced: "But Liam has delays across. All. Developmental. Areas."
He started the year watching other kids a lot or playing next to them. Now he is playing with them. Lots more interaction. And, he has a best friend! He is a bit obsessive, yes, but he made the friend all on his own. The kid is not the younger sibling of one of Lupe's friends. He's Liam's friend. And he waits for him in the mornings, won't go to the bathroom to wash his hands, or to the table to write his name until his amigo has arrived. 
Potty training...well, it's hit or miss. 
