Someone mentioned to us that No Child Left Behind included provisions for children with challenges to receive services thru the public school system between the ages of 3-5. That was not completely a true statement. The “catch” was since he was so young and didn’t have a diagnosis there wasn’t a box the school district could check – and they needed to see the disability. We still insisted on going through the process of having the school evaluate him in early 2009 – a year and a half before he would enter Kindergarten. We wanted the school to be prepared for him and for him to be able to transition into a school. After numerous phones calls and frustrating statements, they did evaluate him. He did not qualify (DNQ). Really? Remember I said there was not a box the school district could check for Caleb, so they couldn’t provide services.
One year later in early 2010 (four months after BK accepted a job outside the home and Caleb went back to child care – and was released, again), we started the process with the school district again. We didn’t want to wait until the beginning of Kindergarten and felt so strongly that they needed to be prepared for his arrival and I knew it would take months for the process. In fact, we thought we would help the school by having Caleb independently evaluated at our expense. He was evaluated by a neuro-psychologist at the Texas Child Study Center. Turns out he has even more challenges than we thought. His fine motor skills are impaired and he has hardly any ability to stay focused. She knows he can learn, the hard part will be determining the best way to teach him so that he retains it. I was hoping the school would provide services, but at the very least be prepared for his arrival. So we meet again and I share the same concerns with them. The hardest thing is to tell someone that your child could hurt other students. He is very strong and can work every appendage on his body and he can cause some serious pain.
Because he was released from his second child care center and was attending a child care center for children with special needs and struggling there, a wonderful LSSP convinced the school to evaluate him. We copied all the results of all the tests and evaluations, offered releases so she could talk to anyone and everyone. She was great and thorough. At the ARD meeting where they finally decided to have him attend a Pre-K/Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities, the LSSP states, “the only thing constant about Caleb is his inconsistency.” How true! They decided he would attend Pre-K/PPCD for the last six weeks of school so they could observe him.
Between the time we started the evaluation process and him actually attending Pre-K he had a change in medications. He had just started a new med right as he started Pre-K and it worked beautifully for five weeks. It worked so well, that the school determined that he did not require services. I was 100% certain that he did require services and was not going to risk him going to his home campus without special services and being labeled a behavior problem from day one. He is not a behavioral problem – he has behavior issues. There is a difference!
I am usually a tolerant, patient person – go with the flow and believe that people are doing the best they can. Sadly, in this situation, I am not able to let decisions take their time – otherwise most of the school year would be over. My husband calls me the Momma Bear. I have learned that I cannot wait for someone else to determine if my child has special needs or requires special services. I have to encourage them and then make sure they provide those services. I recognize there are timeframes that school districts can work in within the law. My personal feeling is that the law ensures schools don’t drop the ball, but as a parent I want my child addressed NOW! And I make no apologies for that – and neither should you. In fact, we will have to go outside our comfort zones on behalf of our children numerous times. And for us, it began at age 3 ½ and I now understand that I will constantly have to advocate for him.
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