[Anna207]

Does anyone know what the process is if you suspect that a child needs special education services in Michigan?

If possible, please give an account of an actual child that you know of (of course don't give the real names of child or school) from the time they were referred to the time they actually started working on their goals in the classroom.

As you probably guessed, I have to write a paper. So any questions that you can answer are welcomed even if you don't answer them all. I am interested in actual accounts rather than a general description of what should happen.

Thanks much.


1. Who referred the child?

2. To whom were they referred?

3. Why was the child referred?

4. What did the person they were referred to do next?

5. What happened after that?

6. Did the IEP take place within 30 days of the referral?

7. Were any tests administered? What kind? By whom?

8. Who all was involved in the process? social worker, school psychologist, which teachers, etc.?

9. Did the you/parent attend the IEP? How would you describe the experience or how was it described to you? Who attended the IEP meeting?

10. What was the disability?

11. What goals and placement were decided upon?

[theboysmom]

We live in wayne county. My son was three (now four) when he began speech therapy. Okay here's the story....

Late last summer I began noticing that while I could understand him I was getting a lot of "What did he say?" even from my husband. So I decided to call because I knew that it was worth it even for just peace of mind.

I called early intervention (I simply googled the info) and they were very nice and we scheduled an evaluation for the following week.

The speech therapist tested him twice. She was actually suprised that he did qualify for services but he was right on the cusp of needing speech therapy. During that meeting she asked my husband and I a few questions, filled out a few forms. It was painless,lol.

Right after he qualified I called our ped and told him. He immediately wanted him to have his hearing tested. My son had his hearing tested and was examined by an ENT at U of M around three months after (it takes about that long to book appointments with pediatric specialists unless there's an emergency). All of that turned out fine and his tests showed no problems.

Therapy began in September and he attended twice a week for half an hour each session. He enjoyed it and I did see an improvement in his ability to produce consonant sounds (which was his biggest issue). In his particular case there were no other children. The therapist did say that there would be up to four other children at each session but it just turned out that the time we picked was not chosen by anyone else.

I took him to each session but waited in the hallway (therapy took place in a local school that was now used for special services). At the end of each session she would fill me in on what they did and how his progress was going. I also received progress reports monthly.

Speech therapy runs the course of the school year. His therapist said that his progress was such that private speech therapy wasn't necessary over the summer (which I had asked about and would do in a heartbeat if needed).

The therapist said that she would give me a call right beore Labor Day to set up an appointment to get the ball going again for this school year. He will be evaluated at that time to determine if he still qualifies.

Hope this helps.

[Anna207]

This definitely helps. Thank you so much! I'm glad you had a relatively easy time finding services for your son and that it has worked out so great. Good luck in the future.

[lionsfan4]

I had many children including my own have Special Ed and IEP. We just closed our Foster home which is in Tuscola County although we got kids from Saginaw. A lot of them recieved services. Some came with services like Early On and many had nothing and I had to get them started. In most cases including my own children I as A parent requested testing. I had some problems a few times getting the kids what they needed. I had 45 Foster kids and adopted 3 of those and had 4 children by birth. Our of the 45 from birth to 12 I would say more than half had testings and some IEP. They can get services for Health, delays, speech, all kinds of things. Right now My 15 ywar old recieves Speacial Ed for some classes and my 5 year old had speech. I had so many that to tell every story would take forever. I would say most I requested as a parent to have them tested then the school has so many days to do that. I know that a parent at anytime can ask for a IEP meeting if they feel their child isn't getting the services they need. They can also and I have refuse to sign a IEP if they don't agree. When a child moves from one school to another they hold a transfere IEP to make sure the new school can offer what the other school did. We are moving out of Michigan so I will take my son's IEP and show the new school and we will go from there. Some schools do pull out some inclusion. I have had some problems I will not lie and I would be glad to help you out. What I do know is that the parent must advocate for their child and make sure the child is getting what he needs. With cuts in school budgets they may like to cut corners in this area if they can. Don't let them.

[theboysmom]

Originally Posted by Anna207

This definitely helps. Thank you so much! I'm glad you had a relatively easy time finding services for your son and that it has worked out so great. Good luck in the future.

No prob. Glad I could help and good luck to you on that paper.

[Anna207]

Originally Posted by lionsfan4

What I do know is that the parent must advocate for their child and make sure the child is getting what he needs. With cuts in school budgets they may like to cut corners in this area if they can. Don't let them.

Thank you for this information. I did not know about the transferring for schools. I just recently met a mom who advocates for her son who has some physical disabilities. She learned to be assertive in making sure that his rights are not violated even when people did not know what she was talking about or tried to put her off. I learned much in the short while that we spoke. There is so much to learn and basically I am just getting started. Good luck with your move, family and foster home.

[Anna207]

Originally Posted by theboysmom

No prob. Glad I could help and good luck to you on that paper.

Thanks again! I received an "A."