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I am wondering whether hiring a lawyer would make sense, or if there are enough resources out there for me to advocate for my daughter.
Our daughter is just over 3 years old. She is our oldest so we saw the differences in her but thought she'd grow out of them. She did not and recently we contacted the Smithtown Central School District and requested an evaluation. Diagnosis is autism spectrum disorder. She scored very low on all tests. Wife and I are disappointed as it seemed like she is being offered the minimum level of services. 2 1/2 hour (half day) 12:1:2 special education preschool with two 30 min occupational therapy and two 30 minute speech therapy sessions per week at school.
We were looking for help in the home. SEIT, occupational therapy and speech therapy. We have read on these forums that Smithtown can be tough. Can we call another meeting to put forward our requests? Would a letter from a pediatrician help? Any advice is appreciated. We're not necessarily opposed to a special ed preschool with therapy. We plan on going to see some of the schools asap, but we don't want the district to limit our options.
We have a second daughter showing signs of autism now at the age of 1. Fortunately we're more aware this time around and we have an EI meeting scheduled for next week. Learned a hard lesson the first time around.
Under the law your child has to be in the least restrictive education environment. I suppose you could argue that the home fits that category. SPED budgets are stretched thin all over so expect to jump through hoops.
I do believe that 2xweek for speech and O/T is pretty much the max for your child's age. Thirty minutes of one-to-one is probably the limit for a child to stay focused on the activities at the age of 3. The SPED classes will reinforce what is covered with the specialists. They are supposed to work as a team. You would get a SEIT if your child was in a regular preschool, but not if she is placed in a special ed. preschool. Is she going to attend a special ed preschool 5 days a week? You might be able to extend the hours, if not for 5 days a week, then maybe 3. I don't know the severity of your child's situation, but for a moderate issue, the services do not seem out of line. You can try it and if you don't see much improvement, you can request another CSPE meeting during the year. Look into ABA. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) | What is Autism?/Treatment | Autism Speaks
Edited to add, If you plan on enrolling her during the current school year, be prepared to be on a waiting list for a special ed preschool. There is a lot more demand than openings. If that is the case, then you can ask that they provide a SEIT until there is a vacancy at one of the schools. If you think your daughter is up to it, she might be able to attend a regular preschool with a SEIT accompanying her until there is an opening and the speech and O/T sessions may be held at home or at the preschool. Good speech therapists and O/Ts with high reputations get very busy. Sometimes, it's not easy for them to coordinate the 2 different therapy sessions with the preschool schedule. It takes a lot of juggling and just because the district agrees to these therapies doesn't mean there will be a waiting period to start or a conflict with everyone's schedule. Make sure you make arrangements with the CSPE committe about the summer now and put your application in now for summer programs. The problem, especially with children with ASD is that all these different people in their lives, changing environments during the day and on different days causes an inconsistency and over stimulation that confuses and frightens them until they get used to it. Be patient.
As per the evaluators and educators on the committee our daughter shouldn't be in a regular preschool (as a SEIT was not an option provided). Her test scores varied but we're pretty much all very low in the 1st to 4th percentile. As she is good at memorizing and reciting she scored average for vocabulary, though her speech is typically recitation or jargon. Repeating but not understanding. She typically can't be reasoned with and she can't answer simple questions like where did you go today or what are your favorite foods (unless we teach her an answer). She can run and climb, but she has weak hands so she is far behind in handling utensils and coloring, etc. she is very playful and apparently happy girl. She is very verbal though as I mentioned above what she says is sometimes awkward and out of place. She isnt usually interested in playing with other kids or doesn't understand how to when it isn't a structured activity she is used to.
Coney you touched on a lot of our worries... There are so many moving parts here. They have suggested some preschools but it seems like some have no space. I fear a reason we may have been told 2 1/2 hours a day is because there aren't many full day slots available in our area. If the school district wants to leave responsibility for helping special needs kids to private schools which do not provide adequate open seats then it stands to reason that they should provide at home SEIT or regular preschool SEIT services until full days open up. In your experience is SEIT until a full day opening in a preferred preschool program opens a reasonable request that the CPSE should honor?
The recommendation is 2 1/2 hours a day for 5 days a week. I assume that if everything is provided at the special Ed preschool that we have to use their occupational therapist and speech therapist without a choice.
Are lawyers at this point pretty much a waste and needed only if going to a hearing, or would the presence of one compel the district to offer more help?
Thanks for the advice on Summer. We're living in the moment now and we weren't thinking much at all about next year, but we will now.
They also did not think ABA would be called for. From what I described may her disorder not require or benefit much from this. I have read a lot about it but still don't understand how it works.
We plan on paying for additional therapy in our home regardless. Speech and occupationsl therapy. ABA if needed will become cheaper for us in 2015 as our health plan will finally cover it.
From your description of your child, it does sound like a regular preschool with support from a SEIT may not, at this point, be an appropriate setting. The SEIT can only provide some support for the child but she would have to be able to be able function independently well enough to be a participant in the class. The full day slots at the special ed preschools do get taken very quickly. It is not too early NOW to start making inquiries for Fall 2015 and finding out about deadlines. The process is just very slow and I wonder if it is worth it to start a legal battle for this year because by the time it gets rectified, at least half, if not more of the school year will be over and hopefully, you'll be able to get increased services for the summer and the following school year without the need for a lawyer. It will take time for your daughter to get acclimated to all of these new changes. Will she be taking the bus to the half day program (another learning experience) or will you be driving her?
I am sure the information that Elke sent you will be informative. She has more knowledge about the services in Suffolk than I do. I undersand your concern and worry. I will assure you that these services and therapies do make a huge difference with young children. One advantage of having the therapy, especially the occupational therapy,at the special ed preschool as opposed to at your home is that they will have specialize equipment there that you will not have at thome. Some O/Ts, depending on the issues will incorporate some gross motor exercises in the O/T because there is supposed to be some relationships between certain small motor and gross motor skills and coordination. Having the special gym equipment found at special ed preschools can be helpful.
I am wondering whether hiring a lawyer would make sense, or if there are enough resources out there for me to advocate for my daughter.
Our daughter is just over 3 years old. She is our oldest so we saw the differences in her but thought she'd grow out of them. She did not and recently we contacted the Smithtown Central School District and requested an evaluation. Diagnosis is autism spectrum disorder. She scored very low on all tests. Wife and I are disappointed as it seemed like she is being offered the minimum level of services. 2 1/2 hour (half day) 12:1:2 special education preschool with two 30 min occupational therapy and two 30 minute speech therapy sessions per week at school.
We were looking for help in the home. SEIT, occupational therapy and speech therapy. We have read on these forums that Smithtown can be tough. Can we call another meeting to put forward our requests? Would a letter from a pediatrician help? Any advice is appreciated. We're not necessarily opposed to a special ed preschool with therapy. We plan on going to see some of the schools asap, but we don't want the district to limit our options.
We have a second daughter showing signs of autism now at the age of 1. Fortunately we're more aware this time around and we have an EI meeting scheduled for next week. Learned a hard lesson the first time around.
At 3 you can also go through the county dept of health to try and circumvent some of the "complexity" of going thru the SD. The same steps happen jsut that the county moves a little better (unbelievable, yes).
You are allowed a 2nd evaluation by an evaluator of YOUR choice, as long as they are on the approved list from the county. Get the 2nd eval and fight for your kid.
Hello,
I work as a SEIT and ABA/EI therapist in the city and live on LI. The SEIT services are not necessary ABA. Most CPSE agencies do not require SEIT's to do ABA. The EI program is under of the Department of Health (it is better funded than the CPSE program which has had cuts). EI is for children under age 3. Yes, I have heard that the special ed preschools fill up quickly and there is a lack of spots. A SEIT can come to your home or private daycare or preschool (5 days a week, public school calendar less than 5 hours a day -usually around 2 hours a day). A child in CPSE can receive speech therapy more than 2 a week. (My son was approved for 4 45min sessions a week. note - You have to push for it. ) He scored -1% for articulation and near average for receptive language. Finding a good therapist, who can do all the hours might be a problem. I worked with a student in Queens who went to a special ed preschool full day and had SEIT after school. The parents pushed for it. Bus service in provided for CPSE preschools (so you do not need to drive your child). There might be a special ed preschool further from your house which has an opening. Some children are on the school bus a very long time, close to an hour. In NY the special ed preschools are private state funded schools. In some states special ed preschool is part of the public school district - that seems to work better. For free advice about special education laws call NY Special Education Quality Assurance in Hauppage 631-952-3352 . They will connect you to your regional representative (all for free and they are very helpful to parents). Also insurance is starting to pay for ABA services.
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