re: education rant

Quoting FroggysMommy:" IEPs are a safeguard too... it is there to legally protect the child. If a child has a reason for an ... [snip!] ... legal drama on her ass. It is a safeguard for the child, again, it protects their educational rights. IEPs are NOT a bad thing."

Exactly!

Right now we're in the middle of transition out of Early Intervention for my daughter, so we're dealing with the school district Evals. Most likely she won't need an IEP (she's come a LONG way!), but it makes me aware of these things.

If she hadn't overcome a lot of sensory things, she'd like have needed one. The reasons? Lights and sounds got to be WAY too much for her and fast. They overstimulated her. She might have needed the ability to leave a classroom if overwhelmed. She might have needed headphones to drown out noise some of the time.

An IEP means the child needs something special, and it ensures they get it. That isn't a bad thing. . .

Quoting Sofia's Mummy♥:" Can someone explain to me what IEPs are? The British education system is totally different (but with ... [snip!] ... the kid itself but the suitability of the child with the only education system widely offered to them.. if that makes sense."

IEP=Individual Education Plan.

It's a "plan" that is a signed document that sets out special things for a kid. If they have autism is could include needed a helper during class, or any other special things a child needs. The also allow kids to be more mainstreamed who might otherwise be stuck in a special needs class all the time.

Quoting she nan igans:" Exactly! Right now we're in the middle of transition out of Early Intervention for my daughter, so ... [snip!] ... some of the time. An IEP means the child needs something special, and it ensures they get it. That isn't a bad thing. . ."

And without an IEP, that child would have to sit in class, not be able to leave, not have headphones, etc....

And then the child can fail. Then people ask "Why aren't the schools doing anything?" Well, um, they are TRYING but people are so against IEPs in the name of "labeling" children they don't understand it's a safeguard and a legal document to protect your child.

Quoting FroggysMommy:" IEPs are a safeguard too... it is there to legally protect the child. If a child has a reason for an ... [snip!] ... legal drama on her ass. It is a safeguard for the child, again, it protects their educational rights. IEPs are NOT a bad thing."

ok, I can see that and as a parent I would want my kid to have the extra protection. But forget about the IEP for a minute. My main issue is with expecting children to be the same and if they're not there's something "wrong" with them. I think we should just let kids be. An example of this would be, as a kid during recess I would take a book under a tree to read. No one said anything, I was just an introvert who liked to be alone. My son would rather be alone than with other kids. He will play with them for a bit but then grab a book and read it. It has been suggested that he is autistic on that alone. Just because he likes to be alone, it's just his personality. There' nothing wrong with him and he shouldn't be made to feel bad about it or pressured to play with the kids if he doesn't want to

Quoting FroggysMommy:" And without an IEP, that child would have to sit in class, not be able to leave, not have headphones, ... [snip!] ... IEPs in the name of "labeling" children they don't understand it's a safeguard and a legal document to protect your child."

YES!

I'd rather my daughter have the tools to succeed then allow her to fail all in the name of avoiding "labeling."

People were on my ass about early intervention. I am SO thankful we got ehr into that program. I feel like it's as stupid as it would be to have a child who needs crutches, and not give them to him because you don't want him to be "labeled" by his disability.

What we need to do is promote self worth no matter what a kid's label. My daughter was evaluated for autism a few times, but we've always taught her that even if she did have autism, she was still special and wonderful. It just meant she saw the world differently.

If she needed things for sensory, then it would again, be that she needed something other kids didn't. It didn't make her less. I'd rather work at teaching her that acceptance then allow her to fail no matter how hard she tries because of things she can't help. THAT is what kills confidence.

Quoting she nan igans:" IEP=Individual Education Plan. It's a "plan" that is a signed document that sets out special things ... [snip!] ... a child needs. The also allow kids to be more mainstreamed who might otherwise be stuck in a special needs class all the time."

thank you! That definitely sounds like a good idea for those who need protecting.

Quoting summerbabyX2:" ok, I can see that and as a parent I would want my kid to have the extra protection. But forget about ... [snip!] ... nothing wrong with him and he shouldn't be made to feel bad about it or pressured to play with the kids if he doesn't want to"

Shouldn't be made to "feel bad?" This is the problem. it's not labels, it's people VIEW of labels. Right there you would have been the one to make him feel bad, not the label. YOU imply that being autistic is bad.

And just because someone suggested it is no where close to the actual Evaluation process. Trust me, I've been through them, haha. People who think it's easy to get a diagnosis, it's not true. Evals take a TON of time with lots and lots of different people. So just because someone suggested it doesn't mean at all that he'd be evaluated, found to have an issue, and then given an IEP.

The thing is that you can't catch kids who need help at all without guidelines. Yes, some kids don't talk until they are older. However,, without SOME guideline you have no way to find kids who really do need help. That is why it's a guideline. To catch kids who aren't meeting it and see if they need something to help them succeed.

The label isn't the issue, it's how people VIEW that label. Autism isn't bad. It doesn't make kids less or bad, and they won't FEEL that way unless we MAKE them feel that way.

Quoting she nan igans:" Shouldn't be made to "feel bad?" This is the problem. it's not labels, it's people VIEW of labels. Right ... [snip!] ... that label. Autism isn't bad. It doesn't make kids less or bad, and they won't FEEL that way unless we MAKE them feel that way."

OMG, I know Autism isn't bad! but here's the thing. education is still a business, another of our teacher friends does the evals for speech/developmental issue for our local IU and she was told never, ever say the kid doesn't need early intervention. Why? they make money off of it. sick, sad truth of it all. let's not forget many times the government and/or health insurance is involved in these types of things...

I used to work in an inpatient mental health hospital with kids and saw how the "labels"/ diagnosis affected them. Based on how THEY felt about it, not just what they were told about it. They knew they were different and they didn't like it, it made them feel less than, made some of them try to kill themselves. It's sad but kids carry these things with them forever, it might seem like a small thing to us but it's so big to them. As a parent you can tell them over and over how wonderful they are but our society, their peers, everyone else will be saying "you're different"

Quoting summerbabyX2:" OMG, I know Autism isn't bad! but here's the thing. education is still a business, another of our teacher ... [snip!] ... tell them over and over how wonderful they are but our society, their peers, everyone else will be saying "you're different""

You're seeing this all from the outside.

Yes, they do evals for every kid that wants one. That doesn't mean every kid gets EI. Why? Because the person who decides isn't the one making money. It's the infant service coordinator (at least here). They HIRE a company to then do the early intervention. Sure, that business wants hours, but they don't make the choice. They get told how many hours and what to work on. Again, it's not a friend of mine, I've been through this all. I've done the evals. I've been going through this process for over a year with my daughter. They reduce the hours when the child makes progress and doesn't need them anymore. There are not an unlimited amount of hours and funds for these programs, and the parents pay nothing, so for the regional centers, it's not a "business" in order to bring in profit and label more kids.

I think it's VERY easy to sit on the outside and talk about the damage of labels. It's very different when you're on the inside, your child is failing, and you don't know how to help them. These "labels" are not just labels. They are explanations. They are directions on how to help the child, and what they child might need. It's people who are narrow minded and put down these "labels" that are the problem.

My child has SPD. Other people might say "that's a label! They'll feel different! Why say that!" Guess what? She *IS* different. She isn't unaware of this fact. She can see very clearly she doesn't act like other kids her age. The "label" is a part of who she is, and a way for us to help her achieve what she wants to achieve in her life. *shrugs*

Quoting she nan igans:" You're seeing this all from the outside. Yes, they do evals for every kid that wants one. That doesn't ... [snip!] ... age. The "label" is a part of who she is, and a way for us to help her achieve what she wants to achieve in her life. *shrugs*"

but I'm on the inside too. My DD is as I call her "high needs" but has many issues that could get her a diagnosis. Everything about her is different, she didn't let me put her down for 18 months, she freaks out like you wouldn't believe. But we choose to find a way to work with her. I know she needs my help controlling her emotions and it's my job to help her so I do my best and we figure it out. She's made so much progress this past year just from me listening to her telling me what she needs. Instead of her pedi telling me to let her CIO of "just put her down" I let her guide me in to what she needed and now at almost 2 1/2 she's a very happy indepdent little girl who still needs some help sometimes with her emotions. If there ever comes a time that she needs help I can't give her I will move mountains to make sure she has it.
Again, the issue I have is that from the get go we expect kids to develop the same and meet educational goals at the same time. And to me that's not a realistic goal. My DD hit some goals later than she should have because of her issues but was more advanced in other areas, all kids are different