A School's Stupidity about the IDEA

deafbajagal

deafbajagal

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I have a daughter who has unilateral mixed hearing loss (severe-profound), and last year she was placed in the pre-k program for language delay issues.
When her recent audiogram showed the hearing loss, I made a copy of it for the school and made a request for a full evaluation to be done. This was in May of 2011. Nothing was done. In August of 2011, I made another request. Nothing. I sent a lovely email message to the principal, who promptly replied that the assistant principal and the teacher has met a few times and decided on some accommodations for my daughter. He said that she is making progress thus she does not need the evaluation. The assistant principal emailed me the next day and said she would schedule a meeting soon to set up a 504 plan.

What are some things very WRONG with this picture? Who can tell me the ways the school is breaking the law. :shock:
 
No one notified you of any changes in your daughter academic schedule. No one notified you of anything until after your second request and after it was implemented. You were never given an opportunity to have you input added to the mix. They are working on their own agenda and not in the best interests of your child.
 
Deafbaja, see if there's any research out there on the impact of unilateral hearing loss. They ALSO need to be concerned b/c language delays can mean a learning disabilty......I know that unilateral loss can and does sometimes translate into language delays......have you tried seeing if the ARC, Easter Seals, or United Cerebal Palsy could help you?
What about a hearing aid?
I think the school thinks you're one of THOSE parents....you know the ones who make a huge deal out of tiny little things so their Pwesuis Smashlie can get an edge into Harvard.
What about suggesting a soundfield system? A few years ago they were pushing them for hearing classrooms...there was a thing in the NY Times about that a few years ago. (and reduces speaking strain for the teacher) Maybe present her as a real HOH kid, including one with a speech delay....both are educationally significent and should be addressed. Hey, maybe you could point out that if she gets proper accomondations/services she would do MUCH better educationally (means higher test scores for them) instead of falling through the cracks....
Also, is there a regional mainstream dhh program............OOOOOOOOO........Maybe ask the audi at your deaf school if she could come in and inform the team that YES, unilateral loss impacts learning etc...... Most unilateral HOH kids respond well to the typical HOH style interventions that a mainstream school offers...it's just a matter of putting the accomodnations adn interventions into place.
 
They are pushing intervention for unilateral HOH kids now. I can't even imagine......I remember when I was little my parents were told "Oh Deafdyke's "not really deaf!" in an IEP meeting. But the thing is.....most unilateral kids(except for severe/highly significent developmental kids) respond very well to traditional HOH mainstream accomondations.
 
and for the lurkers and pro mainstreamers.....situtions like these are exactly why dhh programs and schools still exist after almost 40 years of mainstreaming being the norm. Mainstream schools are just REALLY out of touch, and will hassle and scream about providing decent or any accomondations to kids with disabilties.
 
deafdyke said:
and for the lurkers and pro mainstreamers.....situtions like these are exactly why dhh programs and schools still exist after almost 40 years of mainstreaming being the norm. Mainstream schools are just REALLY out of touch, and will hassle and scream about providing decent or any accomondations to kids with disabilties.
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maybe, but that's why mainstream needs more work at not abandon.

Fuzzy
 
deafbajagal said:
I have a daughter who has unilateral mixed hearing loss (severe-profound), and last year she was placed in the pre-k program for language delay issues.
When her recent audiogram showed the hearing loss, I made a copy of it for the school and made a request for a full evaluation to be done. This was in May of 2011. Nothing was done. In August of 2011, I made another request. Nothing. I sent a lovely email message to the principal, who promptly replied that the assistant principal and the teacher has met a few times and decided on some accommodations for my daughter. He said that she is making progress thus she does not need the evaluation. The assistant principal emailed me the next day and said she would schedule a meeting soon to set up a 504 plan.

What are some things very WRONG with this picture? Who can tell me the ways the school is breaking the law. :shock:
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1. Parents have the right to request evaluation
2. Deafness/Hearing Impairment is one of the 13 categories covered under IDEA and, therefore, your child should have an IEP, not a 504 if her hearing loss affects her educational performance.
 
Audiofuzzy said:
maybe, but that's why mainstream needs more work at not abandon.

Fuzzy
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Fuzzy the trouble with reforming the mainstream is that except for mild/high incidence disabilties, it's very very difficult to train the teachers so they are skilled in how to teach dhh or blind low vision or whatever LI disabilty.
By this I mean mainstream solotaire placement, not a regional dhh program or a Sight Saving Classroom. Mainstream= falling through the cracks...and it's too hard and not cost effective for all teachers to be expert in a low incidence disabilty. We've been mainstreaming regularly for forty years....it hasn't produced a lot of impressive results. We need to reform the system...like encourage placement at special schools FIRST and then mainstreaming. The reason they thought that mainstreaming was going to produce all these amazing results is b/c back when going to a special school was the norm, they'd had the advantage of intense training...they did awesome in the mainstream. But later generations didn't have that.
 
I agree it is difficult,

but not so long ago people thought deaf and hearing shouldn't mix, no?


If we will continue to think this way: "it is difficult",

nothing EVER will change.

Fuzzy
 
What's the content diff between a 504 and an IEP?
 
Audiofuzzy said:
I agree it is difficult,

but not so long ago people thought deaf and hearing shouldn't mix, no?


If we will continue to think this way: "it is difficult",

nothing EVER will change.

Fuzzy
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Well I don't think that dhh kids should be banned from public schools as solotaires. But I do think that the gross majority of dhh kids should either attend a regional day program or attend a school for the deaf with mainstreaming option available. You're missing that we have already done this for decades, and the only thing that's happend is that kids have fallen through the cracks b/c all they get are minimal accomondations or lumped in with special ed kids or the type of kids who are in sped b/c it's a dumping ground.
 
First of all you should made prints of all the emails you have gotten so far to keep for your record. And made copies of the emails that you send to the school too. You may need them if you have case against the school. If you send any important letters through the post office, you should made a copy and send it to yourself and keep it a safe place and Do NOT open it, this is a legal document as the stamp been marked by the government. Can you afford to have your your child tested to see if she is making progress like the school said? Have the school showed you any paper or tests to show you daughter is doing better? You should demand to the school to show you how your daughter is going better.
 
Frisky Feline said:
ditto.

I d like to know whats difference beween a 504 and an iep.
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A 504 plan is based on section 504 than the ADA.

An IEP is based on the IDEA.

There are some disabilities that are not covered under IDEA that are covered under 504. Also, IEPs are used for special education type accommodations, whereas 504 is basically used to "level the playing field."

(At least, that's how I understand it.)
 
deafdyke said:
Well I don't think that dhh kids should be banned from public schools as solotaires. But I do think that the gross majority of dhh kids should either attend a regional day program or attend a school for the deaf with mainstreaming option available. You're missing that we have already done this for decades, and the only thing that's happend is that kids have fallen through the cracks b/c all they get are minimal accomondations or lumped in with special ed kids or the type of kids who are in sped b/c it's a dumping ground.
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but that's what I am talking about - the mix is done, but now it's time to improve "the mixing" - meaning the government should be made more aware
of the difficulties the dhh student have at mainstream schools,
and address that.

Fuzzy
 
purplewowies said:
A 504 plan is based on section 504 than the ADA.

An IEP is based on the IDEA.

There are some disabilities that are not covered under IDEA that are covered under 504. Also, IEPs are used for special education type accommodations, whereas 504 is basically used to "level the playing field."

(At least, that's how I understand it.)
Click to expand...

mm i see. i will google it up in my kids school. thanks!
 
Audiofuzzy said:
but that's what I am talking about - the mix is done, but now it's time to improve "the mixing" - meaning the government should be made more aware
of the difficulties the dhh student have at mainstream schools,
and address that.

Fuzzy
Click to expand...

Yes, but how? The simple fact of the matter is that while there are some kids who THRIVE with minimal accomondations, very few mainstream schools can really provide the resources etc. Most of the "help" is just tokenism...and the thing is, with limited resources it is hard to spread the resources around equalitbly (sp?) Remember dhh is low incidence. It's a good theroy, but it's exactly like inclusion...it SOUNDS good but never works out well in practice.
 
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