Individual Education Plan (ARD) Meeting...

Total pain in the rear.

About two weeks ago in Jonathan and Daniel's binder I got a note saying that there would not be school on the day of September 28th. I asked both teachers if it were even necessary to have these as we were either going to have a IEP or (ARD) meeting to discuss their progress and start getting them each the specific help they need. They said we  would have to come to that too.
 Since we had started the process of applying to the school for services about 2 or 3 weeks after we moved here...It took forever for the necessary folks to come back and do all their necessary assessments etc. 3 weeks until school started and we were just having the first meeting to discuss that we were going to keep everything in place until we had him evaluated by the staff at school.  Meanwhile I've discovered something completely disturbing yet at the same time really pathetic.
While we were trying to get Jonathan and Daniel enrolled (and sadly this was more prominent with Jonathan)
I kept having these conversations with people that were speaking like they had a split personality. It was totally just both idiotic and political at the same time. There were good reasons for that although they didn't want to acknowledge that they have to follow the law.  (so what I heard was: the law first and then their interpretation of it and what they wanted to do.)
Most of them did their evaluations and sent us copies of what they wrote. I say most in a broad term. a couple of the therapists either came on just as right before the meeting OR just didn't bother to write anything down as in the physical therapist...(who I will explain later)
In the district we now live in it was easier and way much faster to take Daniel in...and get him tested.  We were waiting for a while for things to begin moving on his process, but happily once it started it went so fast.  We had our meeting completed by week 3 of school and he started the next Monday.
Jonathan we had started him in the process at the same time and it took several extra weeks to get everyone to the meeting late last week.

The teacher we've had , so far has been a champion for Jonathan and has gone to bat for Jonathan several times already. She went to the principal several  times in regards to the bully that he was encountering on the bus. The bully was dealt with after we visited his school the second time. She has dealt with our notes with our questions, and has called us to address our specific classroom questions.
I dare not fault her for the actions of the administration. Some things her hands have been tied on, and unfortunately the teacher(who has the most hand on the child) doesn't get even a 20% say.  This should be weighted towards the teacher who has him in the classroom.

We get a call three (3) days before by both the Occupational therapist and the resource teacher who will be in on what Jonathan does during the year telling me what they assessed him for and what he needs. good information but the occupational therapist added that the physical therapist will not be doing anything with him as she sees no need for him being helped as he can do a lot already at school.
I was okay with her telling me she wouldn't be at the meeting(although in the end she was).
I was okay with the resource teacher taking the time to answer my questions.
I was NOT okay when the PT and the speech therapist backed out of the meeting.I told Andrew this and scratched my head
I wrote in Jonathan's binder communicator thing called a MOOSE. I also made it a hobby of mine to try to reach her and the evaluator. I know what our rights are, and I know it's within our rights  to ask that they all be at this meeting.
 Again I got a lot of double talk but I made my point that it was within our rights.
Not knowing that Andrew had been talking to the diagnostician and making the same point. The meeting was back on as they normally all try to excuse themselves from the meeting. Only this time they were all coming.

I had a dream a couple of weeks previous warning me of all this. They weren't going to give a lick about him and there was very little I could do about it. I mentioned this  to Andrew and he shrugged it off.

I knew these people were going to play political games so I went online to an advocacy website and got some tips. I printed out a picture of Jonathan which was really great and really cute. The point of this was to remind everyone that we were there for Jonathan and not them. they still played games.
Well, everyone except the OT and the teacher. The low lite  was when the PT said this: Oh he'll be okay you just need to get him into sports and the park to maintain his poor muscle tone.(Like that will help...we know NOTHING about physical therapy but apparently unless he's in a wheelchair they're refusing to help him.
Jonathan has been trying twice  as hard as anyone else to do the same stuff and they are totally blind to this.He puts out more effort and he gets things done because he has no other choice.
They have modified his desk by velcro-ing a couple of phone books so make his more balanced and help him write.
He is being followed by the adaptive pe teacher who will see him only occasionally.
We were told they felt he needed outside therapy but didn't tell me how I am supposed to get this or how to pay for it. All they do is the educational part.
I'm really hoping something doesn't go horribly wrong for Jonathan and he does something like fall down the stairs(like he has in the recent past) or someone pushed him down on the playground. he already has come home with bruises and a big knot on his head. They will now have a problem since they know about his medical condition. He could easily really hurt himself doing things other kids don't even have to think about.
. I am going to try to have him excused and we are waiting on a referral for pt,OT and speech along with a developmental pediatrician. If I need to I won't hesitate to pull him out of school for it.. If you know of any educational advocates or attorneys specializing in special ed law in the DFW area, please let me know.Although we don't have a lot of money...if we need to we will spend some money for one and sue for legal fees.
We really are NOT into political anything when it comes to our kids so I really get a bit ticked off when stuff like this happens.
I would have posted something here but I was simply too mad and upset to write anything on this matter. I wanted fire to land on the PT for the stupid and inconsiderate things she said and how she just simply got up and walked out in the middle of the meeting. I had to forgive her, but that doesn't mean I won't be filing a complaint with the Education board. No one else should ever have to go through what we did.
 None of this benefits Jonathan as far as going further.just to hold him at par. He can open doors,go up and down stairs and sit in his chair without help, but they won't help him.

The teacher tried to make several recommendations but she was only able to get half of what she suggested.
Like I said... the authority should be more weighted towards those with more direct contact with the student and the parents. The others could (I apologize for saying this) give a rat's ass about him.(sorry this is a figure of speech).
My faith in this school district is fuzzy. It's not to say we aren't coming across a  great teacher here and there but as far as helping these kids...they FAIL EPIC Fail!

The dream was a warning and I am glad I had that dream so we would be prepared. I wasn't surprised to encounter these kind of people and that is great because I could have been totally blind to this and really had a mess on our hands.
Because this post went longer than I had anticipated...I will post an update with pictures and the Parent teacher conferences from yesterday ...sometime in this week.
Until then be blessed.