Post by Kaylis on Jan 14, 2007 19:04:08 GMT -5
We're also experiencing the EI to non-EI transition, like those in lots of posts I've read recently. As a result we're also facing some issues we've never had to deal with before.
EI provided Mikah (just turned 3) with a very good educator for an hour weekly and 1/2 hr of eating (and this Fall some speech too) every other week. Both were at his daycare.
Last summer the public school near us did only a general evaluation and a speech evaluation (they said that I could get outside evals for any other areas, but those were the ones he was already getting therapy for). I also arranged for PT and OT evals through Medicaid. At the eligibility meeting the head of special ed told me that they were discounting the results of the outside evals (which disagreed with their general one) because the test used (the Peabody) was a medical model-based test not an educational one. Yes, that's virtually a quote. Anyway, they qualified him for speech and I decided to go private for the others for the moment. They almost didn't qualify him, despite a Ds diagnosis and being almost non-verbal at 2 1/2 but I convinced them he needed to speak better in order to interact with his peers. He does sign, but not enough for us.
Anyway, he started the PT and OT in September and continued with EI until mid-December. Now it's January and I'm trying to get everything set up for him to get the Speech the school is offering. It's once a week and we have to provide transportation (his daycare is out of district but near my work). In order for medicaid to transport him, medicaid would have to pay for the therapy. Luckily a friend warned me not to do that, or even give the district his medicaid number, so we could get outside therapy also. He'll be starting Speech where he gets OT and PT (five minutes from daycare and medicaid transports) after his updated eval this week.
Well, the main issues right now is trying to balance his time away from daycare with his benefits from therapy, and trying to get the most out of all the speech he'll be getting. It's the area of current greatest delay for Mikah, and the one we feel needs most to be addressed. At the same time he's now out of his classroom for three hours a week (in two blocks) and it will be two hours twice a week and an hour and a half once a week for the school therapy. I'm also the parent most involved in this stuff and I work 50 hours a week. Bleah
Any suggestions, ideas, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Karen
mom to Ari (12/99) and Mikah (12/03, w/Ds)
EI provided Mikah (just turned 3) with a very good educator for an hour weekly and 1/2 hr of eating (and this Fall some speech too) every other week. Both were at his daycare.
Last summer the public school near us did only a general evaluation and a speech evaluation (they said that I could get outside evals for any other areas, but those were the ones he was already getting therapy for). I also arranged for PT and OT evals through Medicaid. At the eligibility meeting the head of special ed told me that they were discounting the results of the outside evals (which disagreed with their general one) because the test used (the Peabody) was a medical model-based test not an educational one. Yes, that's virtually a quote. Anyway, they qualified him for speech and I decided to go private for the others for the moment. They almost didn't qualify him, despite a Ds diagnosis and being almost non-verbal at 2 1/2 but I convinced them he needed to speak better in order to interact with his peers. He does sign, but not enough for us.
Anyway, he started the PT and OT in September and continued with EI until mid-December. Now it's January and I'm trying to get everything set up for him to get the Speech the school is offering. It's once a week and we have to provide transportation (his daycare is out of district but near my work). In order for medicaid to transport him, medicaid would have to pay for the therapy. Luckily a friend warned me not to do that, or even give the district his medicaid number, so we could get outside therapy also. He'll be starting Speech where he gets OT and PT (five minutes from daycare and medicaid transports) after his updated eval this week.
Well, the main issues right now is trying to balance his time away from daycare with his benefits from therapy, and trying to get the most out of all the speech he'll be getting. It's the area of current greatest delay for Mikah, and the one we feel needs most to be addressed. At the same time he's now out of his classroom for three hours a week (in two blocks) and it will be two hours twice a week and an hour and a half once a week for the school therapy. I'm also the parent most involved in this stuff and I work 50 hours a week. Bleah
Any suggestions, ideas, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Karen
mom to Ari (12/99) and Mikah (12/03, w/Ds)
