Don't you just love it when you get a plan in place with one school teacher or therapist or support person, and then another one sweeps in all clueless and messes things up? Just like this example left on the IEP Horror Stories page by reader Mary, under the quite accurate headline "Not Helpful":
3rd grade daughter has IEP for LD. I requested reduced spelling list this week. The teacher agreed. Then IEP manager came in and had daughter practice the words I wanted left out during math time, and then after spelling test had her write them again, and then tested her on them. Working on where to go from here. Can't imagine the problems we would have if we weren't this great "team."
Unfortunately, it often falls to parents, the ones least present at school and most out of the communication loop, to be the coordinators of those teams of professionals who are supposed to be overseeing our kids' modifications, accommodations, and arrangements. One of the things I liked about volunteering in the library was the opportunity to not only brainstorm with the teacher about accommodations but then, in passing and all informal-like, pop into the child-study team's office to update them. Sometimes, these screw-ups are a result of miscommunication and misunderstanding; sometimes there's workplace politics or territorial issues or administrative edicts that steer professionals in unhelpful directions. Keeping up a dialog with all the various team members is often the best way to get the lay of the land and make sure no one has the excuse of "I didn't know." Read "Meet Your IEP Team" for more about the various personages and their potential issues.
Have you had a similar experience of extreme unhelpfulness? Share in the comments.
Photo by Terri Mauro
My 17 yr old HS Junior suffers anxiety disorder. I did what I do every year and sent an informative email to the multitude of teachers that work with her – SPED and GENED. I get great emails from some of the teachers about how wonderful my daughter is doing and how they enjoy working with her and then I get a call from her amazing case manager who says she threatened to punch a teacher in the face and was referred for discipline.
Next school day I get a call from the Dean who tells me what he has learned from both sides of the story and it is clear to me that the SPED in this one class purposefully provoked my child! She entered the classroom after the kids starting working on assignments and did not know that my daughter had been diligently working and lost her document (a trifold on VA) and was struggling with her anxiety. She went straight to my daughter and told her she was not doing what she was supposed to do. When my daughter told her she was cooling off and asked the SPED to leave her, the SPED continued to poke. At one point she told my daughter she was just like her brother who she had two years ago and was told that was the worst thing she could say. She continued and asked my daughter what would happen if she took her school issues laptop away. My daughter responded she would want to punch the teacher in the face. She packed up her things and left the room in accordance with the Emotional Disability response plan and found an administrator with whom she could cool off. The best part is that instead of 10 days suspension she was offered 5 alternatives and chose an after school suspension. I have requested she NOT work with the SPED at all and the SPED be disciplined. The Dean agreed the teacher was in the wrong and asked I trust him to address the situation. I am thinking of writing a letter to the Superintendent and Principal.