My 14 year old daughter is entering high school in the fall. She has mild CAPD and expressive language disorders. Although we’re told her problems are mild (she gets good grades with alot of work!), they get in her way continually. She misses information in class, particularly instructions and homework, is disorganized and won’t accept help, She can’t always ask the right questions for the information she needs and has some trouble with inference in higher level reading. She’s also a bit of a perfectionist! Her social skills aren’t the best. She makes friends in school but is rarely included in activities outside of school. We have been advised both ways about whether or not she needs an IEP. Some people don’t think she should be classified and others think it might help since college is coming up and colleges usually want documentation about the LDS. Is the 504(c) for accomodations another possibility with a child like this? Thanks.
Re: 14 year old, entering high school
Thanks Robin. I’m practically paralyzed with indecision. I hate to put her through additional testing but I think it might be the only way. I know I need to request something soon, since according to law, the district has 45 days to make a decision.
Believe it or not, I’m almost more concerned about her social skills than her classes. She makes friends in school but rarely does anyone call her at home.
Re: 14 year old, entering high school
45 days from what?
The only 45 day timeline that I am aware is that a meeting to dtermine eligibility must be held within 45 days after the eval plan has been decided upon. And I think that the deadline is 60 days not 45. AND… you would be at the meeting and a part of the decision- the school does not have the right to decide without you.
If a student is eligible, and the parent agrees to accept services, then the TEAM has 30 days to develop an IEP. So… I guess I am a little confused?
Robin
Re: 14 year old, entering high school
What about private speech group therapy emphasizing pragmatics? My own daughter is doing that right now. She has CAPD, LD’s along with ADD. The SLP videotapes the sessions and my daughter watches them as they brainstorm solutions to her social and problem solving skills. This has taught her how to interact better with her peers etc..If your daughter qualifies she can also have these pragmatics/social skills taught at school with an SLP.
She would need to be evaluated in order to determine eligibility for an IEP or a 504 plan.
To be eligible for special education, she must display a processing deficit and achievement that is at least 1.5 standard deviations (about 22.5 points) below her assessed cognitive score. The combination of these two things establishes the presence of a specific learning disability. To determine a language impairment,(different category of eligibility) her language scores must be two standard deviations below the norm (30 points) with the norm being a score of 100.
504 is a little more inclusive because it is a nondiscrimination law under ADA rather than a mandate for services under IDEA. (Welcome to the alphabet soup of government regulation!) She would qualify for a 504 plan if she has a documented disability and requires accommodations and modifications to make progress. She does not have to show a discrepancy between achievement and potential achievement.
You should know that most states do not recognize CAPD as a specific disability in and of itself, it is a relatively new explanation and the regs are always slow to catch up, so your daughter would still need to do the normal eligibility procedures for your area, under the law.
You may have had this information already- or I may have completely confused you:), but it sounded like people were giving you the impression that you had a choice between IEP and 504- you do to a certain extent- but there are eligibility gates to be hopped first and if you don’t then the choices are different.
Robin