[mustangmom]

Wondering if anyone has some insight as to IEP's, or Individualized Education Plan. I do not know much at all yet.
We are looking into adopting a 4 year old with developmental delays and my question is, How many days a week/or hours per class would be typical and what if the child is still in diapers. Do they need to be potty trained first, especially if this is a longer class time?

[timleenettesue]

I have two children with IEP's. One is 3 and the other is 4. With the program that they are in they do not need to be potty trained. The three year old goes 3 days a week and the four year old goes 4 days a week. The four year old is now doing so well that they are going to move her into a main stream young 4's program. The four year old was in a program before being removed from the bp's and while in her first foster placement before coming to us. There was no progress made until coming to us. We worked the program and are very involved. We are so excited about the progress and being able to move on from this program.

Hope this helps a little. If you have more direct questions you can PM me.

[angelkisses0102]

My DS got his IEP at age four years one month last year. In our school district we have a very intensive pre-school/pre-K classroom setting for the 3 to 5 years olds. It is 5 days per week...6 hours per day. It was GREAT! DS blossomed so much in the past year. He just started Kindy (still in a special needs class) and again we are thrilled with the program. He has an extensive IEP for developmental delays, speech issues and has sensory processing disorder. FOR US, it has been wonderful...but I have heard our great experience is uncommon.

Good luck.

[Adoption_Ally]

IEP's are just that - an Individual Education Plan. They are written to meet the specific needs of the child and are as varied as the children who have them. All of the interested parties - teachers, therapists, parents, etc. sit in on the meeting to determine what the child needs. Once the goals for the year are set up then the time the child needs to be in a classroom, to meet with the occupational therapist, speech therapist and/or physical therapist as well as any other special assistance s/he needs is set up to meet the goals.

All IEP's are reviewed annually to find out how well the child is coming on reaching the goals and what changes, if any, need to be made.

A well-written IEP is a parent's best friend. Once the child's needs are addressed in an IEP, then EVERYONE at the school MUST follow it. If you aren't absolutely comfortable with what is recommended, this is the time to speak up.

Please let me know if there are any other question I might help you with.

[melissa77]

I am a special education teacher for elementary aged students but I have students that transtiotion from the early childhood center to Kindergarten every year and I am very familiar with the IEP process and federal law. If you have any more specific questions I'd be more than happy to help you.

[RobinKay]

I am a Student Services Coordinator for my elementary school. My job is to facilitate the process for children that are referred for special education because they may/do have a disability. A developmental delay is a disability under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

IDEA is a federal law in effect in 49 states. New Mexico does not have to comply with IDEA as they have declined federal funds for their special education children. NM has their own program, stated-funded.

In our school, a four-year old with an IEP attends full-day special education preschool-about 6 hours a day. Children are not expected to be potty-trained--working on toileting is integrated into the preschool program for all the students. Teachers and aides do change diapers/clothes as needed.

Each IEP has a "PLEP" or the Present Levels of Educational Performance. It is a list or narrative description of where your child is at this time. The needs mentioned in the PLEP should have a goal/objective to address that need. A well-written IEP will have the PLEP match the goals/objectives.

A foster parent may or may not have the "educational rights" in your state. In our state, I am required to have a surrogate parent attend the IEP meetings, sign consents, and make the decisions for the child's educational program. Check with your social worker to see who has the educational rights for your foster child.

You can call a meeting; any adult with a concern about a child may ask for a meeting. If a surrogate parent attends, and does not agree with you about the concern, likely the IEP will not be changed.

However, great attention is paid to the primary caregiver of a foster child in our state/our school; there is rarely a disagreement about what a foster child needs.

You may PM me with any specific questions. Just be careful to screen out any identifying information about your child--there are legal protections in place for foster children of course, but there is another whole layer of protections for children's school records and information--it is called the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act (FERPA).

I think most special education teachers are very dedicated and do a very good job with their students, and are very good about maintaining a home-school partnership whether it's the bio parents/family or the foster parents.