Why do they make it so difficult??
Okay, I try to be patient, I really do. But good lord, you steamroll me when you know I'm down, and then when I can get back up, you tell me you can't help me?
Here's the deal. Heather has apraxia. She was diagnosed at 18 months and immediately began recieving services. When she turned 3 last October, we had to go from services being provided and overseen by Part C to the school system. So we went in for an evaluation, did everything we were supposed to, thinking that she would at least get into a half day program because she has some fairly severe issues. Nope. They wanted to administer the Kaufman test for Apraxia. They asked if she had ever taken it, and she had - a week earlier. So they asked if I could just get them the protocals and results of the Kaufman that had already been administered, and they could just use it instead of having to re do it. Fine great, my therapist and I jumped through all the hoops to get them all the info they needed, including, between the two of us, faxing the paperwork to Early Intevention 3 times because they kept losing it.
Now, keep in mind, last October I wasn't exactly well. As a matter of fact, I was still damned sick. So, of course, I didn't have as much fight in me as I might normally. We go, on Heather's third birthday, to the IEP staffing. As we sit there, we're told that, since they didn't administer the Kaufman, that the results don't count. So even though Heather has been diagnosed by a licensed clinician as being severely apraxic, they will only approve services based on what they tested, and they only tested phonetics, and phonetics aren't something that's important before they get into school, so they'll only approve her for 2 30 minute group sessions a week. Beyond that, the therapy is supposed to be at the closest elementary school. Now let me explain something here. The closest elementary school has metal detectors. They have 1st graders that cuss teachers out and throw desks at them. They have a hell of a time getting anyone to teach there because it's so bad. It's in the smack dab middle of the ghetto, and it shows. It's so bad that many people would rather go into debt to pay for private school than send their kids there. We got Aliceon into a magnet program at another school so that we could avoid her going there. It's a big deal to me. Yet, when it comes to my special needs child, I have no choice but to take her to a location that I don't feel safe in.
Whatever, I'm sick, I can't fight, I just want her to have services. So I start trying to call and get the info set up to get Heather registered and services started. Every time I call, I'm either sent to a voicemail where no one calls me back, or I'm told that the program's full and there's nothing they can do about it. So she went a year without services because they let us slip through the cracks, and I just didn't have the fight in me at the time to prevent it. I know, it's as much my fault as anything, but damn, how it pisses me off that it's the middle class kids that slip through.
Fast forward to today. I'm feeling human again, and I find out last week that we're going to be staying in the area indefinitely. I can start living my life again, and get things oging for the girls. First order of business? Get things lined up to get Heather back on track with therapy. She's backsliding and needs the help. She'll be 4 at the end of October, and I can scarcely understand what she says 9/10 of the time. Not normal, and it's frustrating for her and everyone around her. So I call Early Intervention to try to get her re-evaluated. No dice. I have to go to the school she was assigned to and get her registered, because I must be wrong about the Kaufman, and anyway, they wouldn't approve anyone with speech issues for more than just group speech therapy twice a week. Bullshit, says I.
Anyway, bottom line, the SLP at the school was looking over Heather's file right before I called her, purely by coincidence. She understood what I was saying and I agreed that Heather had been screwed over. Still, we have to follow protocal, so I have to get Heather registered, and then the SLP is going to test her, then reccommend services from there. Thank god someone knew what the heck they were talking about. Oh, yeah, and having epilepsy qualifies her for more serives, too. Yay.
Here's the deal. Heather has apraxia. She was diagnosed at 18 months and immediately began recieving services. When she turned 3 last October, we had to go from services being provided and overseen by Part C to the school system. So we went in for an evaluation, did everything we were supposed to, thinking that she would at least get into a half day program because she has some fairly severe issues. Nope. They wanted to administer the Kaufman test for Apraxia. They asked if she had ever taken it, and she had - a week earlier. So they asked if I could just get them the protocals and results of the Kaufman that had already been administered, and they could just use it instead of having to re do it. Fine great, my therapist and I jumped through all the hoops to get them all the info they needed, including, between the two of us, faxing the paperwork to Early Intevention 3 times because they kept losing it.
Now, keep in mind, last October I wasn't exactly well. As a matter of fact, I was still damned sick. So, of course, I didn't have as much fight in me as I might normally. We go, on Heather's third birthday, to the IEP staffing. As we sit there, we're told that, since they didn't administer the Kaufman, that the results don't count. So even though Heather has been diagnosed by a licensed clinician as being severely apraxic, they will only approve services based on what they tested, and they only tested phonetics, and phonetics aren't something that's important before they get into school, so they'll only approve her for 2 30 minute group sessions a week. Beyond that, the therapy is supposed to be at the closest elementary school. Now let me explain something here. The closest elementary school has metal detectors. They have 1st graders that cuss teachers out and throw desks at them. They have a hell of a time getting anyone to teach there because it's so bad. It's in the smack dab middle of the ghetto, and it shows. It's so bad that many people would rather go into debt to pay for private school than send their kids there. We got Aliceon into a magnet program at another school so that we could avoid her going there. It's a big deal to me. Yet, when it comes to my special needs child, I have no choice but to take her to a location that I don't feel safe in.
Whatever, I'm sick, I can't fight, I just want her to have services. So I start trying to call and get the info set up to get Heather registered and services started. Every time I call, I'm either sent to a voicemail where no one calls me back, or I'm told that the program's full and there's nothing they can do about it. So she went a year without services because they let us slip through the cracks, and I just didn't have the fight in me at the time to prevent it. I know, it's as much my fault as anything, but damn, how it pisses me off that it's the middle class kids that slip through.
Fast forward to today. I'm feeling human again, and I find out last week that we're going to be staying in the area indefinitely. I can start living my life again, and get things oging for the girls. First order of business? Get things lined up to get Heather back on track with therapy. She's backsliding and needs the help. She'll be 4 at the end of October, and I can scarcely understand what she says 9/10 of the time. Not normal, and it's frustrating for her and everyone around her. So I call Early Intervention to try to get her re-evaluated. No dice. I have to go to the school she was assigned to and get her registered, because I must be wrong about the Kaufman, and anyway, they wouldn't approve anyone with speech issues for more than just group speech therapy twice a week. Bullshit, says I.
Anyway, bottom line, the SLP at the school was looking over Heather's file right before I called her, purely by coincidence. She understood what I was saying and I agreed that Heather had been screwed over. Still, we have to follow protocal, so I have to get Heather registered, and then the SLP is going to test her, then reccommend services from there. Thank god someone knew what the heck they were talking about. Oh, yeah, and having epilepsy qualifies her for more serives, too. Yay.