This way or that?

Friends, it has been a rough week.

As I shared last week, S didn’t qualify for speech services, but I had several issues with the report (including the eligibility recommendations). I had several licensed SLPs review the report and all agreed that there were several issues with the report and that S should’ve been qualified.

We went into the IEP last Thursday. The thing lasted over three hours–it was rough. So, I voiced several of my concerns in the meeting–including my disagreement with the eligibility recommendations. They (meaning the SLP) kept coming back to the fact that there weren’t two tests with scores under the 7th percentile…but she could’ve been qualified in other ways. When I explained I would’ve used a different component of the California Education Code to qualify (one score under the 7th and a qualifying language sample), she couldn’t give me a straight answer as to why she wouldn’t qualify S for services. Our program coordinator kept “encouraging” me to stop asking questions as S qualified for SpEd services under autism, just not speech, and it was clear I wasn’t going to get an acceptable answer.

I agreed to table the issue for the time being, and we finished the meeting. It was determined that S would begin school in the autism classroom and would remain there for 30 days, at which time we would reconvene, discuss her growth, and look again at appropriate placement for the upcoming school year. I have some feelings on that–we’ll get there in a different post.

After the IEP ended, I emailed the SLP to once again try and understand her recommendations. I figured that there had to be something that I simply wasn’t seeing. She then responded to me and said that she had rescored the assessment with the qualifying 5th percentile score, and S’ scores were actually even higher than what she originally reported in the IEP–pushing her further away from qualifying.

When I received that email, friends, I was furious. I had to leave class because I was so furious. You cannot do that. You cannot change scores weeks after an assessment is given. You cannot change scores after an IEP is presented. You simply cannot do it.

I filed a formal request for an independent assessment (IEE) based on the fact that I no longer trusted the integrity of the original speech report (not that I ever did). Within an hour, I received a call from the school district stating that they would grant the IEE, and asked if I would have a problem with X performing it, as X is an independent contractor. Problem with X is that she is still employed in our district.

So, here lies my dilemma. I know X. I have had very pleasant interactions with her. She comes highly recommended as she has many years of preschool experience and is competent and thorough–but is still technically contracted through the district. The people typically contacted for IEEs have been highly un-recommended by a person whose opinion I deeply respect.

So, what to do?

Take my chances with the therapist that I think could do a good job but is employed by my home district, or go with an actual independent assessor who may or may not actually do a good job?

Special needs parenting: where you constantly have to make big choices and you perpetually feel like you’re making the wrong one.