Parent of a Child with Albinism

Lyra’s Well Organized Toy Cabinet

I thought I would take this opportunity I have using this wonderful photo of Lyra’s toy explosion, to tell you about some of the cool toys/games Lyra got for Christmas.   (more…)

Continuing from Part 1 of my post…

Prior to our pre-”transition meeting” meeting last month, I knew very little about the districts preschool program. Initially, we encountered a bit of resistance because the districts administrators insisted that we couldn’t schedule a meeting until 60 days before Lyra’s 3rd birthday. However, I knew that was not true. I knew the state law which stated the following:

In the case of a child who may be eligible for preschool
services under Part B of the Act, with the approval of the family of the
child, convene a conference among the lead agency, the family, and the
local educational agency at least 90 days, and at the discretion of the
parties, up to 6 months, before the child is eligible for the preschool
services, to discuss any services that the child may receive.

So…we got our meeting scheduled. Lyra’s current IFSP team members including her Family Service Coordinator/OT, and TVI, and I, plus our county’s Infant-Toddler Program Coordinator all attended the meeting.  I knew the Part B program would have several people at the meeting, but I wasn’t sure how many, who they were, or where they had come from.  So there we had the Part C people on one side of the table and the Part B people on the other side…and a big lump in my stomach.   Lucky for me, I had prepared the following list of questions.

1.What types of specialized providers, Occupational Therapists, Teachers of the Visually Impaired, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, Speech and Language Pathologists, etc. does the district currently have on staff?

2. How are the different services typically delivered…direct or consultative?

3. How many hours per day and days per week will Lyra attend the preschool?

4. How much experience do the regular classroom teachers have with children who are visually impaired and do they have any experience specifically with children who have albinism?

5. What is the teacher to child ratio?

6. As part of the process of determining Lyra’s eligibility for services, where and when will the following evaluations take place; Functional Vision Assessment, Orientation and Mobility Assessment, Low Vision Evaluation, and Learning Media Assessment?

7. In addition to those assessments/evaluations, what other tests do you use to determine eligibility?

8.  Who will complete those evaluations?

9. When could I visit the school building for a tour and if possible, to observe a preschool classroom similar to what Lyra’s will be like?

10. Lyra turns 3 at the very end of the school year. What options are available for summer services to ensure continuity of services?

Overall the meeting went very well and I got most of my questions answered.  I have a tour of the school building scheduled on January 30th.  Lyra has an appointment with her pediatric ophthalmologist on February 5th.  Lyra’s official “transition meeting” is scheduled on February 6th.   Sometime before all of those, we also have to cram in a Functional Vision Assessment and an O&M Assessment.   Busy, Busy, Busy!   No wonder I have to divide this post into 3+ parts.

In “Part 3″ of my Transition Planning post, I’ll share the answers I received to the questions I asked at the meeting.

Anyone who has a child currently receiving Early Intervention services that will be turning 3 in less than 6 months, should start asking questions and getting information about the transition process, NOW.   By transition, I mean the process by which a child who has an IFSP and is receiving services through an Infant-Toddler program (IDEA-Part C) switches to having an IEP and receving services through a preschool program (IDEA-Part B).

A few weeks ago, Lyra’s Family Service Coordinator, TVI,  several other people, and I met for a pre-”transition meeting” meeting.  I initiated this meeting and I am so glad that I did.   Lyra’s EI services over the last 2 years have given me a good understanding of IFSPs, and I’ve learned a lot about IEPs over the last 5+ years through the many IEP meetings I’ve attended for my oldest daughter, Rebekah.  I even attended my state’s Education Advocate Training, just to gain even more knowledge.

Overall, I feel pretty confident in my knowledge and understanding of IDEA and special education laws and regulations as the apply to IFSPs and IEPs.   Connecting the two is where it gets confusing.  This transition planning/process has been by far, the most confusing special education process I’ve ever dealt with.  There is so much overlap between the Part C people and the Part B people and there are so  many inconsistencies as far as who does what, when, where and how.  I still have a lot of research to do and a lot of questions I need answered.  I already have 2 more meetings scheduled and will be scheduling a number of evaluations and appointments for Lyra over the next few months.  More on this and more on the details of this first meeting we had…coming soon.

To be continued…

Here are some resources on the subject of “transition” that have been helpful:

Early Intervention (Part C of IDEA)

Transitioning from Early Intervention

Transition Planning

Transition from Part C to Preschool