IEP for "very low IQ" ?

[georgiegirl]

You can definitely get an IEP for MR (mental retardation.). My half-brother (19) has that as his main diagnosis (cognitively a 2-3 year old). I'm not sure what the IQ cutoff is for MR or how it's officially diagnosed.

[JustMe]

You ladies are all so helpful! Thank you so much for the info.


Someone mentioned putting their requests in writing and sending it to the appropriate person in the district. Does anyone know what type of title that would be? Who should they be asking to speak to?


Sent from my iPad

Sorry, am just now seeing this. Your friend should call the school or school district and ask who to submit his request to for a child who attends (insert child's name) school. Not sure if anyone is working this summer, but I would give it until the Fall, If he is unable to get a response by then, I would submit a written request to the principal, school counselor/psych (if your friend is able to determine that the school has one), teacher,and head of special ed. However the office and/or principal should really be able to tell your friend who to submit his request to.

Oh, I would also ask if the school district has a form the doctor who diagnosed the child can sign to indicate his diagnosis/disability. This is another form that helps put things in motion.

Not sure if it makes sense to go ahead with paying for additional testing. On one hand, it would seem to me the school district should be obligated to do so based on what you say here. OTOH, I can tell you that it was not until I showed them the results of independent testing, that I was able to get anything done for my dd. Luckily, in our case, most of the testing was covered by insurance (although not all)..so I might ask the dr who diagnosed if there is any testing that can be done that insurance will cover (I definitely experienced some of the insurance company saying the school is responsible and the school saying the insurance co. is responsible--I just kept fighting with both--and having dd's doctor submit pre-auth. requests).

[MontrealMum]

Now the second brother has been evaluated by a Dr. and found to have "very low IQ". Dr said this most likely means learning disabilities as well. The child is having problems in school both academically and socially. But the school says they don't need to do anything about it, and is denying any further testing or giving him help.

What can he do?

In the old days (as in, when my mom was teaching) a "very low" IQ score was generally taken to indicate mental retardation, in which case the child is guaranteed a free, appropriate, public education. Check the wrightslaw since my mom retired awhile back and her information is dated but I cannot believe a public school is saying they are not required to "do anything about it".

OTOH, a "very low IQ score" may not indicate lower than average intelligence, it may just indicate a child who is poor at testing. This can be due to a variety of learning difficulties include processing disorders, ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, etc. There are many children at my school that have tested "low IQ" at one time or other and they are all currently working at grade level. It's also pretty obvious that they're not low IQ. Public schools in the US are required to provide an appropriate education for children with learning disabilities as well, and I thought they were also supposed to provide the testing free of charge? Mind you, many parents grow disgusted with being ignored and given the runaround and go the private route for testing. But even those results - if there is evidence of a learning disability - must be taken into consideration by the school district and appropriate accommodations offered.

Either way, they should be coming up with a plan to address this child's needs since his current placement does not do so.

I would have your friend contact the special ed coordinator for their district and push for further testing and explanations as to why the district basically seems to not want to deal with them. Many special ed programs run throughout the summer, it is likely that someone is still "in the office" who can provide more direction.

[ssand23]

You ladies are all so helpful! Thank you so much for the info.

He is not working at grade level and the school is already saying he will most likely be held back next year. He is having problems with behavior as well. I don't know what grade he is in--maybe 1st? I'll ask and update here.

Basically, they want the parents to pay for all testing until they find something medically wrong, then they'll talk about doing an IEP. But I thought schools were required to do some testing?

Someone mentioned putting their requests in writing and sending it to the appropriate person in the district. Does anyone know what type of title that would be? Who should they be asking to speak to?


Sent from my iPad

I'm not sure if things have been changed or resolved with this situation but the school is lying big time to this poor man and his sons. It is very common for schools to take full advantage of parents who are not familiar with their rights as parents and lie to them to get them to just go away. It saves the school money to turn kids away. Some districts even encourage the child study teams to only approve a certain number of kids a year. My aunt has her doctorate in special education and has seen this first hand.

If you as a parent disagree with what the school is saying, you can file a grievance with the district and with the state where the child goes for an evaluation by an independent facility of your choosing and the school must pay. This falls under due process. I'd encourage the father to find a parents advocacy group in your state and to call the state department of education's special education department to ask for help and tell the state dept what the school said. Also make a point to casually drop in an email with the school that he has contacted the state about this matter.

Try to keep all conversation to email or a written letter then he has proof of what was said. If he has a verbal conversation, follow it up with an email saying "I just wanted to follow up with an email to review that we discussed X, Y and Z today". If he goes to a meeting, he had the right to record it. He needs to tell them he will be recording but that is allowed. And if at all possible, if he could read up as much as possible and find someone to go with him to the meetings. School's usually find it easier to walk all over parents when it's just 1 parent and a team of teachers, etc.

I have 2 kids with an IEP and 1 with a 504. I fought hard for those and to get my kids services. I didn't take any crap and let the schools know that I wasn't looking to make friends, just get my kids the services they needed. It can be done but often times, if the parents don't push hard, it won't happen. This is very, very common for schools to pull this garbage.