IEPs and IFSPs

[Kei_as_in_K]

I know at the alex & leah group we've had threads about getting sign language into our children's IEPs and IFSPs.
I thought this thread would be a good place for us to list ideas and other suggestions to help each other.
:)

If your child receives Occupational Therapy, you can list using Sign Language as a way to promote dexterity in Fine Motor Skills.

[lovemy6sweeties]

our preschool teacher is not very open to the whole signing thing :( I think he is very laid back and not into anything that would require much of any kind of work. I go back and forth wondering if it's really worth it to send Brady, but I know that the services he receives through the district are helpful - soooo I guess I will keep him there! I just wish my preschool teachers were as awesome as William's!!!

So - if you have any good ideas for getting a reluctant teacher to sign - let's hear em!!!

[Jerzmomof4]

Christie,

I'm sorry the teacher(s) at your local preschool aren't as willing to learn or use sign as you had hoped.

One of the issues we brought up at our first IEP meeting a year ago, was communication. At the time our daughter, Abby was COMPLETELY non-verbal. Her only true word was Mamma. However Mamma was used for everything, and everyone. So with that said, our main concern was, "if Abby was hurt, or needed a diaper change", How would anyone know?

Yes, truth be told, she would cry if she was hurting, or you could tell (smell) a dirty diaper. However, we pushed for sign language as a "Safety Concern". They really didn't have an arguement with me. I also told them (the SD) if they couldn't meet her needs, another option was out of district placement. Along with my letter, I also sent them a letter from her reg. Pedi, and her Dev-Neuro Pedi.

The first year of ESY, (2004) Abby had a cert. sign interp. By Sept, she had acculumated herself well, and also had more spoken words, the sign interp. wasnt as needed as earlier. HOWEVER this year, Abby now has a new teacher, who doesn't know sign, or VERY little.

For this new teacher, I had made up a list of signs that Abby knew, and also loaned her the ST DVD's. In the mean time the SD, is purchasing the first 6 volumes for use in the classroom.

I hope you find some of this helpful for you, and Brady.
Ohh and Kei, I love that idea for OT. Abby can do the alphabet in sign, however I do see her struggling sometimes. She will take her other hand to help manipulate the signing hand to make certain letters, like "T"

[Kei_as_in_K]

After so many years on DS boards, some teachers need some sort of proof (research, studies, results) of the importance of certain skills. Is he someone that would respond to some of Dr. Daniels' studies? http://www.marilyndaniels.com/news.html

Or is he more play-based and could use some of the ideas in the activities section here at ST?


he is very laid back and not into anything that would require much of any kind of work Yikes.... still, there would be so many ways to incorporate signing into basic daily routines, it wouldn't be like work, it's more like adding a fun element to things.

The preschool teacher started adding signs to the books she read to the kids... Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See? is a great one to start with. The kids have loved it, she has fun.. it's a win-win.

[dmmetler]

This sounds bad, but you might be better off to check out different preschool classes. My experience, both as someone with a disability and as a teacher, is that if a teacher doesn't embrace an accommodation, even if you get it in the IEP it is not going to matter much, because the teacher isn't going to change what they do when someone isn't watching. Conversely, even if it's not in the IEP, if you have a teacher who is willing to accommodate, you can see miracles happen. If there's a regular preschool program in the area where they use infant signing as a matter of course, you might be better off to use your energy to fight for services to be provided there and tuition reimbursement than for, say, a signing aide in a developmental preschool program, because the entire staff will probably be supportive.

There is nothing worse as a child with a disability than to have an adult in charge of you who denies your disability and acts like it's your fault. I was pushed into a complete emotional breakdown at age 8 by being mainstreamed into a classroom with a teacher who did NOT sign, told me to stop waving my hands around, complained about just about everything I did, from my handwriting (with a 3-5 year motor delay, you can imagine what my handwriting was like), to my clumsiness, to my lack of organization (visual-spacial issues), and was really big on memorization and recitation-something which was a definite problem for a kid with articulation issues and dyspraxia.

[carievercell]

I have been fighting and fighting to get my son's school to use sign with him. It is his only form of communication! He can sign many words and sentences and colors ect. It is so frustrating! Sign is in his IEP, but that does not seem to mean much to his teacher. I feel like he is not getting what he deserves. I have tried to fight for a sign Aide, but was informed by the district that this is too expensive, and is only available to their deaf students! My child is 100% nonverbal! He never communicated besides huge tantrums before signing! I can't tell you how angry this all makes me!(actually i'm sure it is quite obvious!)

[Kei_as_in_K]

and this isn't the first time I've seen a problem like this
Sign is in his IEP, but that does not seem to mean much to his teacher.
I have tried to fight for a sign Aide, but was informed by the district that this is too expensive, and is only available to their deaf students! My child is 100% nonverbal! He never communicated besides huge tantrums before signing!

If it's in his IEP, which must have been signed by someone in the district agreeing to what is in his IEP, then they should be providing it. If he's non-verbal, they should be working towards his communication.
http://www.fetaweb.com/01/faqs.iep.htm
Depending on your child's needs, the IEP team may discuss these special factors:

If your child’s behavior’s interferes with his or her learning or the learning of others, the team will discuss strategies and supports to address your child’s behavior.
If your child has limited proficiency in English, the IEP team will talk about your child’s language needs as these needs relate to his or her IEP.
If your child is blind or visually impaired: The IEP team must provide for instruction in Braille or the use of Braille, unless it determines after an appropriate evaluation that your child does not need this instruction.
If your child has communication needs: The IEP team must consider those needs.
If your child is deaf or hard of hearing: The IEP team will consider your child’s language and communication needs. This includes your child’s opportunities to communicate directly with classmates and school staff in his or her usual method of communication (for example, sign language).

Your child isn't deaf or HOH, but sign is his main way of communicating... it makes no sense for the teacher to deny him this.
UGH!

Can you get a meeting with the IEP team to discuss introducing signing in the classroom without hiring someone to come in and sign?

[momgael]

I worked as a Service Coordinator in the Early Intervention of several states over the course of 7 years, as well as, a technical assistant in the area of developing meaningful IFSP's. My son was in the EI program in Colorado and then under an IEP for 1 year of preschool. Currenlty I am the program director of an EI provider agency. (some background)

It is VERY important to know the in's and out's of the IDEA Part C (early in) and Part B (school). Often I see children go without services because an agency will say that it is not possible or they don't want to. Find an advocate in the school district, know the law, & build a network of other parents (a group is always more effective than an individual.)

Identify your chief concerns....what you are willing to give on and what you will NOT compromise. Attempt to create a collaborative relationship with your local school partners first. Allow them to come up with some of the strategies (there is a great technique of interaction called 'coaching' that has helped me a lot in negotiating rough seas like this.) Offer solutions, versus demands (unless you have no options. Be creative....take a break when you need to, but don't give up.

I love what I do and the families I get to work with!

Nickie, NC

[lgaff]

Hi all...

I'm happy to have found this thread as we are starting to write our daughter Tinka's IEP and I am trying to stress the sign language component.

Tinka was born with a rare syndrome called Nager that mostly involves craniofacial deformities (she had a severely recessed lower jaw and as a trach), also underdeveloped cheekbones and some hearing loss. We started signing with Tinka around 9 months, but didn't discover ST until this year. Tinka will turn 3 years old in January. Signing is her main form of communication. She was a "voice" but can't really form words because she doesn't really know how to use her mouth.

I would like for there to be continuous signing in the classroom, but because all the teachers at the school know "a little" sign, they think that will be enough for Tinka to communicate. She's very bright and has excellent receptive language skills, but needs more signs to help with her expressive language skills. The teacher with the most signing knowledge will be leaving to have a baby the same month Tinka will start school, and she won't be back for at least 9 months.

Does anyone actually have some of the language they've put into their IEP that they wouldn't mind sharing (you could email me privately: octafish@rcn.com). I'm worried she won't get all the benefits that she's eligible to get and I don't know how hard I should push for "sign English" in the classroom.

Best wishes,
Leslie, mom to Tinka, almost 3, trach, g-tube, hearing aides, Nager Syndrome

[aligreat]

I have twins, one hearing & one Deaf. My Deaf daughter, Cassia, has many issues, and so getting her into an appropriate program was not a problem. Alexandria (hearing) is also delayed in several areas, which is common with twins--they tend to catch up at about age 5. Her biggest delay is in communication, even though we have signed with her since birth. She knows more sign than speech, and I was so grateful to finally get authorization for her to attend the same program as her sister starting in January. It is a "Total Communication" school, and so the teachers speak and sign at the same time. She will get to see a speech therapist twice a week, and we are hoping that she will start to have a speech explosion like the sign explosion she had when we got BST.

Alexandria's home visitor has the opposite problem from the preschool teacher mentioned earlier. The woman is way too ridgid. When she asks Alexandria to choose the picture of a dog out of three pictures she gets upset with me if I sign dog. She is constantly telling me to "stop gesturing." I have tried explaining to her that we are a bilingual family, but she doesn't get it. I know that she takes a Spanish interpreter when she goes into homes where Spanish is the first language, but she seems to have a limited view on what constitutes a language.

As far as a program not helping a non-deaf (but disabled) child who signs, I would look up information on both the ADA and IDEA. The D in both acronyms stands for disability--not deaf. If your child needs sign to communicate and learn effectively then it is required by law. (I'm a fiesty little mama.)

[Lisa]

Hi everyone,

We got Rebekah's evals today from the Child Study Team. I've got mixed emotions.

On the one hand, they say her delays are severe and that at almost 3 years old she functions at about a 15 month level - which is good because she'll get plenty of services. It's also good to know that my impressions are not out of line with those who are more objective.

On the other hand, it hurts in my heart to acknowledge on yet another level that my baby has so many problems.

Our "official" eligibility meeting is on Dec. 12th but they have
reassured me that there is no problem there, and that we should start or complete her IEP at that meeting. We tour the preschool they're recommending on the 14th.

Just an update to let you know what's going on.

Lisa