The only paper we signed was the referral for them to initiate OT and Speech Path testing.
There was no controversy, they just hadn't thought through at all what his case actually entailed. In addition, apparently his entire file from his approximately 6 years of public schooling has disappeared from the central records office, so they had none of his previous testing results they had done (we provided what we had); his previous coding; his diagnoses and related documents; nothing.
They apparently hadn't remembered any of the previous discussions we had in which we indicated that we wanted him in a certificate/non-diploma program, and didn't have the right personnel necessary to approve such a placement.
So, they've begun scheduling the rest of the testing and scheduling a date for a real meeting in theory attended by the actual necessary staff.
Montgomery County once again wastes parents' time and begins a game of attrition; if they can make it hard enough on the parents and burdensome enough that the parents can no longer take more time off of work to attend meetings they claim are needed, the parents can no longer fight the placement and service decisions they make.
I don't think any of the staff involved today actually think in this Machiavellian fashion deliberately, but it's ingrained in the MCPS administrative culture and bureaucracy.
The psychologist, when asked where we now stand in the process, would answer only that we're now in a "paperwork limbo" because they weren't prepared to make the placement decisions which needed to be made and they didn't have all their information prepared and gathered to even begin making those recommendations and decisions.
2 comments:
That is the pits...
I'd think that just based on that meeting alone (or lack thereof), you'd have a case right there for them to have to fund a private program.... It's already June. When do they think they'll do all this testing and deciding so that he'll have a placement for school next yr?!
It is so hard. I hate those meetings. I have one coming up here too. The early intervention services are so idiotic here. They are trying so hard Not to give. OK , I am just going to try and be grateful.
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