United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I've been told Rich is something of an expert on this, so I hope he can shed some more light on these two plans. (or anyone else for that matter!)
My son is 8, in second grade and has neither an IEP or a 504. He's having surgery in two weeks, and I think it would be wise to get the ball rolling on one of these. It sounds like a 504 might be the best bet, but I'm not honestly sure.
Any ideas anyone?
Thanks,
Jaime

Jamie, Kyle is having surgery in April. Although I have been fighting for the IEP for a while now, I did just get him the 504 for when he comes back to school in the splint. They have to give your child a 504 for this. He has to be able to have the assistance he needs to participate equally even though he is in a splint or cast. They have to do this for any child who would be having surgery and would possibly need assistance. Kyle's 504 is set up to give him assistance in the bathroom if needed, on the playground, adaptive supplies such as a clipboard to hold his papers when he is writing, help in cutting and gluing, carrying a lunch tray and so on. You should be able to get this with no problem from your school if your son is going in for surgery. Go to your school and ask to speak to the 504 coordinator. Explain the situation and request a meeting to evaluate for a 504 for your son. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Karrie

Call me silly, but I have read about it and still don't know what it means. Can you help me figure out what a 504 and IEP is? Thanks, I don't want to miss anything that could be helpful to my child. Sorry.

Jamie,
The difference between a 504 and an IEP is based upon your child's personal disability. If the injury interferes with your child's ability to learn, then he/she should receive an IEP. Under Article 7 (which is the law that mandates the use of an IEP/special ed. classification) there is a classification of "othopedically impared", this is where your child would fit in, since from your posting I do not see anything mentioned about any mental disabilities, only physical, like my son. The 504 is much "looser", since it covers children who have a physical disability that does not interfere with cognitive learning, like a child with spina bifita who is in a wheelchair. 504 has NOTHING to do with special education. Both of these do meet the American Disabilities Act and are federal laws, so they will not vary state by state or school by school.

I would suggest you ask for an IEP because your child is othopedically impared. There are a few things this will accomplish. First of all, the IEP will give you guarenteed services, since it is housed under the "special ed" Article 7 law. Many parents do not want this because their child will be labeled "special ed". Technically, yes, but unless your child has a mental disability, he/she will not be placed in a special ed classroom, but will receive services out of his/her regular ed classroom. This label can also be kept all the way through high school, by parent choice. I say this because the school may want to "exit" your child when he/she gets older. Don't let them because depending on what happens, your child may be able to receive help for college, as well as other possibilities. In larger high schools, there are also Alternative PE classes for othopedically impared students that differentiates the activities for them in their own class period. Without an IEP, these things would not have to be offered to you (even if you have a 504).

My son Gage is three years old and is in our developmental preschool (which is usually reserved for children with mental disabilities) once a week at my school to participate in the weekly motor group that is run by the special ed PT and OT. He also gets to have one-on-one assistance from PT/OT for cutting, writing, coloring, personal skills, etc. because without these skills, his ability to function well in school and learn would be diminished. Later, we will have to consider how things like typing affect his ability to learn.

If you are interested in talking more, e-mail me and let me know. I am a previous 1st grade teacher, now a GT (gifted and talented) teacher and programs coordinator, and my sister is a special education teacher and case conference coordinator, so I will be able to get you what you need to be ready for your conference.

I am surprised your child doesn't have something yet. Where do you live?

hello,
My son is covered under section 504. He is in kindergarten and we just found out that he has ADHD as well as sensory Integration disorder. We tried to get him covered under special education but he was not able due to his academic skills. The school told us that he had to qualify based upon an IQ test. My son is in the higher IQ so he would not qualify. So the school is offering more section 504 modifications like more time to respond, etc, and a sail program which is like a resource lab he can to to when he needs tutoring. But OT and PT for bpi said no way. I am glad he is bright but he is having difficulty in school, it has been a real battle so far. We have asked for alot of modifications now under section 504, that happens wed

IQ is not the only thing that qualifies students for IEP. My daughter has an IEP. It is because she tested below developmental age in gross motor skills. The IEP dictates steps to help the child acheive in the educational enviroment. This may mean that they are supplied with related services like PT or OT.

Jamie your first step is going to be to talk to your school. specifically the special ed. coordinator. Unless you are in a large system special services handle the paper work on IEP and 504. All of our kids qualify for a 504 because they have a disablity. The 504 is a list of accomodations that need to be made to make sure your child is not discriminated against in the educational setting. IEP is an individual educational plan. It may list accomidations, it will also list goals or objectives for the teachers to work on with your child. It can also cover related services such as therapy, counseling, and adaptive equipment. Your child will have to be tested before an IEP can be done. For a 504 plan it is generally documentation from your physician. It will vary some from state to state though.

My son Joshua has a LOBPI. He is in first grade and has an IEP and is listed under Other Health--I had to fight hard, but he had OT and speech for kindergarten and second grade. His OT called me the other day and wanted to give me a heads up before my meeting--that my son WILL NOT qualify for OT in second grade. She feels he's doing better than any other kid and can not find a reason for him to continue. Everything she ask him to do he can do and remember it has to educationally be affecting him. I told her that was her opinion, but I will decide what I AM going to do at the meeting. The speech teacher said YES he does need services next year---Personally I dont think his BPI affects him educationally--I think medically he needs OT, which means fighting my insurance to get it covered. School OT and Medical OT is soo different. I feel I should put my energy into fighting my insurance co for OT---anyone want to comment. Should I be fighting for OT at school???

Josh's Mom,
Just remember that once Josh has qualified under Article 7 to receive an IEP, they CANNOT take it away from you, even if they say they can! They will try and get you to sign off on this simply because, quite honestly, special education programs are usually very short handed and have a lot of "red tape" attached, since they are mandated and run by the federal government. If you aren't really that concerned with Josh's ability to receive services through the school but want to keep the classification, simply tell them that you know he needs speech and you want him to have that, but you feel he is doing well as far as OT is concerned and you would like to have him placed on "consult basis" only. Basically, consult basis is having OT come either one time a semester or one time a year (you suggest what you feel would be better) and observe Josh in the regular ed classroom. The OT would then make any suggestions that may help the regular ed teacher with modifications.

If you do not advocate for this and for some reason Josh has difficulties down the road in school with typing or other activities that his disability might impare, you will pretty much be out of luck. It will be a huge headache to try and get anything reinstated! If they still give you a hard time and are not cooperative, just tell them that you don't agree with them, DO NOT SIGN ANY PAPERS, and tell them that you would like to reschedule a conference with a mediator or advocate present. Trust me, you do that and they will back down!

I know this sounds like you are being a total pain. I am a teacher, my sister is a special ed teacher and case conference coordinator so we deal with this all of the time. But he is your child and you are his only advocate at this time. I encourage you to protect him. If you keep the IEP with consult only, I feel you will be doing that.

I think that you should fight for both....

For School OT - you can just have a small amount of time alloted to Josh so that the OT can check up on him.... things may come up.... will he need a keyboard?.... what about specific projects.... just have them give you some assessment time

For Medical Model OT - yes this is important when they are young to make sure that they get the most possible function when they are young..... and catch patterns before it's true habit..etc. Maia wasn't in OT for a few months now because we were in PT for her post surgical rehab and I can see now that her hand is lagging behind...and we have to now add some OT back... it's amazing how things can begin to slide backwards if you don't keep an eye on it - a trained eye, too.

of course you know that I think of Maia when I wrote this answer for you and this may not apply for Josh,
-francine

How do you apply for IEP;s and 504's? My daughter is fixing to start pre-k next year and then we start working on elementary. I have never heard of such a thing!

Tracey