The IEP created under the IDEA which was recently modified as of December 2004 gives a pathway for a child to realize goals set out in Section 504. Essentially it sits on top and a way of emplemeting section 504. Once you are able to define the needs of your child in order to give him a level playing field the school district must provide him with those services, or give you an alternative, i.e. private school at district expense.

By the way your local school district is required to provide you with these sevices even if your child is home schooled or in a private school.

It is better to have the IEP in place, because it is better defined, but if his needs are being met by the 504 the school will probably tell you that there is no need.

If you feel that the 504 is failing him at all you need to push the school for the assesment. If they decline the assesment, ask for the following:

Official school records, including but not limited to Student Records, Observations, Disciplinary Records, Teacher Reports, Progress Reports, Grades, Student Study Team participants along with their qualifications, Student Study Team process for determining eligibility to proceed to an IEP, Student Study Team notes on my son's assessment and any other information contained within.

Be very clear that you feel that your son's needs are not being properly addressed by the 504 and why you think changes should be made. Schools do not receive alot of funding for 504's, so most of the accomidations do not include resourcing. They focus on time for test taking, quiet areas for the student to study, special test reviews, basically stuff that does not require alot of funds.

Districts do receive money for IEP's but the problem here is that the amount of money that a district receives is no longer covering the needs of all the children they are required to serve, so the districts are starting to push back and limiting the IEP's. HR1350 passed and signed into law in December 2004 gives the school some ability to limit access. The problem is that more and more students are legitamitly qualified for an IEP, so it is becomming more necessary for the parents to stand up and be an advocate for their child.

That is why it is important to get all of your information together prior to any meeting. Make sure it is in writing, and repeat over and over again, in order for my child to have a level educational playing field, he needs the following services. Remember the IEP is not just for a student doing remedial work, but it is as much as for a gifted student that is not living upto his abilities because of his disabilities. So even if he is clasified as gifted he is still eligable for an IEP if he has disabilities.

Good luck

504's are harder to enforce the higher up in school the child is (more teachers to deal with ). They do get overlooked but that does not mean they cannot be legally enforced. They ARE legally binding, yet they tend to be more vague. If a 504 is not being followed or not meeting your child's needs, you have the right to bring non-compliance charges in the worst case scenario. An IEP is more closely monitored for compliance.

If you can show that your child needs more than a 504 due to the degree of disability from neurological lyme, then you can demand an IEP be put in place. When the school knows you will go after them if they ignore the 504 they may bend on the issue of the IEP.

We had a parent sue the district because their middle school child's teachers did not follow the 504. She won the lawsuit and the teachers were taught a hard lesson. The child got an IEP and it was followed to the letter.

It can get confusing to outsiders why he can do it one day but not the next. Some educators will think that he does not have a true learning disability if his performance is variable. They will explain it away as being an "attention deficit" problem. While neurological lyme shares features of ADD and other disorders, it also involves other bodily systems, fatigue, vision issues, etc.

An injury to the brain would cause similar symptoms that wax and wane. It would be helpful to present information to the school about the variability of symptoms from one day to the next as well as neurological features of lyme and co-infections.

The school psychologist should know how to administer neuropsychological testing for some of these processing difficulties. Given that the processing deficits may vary from day to day, the testing should not be done in less than several sittings on different days and times.

2-05, LDA came out with a book for 8-12 year old children, and written in user-friendly language:

LD for kids: Let's have fun for $6 includes S/H.

I learned a little from that wasn't in 8-04 that wasn't in adult's LD UPDATE: Science, Laws, & Policies....$12 - $15 including S/H.

I also recommend each school buy both books ot have in their school libraries & public library.

Bettyg, Iowa

In my sons elementry there are 25 kids out of 1000 that are diagnosed with Aspergers. 45% of the school is diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, there is now a full time VP dedicated just to IEP's. The CDC now lists Autistic Spectrum kids at 1 in 166. By definition you can not have an epedemic of Autism. Whether it is Lyme, mercury from vaccinations or other infections, the end results are probalby all related.

It is unbeleivable what we have done to our kids, and lies that our government is spewing on the American public.

You have gotten some great advice from people here. In my case, I have actually had better results from the 504 than the IEP - go figure! Totally different teacher mix - the high school teachers (504) have been unbeliveably supportive, compared to the Middle School teachers (IEP). Believe me we keep on the Middle school ones and they are more 'beholden' by the law, but it just seems like there's more teeth pulling...

As a Learing Consultant in the public schools (and an LD sufferer for 15+ years) we see our share of kids with LD. I even had one girl who had a stroke caused by LD. There are no standard protocols for LD accommodations in the classroom since everyone presents differently. The point being that all kids with LD who are struggling in the classrrom must be assessed individually for educational impact. Once the educational impact is defined, modifications can be devised to fit that child's needs. If there is no educational impact, the child does not need an IEP or a 504 Plan.

You are right to arm yourself with information if the school district is ignorant. Try your best to work cooperatively with the school district, the more effectively you can communicate your needs in a pleasant manner, the better for all involved. Things can get in place quicker without due process etc...

But when his standardized test scores plummeted, THEN they wanted another look at the IEP!

This was in Connecticut, BTW.

Just about then, he tested positive for Lyme. I showed his test scores to Dr. Jones, who said the speed processing score was a red flag for Lyme.

I have moved to Maine, and they have been wonderful to accept and modify his IEP. He is s-l-o-w-l-y improving.

More in the morning -- I'm pretty bushed.

Regards,
Shaz

You're welcome, and sure, your friend can contact me at [email protected] (or just click on the Lymenet link).

Now, the rest of the story (sorry, was getting over a Meprom/Zith herx)...

When my son tested positive for Lyme, I had the school change his IEP designation to Lyme disease. I had a note from Dr. Jones giving a list of my son's symptoms due to Lyme (including fatigue, impaired concentration, depression, noise sensitivity, etc.) and suggestions on how the school could cope with them (open attendance, tutor, less written work; which might need to be changed from day to day, as his symptoms fluctuate).

School personnel are not medical doctors. They are not supposed to question the doctor's diagnosis. They are supposed to work with you to hash out a workable solution for your kid based on that diagnosis. If, based on interest and concern for other students, they want to learn more about LD, you can hand them the "ABC's of Lyme Disease" published by the LDA, or other articles on neuroborreliosis. (I have a folder full of them, if you'd like I can list them for you.)

But I leaned heavily, though politely, on that doctor letter. When we moved to Maine, the IEP went with us. The school here immediately adopted it, and has since modified the plan more than once, trying to get my kid into a success mode, from which to build. They have done an admirable job, and put the financially well-off CT school he was in to shame!