I need advice

AandE- assuming the last assessment was within the last year they can use that to start with. Once you have your IEP, they can set up another assessment to see where they are at. After those assessments are done, you can convene an IEP meeting to adress whatever additional areas of need that come up.

Connect with your district rep ASAP to get a clear idea on your placement options. I think that is an important step to take so that you can weigh out the pros and cons. When you get that info you can post it here if you want and we can share our thoughts.

It's important to be clear on what mode of communication they are using though. You want to stay away from classes that use PSE or CASE at thus point. They need access to a real and complete language.
 
Both evaluations are from Nov Dec 2010 so it is possible I still want to get a advocate I guess I cant complain they are going to a deaf school they both need it I wish i grew up knowing i wasnt the only hoh child I think it would be a great oppertunity for both of them. My son needs my daughter in so many ways she keeps him motivated thats why both must go to one school.
Exsample of Austin needing Emma: My dog killed my sons bunny last night Austin does not understand what death is at all so I told him that his bunny is sleeping and is never going to wake up that hes playing in heaven (like my mom told me to do ) Austin still does not understand he keeps wanting to go outside and unburry the bunny hes signing rabbit and sayin BUGS (in his voice) I want to melt for him it upsets me Emma sat next to him gave him a hug and signed to him that she loved him and said its ok

She is his backbone on alot she learned to ride a bike now he wants to he does what she does and he is older than her So i feel by her signing he will want to more and more and not give up on this communication method
 
AandEMomma said:
Both evaluations are from Nov Dec 2010 so it is possible I still want to get a advocate I guess I cant complain they are going to a deaf school they both need it I wish i grew up knowing i wasnt the only hoh child I think it would be a great oppertunity for both of them. My son needs my daughter in so many ways she keeps him motivated thats why both must go to one school.
Exsample of Austin needing Emma: My dog killed my sons bunny last night Austin does not understand what death is at all so I told him that his bunny is sleeping and is never going to wake up that hes playing in heaven (like my mom told me to do ) Austin still does not understand he keeps wanting to go outside and unburry the bunny hes signing rabbit and sayin BUGS (in his voice) I want to melt for him it upsets me Emma sat next to him gave him a hug and signed to him that she loved him and said its ok

She is his backbone on alot she learned to ride a bike now he wants to he does what she does and he is older than her So i feel by her signing he will want to more and more and not give up on this communication method
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I agree. Getting an advocate will take some of the worry off your shoulders. It can never hurt.

Oh, what a beautiful story about the way your kids support each other.
Yes, when one sib signs and is exposed to the rest of the family on daily basis, the other sib will be more likely to sign as well. It's like they have a partner in language in the house.:giggle:
 
AandEMomma said:
what is PSE and CASE?
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Pigeon Signed English an Conceptually Accurate Signed English. Neither one is appropriate for children acquiring language. ASL is needed for the deaf child just as spoken English is needed for the hearing child. The other two systems are not languages, but modes. They do not adhere to the gammatical rules of a signed language, and are very confusing for a child's brain, or anyone's brain for that matter, to process.

PSE is certainly better than CASE for conversation as it comes closer to ASL. But even for CASE, it is not good to use as a language of instruction for all courses.
 
AandEMomma, with our first IEP, our local school didn't conduct any evaluations, although the director of special ed came to our house to meet my daughter.

But, I provided them with a lot of information about her needs and abilities. I contacted the Deaf and HOH Program at our hospital and requested a language evaluation: they conducted a combined assessment using ASL and spoken language. I'll see if I have a digital copy and will PM to you. I also requested that the parent infant program we'd been attending for two years, at that point, would conduct an informal language assessment in ASL. That was extremely useful. We requested evaluations from our early intervention program -- our SLP was fluent in ASL, and had been focusing on sign from the start. And, I stacked the deck a bit. I asked the Director of the Deaf & HOH program at the hospital to write a referral, a recommendation for the most appropriate placement for my daughter. I happened to know that she's a major proponent of bilingual education, and I made no bones about hoping that my daughter would be placed at TLC, a bi-bi school -- even though there were quite a few other programs and schools closer to our home that were oral or TC. So that recommendation was really explicit. I'll send you that as well.

And we always expressed an openness towards considering, not necessarily taking, all options -- so I don't think they got it in their heads that we were being narrow-minded, just certain in our direction.

But it seems that you have a leg up, given that you already had obtained placement for your children at MSD: that in itself has to go a long way, can you get your hands on all that documentation that went into placement? And your child's evaluations / quarterly reports from MSD?
 
It is that is why when it was Time for Emma to go to school in Dec 2010 I decided on MSD because Austin was learning ASL from a deaf interpretor (he was great I always wondered how a deaf person can teach sign but he did wonderful im gonna miss him) Emma learned it and used it at home then Austin used what he learned in school after seeing Emma use it. Now Im learning it and bought Signing Time DVD's from blockbuster a whold season 2 for like 60 bucks that was great They love the movies and it keeps them up to date and continue learning
 
grendelq- yes i have all of my sons reports in a folder due to genetic testing for disabilities
as for my daughter i may have to call MSD to get those evaluations mailed to me so that shouldnt be a problem
 
AandEMomma said:
It is that is why when it was Time for Emma to go to school in Dec 2010 I decided on MSD because Austin was learning ASL from a deaf interpretor (he was great I always wondered how a deaf person can teach sign but he did wonderful im gonna miss him) Emma learned it and used it at home then Austin used what he learned in school after seeing Emma use it. Now Im learning it and bought Signing Time DVD's from blockbuster a whold season 2 for like 60 bucks that was great They love the movies and it keeps them up to date and continue learning
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Oh, yeah. It is amazing how much the kids learn from each other. I know I learned a lot from my son. Being around Deaf classmates all day, his sign quickly outgrew mine!:giggle: Instead of me teaching him, it reversed to him teaching me!
 
YEs my kids teach me too Austin one night was signing something to me i didnt know what it was then i asked his teacher and he was signing frog so they teach me words as i do for them when i learn new ones i pick a new word a week and use it and teach them that word to keep us learning... I was thinking about that fuzzy or muzzy dvd but ive seen threads on here saying that it was no good
 
AandEMomma said:
YEs my kids teach me too Austin one night was signing something to me i didnt know what it was then i asked his teacher and he was signing frog so they teach me words as i do for them when i learn new ones i pick a new word a week and use it and teach them that word to keep us learning... I was thinking about that fuzzy or muzzy dvd but ive seen threads on here saying that it was no good
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I'm not familiar with that dvd...is it one of the "baby signs" dvds?

They have several dvds that are of native ASL signers signing stories. Can't recall the name of the series right now, but Bott usually remembers these things when I can't.:lol:

A Deaf friend of mine used them in teaching college level ASL classes, but since they are all stories, they would be very approriate for kids, too.
 
She does baby signs too but as her kids got older she did a tv show that used to come on Nicoloden (nick) but was cancelled now she has DVD'S i have the nice to meet you , outdoor, sports and ect.. its all season 2 look up signingtime.com and it shows you the woman is hearing but her daughter is deaf and thats how she came across it she signs and all its repetive but its fun to watch
 
AandEMomma said:
She does baby signs too but as her kids got older she did a tv show that used to come on Nicoloden (nick) but was cancelled now she has DVD'S i have the nice to meet you , outdoor, sports and ect.. its all season 2 look up signingtime.com and it shows you the woman is hearing but her daughter is deaf and thats how she came across it she signs and all its repetive but its fun to watch
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You know, if the kids are enjoying the DVDs and they are getting more sign exposure from them, there is no harm in using them.
 
CSign said:
AandE- assuming the last assessment was within the last year they can use that to start with. Once you have your IEP, they can set up another assessment to see where they are at. After those assessments are done, you can convene an IEP meeting to adress whatever additional areas of need that come up.

Connect with your district rep ASAP to get a clear idea on your placement options. I think that is an important step to take so that you can weigh out the pros and cons. When you get that info you can post it here if you want and we can share our thoughts.

It's important to be clear on what mode of communication they are using though. You want to stay away from classes that use PSE or CASE at thus point. They need access to a real and complete language.
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I'm interested in that part.... Why are you advocating for a real and complete language (which is awesome, ty.) but using something that is not?
 
posts from hell said:
I'm interested in that part.... Why are you advocating for a real and complete language (which is awesome, ty.) but using something that is not?
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That is a question I asked in another thread...and have yet to receive an answer to.
 
AandEMomma said:
Jillio and Csign- I was NOT in any means trying to put yall on the table that way its hard to express what I want to say for me on the internet I really DO appriciate Everything yall are doing really..

GREAT NEWS : I got an IEP set up for the 16th but, i do not know how I feel about this:
They are talking about providing everyday transportation to and from the Romney school for the deaf (1hr and 30 min away) Its kind of far but its a deaf school I need some feedback what would you do if this was your child? Keep in mind if that child needs to be picked up from school ASAP for medical reasons or beyond... Im mixed cuz I want them in a deaf school but I do not know if I want them that far.... let me see both sides..
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It IS kind of far, but on the other hand it would be FAR better then boarding them. I remember an article that said that WVSDB wasn't that great of a school. BUT, it is in the process of being upgraded and of course it does seem that even the schools that aren't academicly rigerous, very often have awesome early childhood programs. I also wouldn't expect West Virginia to have awesome mainstream sped programs. I know that when mainstream sped sucks, the deaf schools tend to be better. The Deaf School does offer a multihandicapped program, which is awesome. Your son isn't severe right? Just has some relatively mild developmental issues right? It really would be a long trip, but maybe just for a few years it wouldn't be that bad.
 
AandEMomma, do you know why they are considering Romney instead of MSD, which seems to be half the distance (and is where your kids have been attending)?

If WV's out-of-district placements don't hit local school budgets, and addressing the placement process is all handled by your SEA, maybe they always recommend the nearest in-state placement by default, and you just need to formally request MSD instead. Or could there be something in your IEP requirements that Romney serves more effectively?

In an earlier post, I mentioned that WV has some precedent for out of state out of district placements, so at least you know it's not unheard of for the state to send kids over state boundaries for services that meet their needs. In this article about one school district in New Hampshire, you can see that deaf kids are being provided out of district placements to a couple of different states, including Austine school for the Deaf in Vermont with annual tuition of $185K and The Learning Center for the Deaf in MA with annual tuition of $81K.
 
My son's handicaps are not sevear he doesnt understand things that a "normal" or "average" 5 year old would understand he doesnt do the things like jump off a step like other kids would he doesnt talk. He is smart when it comes to taking things apart and putting them together he does remember things very well.

I do think Romney is far but, it is better than boarding them. I have verbally requested MSD when I went to set up the IEP meeting and they told me that they will not do that because the state has a school for the deaf. I did bring up that MSD was closer than WVSDB. I have wrote everyone I could think of regarding this matter on the schools being far and the people that can help you simply say no. I have told myself I am only staying here if it is best for my children. BUT if WV makes my young kids take this trip everyday to school I will be moving back to MD because they offered them more. I have read articles about WVSDB that were not so great on the educational systems but I am not giving up. I just do not know what else to do.
 
MA Comm. for the Deaf & HOH provides this sample letter for a school district requesting a Deaf Mentor:
SAMPLE
Local Education Authority Letterhead

Date
Monica Synnott
Director of Special Education Pricing
Operational Services Division
One Ashburton Place, Room 1017
Boston, MA 02108

Re: Individual Price Request Justification for Student AP SASID 1048985547

Dear Ms. Synnott:

The Regional School District has approved the services of deaf mentoring to be added to this student’s Individual Education Plan. This is a service that this student and family require in order to communicate more efficiently with each other.

Certification as a deaf mentor requires many hours of specialized training. In addition to the specialized training, the deaf mentor must have additional training in working with the highly intensive and specialized needs of this student. Finally, the deaf mentor has several years of experience, thus justifying the per hour cost.

Sincerely,
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I must have missed this part. How many miles away is Romney from where you live? How many miles is it to WVSDB? I'm out and about today, but when I get a chance I'll look into out of state placements. I forgot that where you live, neighboring states are close compared to some other states.
 
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