In a previous post, I mentioned that we have been trying to get my son a 504 at his school. It has been a long, drawn out process that I have cried many tears over and sometimes even left me questioning whether or not I was doing right by my child.
As his mom, all I want is for him to have the same opportunities in life that my husband and I’s other three kids have. For other parents like me, that means a lot of fighting for services. And it can take a long ass time to see results.
We are fortunate that we were able to get him occupational and speech therapy fairly quickly. We didn’t have to fight with his insurance company, which is not how it works for a majority of clients. The establishment we go through is very good at writing evaluation reports that show how their client’s lives are impacted by the various issues they face. Because of that, and because we have state insurance for the kids, he got approved very quickly, which I’m incredibly grateful for.
While the therapy portion went fast, the 504 process took much longer. We tried to get him an IEP shortly after he was diagnosed with autism, Tourette Syndrome, Hypotonia, Transient Alteration of Awareness and ADHD, but they denied him because he was “too smart” and he wasn’t failing. It was a bullshit excuse in my opinion. Educational success doesn’t just include a child’s grades.
Following the IEP denial, we decided to try for a 504, but because it was the end of the school year, it went nowhere. We restarted the process this new school year, but had to wait for him to get into Swing for the Stars. Then we had two different evaluations he needed to complete which were two hours each. We had to then wait for the reports to be written. We also had to wait to find out if he would need further testing to see if he suffers from seizures. He doesn’t, thankfully.
Two days ago we FINALLY got him a 504. His therapists at Swing were kind enough to provide a list of accommodations that would be helpful in his classroom, and my son has an amazing teacher who has connected with him. She moved up with his class to the fifth grade this year and she is moving up with them to sixth grade next year. That means she knows my son very well, and how he reacts to certain things, and she has been incredibly helpful in providing him with help and understanding. She is a saint.
In addition, I also provided the woman in charge of 504s at his school with his evaluation reports which were incredibly detailed and thorough. Based on all the information provided to the school, they found his impairments do, in fact, substantially limit his ability to communicate and concentrate in class, which does impact his learning. Because he is so high functioning, his accommodations aren’t as intense as ones others need, but I wanted to share them with all of you in case you’re looking for ideas for your own children or are wondering what types of accommodations schools can provide.
