[blindkid] My daughter is turning 5...

[Rene Harrell]

Crystal----

What is that you want to do? You mention homeschooling your other two. All
things being equal, do you want homeschool your daughter, or do you want to
place her in school? There are ways to make both choices work equally well
for you and your family, the question becomes what you think the best choice
is for your daughter and your family.

For example, if your concern over homeschooling your daughter revolves
around standardized testing, know that you would not have to do standardized
testing with your daughter. The law in Oregon states that you can create a
PDP, or a privately developed plan. Basically this is a homeschool version
of an IEP. You need to have at least one professional, such a speech
therapist, an Occupational Therapist, a physical therapist, a music
therapist etc. etc. You can have more than one. They form the PDP team along
with you, and instead of doing a standardized test, your PDP meets in the
years that you would otherwise do testing in order to create an alternative
evaluation to determine adequate educational progress. There are ways to
very successfully homeschool your blind child, even with other disabilities,
if that is what you truly desire to do. :-)

You may feel that public schooling is in her best interest. In that case, I
would start by approaching your local school district, meeting with your
director of special education and doing a lot of personnel interviewing.
Their attitudes and philosophies, as well as their current programming
options for your daughter will tell you a lot about how her needs will, and
will not get met in a public school setting. The over-arching question I
would begin with is "What are my goals for my daughter, both longterm and
for a school year? What services do I expect the school system to provide in
order to meet those needs? What responsibilities do I expect them to carry
in regards to my child's progress and education?" Observe and talk with them
and see how much their expectations match yours. This will give you a good
idea of whether or not you'll have a great Team that meets your expectations
without too much trouble, or whether or not you'll have to become a very
strong and clear advocate for her needs in school. But she is *your*
daughter. *You* need to go into the education system knowing what *you* want
for your daughter, because no one knows her like you do. You know her needs,
and you start creating a program of services for her based on those needs.
:-)

We homeschool our children. Our oldest is blind with other disabilities and
at the age of 7 functions at around 3 years of age. In the past, we have
used the public school system, when it suited us.

I wish you the best of luck as you figure this out!
:-)
Rene in Colorado

On Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 11:38 AM, Crystal Abel
<websurfergirl19 at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> My daughter, Tatiana, is turning 5 on January 5th. I am wondering if I can
> get some advice from you? I do not have a School for the Blind close to me.
> The one in Salem, Oregon is 2 hours away from me. I have been home schooling
> my boys and here they do standardized testing for home schoolers starting in
> third grade. I do not know how the school system works for when she is in
> Kindergarten. Tatiana is developmentally delayed and still doesn't crawl or
> walk yet. She has a whole slew of endocrine problems and is totally blind
> with nlp. She also has seizure disorder and a Mic-Key button because of
> feeding issues. Developmentally she is about at 2-3 years of age in her
> communication skills and less than that physically. We live in Rainier,
> Oregon right across the river from Longview, Washington.
>
> I am wondering about if I put her in the mainsteam public school system
> what can I expect? What will they be doing with her? Do they just not do
> standardized tests with her? Please tell me your experiences putting your
> child in mainstream public school. Thanks!
>
> ~Crystal
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> See how Windows(R) connects the people, information, and fun that are part of
> your life
> http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/119463819/direct/01/
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
>
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/rjharrell%40gmail.com
>



-- 
" I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up
where I needed to be."
-- Douglas Adam