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Showing posts from March, 2014

Inappropriate "Services"

I have contacted many people, in the Lee's Summit school district, and none of their children are receiving appropriate social skills training for autism. Social skill is not a “service” but a functional skill necessary for daily living activities. Learn what the IDEA, the federal regulations, and the Commentary say about Present Levels of Functional Performance and IEP goals for functional skills. Read Pat Howey’s article What You Need to Know About IDEA: Present Levels of Functional Performance and Functional Goals in IEPs. http://www.wrightslaw.com/howey/iep.functional.perf.htm Your child’s IEP must include a description of her Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance. This means what her strengths and weaknesses are – both in academics and in functional areas like social skills. If your child has “functional needs” the school must meet these and address these needs with goals in the IEP. Questions to Ask Remember, you are part of the IEP te...

Autistic Students

Today, the CDC has now announced new numbers in autism  prevalence: 1 in every 68 children under the age of 21 has autism,  including 1 in every 42 boys. This is a 29% increase since the last update (1 in 88 in 2012). The last time that I was able to get the information, Lee's Summit had 17,559 students. 150 of those students had an educational diagnosis of autism.  Another 250 had a medical diagnosis.  If the CDC is correct it would mean the Lee's Summit would potentially have 258 students with autism.   This means that there are potentially 158 autistic students that are not being served.  Following is the law in Missouri and the facts on how well educated the persons making decisions are.  In Missouri a person designated as an autism specialist decides your child's educational diagnosis regardless of how many doctors disagree or have diagnosed otherwise. Best Practice Guidelines: There are currently no best practice guidelines to  help ...

Why Isn't Hilltop Ever Listed?

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Lee's Summit R-VII (048-071) Phone: 816-986-1000 301 N.E. Tudor Road Fax: 816-986-1165 Lee's Summit, MO 64086-5702 E-mail: linda.ismert@leesummit.k12.mo.us   County-District Code: 048-071 Supervisory Area: B County: Jackson MSIP: Accredited Congressional District: 04, 05, 06 House District: 029, 030, 031, 033, 034, 035, 037, 055 Senate District: 07 , 08 , 09 , 11 , 31 Assessed Valuation: $1,682,183,866 Tax Levy: $6.0627 District Planning Profile           Enrollment (Prior Year)     Schools Cert. Staff Residents Non-Res. Total Elementary Schools 19   701   9,446   1   9,447   Middle Schools 3   219   2,774   0   2,774   Jr. High Schools 0   0   0   0   0   High Schools 4 ...