Difference Between an IEP and an IR & S?

I'm guessing an IR&S is what we call an SST (Student Stupport Team or Student Study Team) meeting over here. That's the initial meeting where concerns are discussed and they make a decision to try out some interventions for awhile or go straight into an assessment to find if your student is eligible for Special Education Services through the school.
If they did not decide at thhis IR&S meeting to have your son evaluated for services, you can speed that up by requesting in writing that your son be assessed. Then they have 30 days to do it and have an initial IEP meeting.
The school has to assess on their own, even if you have already had an outside assessment done (though they do appreciate looking over the reports and all, they still have to conduct their own assessment).

At least thats how it works 'round these parts. Call your kid's school psychologist (every school has one) and ask her/him these questions, s/he can explain the whole process to you.

Hi! I was a special education teacher in NJ for 11 years up until my daughter was born 2 years ago. Hopefully I can explain this correctly. First let me tell you DO NOT give up!!! I was always telling my special ed kids' parents this. The parents have all the rights, if they just keep at it. Some districts are harder than others.

You absolutely should get OT for your son during the school day if this is effecting his learning. There are plenty of children who get OT, PT, Speech, etc. and are not in Special Ed classes. You need what is called an OT only IEP (or something to that affect, depending on the district). A m 504 Plan may help some if he is diagnosed with a medical condition. Perhaps your pediatrician/specialist can give you more info on that. That could be written to state that he needs say a special computer to help him, or a scribe for certain writing assignments, etc. I am not absolutely positive, but I don't think that could determine he needs OT. I think he would still need an IEP for that.

I have been on IRN& S teams. I cannot at the moment remember what the the "S" stands for either, but will let you know if I do because that may make it easier to google. The IR & S is a meeting to develop a plan for a child who doesn't have an IEP but is struggling in some area (could be a subject, behavior, socializing, speech, but in your case fine motor skills). The team should have had a plan at the end of the meeting, I assume? This plan should be tried for a certain amount of time and then you should all meet again to see how it works. (BTW...you don't have to agree with it!) The plan CANNOT be there parents need to get an OT. That could be included if you agree to it but that shouldn't be it. But, you are saying they said they can't do anything. That's not good enough. If they had a meeting it has to be interfering with his learning somewhere & its their job to figure out what can be done to help him in school. If you want to get him extra OT outside of the home that is up to you (and I know that can be expensive & difficult to get as well). The team has to offer suggestions to help him and put it in a written plan, or if they cannot offer a plan, refer him to the Child Study team to be tested (and if it is found he needs a service then an IEP will be written). Keep in mind this process could take a while.

I have worked in a few districts and things worked a little differently in each district. Is this a large district? Personally, if I felt I was getting nowhere I would call the Child Study Team at the school (Psychologist, Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant, Social Worker) and tell them you want your son to be evaluated by an OT because his deficiency in motor skills is interfering with his learning. If that didn't work, I would try the Supervisor of Special Services. Honestly I would keep going up the ladder if I had to!

An IEP is written once a child is classified as special education, or as needing a related service such as speech, OT, etc. This means he is evaluated by the child study team. It is an Individualized Education Plan. If it is found that your son needs OT only it would state that & there would be goals & objectives written by an OT & it would state how often he should get services. I am not sure how they got written or the testing was initiated initiated, but I have been in charge of OT, PT & Speech only IEPs for kids who were in Regular ed classes.

I feel so bad for you & your son. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to not understand these things & at the same time want help for him & not getting it. I wish I could help you further. I know a little about what OTs do, but not enough to really help. I am a little wound up about this because it bothers me when I hear of a kid being denied the help he deserves, so if you need clarification in anything I said let me know.

You may want to look at this link http://www.state.nj.us/education/parents/special.htm
Where they say "related services" that is what OT is.

Know your rights. Know what you want for your son & Keep fighting!!!!

I'll bet that IR&S is a title specific either to NJ or your school district akin to what is called EMT (Educational Management Team) in our district in MD and was SST (Student Study Team) in our CA district.

Typically that's a meeting for anyone who DOESN'T already have and IEP, so it's not an IEP meeting, to plan for ways to support the child etc. You can request, through those meetings, that he be evaluated through special ed., but be aware, even WITH something of grave concern, there are guidelines for qualification that he may not meet ... specifically if it isn't causing him not to LEARN :(

I know it's frustrating (I'm in the same boat with my son who is on the autism spectrum but his ONLY deficits are social and emotional).

For the insurance issue, go to his pediatrician and get a MEDICAL diagnosis and referral for OT. You'll have better luck getting insurance to cover it that way (because it will be medical not educational).

Then, request a full special education evaluation for your son (unless you already did that and he didn't qualify which is what they were telling you at the IR&S meeting). If he qualifies, they can make OT a service and it will be free to you.

HTH
T.

Mira, try looking at this:

http://www.aces.org/departments/extension_therapy/related...

If I were you, I would find someone in your area who provides the paid service of advocate for parents whose children need or have an IEP. They know ALL the rules and how they are supposed to be applied. He or she will help you navigate these waters to a successful conclusion.

I believe by what I saw on the site above, getting OT or PT IS part of an IEP, and I believe your school is either ignoring this or hoping that you will pay for it privately.

Good luck finding someone to help you get this pushed through with your school system!

Dawn

Hi Mira,

I've taught in 3 different states, and have never heard of IR & S. Is this something the institute you used to get your diagnosis uses?

I know many kids who got OT services through their IEP which is federally funded and supported through the public school system.

I know of some kids who had testing done outside of the school system, and the parents had to jump through a few hoops to get the school to write the IEP based on the outside evaluation. Some schools will require their own testing regardless (but, having the parents seek outside help lit the fire to get it done sooner).

A 504 plan may be helpful with accomodations, but it is not what you need if you have an IEP. An IEP supercedes a 504 Plan. There is no money to pay for accomodations in a 504 Plan, and will not pay for an OT.

Contact the institute that diagnosed your son and ask them the difference, and HOW to procede with the school district and your insurance. Then contact the school, and ask to speak to the principal, or chairperson who leads the school's team for such services. You may even need to talk to the child psychologist who works with the district to evaluate kids with disabilities.

Good luck, and let us know what you find out. My curiousity is peaked!

I agree with those who say you need a 504 plan (usually for students with medical conditions)... District is responsible for providing services your child needs. I am not sure if this would work with your son but... With students who have trouble writing I give them a butterfly clip (metal black clip you use to clip papers together) & have them open & close the clip this helps build the muscle between the thumb & pointer finger. There are also special pencil grips you could try... They might not help but worth the try.

I don't think you need an IEP. I think you need a 504 plan.

An IEP is an Individualized Education Plan, and it is generally intended for students who cannot learn or be taught in the traditional way. They have special needs, or intellectual disabilities, and it usually involves a basic inability to learn or participate along with the rest of their peers.

A 504 plan is intended to accommodate a student who can learn in the traditional way, but needs a modification in the classroom. Some examples would be: a diabetic student who is allowed to leave the class at any time for insulin or blood testing or food; a student who uses hearing aids and needs to sit near the teacher in order to hear better; a student who is unable to use his or her arms and cannot take notes and therefore must have a person take notes for him or her; a student who has dyslexia and needs an audio recording of the class. My dd has dysgraphia and is unable to write on the lines or write legibly and was allowed to use a keyboard device instead of handwriting anything. Like your son, her sentence construction, spelling and reading were levels above other students, but no one could even begin to decipher her writing and it didn't follow any lines but slanted way off the page.

The 504 plan is national, and is so named because it is section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

An IR&S could follow the establishment of the 504 plan. The school staff would say "ok, now that the 504 plan is in place, and it is established that your son cannot use a pen or pencil to write, we will now discuss how to accommodate his needs" and at that point they would say "let's get him a keyboard" or "we will have an aide write for him" or whatever is best. It's a way of identifying resources and support so that the 504 plan can be implemented best.

I would suggest you gather your professional evaluation records, and get a statement from a supportive doctor. Have the doctor state very very briefly "_______ has been diagnosed with hypotonia. His condition prevents him from writing legibly. He requires the use of [whatever you decide, like a keyboard or a scribe] and requires that a 504 plan be established for him." Have the doctor specify that this is not a short term problem resulting from, say, breaking his arm or something, but a long term condition that will require therapy. The briefer the doctor's note, the better. If necessary you can go into detail later.

A scribe, by the way, is what a school calls a person who either takes notes for a student or sits beside the student and fills in the answers on a test like the ACT or the state assessment test, or who reads the quiz aloud to a student and then records in writing what the student orally answers.

If your son's school will not comply and establish a 504 plan for him they must inform you of your rights. A parent cannot insist on a 504 alone - the school must recognize that the student does have a need for accommodation or a physician must inform the school.

Here's an article that I think is really clear and helpful:

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-right...

By the way, there will be regular meetings to update the 504 plan, like at the beginning and end of the school year, and if anything changes, you should put it in writing to the school. My dd's 504 plan keeps getting updated as we receive clearer diagnoses (she has medical needs in addition to the dysgraphia). Start thinking about how you think your son would do better in school, and keep notes. For example, do you think he needs to use a keyboard, or special pens, or does he get tired from trying to write and needs to have a reduced assignment (if the teacher says "write a paragraph of at least 6 sentences" would he do better if he only had to write 3 sentences), etc?

Also, if your son can use a keyboard, this is a great tool for kids: http://www.neo-direct.com

I hope this is helpful to you.

I think it is something your school made up. Both my younger kids have IEPs, there is nothing else.

What you probably need to do is find a doctor that can diagnose. First it will then allow insurance to cover therapy. The second is a diagnosis will force an IEP and services through the school.

I wish I could tell you what doctor you need to see but my kids needs are in the mental area.

Talk to your ped and get a referral for a pediatric developmental physician. Tell them your situation, get a prescription for OT and demand an evaluation from your district case study team.

Shannon and Jesse's answers are great. I just wanted to add that IR&S is intervention and referral services. Some schools call it this, but it is the in-school team that looks to provide interventions for struggling students. This team can recommend special education testing but they can not deem a student eligible for special education services. I think you should clarify with the school what kind of testing they have done. If it was testing for OT then you would have had to sign consent and it would have to be done by an OT in the district.

With all of that being said I would also talk to your doctor. And approach this from all angles. If your child needs some intervention then the sooner the better.

I haven't heard of an IR and S, but in my state (and I'm pretty sure all work this way since IEPs are protected under a federal law), Occupational Therapy cannot exist in an IEP alone. Another diagnosis must accompany it, such as speech or a learning disability. Frustrating, I know, but without another disability schools do not provide service.