Post by earthmonkey on Sept 3, 2008 20:54:43 GMT -5
Well, I remember having a thread about how the school wouldn't surrendur papers or anything, and then the finally did in late July. Anyway, we sent over the documentation and my applications for disability services, and they say that the amount I have is okay for provisional services (but I need to have record of official diagnosis, which doesn't yet exist in Officialdom).
But anyway, the deadline to apply for pre-orientation program, was July 15. But since the school was so damned stubborn and we had to write to the superintendent to get it, I missed that deadline and now they say they're over-registered for that. Which REALLY sucks, since my parents put in for the time off months ago, can only stay about a week with me from the 17th September (now I am moving in on the 20th September instead of the 16th, so they'll still be up there for only a couple days while I adjust). And they can't put in for more time, since they need the money to pay for college, and they already had to take out the loan on the 401k thing that's for tuition, so they can't just take out extra money for the loan since that's done.
So the director of special services, recently told my parents about how she didn't see why services would be withheld since I still have an active IEP (well, that's the most couch-potato-y IEP I ever saw..it needs to go on a treadmill and get to work!)
So I e-mailed her, outlining the specific difficulties with daily living, and how important it is that I have these things documented. She replied with the above paragraph. Ironic, for such an 'active IEP' that's going to give me access to these services I need, that the only part of "transition services" ever provided is a listing of my strengths, weaknesses, and goals (I have as much info written on my BLOG.
).
So now, I've got a neurology appointment on Friday, and I have to try to get them to arrange an appointment with an autism specialist in the next week, and NOW they're saying I can't go to pre-orientation EITHER??? Which, in addition to moving in earlier than the bulk of the crowd, there's information about how to access services and the processes and such, and this is always such a difficult thing for me, which is why at the community college I hardly accessed any disability services, because I wasn't able to. How ironic is that?
And I certainly can't be absorbing these processes while doing academics, living on my own where I'll have to manage things like hygiene and schedules, AND still manage to get involved in student groups.
I e-mailed the lady who e-mailed to tell me that I couldn't participate (in my first e-mail I mentioned I was autistic and had submitted the paperwork as soon as I could), basically explaining some of the circumstances about the district (though in somewhat mroe neutral terms than on here), and how important such a thing is to me. My dad also e-mailed someone about this to see if I can get in.
Anyway the other day the director of special services e-mailed me back and asked that I go to her office and go over things. I wrote back that, because of how involved such a process as that is - washing, getting dressed, boarding two buses there and two back, and all the little steps that make those up, I simply couldn't do that that day, but maybe the next day or a later day.
She also wrote that she wanted to talk to me on the phone, so I gave her my cell phone number (reminding that the only semi-effective way to communicate with me on the phone is to make sure she calls me and not have me call her), and have left it charged and on for the last two days. No calls, though I think she might've called my mom.
My dad also asked, "I don't know what she thinks she'll accomplish by meeting with us" and I said "probably just to convince us we don't need it."
BTW, when she e-mailed saying that the school probably wouldn't accept them anyway and would want to conduct their own evaluations, I pointed out to her the link and quoted where it said that the cost and responsibility of having these evaluations done is solely on the student and not the college, and links to their specific guidelines for learning disability and psychiatric disability (even though I really resent having autism in with the psychiatric disability category - it's developmental! I mean it's in the DSM but so is substance dependence), and while for me it involves learning disabilities that's not intrinsic to autism. So really none of their categories really fit with autism, which is one reason I was so confused at first.
Anyway, I'm kind of at a loss, and with AFF going flop plop and all this crap I really have got little clues.
But anyway, the deadline to apply for pre-orientation program, was July 15. But since the school was so damned stubborn and we had to write to the superintendent to get it, I missed that deadline and now they say they're over-registered for that. Which REALLY sucks, since my parents put in for the time off months ago, can only stay about a week with me from the 17th September (now I am moving in on the 20th September instead of the 16th, so they'll still be up there for only a couple days while I adjust). And they can't put in for more time, since they need the money to pay for college, and they already had to take out the loan on the 401k thing that's for tuition, so they can't just take out extra money for the loan since that's done.
So the director of special services, recently told my parents about how she didn't see why services would be withheld since I still have an active IEP (well, that's the most couch-potato-y IEP I ever saw..it needs to go on a treadmill and get to work!)
So I e-mailed her, outlining the specific difficulties with daily living, and how important it is that I have these things documented. She replied with the above paragraph. Ironic, for such an 'active IEP' that's going to give me access to these services I need, that the only part of "transition services" ever provided is a listing of my strengths, weaknesses, and goals (I have as much info written on my BLOG.
).So now, I've got a neurology appointment on Friday, and I have to try to get them to arrange an appointment with an autism specialist in the next week, and NOW they're saying I can't go to pre-orientation EITHER??? Which, in addition to moving in earlier than the bulk of the crowd, there's information about how to access services and the processes and such, and this is always such a difficult thing for me, which is why at the community college I hardly accessed any disability services, because I wasn't able to. How ironic is that?
And I certainly can't be absorbing these processes while doing academics, living on my own where I'll have to manage things like hygiene and schedules, AND still manage to get involved in student groups.
I e-mailed the lady who e-mailed to tell me that I couldn't participate (in my first e-mail I mentioned I was autistic and had submitted the paperwork as soon as I could), basically explaining some of the circumstances about the district (though in somewhat mroe neutral terms than on here), and how important such a thing is to me. My dad also e-mailed someone about this to see if I can get in.
Anyway the other day the director of special services e-mailed me back and asked that I go to her office and go over things. I wrote back that, because of how involved such a process as that is - washing, getting dressed, boarding two buses there and two back, and all the little steps that make those up, I simply couldn't do that that day, but maybe the next day or a later day.
She also wrote that she wanted to talk to me on the phone, so I gave her my cell phone number (reminding that the only semi-effective way to communicate with me on the phone is to make sure she calls me and not have me call her), and have left it charged and on for the last two days. No calls, though I think she might've called my mom.
My dad also asked, "I don't know what she thinks she'll accomplish by meeting with us" and I said "probably just to convince us we don't need it."
BTW, when she e-mailed saying that the school probably wouldn't accept them anyway and would want to conduct their own evaluations, I pointed out to her the link and quoted where it said that the cost and responsibility of having these evaluations done is solely on the student and not the college, and links to their specific guidelines for learning disability and psychiatric disability (even though I really resent having autism in with the psychiatric disability category - it's developmental! I mean it's in the DSM but so is substance dependence), and while for me it involves learning disabilities that's not intrinsic to autism. So really none of their categories really fit with autism, which is one reason I was so confused at first.
Anyway, I'm kind of at a loss, and with AFF going flop plop and all this crap I really have got little clues.
