Meeting the AT Needs of Preschool Students Under
The IDEA
Ronald M. Hager, Esq., Senior Staff Attorney,
National Disability Rights Network, Washington, D.C.
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This Session Will Focus On:
• The IDEA Part C Program for infants and toddlers
• Selected Issues for Preschool students under Part B of the IDEA
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Additional Materials for This Session Can be Found at:
• AT Advocate Winter 2009-2010 available at http://www.nls.org/av/Winter%2009-10.pdf
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IDEA Part C: Early Intervention Program
• strong emphasis on prevention
• services are designed to meet
developmental needs of each child the “needs of the family related to enhancing
child’s development
• due to young age of child, services may be much less “educational”
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Introduction
States required to develop a:
• “statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system
• that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families”
• Designate a lead agency that is responsible for overall implementation
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Eligibility for Part C
Child must:
• be between birth and age two
• have developmental delay in one or more of the following:
cognitive development physical development including vision and
hearing
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Eligibility, continued
communication development
social or emotional development
adaptive development, or
diagnosed physical or mental condition high probability of resulting in developmental delay, and
at state’s discretion, at-risk infants and toddlers
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Part C is Payor of Last Resort
• Part C is payor of last resort
• Child need not be eligible for Medicaid
• But if available, Medicaid or private insurance must be used to pay for early intervention
• Use cannot result in reduction of coverage
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Process Begins with Referral
• Comprehensive child find system
State must develop and publicize procedures for referring children
Parents may refer directly
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Service Coordinator
• Must be appointed by implementing agency
• Responsible for overall implementation and coordination of services
• Must be from profession most relevant to child or family needs or otherwise qualified
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Comprehensive, Multidisciplinary Evaluation
Designed to identify:
• child’s unique strengths and needs• appropriate services to meet needs• family resources, priorities and concerns • the supports and services necessary to enhance
family’s capacity to meet needs
Must include review of health and medical records
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Evaluation, continued
Must assess functioning level and uniqueneeds of child in following areas:
Cognitive
Physical
Communication
Social and emotional, and
Adaptive behavior
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Developing the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
IFSP must be based on professionally acceptable
objective criteria
IFSP must be written and include:
• current level of physical (including vision, health, hearing), cognitive, communication, social or emotional, adaptive development
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IFSP, continued
• Family resources, priorities, concerns (if family agrees)
• Expected outcomes and how progress will be evaluated
• Services necessary to meet unique needs including;
Frequency, intensity, method of delivering services Natural environments Location of services Payment arrangements, if any
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IFSP, continued
• any services child needs that are not required under Part C
• funding sources to pay for those services
• name of service coordinator
• projected dates for initiation of services
• anticipated duration of services
• transition plan
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Services Available are Very Broad, Include:
• family training, counseling, home visits
• special instruction
• speech-language pathology and audiology services
• physical therapy
• psychological services
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Available Services, continued
• service coordination services
• medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes
• early identification, screening and assessment services
• health services necessary to benefit from other early intervention services
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Available Services, continued
• social work services
• vision services
• AT devices and AT services
• transportation and related costs necessary to receive other services
List is not exhaustive
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Assistive Technology is Covered Service
AT device:
• any item or piece of equipment
• used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities
• does not include surgically implanted devices• personally prescribed devices may be covered
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AT Service
Directly assists in:
• Selection
• Acquisition
• Use of AT device
• Includes training or technical assistance for professionals, individual or family
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Examples of AT Used by Infants/Toddlers
• Manual or power wheelchairs
• Specialized strollers or car seats
• Specially adapted toys and recreational equipment
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Examples of AT, continued
• Assistive listening devices including hearing aids, personal FM units, CCTV
• Assistive feeding devices including electric feeders
• Augmentative communication devices
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Right to Appeal
• Right to impartial hearing
• Right to confidentiality of records
• Stay put
All services not in dispute continue to be provided
All services currently being provided continue to be provided
• Systemic complaints
Services to preschool students under Part B
• All general rights available to school age students apply
• States may elect to allow parents to have continue to receive services under Part C until they reach kindergarten age
– Services must include an educational component that promotes school readiness
– Including pre-literacy, language and numbers
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Transition to Part B
• Transition plan must be included in IFSP
• Planning meeting must be held at least 90 days before student ages out of Part C
• Must ensure uninterrupted provision of services
• No stay put for Part C services
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FAPE and LRE Apply
• School district must meet LRE even if it does not operate a public preschool
• In such cases, if the district determines that placement in a private preschool program is necessary as a means to provide services to a student in the LRE, the program must be at no cost to the family. 71 Fed. Reg. 46589.
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Transition to School Age Services
• Must be a seamless process
• Due Process rights apply
• Stay put rights apply
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