Where do I start? (Silver Spring, MD specifics are helpful!)

bigsis144

Tue, May 15 2018, 7:21 am

My 5 year old is a bright but difficult child. His nursery Morah is insistent that he is not ready for/the default frum kindergarten in our town would not be able to support his needs. When we got an evaluation fromMontgomery county, including speech, OT, cognitive processing, etc., they said he wasn’t developmentally delayed enough to get services through the county.

We have had him in private OT since he was three for frequent falls and general lack of coordination/body awareness. (We go to the ER a lot....)

He does not follow instructions or make much eye contact, or will walk away from me while I’m in the middle of talking to him or yell “blah blah blah”.

He frequently escapes from our house and even might end up across the street at a neighbor (this is terrifying, and yes, I am constantly trying to improve and [then improve again once beaten] the lock situation in all areas of the house. BH we live on a very quiet suburban street, but it’s still unacceptable).

Among children his age he is very friendly and seeks out social interaction, but he has a very hard time maintaining emotional regulation if *any* conflict arises. He is extremely territorial, so we can’t ever invite other children to play in his space and he will be downright hostile if I do much as give a classmate of his a ride in our car.

I have an IEP meeting in a few weeks, and I’m scared they’ll just turn me down for everything when he really needs help.

Do I need an advocate? Do I need a lawyer? This is all new to me and I must get my child the help he needs.

amother

Gray

Tue, May 15 2018, 7:52 am

I wish I had some concrete advice for you. We struggle similarly to try to provide education and support to our 8 yr old daughter who has academic and emotional regulation difficulties. I just wanted you to know you're not alone and sending hugs your way. I wish I could do more.