Is this accommodation unusual?

[ThreeforMe]

We have that the teacher will double check that DC has epis on in the morning.  This has been in our plan for 2 years.  This is mainly a double check as it is the only way kiddo will have epis on the bus at the end of the day. Yesterday in the excitement of some extra stuff happening and the fact that DH is sick, at about 11 AM DH asked if the epis were on the wall.  They were.  He took them to school.

I asked DS how his teacher normally checks.  He tells me she doesn't.  He's also 8 and somewhat clueless about many things as he's 8   He is normally very good about grabbing the epis but again, things happen.  This was an oversight which is why we have this double check in place when he gets to school.

So with all the additional issues we've had this year and the fact that there are 19 more days left, what should I do if anything?  I feel like I need to document, document, document but other than that, is it even worth bringing up at this point? 

From the teachers POV, yes it is an extra step BUT wouldn't you WANT to know you have the tools needed incase of an issue? 

So over this year

[CMdeux]

Um-- well, yes, this IS a very unusual accommodation for the age group-- usually this kind of thing gets placed in a 504 plan once the child is "transitioning" to middle school, where they'll HAVE to self-carry and move from one classroom to another all day every day.

A more standard kind of thing in this age range is to have an extra in the teacher's desk, or an unlocked (accessible) location within the classroom.  That way, there is a safety net while he's at school.

I'd document it, POLITELY, with the teacher and 504C, and point to it as a "point in need of some fine-tuning" in the 504 plan.  Clearly it isn't working for the teacher-- but, um-- it might not work for ANY teacher, come to that.  Find out why not.  Then figure out something that WILL work.

I know, that sounds simple and isn't-- but that is what it all boils down to.  Don't fix it for THIS year, but for next. 

[ThreeforMe]

That's kind of what I was thinking but feel I need to have it "noted" somewhere with someone.

Are you saying it's not a good accommodation to have or that it's not typical till they are older?  He started to ride the bus last year and to be sure he had them, he started to self carry.  The teacher double check was alway to ensure he has them on the bus.  Not checking them also means she wouldn't have known he didn't have them if they had been needed too (there is a second set but those are in the nurses' office). 

[CMdeux]

Well, it points to several places where there are holes in the safety net.  It's not really for me to say in your specific circumstances whether I think it is either good/bad as an accommodation.  In some instances yes, in others no.  I'm not in your shoes, so there is detail that I don't have, KWIM?

There was obviously a reason why you wrote it in to begin with.

Are there additional steps that you/your child can take to make sure that the teacher's failure doesn't result in a system failure (not having epis on the bus ride)?

I can think of some questions about that:

1.  Does your child CARRY?  Or WEAR his meds?  If the former, would making it the latter help?  Possibly, IMO.

2.  Build a by-the-door checklist that includes this item-- that is, rather than have teacher check for them in the classroom, maybe ADD that you check them before he gets on the bus, too.  That's an additional safeguard.

3.  I'm thinking that you have to hand some of this over to your DS as he gets older-- at 8, unless he has developmental issues that make it inappropriate, he needs to be at least TRYING to do this for himself-- with you and the teacher acting as coaches (aware coaches, to be sure, but coaching, not DOING for him).  Maybe HE needs a checklist that he is responsible for-- hang it by the door, and put a copy somewhere on his backpack.  Can be VERY simple-- "1. lunchbox? 2. epis? 3. backpack?" but I'd start there.

[ninjaroll]

Use a SPIbelt with an Auvi-q in place of a regular belt.  It's only one device but it's quite discrete and almost impossible to lose.  It would take quite a trick for child to get it out by himself but 504 should be clear that there is no intention of child expected to self-administer.  The point is for an adult to look for the med on him in order to begin work immediately if office is closed, can't find stored EpiPens or the school is on lock down prohibiting access to the office or anywhere else for that matter.  For him (mine) it's good training towards carrying his own meds as well. 

Ideally you don't buy a screaming international orange camouflage SPIbelt if he's wearing it around school.  It will call the type of attention one doesn't want, perhaps increasing the likelihood child will not want to continue wearing it.  I also make it his responsibility to prompt me to carry his meds outside of school.  The point there the mental exercise for planning. 

So let the school store their stash in an unlocked area (they are responsible for storing prescribed meds), request they put up Epi stations in the school and put one on child, an Auvi-q if you can and that also works for you all. 

[Macabre]

Okay--I actually could see this happening at a younger age and not an older one.  When you talked about your DS being forgetful, well, mine is in high school and, um, yeah. He's such an absentminded professor--still.



But when he was that age, he (unfortunately) did not self-carry and sometimes he'd forget his epi bag after taking it to Specials, etc. 

It was so much easier once he started to self-carry.  He wore a belt (best one was the black spibelt). As long as he remembered them  in the morning when leaving the house, he was good, as he never took off the belt.  If he didn't remember, there were plenty of sets around the school, and a couple of times he just took one of those sets home with him on the bus and returned it the next day. (We'd email/call the school.) Or DH or I would run it to school. 

He would have been mortified by 4th or 5th grade if his teacher reminded him about his epis.  And the older they get, that confidentiality thing is more critical. I don't think I would have been comfortable with that either--even in the earlier grades.  He sticks out enough.  I wouldn't want it done "out loud," and I don't know how you could avoid that with one teacher and 22-25 kids. 

[ThreeforMe]

He does wear them (spibelt) and as I said he and Dad (who drives them in the AM 99.9% of the time) are normally on top of it.  The double check at school was so a) teacher knows he's got them if there is an issue and he needs them and b) the bus.  He only has one extra set at school so getting them and bringing them home would potentially be more problematic.

He is responsible for them and like I said, in the 2 years he's been wearing them this was the first instant it's happened.  I just wonder what double check we could have in place.  I agree that the teacher calling it out would not be great. Last year the teacher had the kids each check in and she would just ask when he was at her desk. I was under the impression that's what was happening this year but apparently not.

[daisy madness]

This just happened for us today too.  I was at work early so DH got the kids off to school and forgot to have DS put his spibelt on.  He got a call from the nurse about it.  Not sure if DS noticed, or if someone at school noticed.  He also has an epi in his backpack and one in the nurse's office.  We keep the Spibelt hooked on the doorknob on the way out the door, but I'm going to change this to hooking it on his backpack.  I've never forgotten to have him put it on, but I think this will be better for the mornings that I'm not here. 

[ThreeforMe]

We keep the Spibelt hooked on the doorknob on the way out the door, but I'm going to change this to hooking it on his backpack.  I've never forgotten to have him put it on, but I think this will be better for the mornings that I'm not here.

Thanks for this idea!  Perfect.  We can't leave it on the doorknob because of the 3 year old that is way to....3

[ninjaroll]

We were addressing the slim portion of fail safe.  It's not a judgment of how you normally operate but what we do in response to get more fail safe in place.  At this age we parents check to ensure the belt is on before he leaves.  Any number of things could happen once he's out of our sight but it's probably going to be a difficult accommodation to implement with fidelity for a general education teacher who doesn't have to keep it at the top of her mind as we who live with it do.  The team may write it into the plan.  I'm not sure how often and for how long it would be implemented, or how you would measure if it is.

The better one may be a laminated checklist in his cubby or locker in a folder that he checks off every morning with a whiteboard marker to self-check once he arrives and before he leaves.  Call it assistive technology in the form of a visual reminder.  It could be more abstract like a small laminated "E" he hands to the bus driver or teacher like a token to verify he knows where it is (on him).

You could also have a home based solution similar to daisy's where there is a dedicated area with a labeled bin that holds only meds in belt, medic ID and for kids that can use phones, a phone.  The routine is get dressed then get kitted back-to-back. 

I'd suggest come up with more than one idea for next year's meeting.  If they balk at all your suggestions you could start to dangle the idea of a bus aide as a last resort if they fail to properly and meaningfully consider your presented options, or come up with one on their own that is equally effective.

Let's put it this way: I would not trust the school to implement this one.  It's easily forgotten and nearly impossible to measure implementation. Not unless there some sort of built in monitoring.

[ThreeforMe]

I think this is overall my issue with any/all accommodations.  Until one is violated and kid/nurse/other parent informs you (the parent) of this, how do you know your plan is at all being implemented and followed?   I had though all along it was done at "check in" which it is obviously not.  What of the other accommodations. What about the hand washing that's suppose to be happening?  Both for the class and for the kid?  I have a feeling this isn't being done either. And I could go on.  If they blatantly violate his plan (i.e. give him food.  Twice.  Within 2 weeks of each other) what about the "smaller" but no less important things??

I like the idea of a check off list or something but again, will they even notice if one day he doesn't hand in his token or whatever we try?

[ninjaroll]

To give you an idea of scope, even when schools have rather blatantly engaged in deliberate indifference to school bullying of disabled students that result in suicide in more than one case, that legal threshold to successfully produce evidence of the required elements to establish deliberate indifference is astronomical.

So though the failure of a checklist could result in a fatality it's not one with a promising legal consequence after the fact, and as you correctly note not one of any mechanism to compel implementation for prevention based strategies.

As you know and most likely do the best you can it's tricky to keep a positive working relationship with the very people who have the custodial function as well as responsibility to educate.

I've got personal advice on strategy.  I have no idea what would apply and defer to you and dad's judgment as you know your situation best.

I'd start making notes to yourself in the form of email when violations occur no matter how small.  Don't use terms that are abstract or legal like violate accommodation.  Note it in lay terms like which personnel failed to ensure child boarded bus with rescue meds.  Send a copy to your husband and keep the same title of the email for all logs for easy search.  You'd have to consult an attorney (CYA for me) but email to your husband on these incidents should be privilege as long as they are not said publicly... like here.  To us and the internets.

Save all notices sent home by school of activities that are food based that are inherently discriminatory for LTFA.  Build up a cumulative weight of all these smaller incidents so when and if it does come to a complaint you've got a self explaining case that shows a pattern of continued discrimination.  If you can get your hands on all school material in terms of its own policies that it may be violating as well - grab those.

To be successful often it is necessary to show how a threshold has been reached.

In the meantime for next year's meeting gather the team and calmly state the concerns with data and proposed solutions. 

[joanna5]

We don't have that accommodation.  My ten year old self carries and has for years.  We had an SPI belt until recently and used one of those contact hooks to hang it from.  We hung it up on the door out of reach of my youngest and it makes it hard for him to forget.  He also self carries almost 100% of the time- school, family outings, playing out in the neighborhood.  I figure that that more he does it, the more automatic it becomes.  The only time he doesn't is baseball games and even then he sticks it in his baseball bag. I do double check every morning, but it's been several years since he's forgotten it.

We just switched to an Auvi Q and the buddy pouch, but use a similar process.