40 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • APRIL 2021
FAMILY & EDUCATION
CHILD MISSING MILESTONES? WHEN THE NEXT STEP IS AN IEP
IEP OR 504 PLAN
Depending on the evaluation results
and your child’s needs, your child may
qualify for either an individualized
education plan (IEP) or a 504 plan. An
IEP details your child’s specific goals
and a plan for what your school will
do to help meet those goals, including
specific services such as speech therapy,
occupational therapy, physical
therapy, and academic support. A 504
plan helps provide accommodations
for support within the classroom, such
as additional time on tests, an aide in
the classroom, preferential seating,
and/or modified homework. Typically
students who have a less severe disability
(such as anxiety, ADHD, etc.) and
not a diagnosed learning disability will
receive a 504. Students who need more
services, including speech therapy,
occupational therapy, physical therapy,
special education teacher support
services, etc., would receive an IEP.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Federal law indicates that every child
is entitled to a free and appropriate
education in the least restrictive
environment possible. Three specific
federal laws apply to children with special
needs, including the Individuals
with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
If your school district refuses to
provide appropriate services to your
child, you may initiate a due process
hearing to challenge their decision.
FOCUS ON STRENGHTS
It is easy to go into a bit of negative
space when dealing with your child’s
educational support. Remember to focus
on your child’s strengths; they may
struggle with reading and writing but
may excel with math computation. Or
maybe your child is incredibly social,
empathetic, and kind. Perhaps they are
a talented artist, a great storyteller, or
a whiz at building Legos. Praise your
child for small accomplishments, like
sitting next to a friend at lunch who
seemed sad, drawing a beautiful flower,
or creating an elaborate Lego tower.
As you help your child academically
with areas in which they may struggle,
continue to build their self-esteem, and
explain that no one is perfect. We all
have strengths and weaknesses as well
as areas we need to work on improving.
Your special needs child can still have
dreams and aspirations that can be
achieved with support and guidance.
This story first appeared in New York
Family.
continued from page 39
Achieve Beyond Pediatric Therapy
& Autism Services
Services available in all five boroughs
and Long Island
718-762-7633, 631-385-7780, achievebeyondusa.
com, info@achievebeyondusa.com
Achieve Beyond believes that early
intervention services make a difference
and provide pediatric therapy to
children and students ages infant-21,
aiding each child to reach their
full potential through education,
therapy and family support in over
30 different languages. They offer
initial screenings, parent or school
consultations and comprehensive
evaluations. Their professional and
licensed staff is committed to serving
special needs children with physical
and developmental disabilities/delays.
Services are provided in home,
clinic, or community environments.
They offer speech and language
therapy, occupational and physical
therapy, special education and more.
Long Island Center for Speech
Locations across Suffolk and Nassau
Counties
1-844-5-SPEECH
lispeech.com
Specializing in the treatment and
correction of language disorders,
memory and auditory processing difficulties,
fluency, voice disorders, motor
planning disorders, deviate swallowing,
tongue thrust, feeding problems/
aversions, thumb sucking, articulation
disorders and oral facial muscle weakness.
Janine Stein, speech-language
pathologist, is the owner and operator
of the Suffolk Center for Speech and
Myofunctional Therapy. Along with
her exceptional group of therapists,
she supports families and children
across Long Island and Queens. There
are seven affiliated offices across Long
Island, all participating with most major
health insurance companies and
offering flexible hours and scheduling,
including evenings and Saturdays.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
/lispeech.com
link
