OHI
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Children with Special Needs: OHI
Does anyone know anything about - or can point me to resources that explain this. My son- I'm sure- is going to come out with a very high IQ. He is also funtioning "above grade level." The problem is his performance is so uneven because he is so impacted by his disabilities. I believe he needs an IEP (He has a 504), but people tell me he won't be able to get one unless he is failing. I have heard that is not true from others, but am trying to get my amo in place for my PPT. Any ideas?
Are you asking what OHI means? It stands for "Other Health Impaired." It is one of the catergories allowed for an IEP, sort of an "umbrella" when they don't fit exactly into the other catergories, or when their disability is caused from health issues(Cancer, etc.) My son is OHI, basically because he had a brain tumor that caused a visual impairment, and also has a specific learning disability, and ADD, which may or may not have been caused by the tumor. As far as having to be failing to get an IEP, I know that the disability has to be negatively affecting their school work, but I'm not sure if they have to be failing. Sorry I don't know more! I know others here know a lot more about this than me. HTH?!
Laura, here's a website that looks like it has a lot of info.
SpecialEd Rights
If you click on the site map, they have a page for OHI.
In our district, to get an IEP, the child must have both a qualifying disability and be behind academically. In kinder and 1st it's 6 months behind. In 2nd it changes to a year or more behind. At 4th or 5th on up it changes to 2 years or more behind.
OHI is a catch-all category and where ADHD kids end up.
I have had many students who ended up as OHI, but one in-particular I remember had fetal alcohol syndrome and this was considered OHI where I live. Happynerdmom gave a good description of OHI...I've had students who just didn't fit into any category but desparately needed spec. educ. services so we did OHI.
I think officially there diability has to impair their school work. However this is VERY hard to prove if they are not failing. Unfotuantly in a society driven by grades we often fail to see the whole child and his needs.
Don't i recall that you are going to homeschool?
The best way to have hope of getting him an iep is to go in armed with grades on thing that he has had help and have a comparison, without help he only makes b's, but with help he makes high A's etc.
ds was other disability too - for kindergarten for next septmeber
he is getting speech for the social speech delay
and ot for
I think like some unknown reason like he spacial issues.... he touches walls will he walks down the hallway - needs sensory input. I think they are just giving the ot to him....
Well, I've been doing lots of research and it actually doesn't have to do only with academic achievement. If it is impairing his social/emotional growth and ability to function that needs to be considered as well. He has a huge history of this. The reauthorization of IDEA on July 1st really emphasizes both of these things so that will really help us as well. RIght now, I'm trying to "rally my troops" and get all the documentation to get him the services that he needs so badly.
I'm not going to homeschool him- but he has requested that I do that.
He's most likely gifted (still waiting for confirmation of that), so he can get "A's" with no effort. He will never qualify if only academics are considered.
It's been quite a week. I finally got a psychiatrist on board. We're going to officially register him tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the last day of school....
For educational purposes, I wanted to post an email from a Tourette's advocate that I highly respect:
I have just read through the information that and I have a couple of suggestions.
1) If your son has not been tested by the school psychologist, request immediately that that be done. I am attaching a sample letter that you can use and make changes accordingly. You must request it in writing and send the letter to the director of special ed for the district. Once they receive the request in writing, they must do a full battery of tests on him in a reasonable amount of time. (Some states are actually more specific about the exact amount of time, but I’m not sure what it states in the CT education manual. I would also request a testing by an Occupational Therapist for fine motor/visual motor difficulties and sensory processing deficits all of which are very common amongst children with TS. Also, request testing for executive dysfunction and auditory and language processing. When these tests are done or if they have already been done and you do not agree with the findings because your son is still struggling and exhibiting inconsistent performance, you have the right to respectfully disagree with their findings and the school must then pay for an outside neuropsychological exam and outside OT testing. Meanwhile, you should check into your own medical insurance and see if they cover neuropsych testing. They may and you could go ahead and have that done on your own and save a lot of time.
2) Your son has multiple diagnoses all of which should qualify him for classification under the OHI (Other Health Impaired) even if the test findings do not show a specific learning disability. I suspect that he may also have a LD which is why the testing is important, but he doesn’t need to have a learning disability to qualify for services. You simply need to demonstrate that his health impairments (TS, OCD +++) are impacting on his performance and/or social/emotional functioning at school or at home. It sounds like this would not be difficult to prove given what your letters state. The social/emotional and “functioning” aspect is something that has been added to and very much emphasized in the reauthorized IDEA which takes effect July 1, 2005.
3) I would also have all of his treating physicians/psychologists write letters very specifically speaking about his school performance and his emotional state. I have also attached a sample letter that you can give to the treating physicians so that they know exactly what to emphasize for educational purposes.
Once this has been accomplished, I would be happy to look over the testing results and possibly be on speaker phone when the PPT takes place. Please feel free to contact me at this e-mail address if you have any more questions.
Also, if you have not read the following brochures from the Education/Educational Strategies or the Educational Advocacy Section of the website, I would suggest that you do so. They are all available on line and will help you tremendously as you go through this process.
Good luck
Good information! Thanks, Laura.
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