The PEN Project & Partners Resource Network
Texas Resource Center for Early Parent Intervention
First Transition: ECI into Preschool |
This transition is the first, in a series of transition throughout your child’s academic life. This can be a scary and confusing time for you and your child. You are moving from a place where both you and your child were comfortable and well attended to, to a place where focuses are changing. At this point you have identified that there is some sort of developmental delay occurring in your child’s life, but maybe unsure at this point what is causing it. Now is a time where you will be uncovering what that is and how it is going to affect your child from here on out. What does this next step in your child’s academic life mean for them? It means: New assessments and discussions about your child’s needs As you prepare to transition your child out of ECI and into preschool, your Local Education Agency (LEA) will be conducting assessments/evaluations of your child to determine eligibility for involvement in special education programs. A few months before your child reaches the age of three years, a transition meeting will be held, and will include the following people: you, your service coordinator, a school representative, anyone providing direct services to your child, and anyone else important in planning your child’s transition. Areas that will be discussed in this meeting are: your child’s future needs, possible preschools, how to prepare your child for preschool, and the determination of your child’s eligibility for special education services. Decision making about eligibility for Special Education services After these assessments/evaluations, your child’s needs are going to determine what services and programs they are eligible for. If it is found that your child is not eligible for special services, then you will be provided with information on programs such as Head Start, Child Development Preschools, and other community options. Ask about services already being provided by ECI, that are also provided by the preschool or other program your child will be entering. Also make sure you are asking your service coordinator and school official about inclusion opportunities offered through these programs. New laws, new set of parental rights, and new sets of initials and acronyms As you child exits ECI and therefore Part C of IDEA, they will be entering into IDEA Part B. With this will come many changes in the law regarding your child’s education, their eligibility for services, and their place in Special Education. Your rights as a parent advocating for your child will change as well. There will be many new initials and acronyms introduced to you as well. Here is link to some of the many you may be encountering - Acronyms and Abbreviations. A shift of focus from family needs, to child’s individual needs Previously, with ECI, you had established an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) and the focus has been on the needs of both the family and the child. However now, the focus shifts to the child and their specific needs. With this you will be creating an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a series of guidelines for your child’s learning and academic development. New “case managers” through possibly two or more agencies As your child leaves ECI and heads into preschool, you will be encountering new people, programs, and organizations. Depending on the programs that you child is enrolled in will depend on the number of new people directly involved in your child’s educational planning and implementation. Whether it is a few or many, there will be more people to know and keep track of, so make sure you are keeping a record of who they are and what agency they are from. An address or business card book would be a very good tool to have, and will be very useful in helping you keep track of everyone.
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