IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or 504 Plan for Periodic Paralysis

For all of the parents who are sending their children with PP back to school, this may be helpful. It is written for those in the USA and to help to outline and write either an IEP (Individual Education Plan) or a 504 Plan (both legal and binding documents in the USA). I am a retired Special Education Teacher. 

(This may or may not be applicable at this time in dealing with Covid-19.)

I wrote this for a parent awhile back...I have meant to post it as a Blog Article, but have never quite finished it before...I hope this can be helpful.

 

IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or 504 Plan for Periodic Paralysis at School

 

Each plan is individualized to your child's needs, accommodations and restrictions. The biggest difference in them is how it is funded and who will be in charge of the plan.

The best place to start is to have a copy of the information about your child’s form of Periodic Paralysis and how it affects him or her. No one will know what it is or be able to understand it without some background information.

Next, you will need to come up with a list of the needs, accommodations and restrictions, etc that are necessary for your child. You can do this with your doctor or come up with them and then ask the doctor to put them on his/her letterhead for you. The school will have a better time believing and following through this way. This should include the issues related to his heart, breathing, blood pressure, cognitive issues, muscle weakness, and/or paralysis as the potassium shifts.

How to recognize an episode? What to do in an emergency? Teachers and nurses should be trained to recognize signs of an episode and know what to do.

Triggers and how/what to avoid? If any type of exercise causes an episode, then he or she should not have PE, or can he do some simple things like walking, but not running or swimming?

Food restrictions, or does he or she need to eat and or drink something every few hours?

Does he or she need more time to get from class to class? Does he or she need help to get from class to class? Should he or she have a friend with him at all times in case he or she goes into an episode? Elevator rather than walking up and down stairs? Can he or she walk from class to class but not out to the football field?

Due to the time length of episodes or abortive attacks, does he or she require more time to complete assignments? Or does he or she need homeschooling/instruction from time to time? Do the district days of absences allowed need to be changed? Are days added for him?

Does he or she need adaptations such as using a computer rather than writing with a pencil or pen or doing his or her work orally or verbally?

Can he or she carry his or her books from class to class? Too many books at a time? Can he visit his or her locker more often or leave books and supplies in the classroom with the teacher?

Does he or she need a special chair or wheelchair at times in which he or she can recline due to weak trunk muscles?

Does speech/talking in the classroom need to be limited to short periods of time due to weak mouth and throat muscles?

Eyes/eyelids may become too weak to read, etc. Can lectures be recorded or can a friend share notes?

Another critical issue to consider is whether the child's symptoms may require him or her to remain at home permanently using homeschooling, attending school remotely or possibly a combination of the two.

 

**Purchasing a copy of our book, What is Periodic Paralysis? A Disease Like No Other and completing your child’s individual, important information related to Periodic Paralysis at the end of each chapter is an excellent way to share the data and instruction for the teachers, nurses and administrators. This is why this book was created, for sharing and teaching others about Periodic Paralysis.

The following are example pages from the book:

What is Periodic Paralysis? May be purchased at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1536851736/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tpbk_p1_i1