Special Needs Child
If your child is behind on speech or movement, or you have been told they may be autistic, three systems owe you something and none of them will come and find you. Early intervention is free before age three. After three the school district has a legal duty to evaluate your child, whatever your immigration status, and you should ask in writing. If a school says no, a free lawyer will argue with them for you.
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IEP means Individualized Education Program. It is the written plan a public school is legally required to follow for a child with a disability — what help the child gets, how often, and from whom.
It is decided at a meeting. You sit with several school staff and are asked to agree to a long document in English. By law you are an equal member of that group: you may bring someone with you, and the school must provide an interpreter if you ask.
What to do, in order
If you think your child is behind on speech or on anything else, you do not need a diagnosis, a doctor's letter, or papers to start. You can begin the first step yourself, today, and it costs nothing.
If your child is under three
Call Ohio Early Intervention and ask for an evaluation. Anyone can refer a child — a parent, a doctor, a neighbour. You do not need a diagnosis first, and finding out whether your child is eligible costs nothing.
Call 1-800-755-4769
If your child is three or older
Ask your school district for an evaluation, and ask in writing. A letter or an email is what starts the clock; a conversation at the front desk does not. The district then has thirty days to get your consent or refuse in writing, sixty days to finish the evaluation once you consent, and thirty more to write the plan. Keep a dated copy. This applies even if your child has not started school yet.
Ask for an interpreter before the meeting
The school must give you one, free, and you should ask in the same letter. You are also allowed to bring someone with you. Nobody should be asked to agree to a document about their child in a language they do not read.
Sign the consent, and ask for the date
The evaluation cannot begin until you agree in writing, and it costs nothing. Once you sign, the district has a legal deadline to finish. Ask them to write that date down for you and keep it — that date is what you chase if nothing happens.
Go to the meeting as an equal member
If your child qualifies, you will be asked to agree a written plan — an IFSP under three, an IEP at three and over. You are legally an equal member of the group that writes it. You may ask for anything to be explained again, you may disagree, and you do not have to sign on the day.
If you are told no, or nothing happens
You have the right to disagree, and there is free help to do it. The Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities is Ohio's parent training and information centre and will explain the process, and Disability Rights Ohio is the organisation appointed by federal law to represent families. Neither charges. Ohio's parent rights guide is published in Amharic.
Call 1-844-382-5452
The words they will use
These come up in every meeting and are rarely explained. None of them is a diagnosis.
- Child Find
- The school district's legal duty to find and evaluate any child who may have a disability, whether or not the child is enrolled.
- Evaluation
- The free testing that decides whether a child qualifies for help. You must agree in writing before it happens.
- Early intervention
- Help for a child under three, usually given at home or wherever the child already spends the day.
- IFSP
- Individualized Family Service Plan. The written plan for a child under three. It covers the family, not only the child.
- IEP
- Individualized Education Program. The written plan a public school must follow for a child aged three and over.
- Related services
- The help that comes with the plan — speech therapy, occupational therapy, counselling, transport. The school provides it at no cost.
A child who needs extra help
- Ohio Early Intervention
For children from birth to age three who are delayed in growth or learning, or who have a disability. Services come to where the child lives and plays.
1-800-755-4769
Anyone can make the referral — a parent, a doctor, a neighbour. There is no cost to find out whether a child is eligible, and the state says plainly that there is no downside to asking.
Checked September 17, 2026
- Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities
Ohio's Parent Training and Information Center. Free help understanding evaluations, IEPs and your rights, including trained parent mentors who will sit with you.
1-844-382-5452
Federally designated, serving the whole state. Ask for extension 20 for the parent line.
Checked September 17, 2026
- Disability Rights Ohio
Ohio's federally designated protection and advocacy organisation for people with disabilities. Free legal help.
200 Civic Center Drive, Suite 300, Columbus, OH 43215
1-800-282-9181Intake Monday to Friday, 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm
Checked September 17, 2026
- Ohio Department of Education and Workforce — making a referral for special education
How to ask a school to evaluate a child aged three to twenty-one. Put the request in writing: the school then has thirty days to obtain consent or refuse in writing, sixty days to complete the evaluation once consent is given, and thirty more to write the plan.
The parent rights guide is published in Amharic. It is one of the very few official Ohio documents in this guide that is.
Checked September 17, 2026
- Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities
The county board for people with developmental disabilities — services, eligibility and family support.
2879 Johnstown Road, Columbus, OH
614-475-6440
Checked September 17, 2026