I just want to apologize to those of you who signed up for the webring but did not get activated. For some reason I’m not getting the notifications so I had no idea that people were waiting to be approved! My technicial genius ((Duhdee, not Monkey, but even Monkey would probably do a better job than I would in fixing it!)) will get it operating properly. I have approved everyone who was in limbo. If anyone has any troubles whatsoever please let me know!
Month: April 2009
The best IEP meeting ever.
We just had the best IEP meeting ever. Of course, given our history with these things, that’s probably not saying very much, lol.
The biggest issue about the meeting was the time. Duhdee told me 2:30, it was actually scheduled for 1:15. At 12:50 he called to explain the mix-up which left me NO time to get there. I ended up running out of my office, e-mailing co-workers from the elevator and grabbing the first cab I could find. He didn’t want to drive me there, it wasn’t far enough for his tastes! I’ve never heard of such a thing…it’s not like it was a $5 fare, it was a $34 cab ride to another city! ANYWAY.
The meeting went very well. It was the annual review and it unfolded just as it should. We did ask about the Therapeutic Listening and we’re still going to push for that but we’re going to pay for the equipment. He would otherwise be put on a waiting list for the equipment that the district already owns as we’d been told before…we don’t want to wait 🙂
We did not need to bring up the voice output device, the Assistive Tech specialist had already spoken to the ST and the teacher and had decided that he needs one. She is currently borrowing the Vantage Lite from the company and is going to ask to keep it for a few weeks longer to try it with Monkey. She doesn’t expect any issues so that’s the device we’re shooting for. She said she wants to try to get our insurance company to pay for it. Ahahahahahaha *cough*cough*snort*hahahahah. *Ahem* We wished her the best of luck and told her we’d get her whatever she needs from his pediatrician, etc. She acknowledged that the school will be responsible if the insurance company won’t pick up the tab but this way we would own the device and we could take it with us if we leave the district. If the school buys it we would have to give it back. So…we’ll try this route.
And that’s it…no controversy, no surprise issues. He’s doing well, they all see it. They’re impressed with the gains he’s made and see that he clearly can do better. Several times they took pains to acknowledge the fact that cognitively he is doing really well. They can see that there is so much inside him he can’t yet communicate clearly and that’s really all we’ve ever wanted. We don’t want them to look at where he is and think that this is the best he can do…we want them to look at him, like we do, and see how much better he can do.
IEP fun.
We have an IEP meeting scheduled for tomorrow. It is his yearly evaluation. We should discuss his progress this year and set new goals for the next year. Simple, straightforward. So why, why, why am I going to potentially open not one but TWO cans o’worms?
1. Therapeutic Listening. His OT and the TL trained OT have said he’ll benefit but the school claims no money for equipment. If we add it to his IEP the school will have to figure it out BUT I have no idea how the team leader will react…we don’t know her and we don’t have a clue how she runs these meetings.
2. Voice Output Device. He has assistive tech. written into his IEP and he’s been getting those services all year. He does NOT yet have a voice output device however and we’re going to request one. I don’t see how 1 hour a week is sufficient for him. Granted he is getting more verbal but we know there is more in his head than he can express. We want something he can use in school and at home.
They’ve balked at the few hundred involved in the TL…I can just imagine how they’ll react to the assistive tech request.
*Sigh* Do we never learn?
So, tell me…
if your adorable, almost 5-year-old, son was diligently picking up ALL of his toys and putting them away in hopes that you would just maybe let him vaccuum, would you be able to turn him down? No, I didn’t think so. Me either.
We’re going to Wisconsin.
I mentioned before that we’d been accepted into the language study at the Waisman Center and last week we recieved word that we’ll be traveling this summer for the first visit. We need to figure out when Monkey’s summer break begins, he’s in an 11 month classroom so we don’t know exactly when his break is yet. Honestly, it just never occurred to us to ask, lol. SO, once we get the dates of his summer break we’ll confirm the trip. It should be fun. I was a bit worried about visiting Wisconsin in February/March (the initial timeframe) but July/August sounds just about perfect to me.
I need to remember to work on saying Wisconsin without using my very best mid-western accent…it will undoubtedly annoy folks otherwise 😉
Work gets in the way of a good time.
I’ve been quiet this week due to a major deal at work. Twice in the last week I’ve worked past Monkey’s bedtime so I didn’t see very much of him…and it was April vacation. BOOOO! Thursday night Monkey woke up in the middle of the night crying for me even. He’s been really clingy when I’m home. I feel so guilty. I’m grateful to have the job but I do resent the lost family time and so does he. Thank goodness that Duhdee is home or I would have a much, much harder time with this.
BUT the deal closed yesterday so Monkey and Duhdee took a ride into the city (on the TRAIN) to come and rescue me from my tower. We took a walk on Boston Common, took a turn around the Public Gardens and then jumped on the train and went to Herrell’s in Harvard Square for some icecream. Sure it was nearly dinner time but what the heck, lol.
I’m looking forward to a nice quiet weekend and then a return to normalcy at work.
How much fun can one boy have?
Yesterday was a pretty exciting day in our household. We did lots of Monkey’s favorite things! We:
- worked with tools in the basement;
- vacuumed the house;
- took showers; and,
- planted seeds in the garden.
Can you believe how exciting? Monkey was absolutely thrilled, lol. He’s such an easy kid to entertain. Things today that will please him are:
- no school;
- the landscapers came with leaf blowers and a power lawn dethatcher;
- a trip to Costco (it’s always windy, there are seagulls to watch and tons of trains…the most exciting place ever and that’s just the parking lot!); and,
- baking bread (after dinner when Umma gets home.)
Seriously, could it get any more exciting than that? I suppose the builders could be working on the remodel next door but that just might be too much 😀
I just blew Monkey’s mind.
I have a cold, I feel absolutely miserable. I took Claritan D to help me sleep but my body reacts so strangely to cold medicines that, although it did clear my nose (mostly), I’m jittery and have been up and down since 1:30 AM. I can’t take Nyquil or any of the other standard cold meds because they give me nightmares and restless legs. So.
Monkey just came out of his room, took a turn about the kitchen and then wandered through the dining room. When he caught sight of me, up before him(!?), he ran to our bedroom to check my side of the bed. He then ran straight to his room and went back to bed. Sun or not it must still be nighttime if Umma is up, lol.
He’s now back up and eyeing me suspiciously…as if I am up to something devious just by being awake first.
We made it.
It is the weekend for me and the start of April vacation for Monkey…we both sorely need our respective breaks. Even Duhdee is appearing to be a bit worn around the edges. Stress seems to be piling up for everyone in our lives these days.
We did get some good news yesterday. Duhdee asked Monkey’s teacher about the reports for the upcoming IEP meeting and, for once, there are none! Since we are not changing his services or his placement we will just be sitting down to talk adjust his goals. I’ve said before that I am comfortable letting the school take the lead in this area. They work with him daily, they see his strengths and weaknesses and they know where he “should” be in terms of skills. It does seem like this will be an “easy” meeting.
I am going to ask them to add Therapeutic Listening to his IEP. The OT thinks it will benefit him but the district ran out of equipment. We offered to buy our own but they haven’t been very willing to work with us for some reason. I think if we add it to the IEP it will force them to step up. I am still very willing to buy whatever he needs but I need them to give me the information I need to do so. We’ll see.
I’m not sure what we’ll be doing today. We created a list of tasks for ourselves this weekend but Monkey is lobbying for a train ride…