We had another meeting with the IEP team. The IEP programming piece is looking really good, they have given us almost everything we requested. Our advocate was pleased with how it’s shaping up.
Author: Melissa
Final school evaluations…done!
What a relief. This has all been very stressful and time consuming but the last of the evaluations are DONE! Yay!
We don’t have the official results but based on what the evaluator told Duhdee I think Beverly is a real possibility for us. She agreed with the speech evaluator that it is essential that he be in a total communication environment. She recommends adding a picture exchange system to his signs (which we are experimenting with) so that down the road he can transition to a device that uses pictures to form sentances and speak for him. She said he’s not ready yet for a device like that but did suggest some software that will get us moving along that path. Our next meeting is April 9th and we’ll discuss what sort of services Monkey will need/receive.
Since you all may be wondering, The Beverly School for the Deaf is a private school in Beverly, MA. Despite what the name implies, it is not a school solely for kids who are deaf or hard of hearing. They have a fantastic integrated program that serves kids with all sorts of communication problems. They have typically developing peer models that are in the classes (these kids have no special needs.) They have kids with hearing issues but no developemental delays. They have kids with a wide range of developmental delays. The common theme is that these kids all need a variety of methods of communicating.
They use “signing exact english” in all parts of the school so everyone learns and understands sign language. They also use spoken english in all parts of the school. They also use any other methods of communication that the kids are successful with (picture exchange system (PECS) for example.) Research has shown that the more methods of communicating that you give a child the more likely they are to learn language/speech. It’s really fascinating really. I know some people believe it holds kids back and keeps them from learning to talk but experience and extensive research has shown just the opposite is true.
So that’s where we are at for now. We’re going with his current strength (ASL) and working toward finding another way for him to communicate (speaking, hopefully, or some sort of technology.) I suspect that at some point he’ll go to a mainstream classroom in Cambridge, that is what we want for him, but we need to make sure he has the tools to communicate, learn and make friends first !
The latest on the school situation
Hey all, I figured I should update on where we stand, it’s been a while since I’ve commented on the situation.
First, no decisions have been made. Duhdee and I have toured an integrated classroom at the Beverly School for the Deaf and a substantially separate classroom and an integrated classroom in the Cambridge Public Schools. Our first choice is the Beverly classroom, second choice is the integrated classroom at Cambridge. There is no third choice for us.
All but one of the evaluations that are being done by Cambridge are done. We have one more on Monday for assistive technology. The results so far are exactly what we expected since they relied heavily on our reports and on the EI reports. Monkey just isn’t a kid that a stranger can walk in and try to test so they did few actual “tests.” He has been determined eligible for special education, which was really a given but they have to work through their “process.”
At the next meeting we will start working on a draft IEP. We know he’s going to need PT, OT, ST and special education (they will have to modify the way information is presented for him to learn it.) We’ve been working with an advocate and she has been awesome. She has walked us through an IEP so we had our own draft/outline which we presented to the team at the last meeting. They seemed to agree with our suggestions at first glance so we’re hoping they will use our outline to prepare their draft.
After we get the “program” we want for him written THEN we’ll talk about placement. The CPS ST and the team leader are going to visit the Beverly program next week to see what they have to offer. We are cautiously optimistic that they (at least the ST) will be willing to send him to that school. If not, then we will have to discuss the need for an aid and which classroom in Cambridge he’ll attend.
Cute daycare report…
Monkey went to daycare yesterday so Duhdee and I could do a classroom visit and this is the little blurb his daycare teachers wrote:
Monkey explored with the alphabet magnets, sticking them to different surfaces like the wall, the fridge and even his own belly to see where they’d stay. He’s really communicating with the teachers – signing “please,” “help,” “cracker” and waving to the children. He’s been so helpful by rocking the babies, helping to feed them and making them smile. What a great day!
I know we’ve been short on updates…
but Monkey has been sick and we’ve been really, really busy and really, really tired. Monkey was diagnosed with croup last Thursday. He had a prescription for 4 days for that which worked great but he then came down with a killer stomach bug AND a cold. He had nastiness coming out everywhere. He’s finally feeling pretty close to normal. He still has a cold but otherwise he’s doing much better. Last night he slept through the night without coughing himself awake for the first time in ages. Poor kid.
We’re pretty much all done with the school evaluations. It’s been 3 weeks of overscheduling so we’re grateful for that. Duhdee and I are going to visit two Cambridge Public School classrooms next week and we’re also having our first meeting to plan Monkey’s IEP. Oh and let’s toss in 2 meetings with our advocate on top of that. So we’re still overscheduled but at least now it’s just US and not our poor boy (who was getting all bent out of shape with all the strangers trying to play with him.) It’s all going to be worth it though if we can manage to get all the services Monkey needs to succeed at school.
This weekend we’re going away with some friends and their little boy. That will be really nice.
Amazing what a pillow can do…
A few weeks ago we tried to give Monkey a pillow in his crib. He’d never had one before and he didn’t seem to want one. He would try to throw it out of the crib or sleep on the opposite end of the crib from it.
Then we went to stay with Grammy and Auntie. Monkey was using the pillows there, he even tried to steal MINE. A couple nights ago I decided to try again with the pillow in the crib and wouldn’t you know it, he LOVES it. Instead of scooting and rolling all over the crib all night he stays put sleeping with his head on that pillow. It’s amazing. It gives me hope that he’ll be able to sleep in a big boy bed soon.
I wonder how long before he’ll sleep with sheets and a blanket other than his favorite blanky?
He has had enough!
Monkey boy and I are home today. He melted down during our team meeting this morning with his therapists so I decided to just stay home with him. He’s had a very busy and upside down week so I think he deserves it.
Pardon me while I vent my frustration.
We’re getting jerked around by Cambridge Public Schools. They’ve only set up 2 of the 6 evaluations we need to have done by mid-March, NONE are completed. They’re not returning my calls. I’m unimpressed with their process. I’m unimpressed by the fact that we’ve had to hire an advocate (which is NOT cheap) because it was pretty clear they were not going to play nice.
Everyone says we need to try to get along but they’re not trying to get along with us. They told us how they’re going to proceed and it doesn’t seem to matter that their process is illegal and it doesn’t seem to matter what we think. Bah. They suck.
He peed on the potty!
I’m ready to get this potty training thing in high gear. He sat on and successfully peed in his potty tonight before his bath. He tells us when he needs a diaper change, he goes off for privacy when he need to go #2. Does he sound ready to you guys?