TV Show--Parenthood IEPs

I watched last nights Parenthood episode tonight on my DVR. The subject of IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings was the story line for the family with Max, who has Aspergers. The writers did a decent job of portraying an IEP meeting and how overwhelming it can be for a family. I really wanted to jump in there and advocate for the two families involved. Max's mom went to an IEP meeting to assist another mom, and felt that she could have done more to help. Max's mom then finds out that Max is being sent to the library to do independent work because his teacher can't teach when Max is in the room. Max's parents are frustrated and don't know what to do or how to advocate for him. I think this part was something the writer's got correct.

Parents do have to educate themselves on the law and what the school needs to provide under IDEA (Individual's with Disabilities Education Act). I am a deaf education teacher I was used to being in an IEP meetings(ARD meeting here in Texas) in that role. As a parent, I find it difficult to know how to handle all of the situations I find myself in with him. I have learned to use the acronym FAPE(Free and Appropriate Education) as well as LRE (Least Restrictive Environment) to my advantage. I have also learned to say things like, "You are making my son fit into a program instead of making the program fit him." This phrase been a good one.

Elijah's next ARD meeting is in April! He is being re-evaluated this year and we will discuss those scores as well as the plan for next year. He has had a good year so far, but has just recently been having some issues. Of course, we just went to the doctor on Monday and NOW he is having problems with touching others. ARGH....I know this is probably a tic, but how to handle it. I am going to email his teacher again and ask for the behavior specialist to come in and see what is going on.

I am glad to see a TV program take on real life issues of families of children with special needs.

IEP Meeting!

I went to Elijah's annual IEP meeting this afternoon. Here in Texas we call them ARD(Admission, Review and Dismissal) meetings, but I will call it an IEP meeting for today! The meeting went well. Elijah has made good progress. We reviewed his IEPs for next year and his class schedule. The Dean of Students from the Junior High attended the meeting. We discussed areas of concern and came up with ideas. I was really worried about PE, because I thought he would have to dress out in PE, but he won't! None of the kids have to dress out, unless they are in athletics. We also discussed making sure he has an inclusion aide with him in PE and putting him in the smallest PE class that they could find.

It was one of the easier IEP meetings that I have had for Elijah. I let the Dean of Students know that I expected a few bumps along the road next year, but as long as we all worked together it would be OK. I am hoping the transition goes well and he has a good year next year. Only two more years until high school, YIKES! Jacob will be a senior next year and I start graduate school....oh what a year we will all have!

IEP Meeting and Update

We had Elijah's annual IEP(we call it an ARD meeting here in Texas) and it went fairly well. We are going to change his schedule around and have him in a resource Science and Social Studies class. He needs the smaller class size due to his behavior and due to his academics. He is reading at a 3.5 grade level and is progressing with his deaf ed. teacher. She has been with him for several years.

There are concerns about behavior. He has been yelling a lot lately and that is something everyone is working on. He and I even talked about it today. We are hoping that by changing his schedule that his frustration level will lower and that will lead to better choices in behavior. He starts his new schedule on Monday and we shall see how it goes.

Jacob is doing well in school. He still loves ROTC. He has learned to shave with a regular razor. His grandpa helped him with that! He is so handsome! He can be quite nice at times, and other times a grumpy teenager, but sometimes I am grumpy so I guess we all have those times.

We are gearing up for the holidays. Each of the boys has a short list of things they want. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break! School is going well for me, but I am so busy!

Keeping my fingers crossed that we see improvement with Elijah and I'll keep y'all posted.

IEP Meeting Today

We had Elijah's three year re-evaluation IEP(in Texas they are called ARD) meeting today. We briefly discussed his evaluations and that was OK with me, because my main concern was next year. I had some concerns and I don't want to get into all the details, but lets just say I wasn't sure how things were going to go. He has been in a behavior class for almost 2 1/2 years, which has worked, but I wanted him out of it. It really isn't appropriate for a kid with tourette syndrome.

I don't think his teacher was very happy with all that transpired, she was rather quiet. The principal from his new school was there as well as his current principal. We had a long discussion on the schedule of services page. Elijah will have resource English/Reading and Math. He will also have a social skills for about 20 minutes a day. He will be in a co-teaching class for his science and social studies and then have his other classes out. Now I am concerned about the transition between classes, where he will go when he gets to school(he will have to ride the bus next year) and those mainstream classes. We discussed several plans we might put in place, and I will want to see what is decided upon before school starts. The "plan" would be about what happens if he starts ticcing a lot and gets agitated, or if he just gets agitated in general.

We then discusses his deaf ed. itinerant teaching time. Well, the principal from the new school about flipped out when she saw 120 minutes a week of pull out. HOW would this affect his time in the core classes, we would have to rearrange everything. OH MY. I guess she has never had an itinerant kid before. The 120 minutes is broken up into 3 40 minute sessions. He still needs that time with his deaf ed. teacher and I was not going to back down on that time. I think the new principal finally GOT the concept and agreed to it.

I plan on taking Elijah up to the school over the summer and getting some video of him at the school. I know it will be a hard year. I don't expect it to be perfect starting on day one. We will have some bumps along the way, but as long as everyone is trying, well we can work with that. I'll find out come September, I guess!

What about that new medication?

So Elijah has been on this new medication for almost two weeks now. I do think it has made a difference in his aggression level. I haven't heard much from the school and I haven't asked. We have his IEP meeting on Monday and I figure I will ask then. I have been emailing the principal and diagnostician about his current FIE(Full Individual Evaluation) that I received from them. For whatever reason, Tourettes was left off of his OHI(other health impaired) form and I noticed that and want them to get that fixed. That means they have to resubmit a form to the doctor.

I really don't want to be a real pain in the rear, but I have to advocate for my child. I want him out of the behavior unit. Thankfully, I have my friends at work who have given me lots of great advice on what to ask for at this next IEP meeting. Next year Elijah will move to a new campus and this will be a huge transition for him. I want things to go as smoothly as possible.

I'll let you all know how it goes!!

Today's IEP Meeting!!!!

We had Elijah's IEP meeting today(here in Texas it is called an ARD, but I figure I would use IEP meeting since every other state uses that terminology but us!). It went really well. It was one of the best meetings I have ever had for him and was just easy. He is working on grade level in reading and math. He will take the accomodated state testing....which is the same as the regular test that everyone else takes....minus the field test questions. He will get some accomodations, the main one being one on one testing. He won't be in a room with anyone but the test administrator. This is to decrease the distractions in the room, but also due to his tics. He would be a major distraction to any other students in the room.

Overall, everyone is pleased with his progress. Behavior is so much better and he seems to have fewer "off" days. Of course, some of those days he cannot help, due to them being neurological in nature. We are hoping that on test days in April that he is having a GOOD day!

When he makes level 5 he will be mainstreamed out in one class daily. After 21 school days he then will mainstream into another class. Once he is over 50% out in mainstream then we have to go back and have another IEP meeting. He will also get a keyboarding device to use in the classroom instead of having to write his assignments. I am glad it will be a slow transition for him. I think that will help. He will also have an aide that goes with him to his classes.

His deaf ed. teacher thinks he is doing very well. She is amazed at how well he hears with his implants and his language skills. He still has things he needs to work on, but he has come so far. He was not even talking at the age of 3 and now I cannot get him to be quiet sometimes! His teacher had me tell everyone the story about him saying inclined plane and using it correctly in a sentence!

I am not sure what the future holds, but for today things are good! Sometimes all you can focus on is the present and try not to worry too much about the future. It can drive you nuts.

Saying Goodbye to 2009!!!

Well this year was a rough year. Elijah had just started in the behavior program and we had to work a lot on his behavior. Meds were tweaked and tweaked. Things did improve as the school year went on. Jacob did OK in school, but being the typical teen didn't like doing homework.

Things were going well heading into the summer and we were planning a staycation. Then the rug was yanked out from under me as my husband walked out on us on June 1st. I didn't think I could make it through it, but I did. Neighbors helped me out that last week of school with the boys and my mother-in-law came and stayed with us to help me out while I attended a 3 day workshop. My mother was also a great support and helped me in October when I had to travel. I became better friends with one neighbor and she was a great support. My family supported us and somehow we made it. The divorce was final in August and we started a new school year. I am not saying it was easy, but we got through it.

This school year(2009-10) has been a bit better. Elijah had a good start, but I had to keep in constant contact with his teacher. His program was finally tweaked and things have been going much better. He is now on Level 4. His IEP meeting(called an ARD meeting here in Texas) is on Jan. 5th and I think it will go well. He is much better at homes. Of course, tics have been really "hard" lately. The pscyh today suggested getting him baseball gloves, the ones where the fingers poke through and aren't covered, if he continues to band on tables and such so he won't hurt his hand. She also thought the weight on his hands might help. I may try it. Jacob has had a good year. I have to keep a close eye on grades, but he seems better than last school year. He will be a freshamn next year.

It has been a good school year this year as far as my job goes. I really like my boss and she is a great support when I need her input. There is some stress, but each year seems to get a little better. I am in the middle of my 19th year of teaching, although I do more supervising and attend meetings more than I do teach. Howver I still get to work one on one with kids and that is fun! Being a parent has made me a better teacher and being the parent of a special needs child has given me more insight into the parents I deal with on a daily basis.

I am looking forward to 2010!! It has got to be better than 2009 in some ways. I won't have to deal with a divorce! ha! that is done. This time next year I'll one son in high school and one in 4th grade! Hard to believe. I thank God everyday for those two boys and for my family, especially my mom. I also am thankful for my friends, who are my support system.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun night tonight and that everyone has a great 2010!!!

IEP Meeting

We had Elijah's IEP meeting today. It went well. An adaptive PE evaluation will be done. I also got it written into the paperwork that he will attend one mainstream class a week. I just want it written down to be sure it gets done. I asked about participating in school events and not basing it on his behavior. The teacher and everyone were fine with that. The teacher finally seems to get that this is truly neurological and some days just aren't good days and he can't help it.

Seven good days!

Elijah has had seven good days at schools. Seven days where he has had no hitting or kicking of others. This is a big step for him. The teacher changed up some of what she is doing with him and giving him rewards for behaving in PE(where he was having most of his problems) and also giving him sensory breaks during the day. She wrote me today that both of these changes seemed to have helped the most. He seems happier about going to school and continues to behave at home. I just have to remind myself that the school has got to make a program to fit Elijah and NOT have Elijah fit into a program they already have. This was one of the KEY things I kept saying in emails to get these changes to be made.

Elijah's tics seem better right now, meaning they are not as intense and not happening as often. This is such a strange disorder! We have an IEP meeting a week from Friday to discuss evaluating him for adaptive PE and about the changes that have been put in place.


Jacob is doing well also, although he needs to pull his grade up in US history! He just keeps growing everyday!

I am taking off in the morning to go to the doctor. I think I have the starts of an infection and just need to get in. I have been fighting it off for several days now and it is time to just give in and GO!