Special Needs

Good IEP meeting this morning.

We had DD1's annual IEP review. This is our last one with only her preschool team and I'm going to miss them -- I always walk out of those meetings feeling like they're so excited about the progress she's made and truly appreciate what DH and I have to say. 

I'm even more glad that she's continuing at the same school. Her SLP is great and used to working with the kindergarten team and said she might drop in from time to time to check in with how DD1 is doing in class. I think the transition is going to be fine, and I think DD1 will enjoy seeing some familiar faces in the halls. 

We got the foundations for some good goals for the coming year. One thing that's becoming increasingly clear, I think, is that she's got some spatial processing things going on. She has a lot of difficulty drawing and writing, keeping letters on a line and not on top of each other, and drawing within certain spatial boundaries unless they are pointed out to her or emphasized somehow. She doesn't color in lines (DD2 is better at this than her big sister) or care much about what color she's using or use different colors for different parts of a picture. The OT says it's no longer fine motor issues that are hampering her, it's that she's not recognizing and processing the space the way that most people do. 

We're meeting with the kindergarten team soon and along with continuing work on that, it sounds like there may be some opportunities to use some technology in kindergarten that can help with that, that weren't available in the preschool environment. Which is exciting. 

I also asked the OT about DD1's overall tone and she kind of laughed and was like, "well ..." She's definitely on the low side of tone but has made improvements, and nothing seems to be hampering her at this point. They did note it as something to keep an eye on since she'll be going from 2.5 hours of preschool to full-day kindy. DH was very skeptical that this was an actual issue for DD1 and it's been a minor point of contention between us as we geared up for the IEP meeting, so part of me wants to be like, "Dude, just *listen* to me on this stuff. I'm not pulling things out of thin air when I say she's floppier than other kids, and it has implications that we need to be aware of."

Overall, good. DH was there and actively contributing, the team had wonderful things to say about DD1, and basically said that with a lot of things, the challenge will be keeping up with her and how quickly she learns. And that with her being in the elementary now, there may be opportunities for social groups as part of her day with older kids -- second grade or so -- participating for modeling. Which I think would be great. 

On to kindergarten!  

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DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010

Re: Good IEP meeting this morning.

  • Awesome, I'm so glad it went well!  We had our last preschool IEP meeting in january and we also had a great meeting.  I'm hoping the transition to Kinder is easy on both of us! 

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  • That's great, so glad it went well!
  • Great news!
  • d.fd.f member
    Yay for a good meeting!  

    DS 09/2008

  • imagelite-bright:

    We had DD1's annual IEP review. This is our last one with only her preschool team and I'm going to miss them -- I always walk out of those meetings feeling like they're so excited about the progress she's made and truly appreciate what DH and I have to say. 

    I always feel the same way- I feel bad when I hear other people complaining about their IEP team or having to "lawyer up". I can't imagine this. I feel fortunate to have a supportive team.

    We got the foundations for some good goals for the coming year. One thing that's becoming increasingly clear, I think, is that she's got some spatial processing things going on. She has a lot of difficulty drawing and writing, keeping letters on a line and not on top of each other, and drawing within certain spatial boundaries unless they are pointed out to her or emphasized somehow. She doesn't color in lines (DD2 is better at this than her big sister) or care much about what color she's using or use different colors for different parts of a picture. The OT says it's no longer fine motor issues that are hampering her, it's that she's not recognizing and processing the space the way that most people do. 

    I'm adding this term to my vernacular- spatial processing. I had never thought about it that way. DS has zero interest in drawing and never (ever) attempts to draw within lines, or color with appropriate colors. He draws letters on top of themselves, and never size-appropriate. His problem is still fine motor, too though (still using the fist grip). Interesting to hear the other perspective of spatial processing.

    We're meeting with the kindergarten team soon and along with continuing work on that, it sounds like there may be some opportunities to use some technology in kindergarten that can help with that, that weren't available in the preschool environment. Which is exciting. 

    You'll have to keep us updated on the types of technology they are using. I know DS uses an Ipad and Smartboard but haven't heard of anything else.

    I also asked the OT about DD1's overall tone and she kind of laughed and was like, "well ..." She's definitely on the low side of tone but has made improvements, and nothing seems to be hampering her at this point. They did note it as something to keep an eye on since she'll be going from 2.5 hours of preschool to full-day kindy. DH was very skeptical that this was an actual issue for DD1 and it's been a minor point of contention between us as we geared up for the IEP meeting, so part of me wants to be like, "Dude, just *listen* to me on this stuff. I'm not pulling things out of thin air when I say she's floppier than other kids, and it has implications that we need to be a

     DS' low tone is so pronounced. He's so floppy he whines when we go to a restaurant and has to sit in a regular chair (he immediately lays down in a booth). That's awesome that it's not hampering your DD though. DS is in preschool/daycare almost 10 hours a day and it's no wonder he's fast asleep most nights by 7. I get frustrated with my DH because he uses the low tone as an excuse not to "push" DS into working harder- like the other day I hauled out ice skates and went through all the motions to get DS out on the ice. He was there about 10 minutes, and barely moved an inch, but he still talks about how great it was, and how he wished he could skate better.

    Overall, good. DH was there and actively contributing, the team had wonderful things to say about DD1, and basically said that with a lot of things, the challenge will be keeping up with her and how quickly she learns. And that with her being in the elementary now, there may be opportunities for social groups as part of her day with older kids -- second grade or so -- participating for modeling. Which I think would be great. 

    Keeping up with her- that's a good problem to have! That's really exciting. Sounds like a great meeting.

    On to kindergarten!  

  • That's great! Sounds like the transition will be smooth.
    [IMG]http://i50.tinypic.com/30xit04.jpg[/IMG]
    Olivia Kate is almost 4!
    Diagnosed with autism this year and doing great!
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