We start with J's at 1 p.m., and then go right into M's. This will be the first official contact regarding their plans since we received our settlement, and it will be when we find out if the boys will be granted admission into the extended school year program (summer school to prevent regression).
We spend a couple hours tonight going over our notes and forming a game plan. We know what we want to discuss and what changes we will request. My good family friend/speech pathologist/parent advocate will be participating via phone to help us, so far every meeting he's been involved with has gone remarkably our way.
We just have no idea how they will treat us and if they will be accommodating or use this as a chance to exercise their frustration with us by threatening necessary services. I am really anxious about it, but have also been looking forward to it for over a month--by the end of tomorrow, we'll at least know more about what our summer plans will look like. I just pray they offer both boys the summer program, so we don't have to decide if it's worth starting another fight. I also pray they don't penalize J because they know the judge said he'll hear our case before the end of the school year if we have an unsatisfactory IEP meeting, but that would be limited to M's IEP.
I'll take all the prayers and vibes you care to send our way!
It took 3.5 hours, but we finally completed both boys' IEP meetings today.
Overall, I'm happy with the results. They will both continue with programs very similar to their current plans, and will both be participating in the extended school year program (summer school). At first, they were only going to give J speech over the summer in a class setting (I don't even know how that's possible), but we resisted, and now two days will be in the class setting and two days will be in small group of no more than 4 children. They didn't even try to take away J's PT, just reduced it to a once a week (from 2x weekly) in-gym session, which we are totally okay with. They were also very receptive to all our requests for additional modifications.
I know M's mainstream teachers weren't happy when I insisted that he could benefit from more parent-teacher communication in the form of a communication log, but I asked them throughout the year for more feedback (because his memory is poor and he doesn't remember assignment instructions/explanations), and they just didn't care. So now we will have it emphasized in his IEP.
In short, it was an arduous process, but we have everything we wanted, and I'm relatively happy with how it turned out. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement. Here's hoping this is the end of our major battles with the district, and things continue smoother from here on out. I am always waiting for that other shoe to drop, but I will try to keep my paranoia contained.
Re: Tomorrow is IEP day
It took 3.5 hours, but we finally completed both boys' IEP meetings today.
Overall, I'm happy with the results. They will both continue with programs very similar to their current plans, and will both be participating in the extended school year program (summer school). At first, they were only going to give J speech over the summer in a class setting (I don't even know how that's possible), but we resisted, and now two days will be in the class setting and two days will be in small group of no more than 4 children. They didn't even try to take away J's PT, just reduced it to a once a week (from 2x weekly) in-gym session, which we are totally okay with. They were also very receptive to all our requests for additional modifications.
I know M's mainstream teachers weren't happy when I insisted that he could benefit from more parent-teacher communication in the form of a communication log, but I asked them throughout the year for more feedback (because his memory is poor and he doesn't remember assignment instructions/explanations), and they just didn't care. So now we will have it emphasized in his IEP.
In short, it was an arduous process, but we have everything we wanted, and I'm relatively happy with how it turned out. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and encouragement. Here's hoping this is the end of our major battles with the district, and things continue smoother from here on out. I am always waiting for that other shoe to drop, but I will try to keep my paranoia contained.