I have the IEP on May31st. First a little background info. My son will be 4 in June. Is in a class of kids w/ various types of dev. delays.
9 kids/1 teacher (who I hate)/3 aides/2.5 hours/5 days a week/speech 1/2 days as group on Mon. & Fri. w/ 15 minutes each day of individual therapy/OT is 30 mins. as group on Tues & sometimes Fridays, my son hates her so she has a hell of a time with individual therapy.
Here is what's on the table for next year.... I can choose to leave him in the same type of class with a new teacher, or... He can go into the autism class which is a full day program, with a certified autistic teacher who is also ABA certified. The 2 of the 3 aides are ABA certified. They have a speech therapist for 2 hours a day with varing time periods each day of the week ( For example, 9-11 am Mon., 11-1 Tues. 1-3 Wed, etc. so they can cover speech in all parts of the school day) The OT is 1/2 days 3 days a week. The plan is to work one on one to practice and master skills, then after the winter break, integrate them in incremented time periods into the dev. delay class and at risk class to perform the tasks learned, and to socially interact with a larger group of kids and to work on academics and behaviors with a wide range of teachers and aides. They will be able to take a nap if needed when needed, sensory breaks are flexible with class schedule, morning and afternoon snack, work with the eating habbits (big selling point for me)and have a large variety of resources available for methods of learning (speech 4 or 5 speech equipments, and individualized custom made OT learning tools (a bin w/ the items needed to develop each students own motor skill delays). They will also have group work, circle time as a group, gym, and lunch. My husband and I were totally and completely impressed with what they have to offer, and left me with nothing to ask for other than weekly updates of progress/challenges, and notification of substitutes. Is there anything left to ask for that we haven't thought of, and is this to good to be true? I hope this is as great as it sounds, because I don't want to screw up just because it sounded good. I see so many people fighting for services for their kids, and I was about to be one of those parents because I needed more in-school therapy,and now this offer. They didn't offer it last year because there was no opening in that class this year. Any thoughts would be totally appreciated and valued. Sounds wonderful..So much better than this year for sure
I hope they have open door policy just so you can observe the type of teaching he gets and love that you will get feedback communication from them! ****I would request him to be away from door and disruptive kids~to reduce distractions and noise:) I also had Sarah to be close to teacher at all times..seems silly but I also requested that she is never last in line..she will get lost especially if they go outside..she is so slow:) They accomodated her with no problems:) Congradulations!! We need more schools like this! ShellyR- Great suggestions, especially about the never last in line. I notice just going in the building sometimes he's last in line, and he drifts away. I almost cant wait for the new uear to begin. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad for the summer, even though he will be in summer school til mid-July, but it sounds like this class will unlock a lot of his potential. This seems like a wonderful program. I love when educators seems to really want to make a positive difference in the kids, not let us just throw something at the kids so well fulfil a requirement. I hope the people implementing the program are really good at it. A good program has been put in place. I am so happy for you. I hope the details work out well. Good luck. I love when parents are pleased. Concernedpa. I cannot imagine anyone feeling sour grapes over your post! It helps to know someone is getting what services they need, always. Thanks for you replies, I will be sure to get those goals. I am very excited about this new program at his school. Please know that by no means did I mean to rub it in or show off, I know that school programs should be what I hope this one is to be. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting the wool pulled over my eyes, and that there wasn't anything I still needed to ask for. I am still new at this, and I didn't want to get deceived. I knew that I could count on you guys for the truth. Thanks again for your thoughts. I'd like to add my ditto to foxl's comment. My son is just getting started in this process, so it helps me to know what good programs are supposed to look like, that way I will know what types of things to look for in developing an IEP, and notice if perhaps something is lacking. So, thanks for sharing!
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