Thank you all for the replies - I have made a sheet up and will trial sending it with him - his para is also the crossing guard at the corner, so I can talk to her every morning, although I try not to as she has 40+ kids to keep under control until we can all cross! I will definitely bring this up at the IEP meeting and get it entered into the IEP. I think I will contact the teacher as well to see if she could use a parent volunteer.
Norwaymom- thanks for all the links - I'm winding my way through the different parts of the board but going slowly!
My ds started kindergarten this month and I have been getting constant reassurance that everything is "just fine and going well". I have no reason to believe otherwise. But I am also very much an evidence-based person. What do I look for? What things are going to be most difficult for him and how do I keep track of it, rather than just trusting I will be told? I have read some of the horrible struggles others have had and I am scared to death that something will be happening that I won't even be aware of. Especially socially - I am more concerned about how he is playing with kids, does he have any friends, how does he do at lunch, how does he handle sitting in a group, than with academics!
He is mainstreamed with a 1:1 para. We have an IEP meeting and a teacher conference both coming up in October.
Also - I doubt you guys will think it is crazy, but I want to see my child in his classroom. I am not concerned that about anything specific, but I am a huge visual learner - watching him for a couple of hours tells me more about his progress than anything on paper. And he is able to ignore me - I did it last year in his preschool several times. My aunt who is a LD/EBD special ed teacher in a middle school tells me (gently) that I need to back off, but I think it would be different if my kid were able to use appropriate language to tell me how things are going - David is still struggling with that so I get no info from him. I feel like he is going into a big black hole every day - a good one, so far, but one that no information can escape from, save the occasional meetings.
Any thoughts on how to monitor progress more closely?
Many thanks
Can the para or teacher have a communication notebook in which they write notes to you daily on how he is doing? This could include progress on IEP goals and other things that might have happened differently in the classroom. We did this in pre-school and it gave me a stepping-off point as to what to ask. Because sometimes asking the same things over and over would prompt a rolling of the eyes and ds would not want to answer. So, if there was something different going on - the teacher would write it in his notebook and that helped a lot.
Otherwise, I think observing a child in the classroom is a good idea before his IEP. I plan on doing that as well myself! It's always a good idea to clear it with the teacher (obviously) and make sure it isn't an "out of the ordinary" day as well. Although those are sometimes good to observe as well! But probably for your purposes for the IEP, get at least one portion of time that is an ordinary day.
I would ask for the communication notebook in the IEP and/or daily e-mails. It's a lot - but you need to know what is going on with your child. I got the notebook in preschool, even though my son was highly verbal. I cannot IMAGINE not having one if my son couldn't tell me some about his day. I think that should be a necessity and I do not think you are at all off-base in this!
Yes, I was just going to say that...the communication notebook is WONDERFUL. I've had one since Payne started school @ 3 years old. It gives hourly accomplishments...or not. It is VERY helpful to understand what he is doing and how he is doing it. She even tells me if he's eating breakfast, lunch and snacks...more so than normal or not.That transition to school is a tough one, and I remember I got mostly positive feedback, and then at the IEP meeting found out things weren't going quite as well as I thought. When you meet with the teacher, try to get an extra conference scheduled so it's not so long till the next time.
The following topic on our forum has sample communication sheets, which might be quicker to fill out than a blank notebook, and help insure you get the specific info you're looking for.
http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19561&am p;KW=communication
And here's a sheet that can help your child communicate with you about his day, by pointing to activity and feeling symbols and using it as a springboard to conversation if he's verbal.
http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/resource.aspx?id=268
Good luck with everything.
I have notes from the 1:1 shadow and I do talk to the teacher. But I am with