IEP goals and other random facts

Crew had his annual IEP last Friday! I feel quite good about his IEP team. The PT and OT were there, audiology, speech, special education teacher, and a representative from our home school district. Everyone seems to have Crew's best interest in mind. Creating goals and finding the best fit can be a challenge as each year creates a larger span between him and his peers.

I hate putting it in writing but part of being real is facing the facts... Crew is testing 1 year 9 months in language! This score included sign, verbal, eye gaze, and eyebrow movement as language response.

Crew will be SIX in a few weeks.

*sinking heart*

The school audiologist had another scare for us. At the most recent hearing test, results showed a profound loss in Crew's right ear which means he basically did not respond.

*gulp* and *breathe*

When this was brought to my attention I tried to joke around a bit... "I've been talking in the wrong ear", I said. It wasn't funny.

On a positive note, there is a good chance Crew just wasn't in the mood to be tested. He may have been ignoring the sounds, just because. Sometimes Crew folds in half or shuts down when he isn't happy about something. I'm thinking this is probably what happened but there is always the fear that his hearing loss will continue to progress. More tests will be done again soon.

We elected to keep Crew in the deaf school for another year. I will post his 2010 goals here later this week.

Preschool

Crew started another year of preschool yesterday. Even though he is old enough for kindergarten we decided to send him to the deaf preschool again. We are hoping this year will give him a better communication base before he starts kindergarten.

So far, I can already see the situation is so much better this year. Last year we had problems with fatigue. The day was too long. The school reported that studies have shown the preschool kids don't benefit from a full day. Really, I could have told them that! So, they have decreased the preschool day to only 4 hours. This is still longer than the 1/2 day kindergarten students. Another plus is that Crew will be the last one picked up and the first one dropped off so the transportation time has been reduced significantly. Last year he was the first one picked up and last dropped off. This year they are sending a van (instead of the bus) to pick him up. He rides with 3 other deaf children and they are all so sweet and adorable.

The ride home is just Crew and one other deaf preschooler. How nice!

It's been hard seeing the other neighbor kids his age get ready for kindergarten. They are so excited. They know their colors and letters and can write their names. What a huge contrast to just wanting child to be able to make a simple request like, "water please!".

Carl gave Crew a fathers blessing on Sunday night. We try to do that every year before school starts. Crew folded his arms the whole time and was just so happy. Afterwards we all gave him a hug and when it was my turn he squealed with excitement. I love the way the spirit touches him:)

Most of the time I don't quite know what Crew is thinking. We tried to tell him that he would be going off to school but until we walked outside with the backpack and his walker I don't think he had any idea. He was so excited while we were outside waiting so I do think that at least he knew something EXCITING was happening.

The teacher reports he had a good first day! He came home happy... and that is really something:)

The Deaf School.. following your GUT

My tour of the deaf school last Wednesday went well. Carl and I actually feel pretty good about it. At this point, we figure we may as well give it a try because if we don't we will never know...

Crew has attended the preschool with our district for two years now. He has made some good strides but nothing significant. We are still struggling to communicate with him. This past Christmas we received the entire "Signing Time" collection and believe it or not his ASL has taken off.

I was able to observe all three deaf preschool classrooms together for "large group" activity. It was fun to watch the kids interact with each other. Most of the kids have hearing aids or cochlear implants. Many of them have glasses and a few were in wheelchairs. It didn't matter. The kids seemed to all be friends. They interacted well. They communicated with each other. I saw happy happy, smiling, giggling children.

Sometimes when I think about the strides we've made in the last 6 weeks I get kind of choked up. It's my greatest desire to see Crew communicate. And while the thoughts of having him away from home for such a long day make my heart sink, I hold out HOPE that this change will be a good one. We only want what is best for Crew. With that in mind, I made the phone call today that will set this transition into motion.

There is that parental instinct when you decide to do something you never thought you would do. I call it parenting through your GUT. Not that I haven't spent a lot of time on my knees though.

Have you ever made a decision "in the best interest of your child" that you never thought you would make? How did it turn out?

Reading Between The Lines

A conversation with Crew's preschool teacher:

Miss K: I'm just calling to see how Crew is doing?

Me: Oh, he's good. Why... did he have a bad day at school today?

Miss K: I just wondered if he wasn't feeling well and/or if he was tired?

Me: Well, he did fall asleep on the bus ride home.... maybe he was tired.

Miss K: When he got to the classroom he just layed on the floor for like 10 minutes. When Clark (deaf therapist) came in and started signing to him he livened up a lot and they started signing to each other. Clark asked him if he was "tired" and (blah blah blah blah blah)... rubbed at his ear....(blah blah blah). I'm trying to learn 3 or 4 new signs a week and use them with Crew. (blah blah blah).

Can you imagine functioning in an environment where your teacher only knows a handful of signs and that is your main form of communication? Can you imagine the frustration, the boredom?

After last weeks IEP, Carl and I have decided its time to take a long hard look at enrolling Crew in the Deaf School. We've decided to take a tour of the school and meet the teachers. Tomorrow I will make that call.

Immunization Records

The preschool threatened that Crew would "be excluded from attending" if I did not provide adequate immunization records. The form letter states that he is missing his 4th dose of Pneumoccocal (PCV7). What??? I have always taken my children in for their scheduled shots.

Last night I took Crew to the pediatrician for said shot. After looking over his records it appeared that we missed the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of a FOUR shot series. I did not think this was right and figured his records must have been incomplete since we moved when he was nearly 6 months old. Unfortunately, I have been missing his little Immunization Record book for so long I started thinking we never had one. The Dr. did not think it was a good idea to get the shot and so we went home.

Today I had a plan to sort through three different drawers in an effort to locate the book. Before looking, I felt prompted to rearrange/clean my computer work area. What do you know...TADAH

I found the book!

I am so happy about this, happy that Crew doesn't need anymore shots and happy to provide "adequate records". Thank you very much!

Capture The Moment

It's been a month since Crew's surgeries and I can honestly say we have our silly little boy back! We have been enjoying his smiles and giggles and just simply "living in the moment" with him. I feel blessed to have him in my life because he teaches me so much everyday.

The afternoon before his surgery, his Big Boy Tricycle arrived! Yeah! I love it that Crew has a chance to just be a kid and I've realized that "the bike" has become his favorite activity.

Crew started preschool a few weeks ago. The communication with his new teacher is lacking so far but hope to improve on that soon. We did not receive his back-and-forth book the last two days so I have no idea how he is doing. I did write her a note last week asking how it was going and she stated that because they are still trying to figure out which chair to use and because he "eats slow" and gets pulled out for OT he hasn't had much opportunity to interact with the other children. Okay, I am trying to be patient here but isn't that what preschool is all about? I don't want to end this post on a negative note... that is not my intention. I'm sure the teacher has a lot to deal with these first few weeks of school so I am giving her the benefit of the doubt. BUT, I just want my child to fit in and be happy which shouldn't be too hard. Just look at his killer smile!

This Melts My Heart

This is the cover to a memory book that came home from Preschool with Crew. The book was all wrapped and decorated by Crew himself. I sat it on the shelf and waited for Mothers Day to open it. How surprised I was to find this work of art.... it's definitely a keeper.

IEP Goals and Services

Thanks for your support on our behalf. This years IEP went quite smoothly compared to last years. I didn't even have to whip out the Special Education Golden Rules handbook:) I really did feel like all parties involved had Crew's best interest in mind and it didn't hurt that little Crew had 12 months to capture the hearts of so many.

The majority of last years goals were not achieved but some of them were. We are making progress... it's just a little slow. Last year Crew could walk short distances in his walker with the use of forearm supports and a sling seat. Currently, Crew walks using regular handholds without the sling for support. It was reported that Crew can now walk 250 feet. Yippee!!! It is so amazing that he has made this progress considering we still have not achieved a rolling goal. What is that all about?

Last year Crew started preschool with a vocabulary of about 12 words (signs included). Now, we are up to....

DRUM ROLL.....

35 words!!!

I had no idea:) Our goal for the next year is to double that and to attain a MLU (mean length of utterance) of 2+ words. It was explained to me that children usually do not combine words until they have a vocabulary base of at least 50 words.

We added vision and hearing support to the IEP while maintaining services in PT, OT, ST, and "Motor Services", with an additional goal in the area of Social Interaction.

I also changed the days of preschool attended from 4 days a week to 3. I just felt strongly that we needed to free up his schedule some so we could add private speech therapy to the mix:) So, I am looking forward to having that additional time that I can spend one-on-one with Crew. He is just growing up way to fast!

Another Seizure

We had some more drama here today when Crew came home from school. When I stepped on the bus to get him out of his carseat the bus aide told me he was asleep. I bent over to unbuckle him and realized that he wasn't sleeping- he was having a seizure. I grabbed him and ran in the house, my heart racing. It lasted 20 minutes plus another half hour in the postictal state, then he was irritable for about four hours before finally taking a nap.

Tomorrow is the IEP and the time I had planned on preparing for it was spent with Crew instead. Sixteen people from the school district will be there along with myself, Carl, and my sister. I'm feeling stressed.

Wish us luck!

Meeting Santa

Don't ask me why this three year old little boy hasn't met Santa before now. Come to think of it we haven't even really talked to him about it. This is the first year Crew will be more interested in his new toys than the wrapping paper and bows. Well... at least that is what we are hoping for;)

Santa made a visit to the preschool yesterday. They said Crew was fine sitting on Santa's lap but he wouldn't stop staring at Santa. Well, I can't really blame the kid.

Freakin' Idiot

It's been over two months since I requested that Crew's Preschool therapists provide a summary of their therapy sessions with him over ESY (Extended School Year). His teacher asked me at Back To School Night if I still wanted it and I said, "Yes", she apologized that it was taking so long. I was okay with that. However, I did want the summaries eventually as I am keeping a log.

Today when Crew arrived home I checked his backpack and found the summaries from two of his three therapists.

Here is what the OT wrote: "The staff are excellent with positioning and stretches but we find that Tuesdays, Crew needed far more intervention than by the end of the three day period. I am not sure if this is indicative of family needing training in approach/frequency of home program. No family attended the sessions I had scheduled this summer."

What the hell is that!

Does she really think I am sitting at home eating Bon Bons!!!

So Far This Week...

We took the boys hiking yesterday. Crew still fits in the backpack but he's getting to be quite the haul so we figured we may as well do it while we still can.

It was nice to get out and get physical while enjoying these last days of summer.

Crew loved the backpack and S and H seemed to have fun exploring. We will probably try to squeeze in a couple more hikes before the weather turns cold.






















Crew had his first day (again) of Preschool. I love him in his new school clothes (doesn't he look tough). The bus comes right to the house which is so nice. I can honestly say that I am so ready to start up again. Crew is at a stage where he needs tons of stimulation and activity. I really do try but there is only so much I can do and a lot of the learning atmosphere cannot be duplicated at home.

He came home happy and I could tell that he had a good day because he was mad after I brought him in the house.

TANGO TALK

I had the privelege of going to Crew's preschool today. I was impressed with the interaction he received from the teachers. There are only 6 kiddos with 5 teachers. Crew gets a lot of one on one attention. It's great!

We met with the Augmentative team. They observed Crew and talked to me about the different communication devices. There are several options. Identifying and pointing to pictures of objects/activities is an emerging skill. I feel like Crew would do well with a simple 4 square communication board. We will probably start there.

I was introduced to some amazing equipment. It is exciting to know that there are so many possiblities out there for Crew as he continues to progress. One of the latest state of the art communication devices is the TANGO. The tango is lightweight. The voice is a childs voice. Using the device, a child can say things like, "I love you", or "Your bugging me , dad". I love it! It has a digital camera attached so you can take pictures of family, friends, toys etc and program it to voice the corresponding word or phrase. It even has the option of changing the voice to a mad, whiney, or happy voice. Who wouldn't want this for their kid!

Check it out here!

First Day of Preschool

Waiting for the bus...














My first bus ride. The car seat is great!


















Bye Mom!










I expected the bus to arrive home about 11:30am. At about 11:45 I called transportation to find out where my little boy was. I was relieved to find out that they hadn't lost him. Crew is the first one picked up and the last dropped off. It was nearly noon when he arrived. I walked onto the bus to get him out of his car seat. He looked happy even before he spotted me so that was reassuring. I think he had a good time.

This is what the teacher wrote in his take-home book:
"Crew had a great 1st day of preschool. We ate yogurt for snack. He drank chocolate milk out of a straw at snack. He was very happy and excited all day long. Mis K worked with him for most of the day but everyone that was in class couldn't help but interact and talk with him. :)

I can't believe my little one is such a BIG BOY!

Transition time

I took this picture last week on Crew's last day of preschool with the Early Intervention program. The yellow swing is fun fun fun. I want one in my basement.

Now that Crew is 3, he moves into the Special Education Preschool. Tomorrow is the big day that I send him off. The bus comes at 8:05 AM. I'm nervous. His teachers don't know Crew. They've observed him once or twice but haven't spent any real time with him. Will they know how to care for him? Will they love him? I feel good about the main preschool teacher. It seems that she cares about the children which is the most important requirement, I believe! In my heart I know it will work out but it's the "natural" mom in me to worry!

Transition Preschool

Crew started his first week of transition preschool. This preschool is basically a little class for the kids that are getting ready to transition out of the Early Intervention program into the school district. The purpose is to help the kids get ready for the special ed. preschool... to get use to being away from mommy, and to learn to listen (ha ha), and for structure.

On tuesday we went for the first time. The class is 2 hours long and Crew seemed to do fine. He fussed for about 30 seconds when I walked out the door and then he calmed down. Luckily, there are only two other boys in the class and they are adorable. The small class size is perfect! I love it! Crew came home with an adorable pumpkin craft that he made "all by himself". He painted and sprinkled nutmeg on top. Mmmm. Unfortunately, I don't have my scanner hooked up but you can see what his friend E's looked like here.

Today at school we took his walker. They said he had a good day and he even got to take his walker down a long long hall to the drinking fountain. Yeah Crew! When I picked him up he was "making music" with shakers. Preschool life is good!