The nurses' visit this morning went well-- only two of them instead of three came, and they stayed for about forty-five minutes talking about Connor's medical issues. They determined that Connor falls under the jurisdiction of Washington law RCW 28A.210.320, which deals with children with life-threatening health conditions who are in a school environment. We will need to come up with a health care plan in regards to Connor's seizures and the possibility of stroke or cardiac arrest, and what the school's instructions will be if those events should occur. The nurses will be getting in touch with Connor's doctors to get a better picture of the kind of care plan we need, and we'll get that set up before he starts school.Overall, our evaluation results meeting also went pretty well!. It lasted just over an hour and counting myself and the two therapists I brought with me, there were eleven people there. I walked out with a twenty-two page evaluation report recommending OT, PT, and ST services for Connor as well as an FM system, and two visits scheduled to visit the special needs classroom and the Deaf and HoH classroom.
I was glad that I brought Patti and Barbara with me, because it was really nice to have a couple of people there that I knew well-- it made me more confident and less intimidated by the number of specialists there. I'm hoping that the IEP meeting will go as well, though I usually go for the "prepare for the worst and hope for the best" attitude when getting ready for these sorts of things.
The coordinator was much warmer, friendlier, and more helpful this meeting, which was really nice. It turns out that she won't actually be attending the IEP meeting, however, which means the Deaf and HoH coordinator will probably be the only one from this group who will be there. Since we don't bring Connor with us to the IEP meeting, this means that the people making the decisions will never have seen him and will be basing the IEP solely on what's on paper and what I can bring to the table. This is a little intimidating, but I really hope that it won't be an issue to get the services necessary for Connor to succeed.
~Jess
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6 comments:
Happy to hear things are progressing! Is there still a Mr. Crabbypants in the house? Or has Connor returned? Let me know when you're up for some more Stroller Skating!
good to find you :) sounds like a good meeting, hopefully the IEP stuff is just as seamless
I remember when we did Ethan's IEP, it didn't go well at all. More along the lines of they didn't believe he had anything wrong with him even though we had two doctors confirming his diagnosis and therapists confirming the treamtent regimen suggested and provided. As intimidating as it is, rely on your strength as a mommy to do everything in your power to provide what is necessary for your child's safety, and growth during the next IEP. You are, after all, the one who knows him best!! :)
We went through the IEP process recently with our older one (just for speech services), and our school district was GREAT! We brought both boys to the meeting (with their blessing), and it really helped us get more services. They could see how much difficulty Matt had with speech, and it was good for them to meet Nolan since he'll be entering the school district in a year and a half, too. I think having the people meet the actual kids really helped push things in our favor! We have a pretty awesome school district, though!
I'm glad things went well and I'm hopeful they will be able to provide exactly what he needs to succeed.
(BTW-adding you to my blogroll)
Gloria: Yes, unfortunately Mr. Crabbypants is still with us. Luckily Connor is starting to make short appearances. Hopefully the weekend will help him come back from vacation and give ol' Grumpy the boot.
J: It's nice to have some more canadian visitors! My parents have a cabin up in Nova Scotia, but that's a ways from you. Mind if I add you to our friend's list?
Michael and Michelle: How frustrating! I hope you were able to work things out with the school district. I'm pretty aggressive when it comes to my son's needs, but I'm hoping I won't have to be a mama bear and the school will meet me halfway. :)
Leah: I wish we could bring Connor with us, but it's not really something we can do in this school district. I do plan to bring a little book with pictures of Connor and examples of some of the things he likes to do-- not just for the teachers, but to remind the administration that they're helping shape the course of a little boy's life-- not just some dismal report on paper.
Mia: Thanks!
~Jess
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