Thursday, May 18, 2006
Great News on the IEP Front:
Last year it seemed like we had an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) meeting at the school every time I turned around (probably TEN of them during Doug's kindergarten year). I also got called by the school at least eight times a week to address problems with Doug (mostly of a behavioral nature...though his behavior problems were never significant enough to be encorporated into the IEP meeting agendas/goals--thankfully!). First grade has gone SO MUCH BETTER! We only had two IEP meetings this year and I have only been called by the school about behavior problems a couple of times this entire year.
This morning we had an IEP meeting. The attendance was much lighter than usual...just his regular first grade teacher, his special ed. teacher, his English Language Learning teacher, the speech therapist, and the director of the special ed. department, oh, and myself! (Meetings last year typically involved eight or nine persons.) This was the nicest IEP I have ever sat through! The reports on Doug were absolutely glowing. He has made HUGE progress this year in all areas. Granted, he is still on about a late kindergarten level academically...but, considering where we were at two years ago, that is INCREDIBLE. (He came into first grade not even accomplishing yet what would be expected of a four year old preparing for eventual kindergarten attendance.) Basically he has made a year's progress in a year! (Considering how poorly kindergarten went, that is very surprising and very encouraging.) He has begun reading...though he still has a long ways to go. His maturational level has probably advanced by several years this year. All of his teachers remarked about how much he has grown up emotionally and how RESPONSIBLE he is at school and how eager he is to please. They have all really enjoyed having him in their classes this year (genuinely so). I enjoy hearing them mention little stories about Doug that shows his sense of humor...he does look on the bright side of life and has a keen sense of humor.
What strikes me most, is how resiliant he is. Children choose what messages from the outside world about them that they are going to encorporate into their own psyche. Doug lets the negative roll off him like water off a duck. He holds to the encouraging words he hears and those are the ones he stores in his heart--thankfully! That is a skill not very many children come by naturally. Doug just chooses to believe the best about himself...rather than dwell on any of the negative words and reactions that come his way. I have watched from afar when he is in a new situation...mixing with children who don't yet know him. Kids react to his lack of language/pronunciation abilities and to his delayed social skills. He can't speak clearly and just uses one or two word phrases to express himself and he doesn't quite 'get' how to respect the personal space of others...he tends to move in too close and speak too loudly and touch too much. I see the looks that come over the faces of children who aren't familiar with him. Looks that would devastate some children--forever etch rejection upon their self concepts. Doug is VERY PERCEPTIVE. He is the most perceptive of my three children when it comes to reading my feelings that I am not overtly voicing. I have seen how perceptive he is with other children...always compassionate and attentive. So, I know it isn't that he doesn't 'read' the looks new children give him...it is just that he doesn't encorporate them into his inner being. He takes it in stride, confident that once they get to know him they will love him. And they do! I think every child at his school knows him by name--whether they are in his class or even his grade! And they all greet him so enthusiastically whenever their paths cross his out in the community. He is very well liked. He cares about others deeply...and he delights in making others laugh...how could they help but NOT like him! Still, it amazes me how the initial rejection of children he is just meeting never dampens his spirit or compromises his joy in who he is. In some ways, he is much more mature than many adults! ¶ 5/18/2006 09:47:00 AM
This morning we had an IEP meeting. The attendance was much lighter than usual...just his regular first grade teacher, his special ed. teacher, his English Language Learning teacher, the speech therapist, and the director of the special ed. department, oh, and myself! (Meetings last year typically involved eight or nine persons.) This was the nicest IEP I have ever sat through! The reports on Doug were absolutely glowing. He has made HUGE progress this year in all areas. Granted, he is still on about a late kindergarten level academically...but, considering where we were at two years ago, that is INCREDIBLE. (He came into first grade not even accomplishing yet what would be expected of a four year old preparing for eventual kindergarten attendance.) Basically he has made a year's progress in a year! (Considering how poorly kindergarten went, that is very surprising and very encouraging.) He has begun reading...though he still has a long ways to go. His maturational level has probably advanced by several years this year. All of his teachers remarked about how much he has grown up emotionally and how RESPONSIBLE he is at school and how eager he is to please. They have all really enjoyed having him in their classes this year (genuinely so). I enjoy hearing them mention little stories about Doug that shows his sense of humor...he does look on the bright side of life and has a keen sense of humor.
What strikes me most, is how resiliant he is. Children choose what messages from the outside world about them that they are going to encorporate into their own psyche. Doug lets the negative roll off him like water off a duck. He holds to the encouraging words he hears and those are the ones he stores in his heart--thankfully! That is a skill not very many children come by naturally. Doug just chooses to believe the best about himself...rather than dwell on any of the negative words and reactions that come his way. I have watched from afar when he is in a new situation...mixing with children who don't yet know him. Kids react to his lack of language/pronunciation abilities and to his delayed social skills. He can't speak clearly and just uses one or two word phrases to express himself and he doesn't quite 'get' how to respect the personal space of others...he tends to move in too close and speak too loudly and touch too much. I see the looks that come over the faces of children who aren't familiar with him. Looks that would devastate some children--forever etch rejection upon their self concepts. Doug is VERY PERCEPTIVE. He is the most perceptive of my three children when it comes to reading my feelings that I am not overtly voicing. I have seen how perceptive he is with other children...always compassionate and attentive. So, I know it isn't that he doesn't 'read' the looks new children give him...it is just that he doesn't encorporate them into his inner being. He takes it in stride, confident that once they get to know him they will love him. And they do! I think every child at his school knows him by name--whether they are in his class or even his grade! And they all greet him so enthusiastically whenever their paths cross his out in the community. He is very well liked. He cares about others deeply...and he delights in making others laugh...how could they help but NOT like him! Still, it amazes me how the initial rejection of children he is just meeting never dampens his spirit or compromises his joy in who he is. In some ways, he is much more mature than many adults! ¶ 5/18/2006 09:47:00 AM
