John's Services Updated

I have lots of news today and it may take more than one topic to cover all the news on John. I'll start with the IEP.

Today, we had John's IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) with the school district. It was a bittersweet moment as we learned that John no longer will qualify for services. This is a very good thing because it means that the progress John has made since May has been so overwhelming that he does not need Special Education. The school district determined through their assessments that, although John has showed developmental delays in the past, his scores in all areas of development fall within the average range. He doesn't show a need for continued service, whether it be special ed pre-school, speech, or occupational therapy.

Hopefully, the early intervention will serve as a deep enough foundation for John to integrate into regular pre-school and naturally develop alongside other children/peers. I am disappointed that occupational therapy and speech could not be continued. I learned today that to qualify for occupational therapy, he would have had to meet the requirement for special education. Then, it would be determined if it was necessary for OT. However, speech is a little bit different. It is a standalone service, meaning that if he meets certain criteria, he could qualify for speech, even if he did not for special education preschool.

Hopefully, John will continue to develop his attention so he can engage in a classroom setting without too much re-direction. As far as skill levels, he has caught up in every catergory, which I will get into in the next blog topic with regards to his latest Casa Colina evaluation. His largest problem area that his current educators see is his willingness to participate, along with his attention and engagement with little re-direction.