IEP meeting

For most of you, this will be bbbbbooooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnnggggggg, so you might want to quit reading right now. However, several have been asking about Ian's school situation and I mentioned before that he finally got to start school, but that we weren't convinced that the placement was the best place for him. This afternoon was our IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting for next fall. I think there were 11 people there, all of them somehow involved in Ian's life. The goal is for everyone to come together to put a plan in place that will allow for Ian to reach his potential at all levels. Tom and I felt well prepared, thanks to his sister, Stacy (who has taught special ed for 20-some years and is an expert in the law) and our private OT and PT (who have been attending case conferences for 20-some years and are very knowledgable). The meeting went very well and most of our questions and concerns were answered before we even asked. Ian will be attending Cole Elementary (which is the school that serves our neighborhood and community) and will be in 4th grade, with the aid of a paraprofessional. Since he has had very little exposure to school prior to coming to Indiana, he will go between the general education classroom and the resource room for more one-on-one instruction and all of his material will be adapted to help him understand it and to tell what he knows in the best way possible. He will be with his peers for "specials," recess, lunch, parties, field trips, social studies, etc. but will need more focused attention for spelling, reading, computer training and math. His "teacher of record" will be his homebound teacher, who did an amazing job of learning how to access what he knows, as well as creative ways to motivate him. She will be involved in adapting the material for him, training the para and teachers, and implementing augmentative communication devices. She is also going to continue teaching him at our home during the summer, which is a HUGE blessing!

The meeting lasted 3 hours so there was a lot more discussion but this is long enough and you get the gist of it.

As a reward for persevering through this post, you get to see a picture of our beautiful grandaughter who came to pick up her dogs last night after her 3rd trip to Memphis in her 4 1/2 weeks of life! (I have no idea why the picture is sideways and I haven't been able to rotate it, but she's beautiful in any position!!)