IEP Re-Evaluation

On December 20, Dave and I met with Mairead's IEP team to discuss her the results of the most recent evaluations of Mairead.  This meeting was definitely the best meeting we have ever had... not that it takes much, lol. But seriously, the women involved were awesome. Their reports were thorough and it was clear that they definitely saw what I wanted them to see. They chose words/phrases to describe her that were right on, and they were very candid about their impressions. They said that she is a 'little puzzle' because she is so bright and has so many high level skills, but that she can't always show those skills. The psychologist described her (and her test results) as 'consistently inconsistent.' I smiled at that because her neurologist and all the Early Intervention people have always said that she defies categorization and no test results are consistent. I mentioned to the team today that her neurologist (who is a brilliant doctor) has even said that he can't figure her out.

 

They said that while she has some great skills (even completing academic tasks appropriate for a 6 year old), she is 'prompt dependent' and needs consant cueing, directions, etc. Even for things she does every single day, someone has to tell her to do one step, then the next, etc. If her pencil breaks, she sits and waits and never speaks up to say that she needs one. She smiles at other kids and complies with their requests (if they as for a crayon, etc) but never speaks to them. The compliance is fine for now, but may become an issue as she never stands up for herself, never says, "no," and lets other kids have/do whatever they want.

The SpEd teacher said that Mairead is actually reading some things (many sight words, some sounding out, etc), which is great, but when you ask her what was just read, she can't come up with an answer.

Everything they said was more positive than the impression I got from the reports. There were some areas in which she scored very low and was even in the first percentile on a few things.  Those results were very hard for us to read.  Obviously, the areas in which she was in the 1st percentile are a big problem, but I was picturing her seriously struggling and being a problem in class, etc, and that is not the case. I mean, she is still struggling for sure, but they all said that they would describe her as happy, sweet, and "just so cute." I was encouraged. They all seemed genuinely concerned for her welfare and want to help her. It was sort of surreal, actually, compared to all the other meetings we have had.

 

Anyway, they have amended her IEP to state the her disabilities include a Global Developmental Delay and a Communication Disability (it used to be only a Communication Disability). She was receiving Speech in class 30min per week and pull out speech 30 min per week. Now, she will receive:

•  Pull out speech (one on one) 30 min per week
• In-class speech (SLP with her in the classroom) 30 min per week
• In-class support from the SpEd teacher 30 min per day, 4 days per week

So, either the SLP or the SpEd teacher will be with her in the classroom every day for 30 minutes. They are going to work on getting her to initiate conversation, to speak up when she needs something, to interact with other kids, etc.

 

I think this will really help her. I am still concerned that she might need additional therapies, but I want to start here and see if things get better at school. I think that having someone to prompt her and basically teach her how to interact, speak up for herself, etc, could make a big difference. 

All in all, I was really encouraged by the meeting. I could not believe the difference in this meeting as compared to all the others. They actually saw the problem, acknowledged that she needed support, and made a plan to provide it.  I am really hoping that several things will combine to help us see some improvements in the new year. I just hope that everything comes together to help her. She's such an amazing kid- I just want to be able to see who she really is and what great things she can do.