Looks like its gonna be a long fight...

So, I presented the goals and was told they are nice personal goals for Toes and they would be more than willing to add them to the evaluation portion of the IEP, but that "Is not how IEP goals are done."

Huh?

Basically, the school feels that since Toes is currently being assessed at "solidly" age appropriate levels in her language skills, there does not need to be any goals more aggressive than the one already listed.

I am disappointed and angry. I had hoped I wouldn't need to fight.

Mostly I am frustrated to have what feels like Erin's fate in some one else's hands. Someone who is much better equipped to fight the battle I see ahead.

Again... I am not asking for much. The goals were basic and were to be guides to make sure that Erin stays on track for the following year. I wasn't even all that concerned about the lack of SLP services. I just want to make sure there are objective milestones in place rather than solely relying on a single person's subjective assessment of Erin's progress throughout the year.

*sigh*

We ended things with a plan for them to revise a few minor items in the IEP and send it to us for review and signature. Beginning next fall, the Itinerant Teacher of the Deaf will visit Erin's school once a week for a month. We will then sit down and review the IEP and set a more formal one.

I am waffling on whether to sign now and fight in the fall, or push now. On one hand, Erin very well could meet the goals I suggested before the school year begins. So, leaving things a little open until October might not be such a bad thing.

I need to take a step back and evaluate how I am feeling about all of this.

Valerie, thanks for the link to your blog post. I'll take a look and probably send you an email in the next few days. ;)

Draft Eval and IEP

I received a copy of the school's evaluation of Erin and a draft of the IEP on Friday.

Suffice to say I was underwhelmed. The eval showed her at an age-appropriate level for receptive and expressive language. Which didn't surprise me in the least. We've worked hard to get there. What did surprise me is that in the Draft IEP, there was no mention of SLP services. None. How they expect her to stay on track without further work, or at the very least, some monitoring, is beyond me.

It is also kind of comical to note that they suggested only 1 goal - and it was a receptive language goal. I actually laughed out loud when I read it. The goal itself is lovely, but where are the rest of them???

Right now I am taking the word "Draft" as the operative term in the equation and not getting too worked up.

We meet at 3 PM today.

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Today is Christian's Activation Day! I'm excited for video!




And it is also Grandpa to Toes Birthday! Happy Birthday, Grandpa!