We had Erin's follow up IEP today.
It was an entirely different experience this time.
The Teacher of the Deaf/HH drafted three very aggressive goals, with strong benchmarks attached. She was able to get a much better take on where Erin is in her development by spending an hour a week with her over the last month.
She recommended she increase her visits to 60 minutes, once per week. Her first IEP only allowed for one visit per month, after the initial month of weekly visits.
She recommended quartlerly evaluations by the school's SLP, mainly to monitor her articulation.
She recommended we try out an FM Soundfield in the classroom.
So, we've agreed to go ahead and try out the Soundfield System. We are still a little skeptical of how beneficial it will be in the preschool setting, but it obviously doesn't hurt to give it a shot. The school seems to be even more unsure about it's usefulness, but I trust the TOD will help convince them of the value.
We discussed the possibility of increasing her SLP visits if we see her progress slow down. At this point, we feel she will get more out of the classroom and social setting than she would with an SLP for an hour a week. Also, the time her TOD spends with her will largely be focused on therapy activities, so it would be somewhat overkill.
We are very pleased with the services that have been offered. There isn't anything missing from our wish list. (Well, except for maybe offering to pay part of her preschool costs, but I'm not going to be unreasonable. ;)
I am also so excited about her TOD. She is just great! One thing I have noticed is that she gets a full 60 minutes of solid interaction with Erin during her visits. When we go to private therapy, Erin tends to cling to me for much of the session and I don't feel she gets as much from it. She is a much more confident little girl when she is in the school setting and I am not around to hover.
It is kind of funny, actually. When we're home, she won't go into another room unless I come along. But at school drop off in the morning, I have to remind her not to run off into other rooms without me. Sometimes I thinks she feels she owns the place. Haha!
So we feel very fortunate that the TOD is able to visit her in that setting. We know she is benefitting from it so much.
