Change is coming for my girl, in a big way. I don't know if she's picking up on it or not. We've had a few rough days around here with sleep. Or it's the pull of the full moon. Or (as a friend just reminded me) the retrograde of Mercury is the culprit. Or it's some bad, spicy tacos. Whatever it is, there's no denying it!
We had our official exit meeting with Early Intervention this past week. This is where I sit down with all her therapists and our case worker and review progress. Just like we had an "opening" meeting, we have this "closing" one as well.
It's nice to sit around with everyone all at once and get a full picture. Everyone has a different piece and a unique perspective. I soak it up like a sponge.
The OT said that Nea has made amazing progress and has met most of her goals. She wanted to make sure she could adjust to "activities of daily living" for a 2-3 year old, and Nea has done that. She goes to the playground with others, attends birthday parties, eats at restaurants, etc. Sensory integration is still a work in progress and sensory needs being met will be key to learning for her.
Diana from speech therapy reassessed her and felt she has made "excellent progress" since we started in April. She likes the marked improvement in her play schemes as well as verbalizations during play. She can choose objects from a field of 3-5 without problem. She is still not identifying objects by function or displaying an understanding of location phrases. Her expressive vocabulary is +100 words that she uses to request, comment or protest. She's not relating personal experience (meaning she won't tell you that we went swimming the day before) but she refers to herself by name. She is age appropriate when in comes to articulation, but she still has a 30% or more delay in speech overall.
Developmental therapy shared that they are up to 45-50 minutes of attention but she has to present items rapidly. Transitions are getting better but it's still very difficult to participate in non-preferred activities (Mom insert: "stubborn as bull"). They still use sensory breaks for her with spinning in a chair, the bean bag or weighted blanket. She still prefers to play alone and doesn't always respond to verbal requests but she is emerging with the skill to seek out others for shared interests.
Overall, they are good reports. Everyone was very clear that if she doesn't get into school in April she will still need services during the summer. A gap would be bad for her. Their professional observations are what we see at home too in our day to day activities. Early Intervention has been very good to us and provided great resources for Nea to make wonderful progress. Our case worker was great, always in contact and always willing to listen. And of course, you all know how I feel about Nea's therapists.
I came home that day feeling a little verklempt about getting close to saying goodbye, but feeling armed with good information to move on to our next phase.
And this is what greeted me in the maill:
"STUDENT" ???!!!!??? Wow. Student.
And if that wasn't overwhelming the list of people attending the meeting include:
School Case Manager
School Social Worker
Early Start Teacher
School Psychologist
Special Ed Teacher
Speech Therapist
Nurse
Occupational Therapist
No wonder parents feel overwhelmed when attending the first IEP meeting!
We are bringing:
Early Intervention Case Manager
Early Intervention Speech Therapist (Diana)
Early Intervention Occupational Therapist
Early Intervention Developmental Therapist
Me
Poppa
14 people!!!!!! 14 People creating the best education path for 1 little girl.
Nea is not coming with us that day. Can you imagine how overwhelmed SHE would feel? She is thrown off when the Developmental Therapist comes to a meeting at the place where the Speech and OT are!
Nope, Nea will have Grandma all to herself! There's still a little time before she's a "student."
Wow! It does take a village. I am always impressed by the dedication you show for her future. Way to go mama!! Poppa, too!
ReplyDelete