Hayden's Kindergarten IEP

Last Wednesday was finally the appointment to make Hayden's IEP. I have to say, the Chandler MET team that has been with me each step of the way, since I was put into the hands of the Lead, has been amazing.
I really cannot believe how attentive, concerned and interested they are in the well being of the children. I know that's their job, but they are so engaging and helpful and that's what I've needed.
After a year (on and off) and two months straight, of getting the run around when trying to nail someone down, in search of help for Hayden....I fell into the hands of someone, by word of mouth, who gave me the phone number to the woman who gets things done. And that she did!

I met with them back in February with Hayden's diagnosis' and additional evals in hand. They interviewed me to get her history from my point of view before meeting with her. At that meeting, they set up a series of evaluations in the months to come. They visited her at St. Tim's and observed her in her comfortable school environment. She spent a day with the school psyschologist and a couple of days with the speech and language pathologist. I found out last week in my IEP meeting that Hayden spent about a half hour in a kindergarten class, observing. She also took a tour of the school and spent some time in the Library. She's undergone a lot of testing on many different levels. And the results brought tears, of course, but also a PLAN!!

They too, agree that Hayden is a child with Autism and SLI. She does not qualify at the present time for the LEP program. That is for high functioning Autism and Aspergers. Even though Hayden may seem high functioning to all of us, she tests intellectually and socially along the lines of moderate. She qualifies for the full time Special Education class, however, they are advising at this time, to not enroll her there. They see a lot of potential in Hayden and they believe that with intensive therapy and extra guidance, they can pull that potential out of her and she can actually thrive, mainstreamed. Conal and I both agree.
So, Hayden is going to be in a mainstream Kindy class with extra help on a daily basis. There will be a Special Ed teacher assigned to her classroom, she works with the kids have disabilities. Hayden will have the teacher (we met her last Weds. and she's soooo nice!) "M" for about 4 hours each day, by her side, helping her with her class work, in addition to the teacher of the class. During that four hours, she may be pulled from class if she's struggling and the classroom gets too overwhelming. She will also be pulled for an hour a day of socialization integration therapy and 30 minutes a day of speech therapy. The aide is an actual credentialed teacher that specializes in Special Ed. They have 3 of them on campus in addition to the non-credentialed aides that work in the SE class. "M" came to the table with a plan and some AWESOME ideas to help Hayden! They're going to have sight charts for her and will pull her out for any testing that needs to be done so they can help to explain things different. Hayden's auditory processing deficiancy is really playing a part in her listening, interpreting and comprehending of basic questions, stories or conversations. They also have a plan in place for the kids who have sensory issues, when it comes to Fire Drills. We already know that those rock her world, and when they asked me about it...I was so impressed that that was even a question. Seriously, they covered some of the smallest things that I know about my daughter, but didn't know anybody else might. It goes to show how often they work with children with varying degrees of Autism, and how they've adapted such programs to help them in the smallest and largest ways. There will likely be other kids in her class or the other Kindy classes that are within the Spectrum, so they too, depending on their IEP's, will be incorporated into the same type of program and therapy sessions as Hayden. I'm really eager to meet other parents at her school (that live near us) that go through a similar type of life that we do!

It's so nice to see her education plan laid out in front of us. To see their dedication and determination in helping her succeed and strive to be the best that she can, is a relief! She will be under constant evaluation. And at the winter break in December, if she's not thriving and finding an ease in her environment, then they will revaluate her placement and move her.

Until then, we are very comfortable and pleased with all they have done and are continuing to help us do. Hayden and I are invited to have lunch in the cafeteria a few times before school is out to introduce her to that environment before she starts school. We're also invited to visit the school library as often as we'd like! She is also attending Speech Therapy at the school every Weds. at 9:00am with a small group of Kindy's until the school year is over.

She is excited beyond words, and my wildest imagination, to start Kindergarten. She will tell you all about it, if you ask her! She was wanting to go to "this" school forever! She is growing up so fast...and even though it's not the life we had mapped out in our heads for her....it's going to be an absolutely amazing one! Our map has a big detour in the middle...but this detour is going to be the ride of all of our lives. I'm really hopeful, anxious and inspired to start the next phase. WE (both Conal and I) feel so LUCKY and so BLESSED that GOD chose US to be her parents. I'm sure we'll make the typical mistakes along the way...but I feel so honored that He decided that we would be the perfect parents for this amazing little girl, who is going to face a lifetime of challenges.

Wow...I keep talking about my denial, but I think it's finally over! *sigh*

**I kept the names of the MET team and the school private for obvious reasons. My blog is public and I don't want that type of information published.