Revisiting the IEP Conference
Jaimie on May 28th 2008
Yesterday I went in to meet with CJ’s teacher and talk about a few of the concerns and questions I had from his IEP case conference. Specifically, I wanted to know what kinds of testing they might want to do and why, and then talk about CJ’s social interaction.
I am really glad that I went in and talked with his teacher, because she was really great about meeting with me and was happy to talk about any and all of my concerns and questions. The meeting went really well and put my mind at ease about a lot of things, and also gave me things to think about.
The good news is, the teacher doesn’t see a specific need for more testing, but the option is there if we choose to do it. Most of the children at CJ’s school have what is termed a “developmental delay” and that diagnosis only goes to 5 years old. When they enter kindergarten, they need a more specific diagnosis to have the help assigned to them that they need. CJ has only been diagnosed with a speech delay not the more encompassing developmental delay. The testing they do is IQ testing, and if we choose to, we can have CJ’s IQ tested next fall, but it isn’t required. CJ’s teacher said that he shows no sign of a cognitive delay and that he is on track or ahead of what they would expect of an almost 4-year old as far as that goes. (In that he knows colors, shapes, numbers, letters, can read short words, and things like that.)
The more challenging news, for me at least, is that there’s a good possibility that CJ’s speech will not be caught up to his peers completely by kindergarten. No one can predict the future of course, but he still has a long way to go in using his language appropriately in social situations. He is developing those tools, but he still often, well, almost exclusively, reverts back to non-verbal responses and cues when dealing with his peers in things like sharing and negotiating needs. So we’ve got him enrolled in a number of group activities for the summer - t-ball, soccer, and storytime at the library. He also needs to improve his “attending” when in a group setting, and hopefully this will help with that as well.
So, some positive news, some challenges to work on. I can’t say I’m pleased completely but I am pleased with the meeting and I am glad I decided to call.
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That all sounds like great stuff for CJ! Good for you for going in and talking to the teacher.
Have your teachers asked you what you want to do about Kindergarten since CJ has a summer birthday and could start at 5 or 6? My daughter’s school (teachers) have asked and want me to think about it now. I’m 99% certain she’ll do a 3rd year of preschool and start K when she turns 6. Unless she makes a huge leap during the next year. But at the same time, around here, EVERYONE, and I mean everyone, who has a kid with a summer birthday delays K till they are 6. It’s standard.
So much stuff to think about, huh?
I have thought about it a bit, but here it is quite the opposite - it is very “different” to delay K for a year. Not that I won’t if we decide it is the right decision. But it isn’t “done”, so to speak. So I get a little more … resistance regarding it I think.