Oh wait, did I say the first real IEP meeting? Well apparently not. This was the Eligibility meeting. Meaning that this was the meeting where we went over all the evaluations and determined whether Nicky would be eligible for ESE services and classroom accommodations.
Basically I went into this hoping that everyone would be on the same page as far as Nicky's abilities and potential, but I was also ready to fight for his rights and needs too. As it turned out, we were all very much on the same page I think.
It was agreed that Nicky is a very amiable, friendly, lovable child who presents as extremely bright and exceedingly distractable. He notices everything, things others can easily tune out (like a cricket that was in the classroom, a set of wind-chimes in the school psychologist's office, etc.) All the areas in which he was tested showed his difficulties in staying on task, focus, attention and impulsivity. Even though he tested very well, and usually either average or high-average in areas, he still had to be redirected and refocused often.
The one area in which he had a noticeable weakness was writing. As a committee, we waffled quite a bit on whether to qualify him under having a learning disability in writing. The cutoff for it was 83 and he scored an 85. But in the end I pointed out that I thought he is not dyslexic, and rather than having dysgraphia I think it's likely that at this time his struggle with writing and drawing has more to do with his difficulty in focus and attention.
So he qualified under the label of ADHD. I pointed out that he hasn't been officially diagnosed with this yet, as we haven't taken him to a psychologist and done all that testing, but the school psychologist said with the evaluations the teachers and I filled out and the observations and evaluations she did, she was comfortable making that diagnosis. I'm happy about. This means he qualifies for ESE services and unlike the Developmental Delay label he received in Florida, ADHD will not drop off at a particular age, so he can receive services as long as they are needed.
I was concerned because I feel he shows much stronger evidence for ADD, without the hyperactivity component (compared to many of my former students where the hyperactivity was so prevalent). But in both the teachers' and my assessments while the evidence of inattentiveness was higher there was still significant evidence of impulsivity and uncontrolled activity which would qualify as the hyperactivity component. And she pointed out that now they really just have the ADHD label and then just qualify it as being with inattentiveness or hyperactivity or whatever. So I'm fine with that label.
This of course does not require or in any way mean we're looking at medicating him in any way at this point. Right now I'm concerned with getting him the classroom accommodations he needs to help him enjoy school and learn at his grade level. When he's older, and can have more of a say in how he's feeling and whether he wants medical intervention, then we might consider going that route. But right now, for him, there isn't enough of a behavior/learning issue to medicate him.
So, now we'll have ANOTHER meeting, the REAL ACTUAL IEP meeting in a few weeks. OMGWTFMEETINGBBQ!1!
And in the meantime we'll be working on Nicky's sight words (of which he only recognizes 3 and he apparently should recognize 10+ at this point) and his writing/drawing. We have some ideas. I have gotten a copy of the dolce sight words today that I'll be turning into flash cards for him. And we have that roll of adhesive paper that turns a flat surface (wall in the kitchen is the plan) into a whiteboard for using dry erase markers. That should help make it more interesting for him. And then we are also thinking about those pads that have a pen/mouse that use a drawing surface that works with the computer. I can't remember what they're called, and they probably cost a ton, but we're thinking of things like that. Aunt Liz had a good idea to see if his Nintendo DS has a game that uses the stylus like that. I'll have to look into it.
And the girls are doing fine. The end.
(Well it was starting to feel like a novel and the girls hadn't gotten much playtime in this post yet.)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Prepping for the first real IEP meeting
Nicky's IEP meeting is tomorrow. We received the results of his evaluations today in a packet he brought home. I haven't had a chance to sit and read it yet. Maybe it will be my bedtime reading tonight.
I'm taking in my datasheets showing how we're using his daily behavior charts at home, and showing how they're giving us a way to measure his progress. We've had them for two weeks now. The first week he was 55.5% on task. Last week he was 75% on task. Quite an improvement. He received another 6/9 stars today too. Troubling was that today's sheet included his first problem in "walking with hands and feet to self" because he hit a kid in the head with his lunchbox. Lucky for that kid it was a soft-sided bag, but still we jumped on him about that. It was one of the two kids he's been having trouble with for months now though so I don't know what the story is there. I'll bring it up in the meeting as well. But that is really the first outward aggression he's shown (that has been reported to me).
Tom read through the evaluation already and said something about his teacher thinking he had Asperger's, but I'll reserve judgment until I see that. I'm sure they can't make a diagnosis in there, so it shouldn't say anything like that. Although there is a scale that looks for markers for Autism/Asperger's I believe.
I'm sure I'll have more to say AFTER the meeting. Right now I just want to make sure I have my ducks in a row and am ready to stand up for Nicky and his needs.
I'm taking in my datasheets showing how we're using his daily behavior charts at home, and showing how they're giving us a way to measure his progress. We've had them for two weeks now. The first week he was 55.5% on task. Last week he was 75% on task. Quite an improvement. He received another 6/9 stars today too. Troubling was that today's sheet included his first problem in "walking with hands and feet to self" because he hit a kid in the head with his lunchbox. Lucky for that kid it was a soft-sided bag, but still we jumped on him about that. It was one of the two kids he's been having trouble with for months now though so I don't know what the story is there. I'll bring it up in the meeting as well. But that is really the first outward aggression he's shown (that has been reported to me).
Tom read through the evaluation already and said something about his teacher thinking he had Asperger's, but I'll reserve judgment until I see that. I'm sure they can't make a diagnosis in there, so it shouldn't say anything like that. Although there is a scale that looks for markers for Autism/Asperger's I believe.
I'm sure I'll have more to say AFTER the meeting. Right now I just want to make sure I have my ducks in a row and am ready to stand up for Nicky and his needs.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Blog-Silence Broken
Back to the blog!
This past week of silence brought to you by:
The Letter G
For Grammie's visit! My mom was here all week and so I spent my evenings chatting and enjoying her company instead of hanging out on the computer. It was a really nice visit. She had so much fun getting to really talk and exchange ideas with Nicholas, and of course watching and interacting with the girls too. She was pretty much the first person on the scene each morning as the girls awoke since she was sleeping downstairs where the kids rooms now are. Tom and I are upstairs now. So she really got to see the girls in all their jumpy-jumpy glory in the mornings! They are definitely happy morning babies!
From the weekend with Aunt Jessie, Aunt Liz and Grammie. Lily has the bottle (yeah, I know I know)
And the number 4
The office was under construction this week, and so to avoid the potential dust and noise, I worked four days of the week from home, only going into the office Friday. It was interesting to work full time from home. I've done it before for the odd on-call thing, or to finish up a project, but this was my first real full-time working from home and it was honestly not a whole lot of fun. Although it was nice to basically roll out of bed and over to the home office, that really just meant I went way too long without a shower and washing my hair. And it was really nice to finally get dressed and get OUT of the house Friday!
The office was completely done by Friday, so I totally missed all the construction. My desk was a little dusty, and they'd even had it covered in plastic, so I was happy I wasn't there during all that (dust is my biggest allergen and can kick off my asthma). But I don't forsee me wanting to turn into a telecommuter any time soon. It was too hard to ignore the noises of the kids from downstairs (and to hope no one could hear them when I was on the phone, even though the door was closed). And it was also too hard for me to STOP working at the end of the day. The first night I went back to it and worked for an extra three hours or so in the late evening. My perfectionist personality is much better suited to working in an office where I have to LEAVE.
But now I'm back to the office during the days and back to mommying in the evening, and then blogging in the late evening (while Tom plays his latest MMORPG). So never fear, a blow-by-blow descriptions of the following will be forthcoming:
- how Nicky's behavior plan is shaping up (his IEP meeting is Tuesday!!)
- how the upstairs den/downstairs den rearrangement project is going (new project conceived after midnight last night and already well underway)
- what my biweekly meal planning is starting to look like
I'm sure you'll be riveted. It's pretty compelling stuff I'm sure.
And today's photos of choice?
Nicky at our lunch date:
And the girls enjoying leftover spaghetti (I did not teach them this!)
Lily on the left
This past week of silence brought to you by:
The Letter G
For Grammie's visit! My mom was here all week and so I spent my evenings chatting and enjoying her company instead of hanging out on the computer. It was a really nice visit. She had so much fun getting to really talk and exchange ideas with Nicholas, and of course watching and interacting with the girls too. She was pretty much the first person on the scene each morning as the girls awoke since she was sleeping downstairs where the kids rooms now are. Tom and I are upstairs now. So she really got to see the girls in all their jumpy-jumpy glory in the mornings! They are definitely happy morning babies!
From the weekend with Aunt Jessie, Aunt Liz and Grammie. Lily has the bottle (yeah, I know I know)
And the number 4
The office was under construction this week, and so to avoid the potential dust and noise, I worked four days of the week from home, only going into the office Friday. It was interesting to work full time from home. I've done it before for the odd on-call thing, or to finish up a project, but this was my first real full-time working from home and it was honestly not a whole lot of fun. Although it was nice to basically roll out of bed and over to the home office, that really just meant I went way too long without a shower and washing my hair. And it was really nice to finally get dressed and get OUT of the house Friday!
The office was completely done by Friday, so I totally missed all the construction. My desk was a little dusty, and they'd even had it covered in plastic, so I was happy I wasn't there during all that (dust is my biggest allergen and can kick off my asthma). But I don't forsee me wanting to turn into a telecommuter any time soon. It was too hard to ignore the noises of the kids from downstairs (and to hope no one could hear them when I was on the phone, even though the door was closed). And it was also too hard for me to STOP working at the end of the day. The first night I went back to it and worked for an extra three hours or so in the late evening. My perfectionist personality is much better suited to working in an office where I have to LEAVE.
But now I'm back to the office during the days and back to mommying in the evening, and then blogging in the late evening (while Tom plays his latest MMORPG). So never fear, a blow-by-blow descriptions of the following will be forthcoming:
- how Nicky's behavior plan is shaping up (his IEP meeting is Tuesday!!)
- how the upstairs den/downstairs den rearrangement project is going (new project conceived after midnight last night and already well underway)
- what my biweekly meal planning is starting to look like
I'm sure you'll be riveted. It's pretty compelling stuff I'm sure.
And today's photos of choice?
Nicky at our lunch date:
And the girls enjoying leftover spaghetti (I did not teach them this!)
Lily on the left
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Date Night!
We've had a great visit with my sisters Liz and Jessie. Liz is getting married in April, so we all went with my mom to help her pick out a wedding dress. It only took about 3 hours and I think maybe even less than 10 dresses to find the one perfect for her. Of course I'd share the photo, but then we run the risk of her fiance seeing it. Can't have that!
Last night, Tom and I went out on a lovely date. WE ate at a Mexican Restaurant we'd never tried, or heard of for that matter. And it was great! It was a little place called El gran Rodeo, and we'll definitely be going back. I even took photos of the lunch menu to have our lunch group see if they'd like to add this place to their rotation.
After dinner, we thought about going to a movie, but there isn't really anything we wanted to see. So we'd talked about me needing a coat for my upcoming business trip to Chicago at the end of the month (and I am going to need a coat!) and decided to check out Lane Bryant. I called them and they had a grey peacoat in my size, so we went to check it out. It was pretty, but obviously more of a fashion coat, not really a "keep you warm in a Chicago January" kind of coat.
The girl there recommended a few other options, and one was this K&G place right next door. I'd never heard of it, but turns out it is a lot like a TJ Maxx or a Ross, where they have a lot of discounted clothes and other stuff. There really wasn't anything my size in the women's jackets (although they had a lot!) so we decided to check the men's side. And I found the perfect jacket! It's wool and warm, and has a built in fleece liner and hood, lots of pockets, and the liner zips closed then the wool overcoat buttons. And it fits! That was imperative. I think I'll be warm enough in that. AND it was ony 40$ on clearance. SCORE! Oh, and it's grey with a black liner and will match my typical business travel wardrobe and boots. Sweet. We also picked up lined gloves for both Tom and I. All that for just about 60$. My dad had sent us $ for Christmas, so Thanks for the coat and gloves Dad!
By this time it was 9pm and we wanted to stay out a bit longer (we don't often have a babysitter to watch the kids, much less THREE of them!) so we headed over to Barnes and Nobles. I've had a 25$ gift card for there for a few years from a birthday at some point. We also wanted to look for things for the kids from my dad. Tom got a really nice puzzle of the painting The Last Supper. It's been a long time since Tom and I worked on something so unplugged. That should be fun.
For Nicky we picked up a memory game that is all photos of puppies (he LOVES puppies) and a phonics Brain Quest thing where he can use a dry erase marker to fill in the missing letters of words. I think this will be a lot more fun for him than writing full words all the time, and will focus in on beginning, ending and vowel sounds better too. We have to keep things fun by alternating his writing homework with "games" like this and I think this is going to be fun. Thanks Dad for Nicky's games!
That still leaves 20$ for the girls to get a little something from Dad, so we'll do a little shopping today, probably for some cute, warm clothes.
So all in all, a lovely date and we only had to shell out our money for dinner! Sweet!
Liz and Jessie will be leaving today, but Grammie is staying till next weekend when we fly her back to Florida. Poor Grammie is freezing up here because, being from Florida, she doesn't really have VA winter clothes. But we'll keep her covered up in babies to help her keep warm. They're good for that.
Last night, Tom and I went out on a lovely date. WE ate at a Mexican Restaurant we'd never tried, or heard of for that matter. And it was great! It was a little place called El gran Rodeo, and we'll definitely be going back. I even took photos of the lunch menu to have our lunch group see if they'd like to add this place to their rotation.
After dinner, we thought about going to a movie, but there isn't really anything we wanted to see. So we'd talked about me needing a coat for my upcoming business trip to Chicago at the end of the month (and I am going to need a coat!) and decided to check out Lane Bryant. I called them and they had a grey peacoat in my size, so we went to check it out. It was pretty, but obviously more of a fashion coat, not really a "keep you warm in a Chicago January" kind of coat.
The girl there recommended a few other options, and one was this K&G place right next door. I'd never heard of it, but turns out it is a lot like a TJ Maxx or a Ross, where they have a lot of discounted clothes and other stuff. There really wasn't anything my size in the women's jackets (although they had a lot!) so we decided to check the men's side. And I found the perfect jacket! It's wool and warm, and has a built in fleece liner and hood, lots of pockets, and the liner zips closed then the wool overcoat buttons. And it fits! That was imperative. I think I'll be warm enough in that. AND it was ony 40$ on clearance. SCORE! Oh, and it's grey with a black liner and will match my typical business travel wardrobe and boots. Sweet. We also picked up lined gloves for both Tom and I. All that for just about 60$. My dad had sent us $ for Christmas, so Thanks for the coat and gloves Dad!
By this time it was 9pm and we wanted to stay out a bit longer (we don't often have a babysitter to watch the kids, much less THREE of them!) so we headed over to Barnes and Nobles. I've had a 25$ gift card for there for a few years from a birthday at some point. We also wanted to look for things for the kids from my dad. Tom got a really nice puzzle of the painting The Last Supper. It's been a long time since Tom and I worked on something so unplugged. That should be fun.
For Nicky we picked up a memory game that is all photos of puppies (he LOVES puppies) and a phonics Brain Quest thing where he can use a dry erase marker to fill in the missing letters of words. I think this will be a lot more fun for him than writing full words all the time, and will focus in on beginning, ending and vowel sounds better too. We have to keep things fun by alternating his writing homework with "games" like this and I think this is going to be fun. Thanks Dad for Nicky's games!
That still leaves 20$ for the girls to get a little something from Dad, so we'll do a little shopping today, probably for some cute, warm clothes.
So all in all, a lovely date and we only had to shell out our money for dinner! Sweet!
Liz and Jessie will be leaving today, but Grammie is staying till next weekend when we fly her back to Florida. Poor Grammie is freezing up here because, being from Florida, she doesn't really have VA winter clothes. But we'll keep her covered up in babies to help her keep warm. They're good for that.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
New furniture now!
So new car yesterday, new kitchen table today! We finally have a real, round table that fits in the kitchen. Waiting for two more chairs, which Tom will pick up tomorrow, but we have a table and chairs in the kitchen and then also have chairs up in the computer room too. This is good because I think Tom was getting tired of carrying dining room chairs up and down the stairs when needed.
I'll have to get a photo of the new dining area up soon.
Next is a new desk for the computer room! Coming probably this weekend. And then we'll actually be able to use the folding table that was originally for Nicky's desk, for him to either do homework or have his computer on it. Not sure yet how we'll make it work. We have to rearrange things in the computer room to account for the large dining table, Nicky's folding table (maybe), the large computer desk that is coming, and the treadmill. It will all fit, but I think Tom would appreciate me having a plan so that he doesn't have to move the furniture around later.
Where is all this new furniture coming from? Our office is renovating! And unlike working at the state university, here they can actually sell, toss or give away surplus furniture. Sweet! I'm really enjoying this whole working-for-a-private-company thing. :)
I'll have to get a photo of the new dining area up soon.
Next is a new desk for the computer room! Coming probably this weekend. And then we'll actually be able to use the folding table that was originally for Nicky's desk, for him to either do homework or have his computer on it. Not sure yet how we'll make it work. We have to rearrange things in the computer room to account for the large dining table, Nicky's folding table (maybe), the large computer desk that is coming, and the treadmill. It will all fit, but I think Tom would appreciate me having a plan so that he doesn't have to move the furniture around later.
Where is all this new furniture coming from? Our office is renovating! And unlike working at the state university, here they can actually sell, toss or give away surplus furniture. Sweet! I'm really enjoying this whole working-for-a-private-company thing. :)
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