IEP review

When we made her original IEP (Indiviualized Education Plan) this spring the whole team (all 14 of us) met and did a lot of guess work on her IEP. We had no clue how things would go with this transition and figured that no matter what we would meet again after a month or so to check in and see how things went. The post about this first meeting is here.


Eden has been in kindergarten for a little over a month. She has adjusted well to the change from preschool to kindergarten. From the start of the school year I've been in contact with her Special Education teacher (we can call her Ms. S for Special Ed) and her General Ed teacher (and her Ms. G for General Education) on a regular basis. As well as the Aide's that she has working with her throughout the day.

I have found the communication between school and home very good so far in this school year. I have a communication notebook that goes back and forth from home to school everyday. I have never felt I couldn't ask a question, voice a concern, or e-mail/talk to anyone who works with her on a daily basis. Because of being so new to this school, I'm hoping it's not just because of the awesome team my daughter has or the fact that I am constantly asking questions and seeking information from them that they are like this. That question will be answered in time I'm sure but for now I'll take it.

So, for the changes to the IEP that we made from the Spring. When making the plan I would like to mention that when we made this plan we made it on the assumption that it would be changed at this meeting. We were just using what we new, using our most conservative estimates on what she would need and then we would wait and see.

Of course, like anything else we've done with her she absolutely blew away our expectations! The teachers have done a great job at letting Eden take the lead to let them know what she needs for support. They have taken data (monitoring behaviors (ABC's here is the first post in a series of 4 about the ABC's of behavior) to see if there are any patterns and to really figure out what she needs and what they can let her do on her own. And for all of this I am thankful, we changed her plan to a plan that Eden made herself.

What we talked about first is how absolutely wonderfully she is doing in the classroom. The behaviors/issues that they are having are really and truly minor if you had no clue about her. She fits in when in the classroom and is actually aware of fitting in (which is important to use her NT peers as role models). Her aide has not needed to do much more than monitor her behavior chart and reward system.

All the data that has been taken has shown that Eden has what her teachers lovingly call, "The Witching Hour" (que the Duh..Duh...Duhhhh). We have them at our house as well, and it's not surprising. There is about 1 1/2 hours during the day that Eden has a lot of trouble with as school. She refuses work, is disrespectful, even somewhat aggressive, and is just difficult. The teachers/aides and any therapists know this, and now they try the best they can to get her out of the classroom for some time so she doesn't have these issues.

The teachers and I agree that Eden's support in the classroom can be scaled back as she is only needing a little assistance throughout the day. Her mainstream time has increased and she'll spend most of the day in Ms. G's class and take breaks and get behavior rewards as needed.

Her therapies (Speech and OT) are all staying the same with some adjustments of goals and figuring out what and when is the best time of day to do the best work with her.

I am just so happy that the plan we have made is working so well. The teachers are really trying to figure out what the best place is for her and that there is great carry over from school to home.