I should be working on my Powerpoint presentation on retinoblastoma and chemotherapeutics that I have to present in the recording studio tomorrow morning , but I wanted to write a quick summary of KayTar's ARD meeting and plan for next year while it is still fresh.
*She will be in a mainstream classroom for 1st grade, as she was for Kinder.
*She has still qualifies as OHI (other health impairment), AI (audiotory impairment), and SI (speech impairment, but only in articulation). Funny how she has retained the same labels that she entered the district with 3 years ago, but she is a completely different child!
*She will continue to receive speech services to work on articulation (th, l, r sounds mainly). She has some oral motor issues that make certain sounds tough for her, but she's doing really well. This morning she said "Wheat Thins" and it was spot on!
*She will continue to receive health services from the nurse (who we love to pieces), including meds, glucose checks, tube feeds, and rest when necessary.
*She will have a trial with a word processor to deal with her fine motor fatigue (per the teacher and OT evaluator's recommendations)
*She still doesn't qualify for OT or PT in the district, so we will continue working on those privately, which is fine with me. The PT who evaluated her this year was also the PT who assessed her at intake 3 years ago, and she said she really enjoyed getting to see how far she had come in that time. She's come a looooong way for sure!
*She will have social skills goals/training next year (this is new). I fully agree with the need for these. Her goals will be 1. Listening/obeying authority figures . 2. Interacting with peers successfully. 3. Respecting personal space.
*She scored off the charts for expressive language and above average in all language tests. She scored age appropriate for math, and at a 1st grade level. Her reading comprehension is at a 4th grade level.
*Excessive absences will not count against her.
*She will have preferential seating again, so her functioning right ear will face the teacher. She isn't having any issues with her auditory impairment affecting her in the classroom thus far, so we aren't pushing for the FM system at this point.
I think that about covers it for the ARD! We are so thankful that we have had nothing but GOOD experiences with the special education teams we have worked with. They genuinely care for KayTar and try to provide the appropriate services for her every year.
Two more unrelated medical notes:
1. KayTar is being referred to the headache clinic for her continued headaches (she had another over the weekend).
2. Her anorectal manometry testing is scheduled for the beginning of June. Fun times...or something. ;)
Okay, back to the grind now...tomorrow I will be FREE!!
PS: If you need a good laugh, read these...not appropriate for children. ;)
Showing posts with label ARD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ARD. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Thursday, May 06, 2010
ARD time!
I know most people hate ARD meetings (Admission/Review/Dismissal meetings for Special Education), but as I've said before I really enjoy them. KayTar is such a hoot, both at home and in class, that about 50% of the meeting is trading hilarious stories about her. The other 50% is the actual meeting part and to date, I've never been in disagreement with the staff's plan for KayTar. Today was no different!
My baby will be a MAINSTREAMED Kindergartner in the fall! :) Cognitively, she is far above a Kindergarten level, she reads/comprehends at least as at 3rd grade level (though, she DOES read from our college textbooks just fine), can do simple math, and just this week she taught on of her teachers what phlanges are and held an impromptu session on hypoglycemia in a neighboring PreK classroom. Kindergarten is below her intelligence level and I would think about requesting a grade level advance at this point except for the fact that she really needs to learn how to behave properly in a structured classroom environment first. KayTar knows A LOT, and because of this, she has a hard time sitting back and letting the teacher do the teaching and letting her peers answer questions. Most, if not all, of her goals for next year are social speech related.
As far as accommodations at school, she will get preferential seating in class so that the teacher is on her right side (due to her profound left-sided hearing loss) and she will have a medical plan in place for her various maladies. She's require more meds at school meds next year because it will be a FULL DAY, and she'll need at least 1 tube feeding while she is there, too. We are also going to get a PT screener (not as in-depth as an eval) to see if she will be functional in PE without adaptations because of her lagging gross motor development. She is still labeled as "speech impaired" because of her initial evaluation at age 3, but that is CLEARLY not the case any longer, so in the fall she will get her speech eval earlier than required to fix that. All in all, it is a good plan for her!
My baby will be a MAINSTREAMED Kindergartner in the fall! :) Cognitively, she is far above a Kindergarten level, she reads/comprehends at least as at 3rd grade level (though, she DOES read from our college textbooks just fine), can do simple math, and just this week she taught on of her teachers what phlanges are and held an impromptu session on hypoglycemia in a neighboring PreK classroom. Kindergarten is below her intelligence level and I would think about requesting a grade level advance at this point except for the fact that she really needs to learn how to behave properly in a structured classroom environment first. KayTar knows A LOT, and because of this, she has a hard time sitting back and letting the teacher do the teaching and letting her peers answer questions. Most, if not all, of her goals for next year are social speech related.
As far as accommodations at school, she will get preferential seating in class so that the teacher is on her right side (due to her profound left-sided hearing loss) and she will have a medical plan in place for her various maladies. She's require more meds at school meds next year because it will be a FULL DAY, and she'll need at least 1 tube feeding while she is there, too. We are also going to get a PT screener (not as in-depth as an eval) to see if she will be functional in PE without adaptations because of her lagging gross motor development. She is still labeled as "speech impaired" because of her initial evaluation at age 3, but that is CLEARLY not the case any longer, so in the fall she will get her speech eval earlier than required to fix that. All in all, it is a good plan for her!
Friday, May 15, 2009
The ARD
It was lovely! Who wouldn't love to sit in a meeting and hear teachers and administrators gush about your child? Of course I think she is brilliant, adorable, and hilarious, but it is nice to know everyone else does, too!
She has made excellent progress with her goals for this year, though, she hasn't quite mastered all of them (hello, potty training!). I can hardly believe this too-smart-for-her-own-good chatterbox was only speaking in exact quotes, unable to answer questions at this time last year. It doesn't even seem possible! We discussed her new goals, which I can give in more detail once I get my copies of the meeting, and set up her accommodations for next year.
She may be changing campuses next year, which makes me a little sad as I have LOVED everyone we've encountered at her current campus, but the opportunity sounds like a good one. They are setting up an advanced PPCD classroom for the district, so the kids who naturally excel, but also need special education services can meet their IEP goals while being challenged beyond the scope of those goals. There will be a special education teacher and a general education teacher present at all times and the class will be a mixture of high functioning special education students and general education peers. KayTar was nominated for being such a little smarty-pants. This will be the first year for the program and they aren't certain it will get off the ground in time, in which case she will stay at her current campus with her current teachers.
I know many parents have trouble with their children getting appropriate service and placement, but (with the exception of that little attendance issue earlier this year) we have had a WONDERFUL experience with KayTar's school and our district. The administration and staff have been friendly and helpful, and everyone knows and loves KayTar. You just can't resist that kid!
This is her school picture. As we waited to go into her ARD, the front office worker asked her, "KayTar, did you show your mom your picture yesterday? I saw it when it came through the office and it was so beautiful!" KayTar made eyes at her and said, "And, did you think I looked just FABULOUS?!" The entire lobby erupted into laughter. She sure is something.
She has made excellent progress with her goals for this year, though, she hasn't quite mastered all of them (hello, potty training!). I can hardly believe this too-smart-for-her-own-good chatterbox was only speaking in exact quotes, unable to answer questions at this time last year. It doesn't even seem possible! We discussed her new goals, which I can give in more detail once I get my copies of the meeting, and set up her accommodations for next year.
She may be changing campuses next year, which makes me a little sad as I have LOVED everyone we've encountered at her current campus, but the opportunity sounds like a good one. They are setting up an advanced PPCD classroom for the district, so the kids who naturally excel, but also need special education services can meet their IEP goals while being challenged beyond the scope of those goals. There will be a special education teacher and a general education teacher present at all times and the class will be a mixture of high functioning special education students and general education peers. KayTar was nominated for being such a little smarty-pants. This will be the first year for the program and they aren't certain it will get off the ground in time, in which case she will stay at her current campus with her current teachers.
I know many parents have trouble with their children getting appropriate service and placement, but (with the exception of that little attendance issue earlier this year) we have had a WONDERFUL experience with KayTar's school and our district. The administration and staff have been friendly and helpful, and everyone knows and loves KayTar. You just can't resist that kid!
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