IEPs, IFSPs And Then Some

For some reason the formatting of this post is really screwed up and it won't publish paragraph breaks.  To make it easier to read, I'm changing the color where a new paragraph should begin.  Sorry it's not very easy on the eyes.

Right before Christmas vacation Todd and I attended Nolan's annual IEP meeting.  For those of you not schooled in special ed lingo, an IEP meeting is an annual meeting of parents and a broad team of special educators to 1) discuss goals a student has met (or not met) in the last year, and 2) discuss goals for the next year.  Many parents dread this annual meeting but Todd and I had no cause for apprehension because we knew that Nolan was indeed meeting his goals and had made amazing progress over the course of the last year.  Our meeting with Nolan's teachers and therapists was fantastic and we learned that he had met all of his goals except for two (and those were at a 70%.)  His language and social skills have improved wonderfully, as well as many of his pre-academic skills.  The areas where he fell short were motor related, which was no surprise considering that he's basically a klutzy kid (which is due to the fact that he has my genes.)  Nolan has been doing so well, in fact, that the team asked for permission to re-assess him this month and possibly change his plan for services.  In other words, if he passes the assessments, he would "graduate" to a less intensive program!  We are so proud of him and look forward to hearing the results of the assessment in the next few weeks.  And then there's little Soren...  Much like Nolan was as a toddler, Soren is one of the sweetest, most affectionate, truly happy babies ever.  His cuteness and precious joyful spirit can make you not notice that something is amiss.  At his year check-up I mentioned to the pediatrician that he was not waving, pointing, clapping or speaking any intelligible words.  Neither of us were too concerned because babies develop at different rates and he wasn't showing any huge lapses.  But then, at his 15 month appointment, we agreed that he should be evaluated for delays because nothing had really changed in three months.  She recommended we schedule an assessment with the team of developmental psychologists at nearby Stanford University.  I got on the phone that afternoon and started the intake process.  Considering that Stanford has one of the most prestigious Children's Hospitals in the world I wasn't suprised to hear that our appointment wouldn't be until March 1.  In the meantime I didn't think it was wise to wait, so I contacted our school district's Infant and Toddler Program.  They got us in for an assessment almost immediately and today we had Soren's IFSP meeting to go over the results of the assessment and to make a plan to facilitate his progress.  An IFSP is basically the same type of plan as an IEP except it is family oriented.  We were not surprised that Soren's expressive and receptive language skills lie between a 6 month and 12 month level and that his motor development varies between 12 and 15 months.  With such significant delays, he will begin a "parent and me" therapy based class next week just for children his age and with similar delays.  Soren and I will go to "school" for two 90 minute sessions per week that include ST, OT and PT.  When we visited the classroom today after our IFSP meeting he immediately lit up when he saw all the fun things to play with.  Hopefully this will be the jumpstart he needs to make progress!  Todd and I are so grateful for the amazing school district we are a part of and the first-rate assistance our boys are receiving.  It is abundantly clear to me that God moved us up here to the Bay Area so our kids would get exactly this help.  We have been so very happy with our district's preschool special ed programs and are so blessed to be here for such a time as this.  Needless to say, 2011 has started off on a really good foot for our kiddoes.  Lots of change is in store for them, but it's all so positive!  As for Todd and me?  Major changes have smacked us in the face recently, too.  But that's a whole other post for another time...