Thursday, August 5, 2010

IEP Meeting: A Complete Success

Team Nolan

We had Nolan's Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) meeting this morning with the Committee for Preschool Special Education (CPSE). It was a resounding success!

We went over Nolan's history and current hearing situation, under-amplification, and desired goals/accommodations. We had placed a picture of Nolan on the front of the report to help make the meeting more personal. I couldn't find childcare for Nolan this morning, so the picture was a moot point since he was sitting at the table. Still, it put a face to all of the nameless data in the reports.

A draft of his psychological testing was present, and he is functioning above age level with regard to cognition. This is great news: while it is always wonderful to hear you have a bright kid, it also means that any delays Nolan is experiencing are a direct result of his hearing loss and not any other cognitive issue.

It was decided that Nolan's speech and language services would continue, with a mixture of services provided in the home and at the preschool. In addition, his need for an FM system was written into the IEP under "assistive technology."

We did hit a roadblock when we mentioned the FM system, with regard to funding. We managed to bring the conversation back to the point by reminding everyone that we simply need to place the fact that he needs an FM on the IEP now. We're worried about the "what," not the "how." The school district and county can determine the funding for the FM system at a later date.

We also obtained consultations services from a Teacher of the Deaf (TOD), for one hour per month. This is primarily to monitor Nolan's progress in both the social and language arenas.

We did discuss Nolan's potential sensory integration issues and problems dealing with large groups and noise. One fortunate aspect of his attendance at the meeting was that he had a meltdown from the noise/people- demonstrating behaviors we see when he is overwhelmed. Seeing as how there were only six adults in the room and not the sixteen children he will have in his preschool class, it was easy to see why we are concerned.

After watching his behavior and inconsolable nature, then mentioning that he has (very) mild hypotonia in his hands/arms, the team thought an evaluation by an occupational therapist (OT) would be a good idea. I doubt Nolan really needs services in this area, but an evaluation can't hurt. We added the OT evaluation into his IEP at the end of the meeting.

Everything is signed, and Nolan will have all of the services he needs to excel.

Today is a good day!

10 comments:

MB said...

Great job!!

Herding Grasshoppers said...

You ROCK!!!

That was an EXCELLENT redirect, about the FM. Just get it on the IEP that he needs it. It's not your problem to figure out how they're going to fund it.

WELL DONE!!!

Julie

Apraxia Mom said...

Go, Team Nolan!

So are they putting the system in and then looking for the funding later?

Good job, Mom!

leah said...

It's an ear-level system, so there is nothing to "install" (except for onto Nolan's head, lol). They still have to figure out the funding, since Nolan's assistive tech should be covered by the county but he is technically under the school district. They think they might have the school district purchase the equipment and then loan it out to the county. Whatever works- as long as he gets one, we don't care how the funding is arranged!

Julia said...

Woo-hoo!!! So glad to hear it! And your booklet looks awesome! I didn't go quite that far -- I just made a handout -- but yours is definitely "ducks in a row"!

Christian and Lily's Mommy said...

ROCKSTAR!

tammy said...

YES! So happy for you all! Go Team Nolan Go!

spherescamp said...

Well, since there's a Team Nolan, I think there needs to be at least one cheerleader!

Anybody know how to make pom-poms?

PS, you put my absolute favorite pic of Nolan on the booklet. Yay!

Joey Lynn Resciniti said...

Awesome news! Way to go!

PolyglotMom said...

I'm so glad to hear it!!!!!! Hopefully the luck will trickle down!