Last week, I attended an IEP meeting that has been unlike any I have attended in the past. The student is a 5 year old boy with profound hearing loss along with visual impairment, fine and gross motor deficits associated with cerebral palsy, and delays across the board. He is a very pleasant child, definitely one of the cutest in the program, and his smile is contagious! I have been working with him since he started pre-k when he use to throw tantrums for all transitions and only communicated through imitation that was very inconsistent. He is now starting to initiate social interactions, use 1-2 signs to communicate, and become more independent in many tasks.
As part of his IEP, the team decided to do a wide array of assessments to determine his current level of functioning in several different areas. This meeting was a "big deal" because all the team members were reporting their findings and discussing placement recommendations for his education. Our school team met a few weeks before the meeting with his mother so we could all get on the same page and be prepared to present the information in the best possible way. We agreed it would be a good idea for a small group of the key players to discuss some of the results with the mother a few days before the big meeting so she could have time to think about it and be prepared for what she was going to hear. That meeting happened two days prior where the mother became emotional hearing that her 5-year-old son was functioning about the 1.5 to 2-year-old level. She left with a lot to think about, but came back for the scheduled IEP meeting with the whole team.
This mother is one of the best mothers I have ever worked with. She is a single mother of twin boys who are both multiply involved and have kept her busy since the day they came home from the hospital. Even though her son is just learning signs, she has requested resources from our program and has initiated a Saturday sign group with her family so all of his loved ones can learn how to communicate with her son. She makes every appointment and sees every specialist for every reason that we request. I wish that EVERY parent I worked with showed this amount of dedication, commitment, and understanding to their child. This mother does not have financial resources nor does she have a driver's license, but she makes it work for both of her sons.
When we all gathered at the table, there were 8 of the school professionals--physical therapist, occupational therapist, visual specialist, audiologist, program coordinator, school psychologist, teacher for the Deaf, and myself--along with the mother. The way that the IEP is set up, I was the first one to present my data. I administered the PLS-4 where he demonstrated age equivalences around 1 year 8 months for receptive and expressive language. I tried to highlight his strengths and explained that he is making steady progress with communication, but he is very delayed for his chronological age. In addition, he is in kindergarten now and is unable to complete a great majority of the state curriculum because of his severe communication delays.
I did not mention this at the meeting, but there is no way I would recommend this child to be promoted to 1st grade right now. Last year, I mentioned to the entire early childhood staff that I personally did not think he was ready for kindergarten, but they were persistent with not keeping him in pre-k. I counteracted with providing him with a dedicated assistant since it would be unfair to him and his classmates the amount of attention the teacher would need to give to him or the amount of attention he needs compared to what he would be able to get. They placed him in kindergarten in August and in September we met when the teacher was about to pull her hair out and the team decided he needed a dedicated assistant. What do I know?
After I presented my information, the mother had very limited response. She had no facial expression and her responses were very short. The rest of the team continued with their data. The visual specialist reported that this child's vision is one of his strengths and he uses it to get around the school setting and attend to activities in the classroom. The physical therapist reported he is able to walk much further without crutches or a walker. The school psychologist reported that she was able to complete testing with the student and obtain a score in the mid-70s which may or may not be accurate. This score would put his cognitive ability within the below average range which is likely why we are seeing very slow progress with him. The audiologist reported that we have no new information about what he is able to access with his cochlear implant as he has negative reactions to the testing booth and he won't allow his processor to be connected to his internal component and the computer cable at the same time (this makes mapping nearly impossible).
There is a page on the IEP where we have to discuss special considerations for students who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. Part of that page discusses that Maryland School for the Deaf is available as an option to parents, but we often follow that statement with "however, we are providing an educationally appropriate program to the student." This is the second time (in my career) that the IEP team has not included that statement. We had discussed in our "pow-wow" that we can no longer provide the appropriate education to this student and its worth looking into the enhanced program at MSD.
I was concerned how the mother would respond when we got to the discussion of that page. However, before we had a chance to say anything, the mother stated that she had been thinking about the information shared with her a few days before. She knows that her "baby" is developing slower than other kids his age, but she has no doubt in her mind that one day he will get there. No matter how long it takes and what kinds of things she needs to do, she will be there with him all the way to make sure he succeeds in life. And, if we are recommending that she consider MSD as the next step, she has prayed about it and come to peace with it....and that's what she will do.
Whew! The rest of the IEP seemed to go by smoothly with discussion of the goals each team member set for him within the next year as well as the services. When we got to the last page, LRE (least restrictive environment), the mother pulled out a notebook of 4-5 pages of hand written notes from the MSD website. She began to explain that when she left the small meeting two days ago, she went home and thought about it a lot and wanted to find out more information. She had researched more about the enhanced program and agreed that she would submit an application to go forward with the process. Not only that, she was concerned with the distance her son would have to travel to the school each day. Plus, without a driver's license, she would be unable to get to him easily if there was emergency. For these reasons, she and the boy's grandfather decided they would be open to moving to the town that houses the school! Wow!
All of the team members were in shock. This is the kind of support I would wish upon all of my students. We all gave the mom a pat on the back and praised her for everything she does. When the other team members left the table, I had a one-on-one talk with the mom. I told her how great she is and how much her drive and dedication reminds me of my mother-in-law. I explained a brief description of my mother-in-law's story with two Deaf sons and the obstacles she overcame out of love and undying belief in her boys. This mom is the reason her sons will continue to progress. Her son takes after her with his persistence and determination.
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