I spent 4 hours in IEP meetings on Friday, and we're still not done. We'll meet again in a couple of weeks. We've worked through most of the goals for both Kinnick and Carver. We still need to work out Nursing in the school for Carver, a 1:1 for Carver (Intervenor type person) for the classroom, and busing. In order for Carver to take the bus to school (which is next door), he will require a 1:1 on the bus with him. Details, including responsibilities, need worked out for each of these things. The details need carefully thought through and worded in a way that benefits Carver and insures that he will have all of the support necessary to make school a success.
I was pretty pleased with all of the goals that the therapists came up with for the kids. They were on the same page as me, and made complete sense. I added a few small goals without any push-back from the therapists. I'm excited to see where we are this time next year.
I do have a question for my followers..... Have any of you had success holding your child back a year before going to Kindergarten? If Kinnick and Carver were born on their actual due date 7/16/2007, they would have been really young to start school - with a 8/1 birthday cut-off date. So, even though they were born 3/29/07, I still feel like they won't be ready at age 5.
I'll list all of our IEP goals in my next post.
9 comments:
After much fight we did hold Elizabeth back a year so she would attend school according to her due date not her date of birth. It definetly is not something I think I will ever regret, her delays seem less obvious being the oldest in her class as opposed to being the yougnest and most behind. I did make it clear that we understood doing this would not enable her to 'catch up' but to at least keep close with her peers.
Good to hear their IEP's are going well and that their therapists are helping out.
Sounds like a plan to keep Kinnick at home, she is still so fragile. I am sure she will miss her brother.
At this point we are planning to hold Lindy and Will back a year too. If they been born on time they would not have made the cutoff date but they do since they were born so early. Mine are so tiny that I think an extra year will also help with them not being the smallest in their classes.
What class will Carver be in next year? Mick goes to the Maize ECC for his speech. He has a June birthday and we are pretty sure we will be holding him back.
You may also want to consider extended school year...which would allow them to continue OT, PT, SLP services and school during the summer so they can continue to gain and learn new skills, with less chance of regression come the following school year.
I'm most likely holding Olivia back a year. If she had been born on her due date, she would have been a December baby. It's a tough decision because her birthday is actually a few days before the cut off. I think this would give her more time to catch up. Currently, she plays better with 2 year olds than she does with kids her own age. Good luck.
We're holding Hallie back a year and sending her to kindergarten based on her due date (October) and not birth date (June). She is academically ready for school (she's reading at the first grade level and doing basic math) but socially and emotionally is well behind her peers (she is like a late 3, not late 4 in most respects and has fewer conversational skills than Lea, who just turned 2). She needs work on social skills and she will get this at the Social Skills Inclusion program that is held at her (typical, but inclusive, and run by special educators) private preschool. Since we're planning on moving to a better school district before kindy, she'll be in with new kids regardless and not going to school with her current class. And while I think she's going to still have challenges regardless, it'll give her some time to maybe outgrow some of the delays (or at least it might be clearer where the line is between 'delay' and 'disorder') and have a better chance at succeeding in a mainstream-with-supports environment.
I didn't realize your original due date was so close to the trios b-day 7/17/07! My original due date was 10/22/07. The kids have been in preschool this year and will go again next year. I've talked with their teacher quite a bit and so far she thinks they will be ready to go fall of 2012, and all together (I orginally didn't think Annabel would be able to go with the other 2)! She did say she can keep them one more year in her room if we deem necessary but like one of the other people posted, they can also do 2 years of kindergarten if needed.
Mine are also small for their age in weight but decent in height, not sure that will play into our decision though. Right now I'm still on the fence, I see how much they've learned and grown so far this year so I think it's possible they'll be ready but I'm not adamant that they need to be either, we'll just see how they're doing a year from now. Such hard decisions, I know! Exciting for Carter to go to preschool next year!! They're starting to grow up on us!
I would say if you are happy with the staff, definitely hold them back! I really miss Marci, Sara, and paras! This year is so hard without them. We are also going to hold Gannon back a year too. For us we aren't holding him back until he is in first grade since Maize doesn't offer all day Kindergarten. Gannon needs so much support I want to give him a chance to catch up. K and C are doing so well and once they get healthier lungs that extra year might make all the difference. Talk to you soon! I have a meeting on MOnday with our staff so I will keep you updated! lol
I held my son (24 weeker, sqcp, non verbal) back to do a second year of pre-school at age 5, which had him start kindergarten at the mainstream primary school at age 6. And he wasn't the only one. The tendency when parents would ask about school readiness for any child was for the primary schools to meet the girls to assess but to default to holding back for boys - emotional maturity and all. My son was too medically fragile to start pre-school at age 3, so really needed the second year at age 5 to prepare for kindergarten. We're having lots of dramas starting school - mostly emotional. He was fine in preschool, but is struggling to cope with the much busier environment of the big school.
Good luck!
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