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Reflections On The Process

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And even with the outcome of the Monster’s IEP process for SY 2015-2016, I’m still very upset.

Look, the fact that it took this much fighting to get to this point, when there is so much evidence of the fact that he’s needed more help all along, tells me that the system is absolutely, positively broken.  The law requires that students with disabilities get a “Free and Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE), and according to national standards, Maryland is “meeting requirements”.  But there’s something that’s missed in the midst of all of this – the Monster is only getting the help he needs because my wife and I dug our heels in and fought. Continue reading →

This Year’s Finish Line

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IEPAnd now, the explanation for why I’ve been so quiet.

Two months ago, I last posted about the IEP process (see IEP Year Four) and where it had gotten to… and then I promptly got very, very quiet about the process.  Yes, other things happened in the meantime – my wife and I went on vacation, and then I went off to curling trials, but my posting hadn’t come back up to normal frequency.

That’s because things went absolutely sideways after our last IEP meeting. Continue reading →

Yes, But Where Has All The Posting Gone?

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Just thought I’d pop my head up here for a moment.

Many of you are probably wondering why I’ve suddenly gone so very, very dark in my posting – not that I was posting a lot of late before the last few weeks.

We’re in the midst of trying to get the Monster’s IEP straightened out before the new school year begins in about five weeks.  (Yes, you read that right.  We’re still in the middle of the IEP process, with school starting on August 31st.  The Monster’s last IEP expired in March.)  Couple that with a ton of work-based stuff for me, and it’s just been a little hectic for me to think about how to best censor myself so I’m not saying things I shouldn’t as we’re preparing for the IEP meetings.

I promise I’ll have something meaningful/deep to write later this week, after the Monster’s latest IEP meeting on Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, to all my fellow special-needs parents out there – keep fighting the good fight.

Pushing the Agenda

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Long time readers know that I’m hardly shy when it comes to politics.  I’ve had lawn signs since I’ve had a yard to put them in, and I’ve grown up with my family knowing politicians, or being involved in issues…

So we’re already into the 2016 electoral cycle, as it would seem, and I of course am already getting requests for money from campaigns. Continue reading →

How Much Accommodation?

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Yesterday, my wife asked me to take the day off so that we could take the kids to Sesame Place.  Baltimore City schools let out early for the summer this week – on Monday – and while the rest of the state seems to still be in classes, it seemed an ideal opportunity for us to fill some time for both children by taking them somewhere fun.

As my long time readers already know, I love how Seaworld Entertainment accommodates guests with disabilities.  Sesame Place has been the top of the heap in this regard – they’ve been so easy with regards to accommodating the Monster, and their policies in general are very disability friendly – so we’ve always looked forward to our trips there.  We’ve even bought season passes, despite the fact that it’s twice as far away (if not more) than the nearest Six Flags park.

MonsterAtSesamePlacePoolSo a visit to Sesame Place is fairly standard for us – we park, we go inside, the wife goes to Guest Relations just inside the gate to get the bracelet and RAP sheet for the Monster, and we go about our day.  And then… this year came with a change. Continue reading →

Dancing Queen

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We’re used to the Monster saying weird, random things out of the blue – it’s part of how his Autism presents.  A lot of the time, it’s a fill-in for another word – oftentimes, the word is “banana” or “Sesame Street” or the like.  And every so often, he says something new that we’re not quite understanding.

A few weeks ago, it was random earworms – an Ariana Grande song, then “Bills” by Lunchmoney Lewis – but today, he came into the media room while I was cooling off, saying something about “criss-cross.” Continue reading →

Between Trips

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I’m only home for a short bit between trips – the wife and I returned from the Dominican Republic last night, and I’m off to Minnesota today for the weekend – so I’ll keep it a little bit short and sweet.

I’ve mentioned in another post that we have a communication log for when the Monster’s at school.  Our communication system isn’t fantastic when it comes to how we handle things when we’re not around at home… Continue reading →

IEP Year Four

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Today was the second meeting for next year’s IEP.

As any special-needs parent can tell you, any IEP meeting tends to be stressful – the goal of an IEP is to ensure that your child has the necessary supports to learn, and the supports and therapies that go into the document govern where your child is going to go to school in the coming year.

And the one thing that was apparent, coming into this year’s IEP review, is that Mount Washington is not the right placement for the Monster. Continue reading →