Next week is a meeting with the IEP chair (or, rather, her surrogate, as she should be off on maternity leave) to discuss the Monster’s triennial assessments.
So far, we’ve only gotten the educational assessment, but I’m not terribly surprised. As long as I have time to read them before the meeting and formulate some responses, I’ll be satisfied. Continue reading
Part of the Monster’s class’ curriculum is for the children to learn to write. There’s a variety of levels in his class, ranging from children who have had some preparation before arriving, down through children who are still learning to recognize letters. Obviously, even though we’re in a world where computers are increasingly important and kids aren’t being taught cursive handwriting anymore, he needs at some point to be able to learn to form the letters on his own. Continue reading
For those who haven’t heard me say it in a while, I’m a software engineer when I’m not doing the Autism Parent thing. (I don’t know that you really aren’t ever doing the “Autism Parent thing” once you have a child with Autism, but that’s a discussion for another time, perhaps.) Like most jobs, it colors your perceptions of the world when you’re going through the daily grind.
So we’re approaching the next check on this do-while loop of the Monster’s IEP process. Continue reading
Part of the kindergarten curriculum here in Maryland includes learning to appropriately write letters, using a proper grip on a writing implement.
Now, the Monster’s known his letters for a long time – he’s semi-obsessed with Sesame Street and has no problems recognizing upper and lower case letters. He also knows, quite well, how to spell his full name. Continue reading
Just to warn my readers – I have a feeling that, like the first two weeks of school last year, the first two weeks of the Monster’s school this year are going to be full of bussing posts.
After my post yesterday, the operations manager from Baltimore City Public Schools’ transportation forwarded my email to the bus company, relaying my direct requests (that they work to shorten the route and stabilize the driver/aide pairing on the Monster’s bus), and requesting an update by end of business on Friday. We went to bed with that being the state of affairs.
A certain Mr. Murphy and his infamous law, clearly, are involved now. Continue reading
The wife and I are members of a Facebook group for local parents of children with Autism, and as much as transportation has been a major source of frustration for me, it’s been echoed in their own messages. And while it’s nice to know we’re not alone with a problem, it’s still a problem (and it being common doesn’t make it any better).
So today, because I really have little insight into why the Monster’s ride is 75-90 minutes, I decided to follow his bus in the morning. Continue reading
The Monster started his second year of public schooling this year, very early in the morning when the bus arrived – 75 minutes before his first bell – to pick him up at our house.
“Together We Grow”, the program that the Monster is enrolled in through the Baltimore City Public Schools, is a special reverse-inclusion program for students, where five or six IEP students are joined by five or six non-IEP students to give them social role models. Last year, the Monster was attending it at Garrett Heights Elementary-Middle School, and while he is returning there this year, he was offered an alternative placement in the same program at another school, Furman L. Templeton Elementary School. Continue reading
So. The new school year begins on Monday.
We’ve been building up to this all summer, trying to keep him from back-sliding as much as possible, and now the day is finally here. Continue reading
After today, there are only five days before the Monster returns to school for his second year in the public school system.
There are a lot of questions about the coming school year. How much has he regressed over the summer? How much good did his ESY services at camp do? How much good did the social interaction from camp do? Will this year be better in terms of his progress?
And my big question for this year – will the bussing be any better? Continue reading
I’ll be writing about our weekend over the coming days – I just need to have some time to get a few more photos taken and to collect my notes, and then I’ll be getting that cranked out.
This morning, though, was my meeting with the Monster’s providers. With the bus problems last week, and my irate emails to the school system, his IEP coordinator asked me to come in this morning to discuss the implementation of FAPE vis-a-vis his education. Continue reading