The Last IFSP and School Referral

This week is a busy week for Little Man - he met his new SLP on Saturday and Monday and really warmed up to her quickly, which is very unlike him - but I'll take it! :)  Hubby and I made the decision that we really wanted an outside person to work with him and be a constant this year as we transition from Early Intervention to the Public Schools.  Thankfully, our insurance covers unlimited speech visits with his diagnosis, however we still have to pay copays and a $10 convenience fee for Saturday visits.

Yesterday, EI came out to do their last 6 month evaluation and he showed progress in every area!  His cognitive skills continue to be his absolute strength, remaining 6 months ahead of his age. :)  The majority of his scores were at or above his age level, with the exception of Expressive Language (18 months - up from 14!) and Self Care (28 months - because he's not potty trained...um, have you seen a 2 1/2 year old boy with speech issues potty trained by now?  Yeah, I didn't think so).  This still qualifies him for EI services until his 3rd birthday.  I was pretty surprised to see that CAS and SPD are not automatic qualifying factors for EI, but thankful (?) that his low expressive language score still qualifies him.

Today we met with EI again and wrote his last IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) and made the referral to the Public Schools for Special Education.  SCARY! 

Here are the goals we wrote for EI (or close to what we wrote):

• He will increase his vocabulary and begin to put two word utterances together.
• He will increase his means for communicating his needs and wants using either spoken language, signs, or communication devices - including using appropriate eye contact.
• He will continue to make progress socially by developing strategies for communicating with his peers and people he is not familiar with.
• He will develop strategies/sensory diet to help engage him in activities, communication and interactions with others.
• He will begin to take age appropriate risks in new and old activities through accommodations, sensory diet, and coaching.

The school referral wasn't so scary per say, but being a teacher, I know that there is the chance that he will not qualify for services, unless there is proof that he can not make effective progress academically due to his diagnosis.  We have tentatively set up a meeting on October 11th and invited the public school representative to come to our home and meeting Little Man and discuss our concerns, questions, and his issues.

It is going to be a long 6 months of meetings, evaluations and mostly waiting to see if he will qualify for Special Education as well as what it will look like and how it will fit in with our lives.  This is when having both parents work full time can hurt how you squeeze in everything.  Already, trying to juggle 5 therapies a week and work isn't easy - add in Bee-bee's school and activities and my google calendar may go into overload.

Tomorrow I will meet with Little Man's school director, teachers and EI to discuss different ways they can help him be successful in the classroom.  I am hopeful that they will be accommodating and helpful as we try to understand his diagnosis and how to help him be more successful in communicating.