If you've never been to one, here's what to expect:
You lay out your child's strengths and weaknesses to a team of professionals and as a team, you all decide on a plan of action that will best suit your child. Jordan is great at puzzles, is a quick learner, is very friendly, and very independent. One of his favorite phrases is "I got it!".
"Jordan, let me help you with that."
"No, I got it!"
His weaknesses are obvious. His speech is still practically non-existent, he drools because of oral motor weakness, and his fine motor is severely lacking. These aren't what got me all teary eyed though. That happened when Jordan's SLP, teacher, and OT started telling stories about how he acts in school.
"Always wanting to help, even when its not his turn."
"He learns so quickly!"
"He and the other girl he goes to speech with get along so well."
"His gross motor is great! He gives me heart attacks when he plays on the playground."
"He knows all his colors except gray."
"He knows all the shapes we need to learn in preschool."
"He knows all his capital letters."
"He sings and dances with the other kids in class."
"He will be going to regular Kindergarten next year, with a projected 60mins inclusion time." (That means he will be in a general education class, with a special needs teacher helping him for 1 hour out of the school day while he is still in that GenEd class. He will still be removed for speech and OT)
The kindergarten statement almost broke me down. His team seems to enjoy him so much, and the fact that he is on par with other neuro-typical kids his age in every area but speech and fine motor, makes me so happy I could cry. His attitude in school is such that he knows he can do everything the others can, and sometimes he can even do it better. He knows he is good at something, and that makes me happier than anything else I can imagine at this point. His OT just kept repeating "He is such a bright little boy and picks things up very quickly."
The Special Education Coordinator brought up the bib issue. She is concerned that next year the other kids may ridicule him for wearing it, so my plans to find/ make a viable solution for him will have to move up.
