....well, we are now 8 days away from the twins' 3rd birthday. That means we are 8 days away from them leaving their IFSPs behind and the beginning their IEPs (including changing schools). We were away visiting family for a week (came back on Saturday evening) and have been trying to get back into the swing of things over the last couple of days. Also, I've been arranging for trying to get all the pieces in place so we'll be ready for next week. I'm calling this a "normal" week, but for me it feels like anything but.
Today was Rachel's last clinic visit with CSAAC. I remember how opposed I was to receiving services from them. Now I can't believe how far she has come and that they are just about over. She currently has 6 more sessions planned, but one of them may have to be canceled because of a higher priority appointment for her (at this time). She'll be working with 4 of the 6 techs during this week so she'll have the chance to say "Good Bye" to them (in her own way). She has responded so well to the ABA techniques, I'm sure that she will do fine with this portion of her day at CAPP. I'm slightly concerned about the group activities that she'll be doing, but they are used to dealing with those types of issues and will be keeping me informed of her progress. So, Rachel, for a change, is relatively easy. Now we just have to get her to visit the school and meet her teacher (which is scheduled for Friday morning [the higher priority appointment I mentioned earlier]). I also still need to figure out her bus situation (another story for, probably, another post).
Simon, well, I'll just entitle his transition "The Continuing Saga". I've mentioned in another post about the possibility of the public schools possibly ending their referrals of children to MPAC which would most likely eventually cause the program to shut down. The budget discussions will be taking place on January 13 and 20, and many MPAC parents have volunteered to present to the board at these meetings. Other parents (myself included) have filed letters to the Board of Education about how valuable MPAC is. I wasn't sure if I would send such a letter, but the overall attitude of the IEP board and their immediate recognition that this was the ONLY appropriate placement for Simon definitely made an impression on me, and that fact made it into the letter. To make matters even more interesting, just before the holiday break, I received an email from the administrator at MPAC telling me that the teacher to which Simon had been assigned had resigned effective at the break, which means when he starts there, he'll be dealing with substitute teachers until an appropriate (and presumably good) permanent teacher is hired. I've been assured that the classroom aides are still present and are not changing. But Simon doesn't cope with transitions well in general -- not having a set teacher is not going to make this any easier on him. We will be meeting one of these substitutes on Wednesday during a brief visit (hopefully it will be a semi-stable position for the sub until a permanent teacher is hired) and perhaps he will have an opportunity to meet the other children in his class. He will be bused to school and will be gone from the house from 8:28am until 12:23 on Mondays, 2:23 on Tuesday through Friday.
But unlike with Rachel, where we've found a learning technique that works, we really haven't seen to found such a thing for Simon. Some days he responds to something and other days he won't. I know -- he's a nearly 3 year old and that's how they are -- but this is taking it to an extreme. He, far more than his sister, has good days and bad days -- the good days he's AMAZING and will learn everything that's presented to him -- on a bad day, well, let's just say everyone who comes in contact with him should wear protective head and body gear and the headphones that air traffic controllers wear and brace themselves for a long and painful day. And those can go on for extended periods of time. But we do know that he's learning -- anyone who watches him sees the changes. Unfortunately, for me, lately that means recognizing a lot of regressions. Again, I know.....2 steps forward, 1 step back......
So, I'm going to leave this here for the moment, and come back with the bus story for Rachel once I get it figured out. Right now, it appears to be unacceptable, but as I put more of the pieces together, I'll probably realize it's just fine...
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