Tuesday, January 13, 2009

I actually put some clothes on for this one!

Another painless IEP meeting. Can't believe I'm actually saying that, after all we went through with the school district. I just love the cyber charter school. I'm still a little nervous before each meeting, because I'm so used to having to fight so hard for every little thing. I've come to expect contentious meetings. Now, with this school, I tell them what I think Becca needs, and they say OK. We just had another meeting. I got dressed for this one, unlike the last one where I wore my bathrobe. Yes, the meetings are conducted over the phone. Heck, I could've baked a batch of cookies while this one was going on. I'm still amazed at the services we're getting. Tomatis, Interactive Metronome, and FINALLY some ABA. Never would've happened in the school district. We're also getting a vision therapy evaluation, and they are sending a program for Becca to learn keyboarding. They let me find my own therapists and will contract with them. I've been able to get evaluations done by people I know and trust. Becca no longer qualifies for physical therapy, but the evaluation was done by someone who has worked with Becca before. I trust his judgement. Becca gets more speech and OT than the school district was ever willing to give her. The district completely ignored the assistive technology evaluation we had done by one of the leading experts in the field. They still wanted to do their own assessment, which I know would've resulted in another denial of services. The cyber school, on the other hand, read the assistive technology report,and within a week after the IEP meeting I received the two programs Becca needed for written communication. Finally, with the services Becca is getting now, there is some hope that we will be able to make up for all that was lost in those three years with the district.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard of a cyber charter school. I'm glad it seems to be working out so well! We've done Tomatis before... what's interactive metronome exactly?

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  2. The cyber charter schools are really growing in Pennsylvania as parents find they need more options. The one Becca is enrolled in is a public school for anyone in Pennsylvania. They work with us to develop the IEP, and they pay for all her services and therapies. This particular school has a couple of different curriculum options. One is a "virtual classroom" where most work is done online and affords an opportunity to interact online with the teacher and other students. The other option is a traditional homeschool curriculum, which I thought was best for Becca as she doesn't yet have the attention span to participate in the virtual classroom. The lessons are all planned, I just have to facilitate. It's probably not the best curriculum for many kids on the spectrum. She does well, but I have to modify it a lot. The school provides the computer, printer, books, and just about everything else we need. The teachers unions hate this option because they see it as taking money from the districts. But the district still keeps thirty percent of the money allotted for Becca even though they're doing nothing for her.

    Interactice Metronome is a computer-based program that is supposed to improve attention, timing, and sequencing. For some reason I'm having trouble posting links tonight. I'll email you some info on it. I have no idea whether or not it will work for Becca. We're supposed to do it after we finish all the Tomatis loops.

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