The IEP team met today to plan for next year. It was a full house today. C's dad came, and aside from his teacher, the school psychologist and the resource room teacher, we also had a teacher and psychologist from another elementary school, the vice-principal, the occupational therapist and two representatives from the district who had observed my son in the course of the year.
We all discussed our observations of how he has been doing, and not one person in the room disagreed that a general education classroom would be appropriate for him next fall. The next question, then, was where should he be?
Our district has a group at a different elementary school called the Extended Resource Room. The kids in this group, all 11 or so of them, are mostly kids with Asperger's, sensory issues, or if not formally diagnosed, still clearly on the spectrum. All of the kids in the group are extremely bright, but their reactions to their environment and their social behavior seriously interferes with their learning.
C will join this group in the fall, and as often happens in my life, random strings of connectedness bring me to the knowing that this is the right path. I already know two children in this group, but from entirely different areas of my life. A woman who was on my team at the last orienteering ride has a grandson in this program. And, as it turns out, so is SG's niece. Go figure.
There is one teacher and two para educators for this group of kids. They use daily task charts and a reward system to assist them with structure and expectations, and as they improve their behavior and become ready for academics, they will either receive academic instruction within the small class, or if they are ready behaviorally, they will join the general class for periods of time during the day. He will have transportation, and he will be in an environment where the adults know how to cope with him when the inevitable setback occurs.
This scenario is exactly what I was hoping for and I couldn't be happier that the district and the school are working so diligently to meet my son's needs.
Today is a good day.
