Introducing Aiden - A Booklet for the IEP Team

Well before Aiden's IEP I reached out to some of the other CI mommies to get advice and guidance for a successful IEP. A few of them told me how they created a binder with all of their child's information to present to the IEP team. I thought this was an excellent idea to hand out to everyone at the meeting.

The people who evaluated Aiden (the psychologist, speech pathologist, audiologist, PT, and OT) had never met him. It's these same people who will be a continuous part of his team, working with him day in and day out to meet his goals. I wanted to provide them something at the IEP that would give them a glimpse of who Aiden is before he starts school.

Even more so, I knew our district would be there and make a decision of whether or not they agreed to fund Aiden to attend a preschool outside the district. These are the same district representatives who will be at every IEP meeting we have and the same representatives who will decide when they want to stop sending Aiden out of district.

So more than anything, I wanted these representatives to understand that Aiden was our child first. I wanted them to know what our hopes and dreams were for Aiden. I wanted them to know WHO Aiden was and that to us, as his parents, we will ALWAYS go above and beyond to make sure he receives, what we believe to be, the best placement for him.

Here's what Aiden's booklet consisted of:

• Cover - I put a picture of Aiden, our names, his birthdate, date he was implanted and where, CI brand, and activation dates.

• First tab: Introducing Aiden - Background on Aiden (where he was born, brothers, sisters, pets), then wrote a paragraph on "Our Favorite Aiden Qualities" and one on "Our Hopes for Aiden". This is what I wrote.

• Second tab: Timelines - Detailed timeline of his hearing journey from the date he failed his newborn hearing screening to our latest mapping issues and fixes; a timeline on his language and speech therapies; a timeline on his gross motor developments/therapies (since he's been in PT since birth), and a paragraph on his sensory integration/OT history.

• Third tab: Current Goals/Evaluations - Included a copy of most recent evaluations, progress reports, goals from each therapist (speech, AV, PT, OT, and Regional Infant Hearing Advisor). I also included the most recent IFSP evaluation and write-up.

• Last tab: Audiograms - copies of all his audiograms (especially since they have an on site audiology suite with a full time audiologist).

Instead of having them professionally copied and bound, it was WAY cheaper to buy my own report folders and make my own tabs (well over $50 cheaper!)

Everyone found it very helpful and the school even asked for an extra copy to provide Aiden's teacher (who wasn't at the IEP since Aiden wasn't "officially in" her class yet). I also made a couple extra copies for myself to use and update as needed for new therapists/teachers.

Two weeks and counting until he starts. Can you believe it!?!