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!?!

Resources for IEP Prep

Even though we had strong intentions our school district would not fight us to send Aiden to the oral deaf preschool we chose (since they do not have a program for kids with hearing loss outside of their special education preschool and most of the district's hearing loss kiddos attend here), we still wanted to be prepared all around.

In preparation for Aiden's IEP, I read, and read, and read. In essence, I wasn't only reading to educate myself for Aiden, but also for his sister. It is through our struggles to get my daughter evaluated that I have come to understand the laws better and have learned that two things every parent going through this process should do:

1) communicate all requests in writing, and

2) write/keep EVERY.little.thing down in a notebook/folder, from phone conversations to meeting dates and outcomes to dates any letters were sent and received to copies of emails etc.

Here are some websites I found helpful throughout Aiden's and his sister's IEP/request for evaluation process:

• Wrights Law (a leading website on special education law and advocacy) and on THIS page within the Wrights Law website, there are tons of links for FAQs on IEPs.

• THIS chart shows a table differentiating the IFSP and the IEP.

• Did You Know? - a great sheet to hand to your child's educational team with facts on cochlear implants.

• IEP Checklist

• A Parent's Guide (this is a simple parent's guide I found helpful)

• Go HERE for a good overview of the steps in an IEP process.

• This IEP Goal Bank and this one are both good sites for sample speech and language goals. The second link also has sample goals for all areas. (I went into the IEP meeting with auditory, articulation, language, gross motor, and social/pragmatic goals/objectives based on what we've been working on in AVT, speech and PT - remember, parents are a part of the IEP team. WE are there to help set goals and objectives too!)

Are there any websites that you found helpful through your child's IEP process? If so, please leave the website in the comments section to help other parents going through the process.

I also created a getting to know Aiden booklet to bring with me to his IEP meeting. I will post about that next.

IEP Meeting Success

We made it through Aiden's IEP meeting without any black eyes. Actually, there weren't any conflicts at all. He qualified for auditory training, speech and language therapy, and physical therapy. Our local school district was very cooperative and didn't bat an eye at any of the services we asked from them, the big one for them to send Aiden to an out of district oral preschool for kids with hearing loss (and will also offer him PT and audiology), including transportation to and from. No problem.

The only thing they really piped up on was in our favor and asked the school personnel at the preschool we chose for Aiden if they had any GT (gifted and talented) services because his cognitive functioning (IQ) was so high. Tell me I wasn't smiling that big ol' proud momma grin.

We didn't sign anything yet because we want to go over it again with our AVT and RIHP (Regional Infant Hearing Program) coordinator. The goals they set are very general at this point. I understand they need the time to evaluate Aiden using their curriculum tests, and after a couple months will have a much better feel for where he's at and how he's performing. I'm okay with this (for now), yet wonder if I should be?!? I mean, he's going to be in a preschool setting where the main focus of everything they do incorporates learning language and learning to listen. I think I am still going to push for some specific ones to be set that we've been working on at home though. The good thing is, is that he'll only be there half days (five days a week) for 2 1/2 months until summer break and then we'll call another IEP at the beginning of next school year to update his goals and objectives. At that point, they'll know Aiden and together, we can come up with more specific goals that can also include his growth over the summer.

We set a start date of March 14th, three days before his third birthday. At the end we walked down to meet his teacher. Aiden walked right in, took a look around (the kids were just getting up from nap), tore off his jacket and headed over to lay down like the other 5 or 6 kids were doing (very small classes!). He didn't want to leave. My heart melted.

A smooth IEP meeting PLUS watching Aiden walk right in like he's been there forever EQUALS tons of stress off mom's shoulders. Still having trouble letting go, but definitely less stressed! Now if I can only get through my daughter's process this easy.

More on the evaluation, transition, IEP process to come! Oh, and on the preschool we selected.

Reliving the Reality

I have a new meaning for IEP - Intense Emotional Process.

Most of last week and much of this weekend were spent preparing for Aiden's IEP this Monday. I know I have totally skipped over posts on things we've gone through in transitioning from an IFSP to an IEP, prepping for his IEP, preschools we've visited (and what we looked for) checklists we used when visiting these schools, the school chosen and why, etc. I can only say that my life lately has been absolutely nonstop between three kids and three different "opportunities" I'm tackling between them. I will say that Aiden's IEP is not the only one I'm preparing for, but I'm hoping it's easier than the fight we're going through to get Aiden's sister the appropriate accommodations/services she deserves.

Bottom line: it has been a very emotional week, and honestly, I'm quite spent.

In preparation for his IEP, I spent a morning and afternoon putting together a timeline of events from Aiden's hearing journey (from failing the newborn hearing screen to a synopsis on mapping issues this past year). I also included his speech/AV therapy timeline, his gross motor timeline and a paragraph on his sensory integration, especially since these all still need attention. I am so thankful for this blog as it physically made this task much easier.

Emotionally, it wore me out.

As I found dates throughout past posts, I read. As I read, I relived each.and.every memory, each appointment, each bad day, each milestone. I relived the feelings of complete numbness from when we found out Aiden was deaf to complete fear from all of the unknowns to complete worry of how he'd be treated having to wear this equipment throughout his life. I relived the feelings of complete relief from when I held him after his surgery to complete awe the day he heard his first sounds. As memories and feelings resurfaced, I cried. I cried tears of sorrow. I cried tears of joy. and then I cried with the overwhelming sense of it all.

This whole process has brought back to reality, like a slap in the face, "My son is deaf," and it's scary.

and all the fear for my son that I had in the beginning, that I thought was under control, has resurfaced and I realize how much of it still lingers inside wondering what the future holds for our "binky boy".

After my walk down memory lane, I moved on to write a page to the IEP team introducing Aiden. I want this team of educators, psychologists, and therapists, who will be part of our team in making decisions for Aiden, writing goals for Aiden, teaching and working with Aiden, to know WHO AIDEN IS as Aiden, not as a deaf child who wears cochlear implants.

I didn't hold back. I got emotional, but they need to know, Aiden is our child first, their student second. We will not hold back, as Aiden's parents, in fighting for everything we believe will benefit our child. We want them to know, we have our own goals for Aiden, goals which we call HOPES, that can't be measured or written into any IEP.

and here's what I wrote:

Introducing Aiden

Aiden came to our world on March 17, 2008. He was born in Texas where we lived for the first 7months of his life before moving to Maryland and then a year later, to Ohio. He is the youngest of three. His brother Ryan is 14, and sister Kailyn is 10. He adores his siblings. He also likes to talk about his two cats, Baby and Bones, and dog, Bella.

Our Favorite Aiden Qualities

Aiden is a very bubbly, go with the flow child. He is always smiling and is very affectionate. He can be quite shy when put on the spot and has never been one to participate much in his therapies. He's always had a quiet disposition and can be a boy of few words, yet in the same breath, he talks nonstop at home, but on his own terms. He loves playing with nearly any toy, but his favorite toys have a means to an end. He loves building with blocks, tearing things apart only to piece them back together, and figuring "things" out. To him, everything has a place and it needs to be in the right place--he is our future engineer. He catches on quickly to things and truly is a bright child. He loves Mickey Mouse, m&m's, oranges, chocolate milk, and his mom's iPhone. He loves playing with other kids, is good at sharing, and loves to help. All in all, Aiden is an easy child to get along with and has a delightfully addictive personality.

Our Hopes for Aiden

Our biggest hope is that people do not define Aiden for his hearing loss,

that he is not identified as "a deaf kid with cochlear implants",

but is defined for who he is as a person.

We hope Aiden's preschool years offer him a solid foundation of communication, language,

listening skills, literacy, and self advocacy.

We hope all this will allow him a smooth transition into a mainstream school with hearing peers in a setting with minimal interventions. His hearing loss will not hold him back.

We hope to help Aiden build a strong positive self esteem and instill a realization within him that he can achieve anything he puts his heart and soul into.

We hope he comes to believe that his opportunities are limitless.

We hope Aiden continues to keep his upbeat, positive, happy-go-lucky disposition and that rude comments/bullying does not tear it down or change the person he is.

We hope that Aiden will play alongside hearing peers and not feel (or be seen) differently because he hears in a different way.

We hope Aiden will learn to advocate for himself and never feel held back.

We hope that Aiden SOARS - and he will.

Preschool Tours ... Already?!?

Just months after Aiden's cochlear implants were activated, he discovered the sound of an airplane as we sat watching his brother's baseball game. I was lucky enough to hear the plane ahead of him and had camera in hand, ready to capture the moment, praying he heard it too. Sure enough, he was astonished, staring into the sky, HEARING it, as he watched it fly over. I marked another simply amazing moment on my never ending list as tears rolled down my face.

Fast forward to today and I just cannot believe we are at the point that Aiden's daddy and I will be touring, at the least, three different preschools to send Aiden to AND are beginning the process of transitioning him from an IFSP to an IEP, which will happen once Aiden turns three. Where has the time gone?

All my life I've been one to cram. I was the college student who wrote every paper at the very last minute; the one who studied zero all week until the night before the test and then pulled all nighters with my two liter of Mountain Dew by my side. This is not the time to cram, although I'm getting close to that mark. Now that we're only five months out from Aiden's third birthday, the time is NOW to understand all I can about the laws, the terminologies, our RIGHTS, the procedures, what we want written into his IEP, etc, to a "TEE" in order to be able to stand up and speak intelligibly for what we know is best for our little listener.

I saved this Preschool Placement Checklist for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Kids from Drew's mom quite awhile back, knowing I would use it one day. I plan to fill it out during each visit to help us in choosing the right preschool fit for Aiden and our family. We did consider touring some mainstream preschools in our area, and we still may. We feel pretty strong though that what Aiden needs at this time is a deaf oral preschool program. We feel a placement in this type of program will definitely benefit him and help reach our goal to have him mainstreamed by kindergarten. I'm excited about all the tours and love the fact that we have different deaf oral preschool options. Options are always a good thing.

Aside from choosing the correct preschool program, we know there is MUCH, MUCH more to this whole transition process. I would love any additional tips, advice, websites, suggestions, etc that you can share that helped make the transition to an IEP easier for you and your family. I'm getting too old to cram it all in last minute ... and Mountain Dew just isn't my thing anymore.

IEP Goal Bank

Another CI mom, from THIS blog, shared a wonderful site with all us other CI moms and dads on the CICircle and Listen-Up forums through Yahoo Groups. This IEP Goal Bank is a wonderful site to use for those currently going through an IEP process or to bookmark for a future IEP. It provides an IEP Goal/Objective Template, it gives examples of specific goals from articulation, to auditory processing, to language etc. It also has additional links to explore for activity/material ideas too.

Although we're not going through this process right now, it is not too far away and I am gathering as much information as possible to be armed and ready when the time does come (which is next January). There is so much involved in an IEP process and as Aiden's mom and dad, it is up to us to make sure he gets what he needs and I think this is a great informative site to help parents along.

If you have any other sites you have found helpful during the IEP process, please share them in the comments section.