i fought the law . . .

and I won! at least for now. i had a meeting with the IEP team regarding C, I had a feeling they wanted to take away his IEP (he has met all of his goals for speech, and they took OT away in the fall.) i felt sick after signing that paperwork in october, i knew it was the beginning of the end.

i convinced them to put him back on OT consult. since january or earlier, we've had problems with strange noises (self-soothing) and the finger-sucking has reared it's head again. i'm sure this has to do with no OT help - no more squishy balls and clay, or pokey seats to sit on. mostly, no quiet room to go to when the classroom is crazy and certain people there make him crazy. i hope this helps.

we went back and forth for over 2 hours (in what was supposed to be a 30 minute meeting.) i explained that in the past, transitions have been very hard on him, sometimes causing huge backslides, and if we move, i would rather have an IEP than a 504 to take with me. after calling down to the district office, they decided to finally let me have my way (i'm not sure what the consequence is for the other team members if i don't sign off on the change, but check that i disagree. apparently, not good.)

i hope you don't get the impression that i have had to fight with these people for the last 3 years over services for my child. i haven't. ever. i have never been involved in a school district that has demonstrated more caring and concern for a child of mine than i have here. the attention and services he has received here has been phenomenal, and the changes and growth that he has gone through as a result has been huge.

it's obvious that these people care deeply about what they do, and who they do it for. i had a much different experience in california, and with some of the teachers in utah. that's probably what makes changing to a new school district so scary. and i feel that i need all the ammo i can get in my arsenal, to make sure we have the same experience when we go to a new place.