PPCD...Take two

We went back to the school on Thursday so that Wade could be evaluated by the OT, PT, and speech therapist.  I have to say, this time around, it was a much better experience.  One of the teachers also joined us to take notes.  Unfortunately, Wade had just come from an hour of PT and OT, so he wasn't in the greatest of moods.  Plus, there were a bunch of strangers surrounding him wanting him to perform on demand, which he does not do!  

The school is beautiful though!  The halls and classrooms are all so brightly decorated.  It seems like a very inviting atmosphere.  I was very impressed with the equipment in the motor lab and the equipment that they are wanting to buy with some stimulus money.  They even had a brand new Kid Walk in the motor lab.  The staff were all very nice and friendly and seemed genuinely interested in doing what is best for Wade.  I was able to express my concerns about Wade being in a self-contained classroom.  I want him to be around typical kids as well.  I know he needs extra help with mobility and self-help things, but he also needs to be surrounded by kids who are walking and talking so he can learn from them.  Wade is a very social little boy, and he needs that interaction.  All in all, it was a very informative meeting, and I feel a lot more comfortable with sending him to school in the fall.  (And, I only cried twice!)

On Friday afternoon, we had our official ARD meeting.  (IEP meeting for those who aren't in TX.)  Being a special education teacher, I've sat through my fair share of these meetings.  It's a whole different ballgame sitting on the other side of the table!  Things were going along very smoothly.  We were happy with the goals and with the therapy time.  Then came placement.  I told them that at this point, we are looking at just doing a 3 day school week so that Wade can still go to his regular sitter 2 days a week to get that social interaction.  They stumbled a little, but said it was doable and he would just be counted absent on the two days he's not there.  Of course they strongly suggest 5 days, and when we come back to ARD, if he hasn't met his goals, it's probably because he's only in school 3 days a week.  Blah, blah, blah.  One of the teachers did suggest that maybe he could still come 5 days and go to daycare after school since he would be in the morning PPCD class.  That was something I hadn't thought of, so I appreciated the suggestion.  While I know Wade will flourish in this new environment, as a mom, it's very hard for me to let my 3 year old baby go to school!!!!!

After that was out of the way, they said they were recommending he be in a self-contained class for 3 1/2 hours... Stop right there!  I jumped in and asked if there were other options (I knew there were).  Since this center also serves pre-k and the employee daycare center, there are definitely typical kids Wade can be with.  So, although I'm not completely comfortable with this time, we decided on a half-hour inclusion time out of 3 1/2 hours.  I settled for this since I'm contemplating the 3 days a week.  If, however, Wade shows them what he's made of, we will definitely be going back to ARD after school starts.  I'll give it a good 6 weeks for everyone to settle into a routine, then reassess the situation.

So, it's official.  On August 23, my baby will be starting school!