IEP

So we had Caleb's big IEP meeting this fall. It was about what we expected. Nine adults in a room (psychologist, SLP, DHH itinerant teacher, audiologist, resource teacher, classroom teacher, principal, us) going over report after report saying that Caleb has delays when compared to his same-age peers. DUH! First of all, he's in kindergarten, not first grade like most six-year-olds. Of COURSE he's going to test behind them. AND he couldn't hear properly for the first four years of his life. That's why we held him back! But we were thinking that if we held him back, he'd be pretty much on par with the five-year-olds. And guess what?? He is! But apparently, this is enough to make him eligible for ALL KINDS of services. So now his IEP is not centered around speech and hearing, but around learning delays.

I wasn't surprised by any of this. I noticed last year that he doesn't process auditory information very well. It just doesn't "stick" like it should in a child of his age. I know, I know, BIG SURPRISE! But if he SEES something, it's permanently encoded and the object of much obsession. He was writing all of his friends' names on his white board last fall. He is now coming home and writing words he's learned in school. He can't tell you what sound a "d" makes, but he'll tell you that it's for dinosaur and dragon! The problem is that reading is taught phonetically, which isn't very helpful when you CAN'T HEAR. And all the tests he took? The directions were given verbally. So are the instructions in his classroom.

I refuse to believe that Caleb has been reduced to an IQ score of 74. Anyone who thinks that gives an accurate picture of what my son can do is sorely mistaken. I KNOW that once he can read, he will be fine. The question is how to teach him to read. So this week we are going to be labeling everything in our house. Don't be surprised when you come over to find index cards saying DOOR and REFRIGERATOR taped to every surface. We're on a mission now.