New IEP goals

I decided that even though Little Squirrel is academically advanced, as long as the school isn't trying to talk me out of the IEP, and seems to think there are still reasonable goals to be met, then I am on board.

Little Squirrel met all of her goals from last year, so now we have new ones.

1. Be able to ask for help with directions on assignments 4 ouf of 6 times
2. Be able to troubleshoot own problems without crying 4 out of 6 times
3. Use Wh- words correctly with correct word order 80% of trials
4. Follow multi-step directions accurately 80% of trials
5. DO NOT BOX SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST IN THE NUTS! EVER!

If I was ever undecided about still needing an IEP, my indecision was lifted after #5.

The dilemma: Do we really need an IEP?

IEP meeting Nov. 9. Meanwhile I'm wondering if we need one anymore. Little Squirrel is advanced academically and is getting the social skills practice for 15 minutes a day in the special ed room. I don't think she needs the "tracking" that an IEP does, and that seems like so much to ask of the teachers who already maxed out. I don't really care how many times she does this or that. I only care that she's able to remain mainstream. And she is. Not even any need of a para in sight. My long term goal is for her to go to a magnet school starting middle school, and I know some schools only take a quota of IEPs. It may be in our best interest to ditch it and go rogue! All Little Squirrel really needs can be handled with a 504 plan--such as how she eats in the special ed room to avoid the chaos of the cafeteria. And she eats with a small group of varied development lunch buddies so she still gets the social aspect. Though she does still need speech therapy, to continue how to use language correctly and efficiently. But with medicaid we could likely get that outside of school. I read so much about parents having to put on their butt-kicking boots for IEP meetings. Little Squirrel doesn't happen to attend a lazy school, so I don't think that's necessary. Unless they have some good reason we need to keep the IEP, I think we might call it quits.

Introduction to The Learning Support Room

The Learning Support room is modern lingo for "special ed." It's not the special ed of decades past, however. Little Squirrel doesn't have any cognitive impairments when it comes to reading, writing, math, etc. In fact she's advanced, if not on the edge of gifted. What special ed provides these days came as quite a surprise to me, in a good way, because it's exactly what Little Squirrel needs.

For 15 minutes each day Little Squirrel goes to the Learning Support room to practice classroom etiquette, responding appropriately to teacher signals, sitting beside someone without touching or bothering them, etc. This is a vital component of the day. Without these skills, a kid like Little Squirrel with exceptional abilities would never be able to advance academically. Special Ed has come a long way. Yay, for special ed!