First week of preschool...

My big 3 year old ready for his first day of preschool!

I felt so bad that I didn't have a "proper" backpack for him (I ordered one online) so he had this huge backpack strapped on with nothing but 7 diapers and a pack of wipes in it and the poor boy could hardly hold it up.  It was pretty funny.  He was determined to carry it, though.

Daddy saying, "Bye Bye."   I can only imagine what was going through his mind at that point...

His teacher said he had a good first day.  There were some tears off and on, which is to be expected, but he played well with other kids, sat on the rug and listened, participated in activities, had lunch with the kids and even sat on the potty.  He was very happy to see me and Luke, and promptly fell asleep in the car.

I'm sure it's been a little stressful for John Michael with this huge change in his routine, meeting new faces and being away from home for 3 1/2 hours each morning. 

But, it's also been stressful for me. 

John Michael is my 4th child to go off to preschool, but my first to not be able to communicate what he did at school, what he ate, what he played with, who his friends are, etc.  I can ask him if he learned about dinosaurs and he'd probably say "Yah" even if he didn't.  If you hadn't guessed yet, I am a very involved mom... I care about what my kids are learning and doing in school and want to help reinforce it at home.   So when a friend asked me on Facebook what was his favorite thing to do at preschool, I got sad.  I didn't know... plus he's been taking a bus home this week Monday through Wednesday, so I didn't have that communication with the teacher.

Fast forward one week.  Today was Day 5 of preschool.  I picked him up so I could talk to the teacher.  Teacher Karen thanked me for letting him come to her class.  She said he's doing very well and he's such a joy to have!  She sent me a photo on Wednesday of John Michael playing with a little girl he calls "Lula" and another boy who is visually impaired.  The three of them were playing with blocks at a table... that is so cool!  I think "Lula" will take good care of him... like a sister.

At pickup, I also asked the teacher what he likes to do and she said play with blocks, Playdough (gingerbread scented dough this week), and play with the dollhouse (Greta's influence on him).  His speech teacher loves him and said he's doing very well.  She said he talks about his baby brother, Luke, a lot.  He's putting the ending consonant on "boat" which is also good.  And she's impressed by how well he sits on his special spot on the rug and listens.  She's going to implement a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) for him to help with his communication.  Sometimes, a picture is worth... well, you know...  It may even prompt him to say the word.  He also had adaptive PE today and Tuesday.  I haven't met the teacher yet, but I heard that John Michael had fun jumping today.

When I walked in the door today, he was with a group of kids talking with the teacher.  He saw me, shouted "Mom!" and pointed and ran as fast as he could to give me a hug.  It was so sweet.  You should see him run... it's still pretty awkward and you think he's going to fall any second, but he didn't.  I go t the hug and he turned and went right back to the kids.  Then he showed me "The Snowman" book that he likes.  It's without words, which are pretty cool books where you make up the story.  We'll have to check that out at the library.  Needless to say, he's had a great first week.

John Michael's first official preschool art project.  I'm sure it's the first of many, many projects to come and I LOVE IT!

(On a side note... it's not been totally stressful for me... I've gotten most of my Christmas shopping done this week since I only have Luke with me now.  This is definitely one of the benefits of preschool, too!!!)

John Michael's first IEP... and turning 3!!!

Behold... John Michael at age 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday

to my most cuddly, loving, good-natured, awesome

Super Chromo Boy!

This boy seriously ROCKS that extra chromosome!

So much has happened since my last blog post!

On Monday, November 8th, we had John Michael's first IEP team meeting. I had spent months preparing for it by going to an IEP training seminar, transition workshop, one-on-one parent/peer counseling for information and ideas, got help and tips from my blogging friends, visited some preschool sites and prayed for a good fit for him.

Backing up a bit, the transition meeting in September was the first step and went well.  We had his therapists (ST, OT, and teacher), service coordinator, and school district representative all at our house.  I served Starbucks scones and coffee (not required, but just nice...) and I showed a slide show I'd made of John Michael's first 3 years. I'd also prepared a parent report with photos, my thoughts on John Michael and what he means to our family, a run-down on his strengths and abilities, areas where I have concerns and he needs help, and finally, what I want for John Michael in the future. It was a lengthy 5 or 6 pages long. Doug also wrote a very meaningful letter (one-page... guys can say it in less words :-) ). The letter and parent report were to help in the fact that decisions were being made about John Michael and the school district hadn't had the benefit of really knowing him.

Shortly after the transition meeting, JM's assessments were scheduled at a local preschool site where I met with the inclusion teacher, speech therapist, adaptive PE teacher and school psychologist. I was asked many, many questions about John Michael while he had his play-based assessments in the same room. He did very well. You never know how your child will react in a new environment with new faces, but he shined :-)

A couple weeks before the IEP meeting, JM and I were given the opportunity to visit the 3 school sites that had full inclusion classrooms. The classes all offer breakfast in the morning and lunch before they go home, served "family-style" where they learn to socialize around the "dinner table". Each of the classes has 20 students, 5 of whom have some sort of special need and are mainstreamed into the class. Each of the sites had at least one child with Ds, one actually had 3 kids, 2 of whom we knew!

The 2nd school site we visited is where we both felt the most comfortable. He had a great time on the playground, he painted a masterpiece for me, sat down for storytime, and met a little girl who I know will take good care of him at school. She reminded me of a younger Greta, who was very nurturing to John Michael. I love that! We also really liked the speech therapist at that site and the adaptive PE teacher is a man, which will be a nice change for him.

The actual IEP team meeting went very smoothly, although it lasted a solid 3 hours! My dear friend, Lisa Lindsey (Sheridan's mom), was our most awesome note-taker, typing away on her laptop while the IEP was going. Besides Doug, Lisa and I, others in attendance were the inclusion teacher, preschool teacher, speech therapist of new school, adaptive PE teacher, school psychologist, our infant program speech therapist, service coordinator and school district representative.

I brought homemade cranberry bread and pumpkin bread and a box of Starbucks coffee. :-)

Again, not necessary, but very much appreciated.

Each person who did an assessment on John Michael gave their report (which I'd requested and received a few days prior to the IEP meeting to be prepared...)

John Michael was recommended for a full inclusion program.

The following are John Michael’s IEP Goals for November 2010- November 2011"  (I am including them since many of our buddies are approaching 3 and having their first IEPs.  Keep in mind that IEPs are "Individual" for reason and these particular goals are written specifically for John Michael.  This is just in case anyone would like to see how they are written or for some ideas.  Each goal is broken down into two smaller steps which I didn't include here.  If he meets his goals before next year, new goals will be written.  Words in italics are my comments.)

Self-Help: Within one year, given a regular toileting schedule, student will pull down and up his pants, sit on the toilet for 1 minute 80% of the time. He already can sit on the toilet for 1 minute, but will need help with pulling down and up pants.

School Behavior: Within 1 year, given materials and a teacher directive, student will use the materials appropriately and stay at the activity for 6 to 7 minutes 80% of the time. He is interested in many different activities – this addresses focus.

Pre-Academic: Within 1 year, given manipulatives and a directive, student will give “just one” “one more” “two” and “all” 80% of the time. Right now he doesn’t get the concept of “one” and will give you “all” when asked for “one” of something.

Pre-Academic #2: Within one year, given Playdough, student will roll a ball, a snake and cut out a cookie cutter 80% of the time. Pre-fine motor, builds muscles and strength in hands and fingers.

Expressive Communication: Given objects, pictures, or situations, John Michael will produce 2-word sentences with appropriate use of simple pronouns, verbs, and prepositions 80% of the time. He speaks up to 4 word combinations with minimal use of pronouns, verbs, and prepositions.  Two nights ago, he said, "Where are you, Mom?" (prompted by Anna) and I totally understood him!

Receptive Comprehension: Given minimal prompting from staff with an auditory directive with objects or pictures, JM will follow a 2-step directive accurately 80% of the time. He currently follows 1-step directives and retains one essential element in a sentence.

Articulation: Given visual and auditory stimulation, JM will produce initial and final consonants in CVC combinations accurately 80% of the time. He usually drops the ending consonant and produces a CV or CVCV sound combination.

Gross Motor: Within one year given practice sessions involving a tricycle, JM will be able to pedal a tricycle 5 feet without assistance for 3 consecutive sessions. JM can put two feet on pedals.

Gross Motor #2: Within one year given activities relating to jumping, JM will be able to jump 5 consecutive times on the mini-jogger with spotting from the teacher 80% of the time. JM attempts to jump but only lifts one foot at a time.

This post took more brain cells than I can spare right now, so you can see why I haven't kept up with my blog!   

Last Sunday, John Michael turned 3 and we celebrated very simply by having a birthday donut.  He blew out 2 of 3 candles and we spent the day playing and having our Christmas photos taken... So, I"ll leave you with this image of my handsome 3 year old!

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about our IEP.

He's gonna be just fine... Looking at preschools...

 John Michael will be 3 in a few weeks.  We've been checking out a couple different preschool options in our school district last week and this week.  It's been very helpful for me to picture him in a full inclusion classroom with 15 typically developing kids and 5 kids with special needs.  Both classes I've seen each have a little girl with Down syndrome and some other kids with special needs. 

On one playground, there were many trikes like the one above.  John Michael can't yet pedal, but he's trying.  But the coolest thing was that a few trikes had an extra seat on the back, like a fixed trailer, and one little boy gave John Michael a ride all around the playground.  It made me so happy to see the kids fully included and accepted.  A win-win for both sides.

The second school I visited had a really neat, small playground.  John Michael really blossomed yesterday.  When the teacher turned on the slippery fish song, he tried to keep up.  It went too fast, but he did his best.  He also liked sitting next to the kids and interacting with them.

I had a chance to talk with both teachers while the kids were on the playground.  Both have backgrounds in special ed, both thought he was really cute and were very encouraging. 

John Michael's IEP meeting is in 2 weeks.  We visit one more school tomorrow.  Unfortunately, all the school options are a good 20 minutes away.  While I'd envisioned a private preschool setting for John Michael where his 3 older sibs went, I think this is a great start for him since he will need extra help at first.  He will also have speech and adaptive PE onsight.  Adaptive PE will help with stair climbing and building strength for trike riding, but doesn't take away from playing with the other kids on the playground.  I'm starting to feel a bit more at ease with the whole school thing. 

I'd love to hear other peoples' experiences with starting preschool for their child with Ds.