IFSP review/SSD transition meeting

Today was a busy day. OT has moved to Mondays, so we had that at 8:15 am. I'm glad, actually, because that makes Tuesday mornings less crazy.

At 2:30 pm, Dom's IFSP review took place. It was combined with the Special School District transition meeting because both were due so close together. In attendance were Carol from First Steps, Jacqui, Monica, and the two district representatives, Marty from the Webster Groves School District and Angela from the Special School District. Mike was also able to be here. Brandie from Parents as Teachers could not attend but is going to call me tomorrow morning to find out how the meeting went. Dominick napped through the whole thing, just as I was hoping he would.

First we went over Dom's progress, comparing it to our original IFSP, which is basically a plan for goals and strategies. Where necessary, we revised them, but a lot of the points remained the same. Our focus for the next six months is going to be on continuing to improve Dom's vocabulary and conversational speech and helping him adapt to social situations.

Marty and Angela mentioned a PAT program I'd heard of before called Stay and Play. It's a weekly, two-hour playtime that runs for 10 weeks beginning in October. When I talk to Brandie tomorrow, I will ask her about it. We're very interested in this program, especially as a sort of stepping stone to a more structured preschool setting.

As for the SSD program, it sounds really wonderful. The (half) days would be somewhat structured, but there would be different activities within that structure. The teachers make a concerted effort to mix things up so that the kids don't become accustomed to one set routine. There's also a mixture of IEP kids (those who have a diagnosis of a developmental delay, which is what they are given when they are accepted into SSD) and non-IEP kids. Therapists come into the classroom to work with the kids.

I was encouraged because both representatives, after hearing about Dominick, thought he would benefit from the program and recommended a referral for an evaluation. I had been concerned that because he's so smart and progressing so well, he might not be eligible, but that is not necessarily the case. SSD recognizes that those kids need services, too, in order to function well in a social or educational setting. Otherwise, they tend to isolate themselves, and we don't want that when Dom starts kindergarten in a few years.

If Dominick is accepted, he would transition immediately after his First Steps services end. He'll have to undergo more evaluations, probably starting in January. SSD will contact us in October to set up the evaluations. Angela and Marty also recommended that we visit the facility around the same time.

We took in a lot of information today, but I think that's the gist of it. We have some materials to read and forms to sign to get the process started, and I will see what we need to do about putting Dom on the list for Stay and Play. If he gets in, we'll be pretty busy this fall.