I think I decided to take the Summer off of blogging since Kevin took the Summer off of his therapy schedule. So much to report since it has been 3 months...
IEP update: Well, the IEP process ended up being a very positive experience once we got the right people involved. Kevin will be attending the local auditory-oral school for preschool and speech twice a week and will also go to mainstream preschool twice a week. While I don't like the idea of him going to school 4 days a week at 3 years old, I am thrilled that this is what his schedule will be. My son will be mainstreaming next week! I always knew he would have the opportunity to do it, I just didn't know when it would be. 3 years old and he is already talking better than most 3 year olds. I think he will do fine in his class. We'll see next week!
He attended an art class this Summer for 1.5 hours a week and did great. I always asked the teacher if he seemed to hear him or just follow along with what the other kids were doing. The room is noisy and there are a bunch of kids in there all working on art. He told me that Kevin definitely does hear him, but doesn't always listen to him. Yes... that is the Kevin I know. He is very 3 and only 'listens' when he wants to, but he definitely hears me! I'm glad his teacher thought so as well!!!
Kevin talks in full paragraphs and processes information very well. An example of his understanding is I read him Green Eggs and Ham about 2 months ago. A couple of weeks ago, he didn't want to try some food, but I was trying to get him to try it. He finally did and said, 'Hey, I like it!' And then he said, 'Sam I am'. I almost split my seam!!! Yes, Kevin gets it just fine.
He and his brother are best friends right now. I wish I could freeze frame this point in our life. The two boys get along great, play all the time and talk to each other all the time. Sometimes I stop and think about how different our life would be if Kevin didn't wear cochlear implants. These devices have allowed our family to continue living in the hearing world and allow the boys to play together like all the other siblings I know. I would do everything again in a heartbeat!
I hope I can update more regularly!!!
Kevin John was born on April 6, 2006 and we quickly found out he was profoundly deaf due to the Connexin 26 gene. This is our story how we are going about raising him in the hearing world.
2 comments:
AWESOME! When you say "get the right people invovled", who exactly did you think helped to get your situation ironed out?
We had the Superintendent attend and he is awesome. He is fairly new to the District (only been there 1 year). The Special Ed dept. is doing a major overhaul because it hasn't been the best in the past and he is instrumental in the changes. Coincidentally, he has a hearing impaired son (adult now). He is very interested in making accoustical changes to the classrooms, providing all rooms with soundfield systems, etc. He is definitely an advocate for our son and his 'individual' needs and we didn't get any pushback during the 2nd meeting.
I also made it very clear that a TC school was NOT appropriate for Kevin and placing him there would go against OSEP policy. OSEP states that the placement must take into account the family and child's primary mode of communication and neither Kevin nor his family sign. We were much more prepared and armed with research for our 2nd meeting. The first meeting blind-sighted us by how poorly it was run and how little time we were given to talk. Good luck to you!!!
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