Thursday, July 17, 2008

Bria's transition meeting is Monday!

Brianna's going to have a "transition meeting" for preschool on Monday. Right now she receives Speech and Physical therapy (used to get OT as well but we've put it down for the time being) at the house through Early Intervention called Early Steps here. They come to the house to provide services for both Brianna and Micah and are here 2x/week for 30 min each kid. I'm not exactly sure what to expect at the first transition meeting, but I guess we'll be talking about what she's doing, what she needs for support, and where they expect she might go to preschool in January. Yep, the transition will happen at her 3rd birthday, January 3rd, and at that point her therapies will be provided in a preschool type environment through the school system. I know our local school doesn't have a preschool, so she'd naturally go to either Apollo or Enterprise- the two other closest schools with pre-k's. But... Then we throw Emma in there and we have another whole can of worms. That's another post tho... later today I hope. Any thoughts/suggestions about your kid's first transition meeting from EI to school system? Our appointment is Monday morning at 9am!
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 17, 2008 at 12:35 PM

    I'll tell you, we had trouble with Sawyer. We transitioned him to a local school's pre-k program. The teacher was nice but Sawyer cried the whole time. So we went back and had them re-write the IEP (Sent Randy because I knew he'd wear 'em down and they'd give us the whole school if we asked) It took 4 hours to rewrite it but for the rest of the school year they came to the house for speech and 'special instruction'. We still had OT thru Medicaid. Now, in August, he'll be going 3 days a week to a different pre-K program. If that doesn't work out, I guess we pull him and home school him like we plan on doing with his siblings. (Not real sure on the backup plan right now) It's going to be hard for a while since his new brother is coming home the same week he starts school. Should be fun for a while.

    Jan

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  2. kathleenJuly 17, 2008 at 1:57 PM

    Is this transition thing for her because she has DS? Or did you do this for K? I am a little confused...

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  3. wvamomJuly 17, 2008 at 6:05 PM

    Our transition went just fine. Wes was happy in his preschool program--he loved the teachers and they had a volunteer grandma that came and rocked and played with the kids--that was his favorite activity. Although, of course, they worked on skills--how often do you get a preschool teacher with a master's degree teaching your child?

    In fact, when it was time for him to go to kindergarten, he complained, "I want to go back to preschool. Kindergarten is too hard!" (of course, we have heard that every year since then as well!)

    So, in short, our now-15-year old son with Down syndrome did great when he went to preschool at 3. I'm sure Brianna will, too!

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  4. LauraJuly 17, 2008 at 6:08 PM

    My daughter will be attended ppcd (preschool program for children with disabilities, as it's called here in TX). I did not send her when she turned 3, as I did not think she was ready then (last September). We just did "speech only" at our local elementary school. This year I think she is ready, so we're going to try it. My daughter is cleft affected and really needs intense speech therapy. I'm hoping she will do well in elementary school.

    Best wishes to all of you as you weigh all of the possibilities.

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  5. Arizona mom to eightJuly 17, 2008 at 6:47 PM

    I was nervous about transitioning as well, I had spent nearly a year in medical treatments myself and felt Meghan and I needed to bond -reconnect before sending her off to pre-school, so we skipped the first year. She adored it the second year, and amazed everyone, I am glad I waited though.

    It is a pretty painless process if you have people who truly want what is best for Brianna. Our services coordinator was a good friend at that point and tried her best to get everything we needed. I understand Florida has it's own set of issues. I will be praying everything works out well for Brianna.

    Kara's evaluations and entry into the preschool program was pretty seamless too, you are a saavy Mom, you will do fine.

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  6. datriJuly 17, 2008 at 6:58 PM

    Kayla transitioned to PreK in January 2007 when she was 2 1/2! She was pretty much becoming bored with therapy at home and everyone felt that being around other kids would be beneficial for her. She goes to an Easter Seals program and it all went well. She was in a self-contained severe special needs class for a year and a half, but we moved her to the integrated class this year. I've never been happy with the goals they put on her IEP, though. The only progress she made on her last one was physical, so they rewrote it and the goals seem TOO easy now.

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  7. AmyJuly 17, 2008 at 7:14 PM

    Hi Meredith
    Our school district has ONE preschool - which is actually once for those who are developmentally challenged... that is where my daughter goes. Thankfully - it is not at a school where her brothers would be stopping by and bugging her!
    But -my recommendation would be to go and see the pre-school in action if you can. Find out their child to para-pro/teacher ratio, talk to your hubby about what the two of you want your little girl to get out of the program. What areas does she need help with that would be best suited for her learning there. Always be the advocate for your little girl and what will work best for HER! If it is possible, see if they provide transportation (saves you the driving trips!)

    Best of luck!
    Amy

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