As sure as the first flowers are arriving, so is IEP time.

It almost sounds celebratory... but for those who have a special needs child, we know it is not like that.

I know we have an IEP meeting scheduled for Elizabeth on May 29^th. 

She is 20 years old, but because we chose Option 23, she is technically still under the auspices of our local school system until the age of 22 years old.

So with this in mind, the local schools and the college program she is in meet to form the new IEP that will guide her into the next school year. So even at this age, we are looking at the IEP and making changes.

So with about 16 years of IEP prep times, meetings, re-evaluations and IEP adjustments, I wanted to tell you how I am approaching this meeting:

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Michele Gianetti, RN introduces her work with Monica Purdy, MA, CCC-SLP on helping parents of special needs children getting back to school smoothly. It includes a free checklist and article published in Parenting Special Needs, and a free webinar with TalkTools happening September 16, 2017 from 12-1 p.m. EST!

The end of Summer! Or is it?

I know it can be quite confusing when you enter into a store to buy stuff for a picnic and you are assaulted by the sight of mounds of backpacks and posters of smiling children all nicely dressed for the new school year.

The way retail works is like having life on fast forward. “Enjoy Summer but, in case you want them, the Halloween candy is freshly stocked in aisle 10.”

So we are faced with seeing the school year on the horizon a bit earlier than I would like. For me, the thought of a new school year kind of makes me nervous. Not so much from the idea that we cannot handle things, after all we have been doing this for a long time. But from the understanding of the amount of work it does take to make sure all the “t’s” are crossed and the “i’s” are dotted for a new school year.

There are a lot of things to get in order, and a lot of them involve communication of information.

From the home to the new educator.

From the therapist(s) used in Summer, to the home and to the school therapists.

From the home to the intervention specialists.

It does take work but it is, in my opinion, critical for success and growth.

My communications over the years have taken on many different forms but in the last seven years, we have settled on a communication system that works.

I have always been such a firm believer in the importance of communication between all the members of “Team Elizabeth.”

This is why I am so excited to share with you the article that recently got published in Parenting Special Needs!

The article was a wonderful collaborative effort with Monica Purdy who is a speech therapist, as well as on the TalkTools speaker’s bureau.

The article centers on the area of Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

The article contains some great PDF files of templates for communication with the school that I have used, such as:

• The “introduction” letter which tells the new educator and staff all about your child.
• The “Update” letter for the intervention specialists which provides them all the updates about your child since school ended in the Spring.
• The daily communication sheet- which is easy to use and can be changed as needed.

These PDF’s can be very helpful, either in the form they are in, or as a baseline for you to use to make your own.

I invite you to read the article and hopefully, it will help you as you plan the start to a new school year. Or perhaps, it will give you guidance if you are just now starting your journey with your child.

Please watch this page for information about the free webinar that is happening next month based on the information in this article: "Webinar - SPD: Becoming an advocate for your child."

I wish everyone a peaceful August and hope to “see” you at the Webinar.

-Michele

Michele Gianetti is a mom of three, registered nurse, and published author ("I Believe in You," "Emily's Sister"). She writes for TalkTools Blog every month about her experience caring for Elizabeth, her daughter with Sensory Processing Disorder and Dyspraxia. Follow her story since the beginning here.

It is officially the middle of the school year. Okay, not officially-officially but to me it is.

I find myself looking at the middle of January and realizing that fact and think WOW, that time already.

It is after this thought that I know it is time do my mid year check.

By this, I mean, I take a mental look at all the areas of Elizabeth’s life and see what successes we have seen, what struggles she has had, what changes we should make etc.

For me, it is easier to do check-ins frequently and catch anything that may be amiss than to have small problems grow big. Also, if your school system works like ours, February is the month of the second conference time. What better than to do this mid-year check and arrive at the conference time with clean, organized thoughts.

So with that in mind, here are some thoughts to help if you wish to do the same.

MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE AREAS OF YOUR CHILD’S LIFE

• speech
• O.T.
• Socialization
• School work
• Outside activities
• Things at home
• Anything else you can think of

WRITE DOWN THE POSITIVES AND YOUR CONCERNS FOR EACH

Here is the time to be honest: if something has been bothering you about a class or therapy, write it down.

ORGANIZE PLAN FOR EACH AREA THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT

•  Some things may be going along great but for those that tug at your heart do the above.
• It helps to know who you need to talk to about the concerns. Which teacher or therapist.
• If I had a concern about speech and Elizabeth’s work in a class. I would know I could address this concern with both the speech pathologist and intervention teacher present. This way I could have everyone on the same page at the same time.

WRITE DOWN THE CONCERNS FOR OTHERS TO READ AND KEEP

• I am a firm believer that something written down and handed to a professional quickly helps them see just what you feel in a nice orderly way.
• Also, it is such a good idea to have a copy to show you did address these concerns or did discuss them with the teachers and therapist.

MAKE A PLAN TO REVISIT THE CONCERNS

• I always thought that to check back in with the teachers in about two to three weeks was a fair time.
• I would watch for any communications that would come home from the school on Elizabeth’s communication notebook.
• I would talk to Elizabeth about the concern.
• I would contact the teachers or therapist at the agreed upon time.

I am not saying that there will be a situation or concern at this time of year. But we all know that IEP time is coming, plans for summer are on the horizon and life for our children is one big fluid situation.

So my thought is stay that one little bit ahead so that you and I don’t have to run to fix something for our child.

I wish you all a calm and if it is winter where you are, cozy month.

-Michele

Michele Gianetti writes for TalkTools Blog every month about her experience caring for Elizabeth, her daughter with Sensory Processing Disorder. Follow her story since the beginning here.

I looked my 10 year old in the eye just yesterday and said: “Michael, you know we have a mere 16 days left of summer”? It was hard to say and so much harder to believe.  Where did the summer go?  How is it possible that three months went like THAT?!

But the truth is it did! And the other truth is that plans need to be made for the start of another school year.  For those with typical children, the planning, shopping and prepping is pretty time consuming. But for those with a child with special needs and with an IEP, it is even more so.

We are some 19 years into our journey with Elizabeth.  As such, I thought maybe I would share some of the things I do prior to each and every school year for Elizabeth. For me, the turning of the calendar to August signals that planning time has begun…

The first thing I do is to:

1. Write a narrative about Elizabeth’s summer
2. Talk about the changes in speech and language and in other areas on the IEP
3. Arrange a meeting in a month or so after the start of school

I know that like most of you, IEP time is in the Spring and we review and sign a new IEP that will represent goals for our child in the upcoming school year.  But something that has always troubled me about that is that, those goals, while good at the time, may need some adjusting as our children have had three months to go to therapies, live life and grow over the summer.  So how can goals made then be exactly on point now?

How many of you can, right this minute, think of some new things your child did that was new?  Words said that weren’t said before?  Sentences said that were clear?  I am sure there are many, many of you. These are things that the school therapists need to know. 

How many of you tried a new therapy?  Perhaps did some new “work” at home this summer?  How many of you had that great feeling of “YES! She/he did it”! This needs to be shared with the school!

New skills, new things tried, and new attitude in your child… the list goes on. These all need to be told to those who will be working with your child this year.

1. WRITE A NARRATIVE ABOUT YOUR CHILD

I did and do each year.  The narrative tells about all the things we did, such as activities like any camps or clubs and how your child did while in them.

I tell them about her anxiety or lack of, about her social skills and any changes I saw.

I tell them truthfully, how summer went.

This brings them up to speed on the “current” Elizabeth.  Not the Elizabeth of three months ago.  My theory here is why have a goal on the IEP that reflects something we have already done.

2. TELL THEM ABOUT THE CHANGES IN SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

I cannot tell you the amount of times I have read a narrative about Elizabeth’s speech goals that I have had adjusted after a summer of work.

If you have done oral motor work with your child, please describe it and tell them what you have seen from it.

If you have been working on a sound in isolation and now your child can do it, tell them.

If you have a child who said two word sentences but now says four words, tell them.

If you don’t share these, precious time could be spent working on things that have already been worked on this summer.  Or worse, not worked on …YET because the therapist does not know you made inroads to these IEP goals.  I am always afraid of time lost, so to bring everyone onto the same page right away is a pretty great thing.

3. TELL THEM ABOUT MEETING IN A MONTH OR SO.

I will admit: not always a favorite request of the intervention specialist and therapists, but one I feel is HUGE.  Because if you think about it, you gave them the update for your child, you gave them the speech and language updates and now they have had the first month of school to see and work with your child.  So to arrange a meeting to get their thoughts on your thoughts is really a fantastic way to make any changes or updates to the IEP.

Sometimes this is when our best work is done. Because we are working with ideas related to the current situation, not one in which we are anticipating what will be.

This is the time, at this meeting:

• To make the requests you feel are warranted, the ones you feel in your heart need to be there.
• To make the goals reflective of what is currently happening.

Something else that is important to do is to let them know you wish to remain active in the IEP during the year.  Meaning: let the school know you wish to meet again.  Perhaps in a month or so to simply check in on the goals.  I have been known to request a quick check in type meeting every month.   Again, not always a popular choice but one that assures me that I will not miss something that should be addressed.  I have also found that even if you cannot meet physically, a phone call can work as well.

So now, after all this, one of the things I found really helps is to make copies of the letters and have them placed in the teachers’ mailboxes … Oops, that really dates me, doesn’t it?  What I meant to say was to EMAIL the letters to the teachers staff and therapists. To make sure all will get them and read them, I ask that they email me back to acknowledge they have received the letters.

Because we all know that speech and language goals have hard fought victories, I have found that the sharing of reports from therapist to therapist is pretty great.  So if you have had outside speech therapy over the summer, it is so helpful if that therapist would copy her records and you can get them to the school therapist. This way, once again, all the dots are connected.

It does seem like so much prep work, but please trust me, that the work to undo, fix, or arrange a full on IEP meeting while in  a crisis will be so much more!!!

I am hoping those letters are filled with stories of beautiful words said by your child, fun summer experiences and successes to share!

Wishing everyone a peaceful start to the new school year.

-Michele Gianetti

Michele writes for TalkTools Blog every month about her experience caring for Elizabeth, her daughter with Sensory Processing Disorder and Dyspraxia. Follow her story since the beginning here.

So many parents, at this time of year, find themselves throwing out old notebooks, half used crayons, semi-dried-out markers, ripped folders all with the excited feeling that it is summer! Time to just relax. Right?

Well, if you have a child with special needs, that time of sheer freedom does not arrive in quite the same way.

True, you have a bit less of a rigid schedule, a bit less to prepare for each day, but to simply throw out the old school stuff and grab a magazine, lawn chair and plan what to grill for dinner is not how it plays out, at least in my experience.

If you ask anyone who knows me what I love the most, they would answer when my children are home. So of course, I greeted summer with a happy heart, and of course I tossed many a backpack into the corner of the hallway, but then I turned my thoughts on how to make summer fun while still meeting the goals and needs of Elizabeth.

So how did I do it and truthfully continue to do it?

Well, I think one thing I do is to spend some time thinking about some of the goals from Elizabeth’s new IEP that I would like to focus on during summer. And since we adjust her IEP in the Spring, I could use it as a bit of a guide. Once I have some ideas I try to visualize how I can slip them into the day.

Then I think of the things I wish to put into our everyday schedule, like instead of the TV in the afternoon, we would have some music time or some quiet reading time. For those who are younger, we would color or do play dough. Just something to calm ourselves, especially Elizabeth who needs this calming time, and to take a break from the “go” of the day. This is usually around three or four in the afternoon.

We also build in a bit of rest time. So after lunch, we all go to our neutral corners to either watch a video (them, not me) or rest (me, not them).

Of course, there are trips to the park, pool and friends’ houses in our days but I like having this loose structure because then you can build in the therapy play around it.

Something that I think is important is to know that therapy can be built into the play or activities of the average day. And this holds true for speech therapy as well. It’s just that you have to see each thing you do as a potential learning time and/or find ways to incorporate therapy without making it a “therapy time.”

For example, something we did to help with Elizabeth’s oral motor work was to blow horns. We would get a number of different ones like the ones of TalkTools Original Horn Kit.  We would sit on the driveway, put a CD in the player and have fun blowing horns to the songs. I would encourage deep breaths and proper lip placement but after that, it was just fun to do this. Emily, our oldest, loved it too and she and Elizabeth would especially love Horn #4, that has the little spinney thing on top.  So we actually bought Emily her own set of horns to use to eliminate any fighting amongst the ranks.

So see, you get the oral motor work, breathing, fresh air and all the while it is fun.

Something else that is fun is to be on the driveway or deck and to bring out the bubbles.  We used to have the largest supply of bubble soap in the neighborhood and ours were even scented! Anyway, we had big wands to use standing up and this would work her whole body to turn and twist and to run after the bubbles to pop them. Then we would use TalkTools Bubble Bear to have her work on her ability to blow bubbles. The face of the bear made it fun. I would actually look forward to this because it was simply fun … but still therapy. One caveat is that you need bubble soap that makes good bubbles, like TalkTools Bubble Refill. This instant gratification is critical when a child is working so hard to make it work.

Even when bringing your child a fun, summer drink, remember that using certain straws, such as those of TalkTools Straw Kit, will help work with your oral motor goals.

If you are working on language skills, remember the rides in the car are great places to talk, to use descriptive language as you do errands, to ask questions of your child and to help verbally highlight words they may say incorrectly.

If your child needs help with knowing left or right, this can be worked on when driving as well.

For those times when more concentrated work needs done, say with oral stimulation like with Toothettes or lemon swabs and perhaps some work with letters or words, I have found that a visual schedule is so very helpful. It lets the child see just what you have planned for the session and allows them to see what comes next. Which will hopefully help with the transition from one thing to the next. And in the case of Elizabeth, knowing when she was DONE was huge to her.

I made my own schedule chart but one that I love and only wish I had when we were early on in our journey with Elizabeth is the TalkTools Schedule Board Kit.  I offer that using one of these is something that is so worth considering.

There really is so much you can do, these of course are just a few that we did. Maybe they will help get some ideas flowing. Please feel free to comment with questions or additional summer speech therapy schedule ideas below.

I wish everyone a happy, safe, productive summer. Ours begins tomorrow and I will again toss a backpack or two and then look to having a fun time as Elizabeth and I begin our 18^th summer together.

Blessing to all.

-Michele Gianetti 

Michele writes for TalkTools Blog every month about her experience caring for Elizabeth, her daughter with Sensory Processing Disorder and Dyspraxia. Follow her story since the beginning here.