i apologize in advance - this is going to get long....but i know i have readers that will be interested in this info (hi there fam!)
today was jaden's yearly IEP meeting - where we (his regular classroom teacher, resource teacher & speech therapist, the principal & me) assess the past year, determine if he's progressing & meeting the goals set at last year's meeting, decide if he still qualifies for special education services, and set new goals for the upcoming year.....this meeting actually followed jaden's recent evaluation by the county schools that's done every 3 years - to evaluate his special education classification & make any necessary changes
the biggest thing was having his label/classification changed from "developmentally delayed & speech and language impairment" to "autistic - asperger's syndrome" since he was officially diagnosed last fall.....he's met or exceeded his goals set from last year (the school is great about having us set realistic goals) & he's met all of his benchmarks for 1st grade (including passing the PALS testing - 1st grade version of SOLS)....so moving on to 2nd grade is a go (duh, i already knew that)! ;0) it was mentioned that they'd considered the possibility of him attending another elementary school in the area that has an autism program, but they feel he's too high functioning and that it wouldn't be beneficial - i agree! he's done so well where he's at and we really love our school & teachers!
jaden currently spends 72% of his day in a regular classroom & we all think it's best to keep things as is....of course, new goals were set & he'll always receive special accommodations in class (seated in the front, having directions repeated to him by the teacher, quiet time to cool down if needed, etc.), and for test taking (taken in a small group, can have instructions repeated, the teacher can even fill in the bubbles on those kind of tests since jaden might be more interested in filling in a pattern, rather than filling in the correct answers, etc.)
he was assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, a Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration & the Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale.....here are some of the findings (assessments done by county psychologist)....
"Jaden's intellectual ability was assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Consistent with previous findings, his nonverbal reasoning abilities are much better developed than his verbal reasoning abilities. Processing complex visual information without using words is a strength for Jaden, while making sense of complex verbal information & using verbal abilities to solve novel problems are a significant weakness for him. Jaden's Verbal Comprehension Index of 65 is in the extremely low range for a child his age, while is perceptual reasoning index of 102 is well within the average range for a student his age.
Jaden's visual-motor integration skills are quite well-developed for a student his age. His performance on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, a paper/pencil copying task, places him in the superior range, at the 96th percentile, compared with other students his age.
Jaden's skills in working memory are low average for a student his age. His ability to sustain attention, concentrate & exert mental control is at the 21st percentile, compared with age mates. Jaden's skills in processing speed are poor, within lower limits of the borderline range, for his age. This composite measures his ability to quickly and accurately process routine visual material. This weakness is the speed of processing routine information may make the task of comprehending novel information more time-consuming & difficult for Jaden.
Jaden's general and special education teachers completed Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scales to assess his behaviors & characteristics in relation to a diagnosis of asperger's. All 3 raters endorsed items which resulted in quotient scores of 95 & above, indicating a high probability of asperger's. They all indicated that he has difficulties in social interactions & he demonstrates eccentric forms of behavior and preoccupation with specific subjects. He also has difficulty with pragmatic skills, such as understanding slang expressions & identifying when someone is teasing."
one other evaluation (my favorite) that was done was a classroom observation by the principal....i found out he actually sat in on jaden's class when they were working on
this science project....here's what the principal had to say....
"Jaden alternately laid his head down on his arms during the review, but did appear to be paying attention. When questioned several times during the science review, he answered correctly & added to the discussion. He was able to identify specific animals that fit into each category (he did seem to be fixated on bats, however). Jaden demonstrated a VAST knowledge of each animal group (characteristics and animals in each group). He was able to describe what an exoskeleton is! He also worked intently on the written assignment."
his speech therapy hasn't really been about helping him speak for quite a while....as his therapist said to me today, he's a very eloquent speaker & has a wide vocabulary now....but she'll continue to work with him on appropriate social interaction, and verbal comprehension in how it relates to conversation.....here's a excerpt from her evaluation....
"Jaden demonstrates numerous language strengths. He speaks using grammatically correct complete sentences & has a wide vocabulary. He can direct attention, make predictions, make comments on what he has seen/heard, and ask for assistance. With effort, Jaden will initiate & maintain eye contact with a listener, yet it appears that this skill is not natural for him. Jaden has difficulty answering questions, whether the question requires a 'yes/no' response or an explanation. He struggles to organize his thoughts to present information in an orderly manner & has difficulty explaining things in a logical sequential style. This is especially evident when he attempts to respond to 'how/why' questions. Jaden tends to perseverate on a particular topic of interest to him and at times, will interject items concerning this topic into conversations when it has no relevance."
in summary, his resource teacher said...
"Jaden displays average abilities overall, but has extreme difficulties in areas that involve listening, spoken language, and verbal comprehension."
it is always great getting to not only catch up on jaden's progress with everyone at once, but to also hear stories about jaden & his life at school....his resource teacher is pregnant, expecting a boy....she said yesterday, jaden said,
"you still have that baby in your belly" then he started tapping the side of his head with his index finger & said,
"hmmmm, so what should we name him?".....his speech therapist said that the other day, jaden came up to her on the playground & said,
"i've got good news & i've got bad news. first, for the good news..." then he went on to tell her something about dragons.....then he said,
"next, the bad news...." and again, he went on to tell her something about dragons - only something totally different than "the good news" - so it had to be bad, right? ~lol~
even though they're not recommending he attend, we've enrolled jaden in summer school (as we do every year)....he'll be in a regular class only (no special ed accommodations) - it's only for a half day, and just for a few weeks....and it's right before school starts back up in the fall....hey, it can't hurt - and who couldn't use a refresher course right before getting back into full swing again?
i know this post is already long enough....but in thinking about my precious son today, i realized i never shared his sweet mother's day card with you....
the little colored pictures are magnets
♥ he & i ♥
his note to me....the gingabaminga is my dragon - at least that's what he tells me....he says we all have our own, and mine is called gingabaminga - pronounced just like it's spelled!
the flower blanket that he's referring to is what he calls the
flower bed that we just planted (get it? bed/blanket ~lol~)....he & i started tilling up the soil by ourselves the evening before the whole fam helped complete it....he must have thought that was some special bonding for us - i did too ;0)
