Here we go
We finally have a date for the boy's 504 meeting -- Monday! I'm freaking out just a little because I feel like there is so much stuff I have to cram into my head before then. I really need to take some time this weekend to write out some goals and strategies and whatnot.
Most of the books I've read have been SUPREMELY unhelpful when it comes to advice on how to write a Section 504 plan. Typically the advice consists of: don't do it. Get an IEP instead. Uh, thanks? We may end up having to push for one eventually, but in the meantime, it would be nice to have some ACTUAL strategies for the 504 meeting. Since the boy is fortunately so high functioning in so many areas (except for the ones where he's really SEVERELY impaired, like organization and reading nonverbal cues), we have the luxury of being able to try out a few things and establish a paper trail on what works and what doesn't. So yeah, it would be nice to have some acknowledgement in the literature that sometimes it's okay to TRY the 504 route before you get all up in the school's grill with hearings and consultants and whatnot, particularly when MOST of your kid's needs are already being met.
But what do I know? I'm just THE PARENT.
The boy also has an appointment with Dr. H today, the first one in about six weeks (we had one scheduled for a couple of weeks ago, but the doc had to reschedule). I honestly think the boy is doing great and wonder if maybe we should just put Dr. H on call if any problems come up rather than keeping a regularly scheduled appointment with him. I guess I'll talk to him about it at today's appointment.
Other than that, things are moving right along. The only issue the boy is having lately is remembering to bring home his homework. He finally gets caught up, then he forgets it for a couple of days in a row and we start all over again. His teacher is supposed to be helping with this but that's the main reason for the 504 meeting/plan -- to get an ACTUAL plan for dealing with this on paper so that everyone on the boy's "team" can reinforce it using the same procedures and the same language. Because that's what he needs -- rote routine and consistency.
The girl is doing very well in school this year but her spelling is still a major issue. At the end of first grade, she was on the low end of the "normal" range for spelling for her age group. The assumption was that she would catch up in second grade, but that never happened because frankly she had a horrible teacher. Now her third grade teacher, who is wonderful and as I mentioned before was the boy's teacher for this grade, is concerned and THANK GOODNESS someone up there finally is. We've come up with a temporary plan to help her catch up, and I really hope it works. Today is her first spelling test since putting the plan into place so I'm really curious to see how she does.
I've been trying to spend a lot of extra time with the girl lately and it seems to have done wonders for her mood. DH and the kids got me the first three seasons of Bewitched on DVD for my birthday last week, and so the girl and I have been watching them together. This has led to a lot of discussions about what things were like when I was a kid, which the girl loves for some reason. She is so funny!
Most of the books I've read have been SUPREMELY unhelpful when it comes to advice on how to write a Section 504 plan. Typically the advice consists of: don't do it. Get an IEP instead. Uh, thanks? We may end up having to push for one eventually, but in the meantime, it would be nice to have some ACTUAL strategies for the 504 meeting. Since the boy is fortunately so high functioning in so many areas (except for the ones where he's really SEVERELY impaired, like organization and reading nonverbal cues), we have the luxury of being able to try out a few things and establish a paper trail on what works and what doesn't. So yeah, it would be nice to have some acknowledgement in the literature that sometimes it's okay to TRY the 504 route before you get all up in the school's grill with hearings and consultants and whatnot, particularly when MOST of your kid's needs are already being met.
But what do I know? I'm just THE PARENT.
The boy also has an appointment with Dr. H today, the first one in about six weeks (we had one scheduled for a couple of weeks ago, but the doc had to reschedule). I honestly think the boy is doing great and wonder if maybe we should just put Dr. H on call if any problems come up rather than keeping a regularly scheduled appointment with him. I guess I'll talk to him about it at today's appointment.
Other than that, things are moving right along. The only issue the boy is having lately is remembering to bring home his homework. He finally gets caught up, then he forgets it for a couple of days in a row and we start all over again. His teacher is supposed to be helping with this but that's the main reason for the 504 meeting/plan -- to get an ACTUAL plan for dealing with this on paper so that everyone on the boy's "team" can reinforce it using the same procedures and the same language. Because that's what he needs -- rote routine and consistency.
The girl is doing very well in school this year but her spelling is still a major issue. At the end of first grade, she was on the low end of the "normal" range for spelling for her age group. The assumption was that she would catch up in second grade, but that never happened because frankly she had a horrible teacher. Now her third grade teacher, who is wonderful and as I mentioned before was the boy's teacher for this grade, is concerned and THANK GOODNESS someone up there finally is. We've come up with a temporary plan to help her catch up, and I really hope it works. Today is her first spelling test since putting the plan into place so I'm really curious to see how she does.
I've been trying to spend a lot of extra time with the girl lately and it seems to have done wonders for her mood. DH and the kids got me the first three seasons of Bewitched on DVD for my birthday last week, and so the girl and I have been watching them together. This has led to a lot of discussions about what things were like when I was a kid, which the girl loves for some reason. She is so funny!
posted by Miss Anthrope at 6:25 AM
<< Home