I have another round of IEP's. In the state where I live we have to do an evaluation every three years to make sure that a child on the spectrum is allowed Autism Services. No matter how much Doodle will progress in life, she will always have autism. Just like she will always have a birth mark. Most parents don't want their child to have autism and it's something they think of as a stigma. To me I don't feel that way. Maybe in the future I can say she made it to where she is because of her autism. She sees the world differently. She feels the world differently. She is in this world and experiences it far differently then I do.
Last month 4 days before the Thanksgiving holiday I was in an IEP meeting to assess if Doodle would be eligible for Autism Services. Reviewing all the paperwork, she was no longer eligible do to the testing scores that were submitted from the school that I bent over backwards to get Doodle out of. It was a horrible school. I'll just admit it here, cluesslessness all the way around! From the principal to the teacher and para's. There are people out there that have a heart for it but aren't doing it for the right reason's. If that makes sense. Doodle's true miracle worker of a teacher changed her view not for just trying to teach children with disabilities but to actually help children with disabilities. She wanted her children to be able to help themselves in the event that they found themselves in an emergency situation.
Doodle used to know her telephone number and tell you the names of her parents. She was also able to tell you her name and where she lived. Yeah, it took a bit for the info to come out and you had to be patient. But it's something that every child should be able to do if they can. Doodle used to be one of those children that couldn't speak. She had to be pushed even on days that she didn't want to be pushed, she was still pushed to learn, to speak to write to think. And for that I am eternally grateful. I still insist on that to this day. I don't care if she wants to draw all day and screech, it's not something I want her to do. Disruptions like that in a regular ed classroom is not tolerated. And it shouldn't be tolerated in a special ed classroom.
Back to the task at hand. The previous school submitted testing scores from regular ed tests. Doodle is suppose to be tested on special ed test. They are geared towards the child's disability. If the child has no speech and can't use their hands but can look at specific things with their eyes, that's how they are to be tested. If a child on the spectrum can't read but can relate through pictures, that's how they are to be tested. If they don't test well and need to have the questions read to them, that's how they are to be tested. And so on and so on. It's testing but geared to the disability. And with the testing that was submitted it meant that I would have to start the process all over again every 3 years, instead of just reviewing it and saying yes or no.
Paperwork, seriously all the paperwork. And that's what I had to do. Redo all the paperwork that was related all the way back to when Doodle was first diagnosed. Doodle was diagnosed at age 3 and next month she will be turning 12. That's a long time to remember back and the way my memory seems to be going now it's not so cool since my accident last year around this time or just a little after this time. I've lost a lot of memory at the time of the accident. There is no way I can keep doing that every three years. So yeah the old school screwed me over. They screwed Doodle over by not teaching her but taught her aggression and violence that wasn't cool.
And now you see why parents have to fight so much. Hey I did get the paperwork in before Thanksgiving, though I will admit it like to have killed me. (Not really, but I hate doing paperwork that has been done before). So the paperwork was turned in and Doodle was retested correctly. All info will stay on file and it will be used to review as in, we have progressed from here let's try another level or she didn't do to hot on this level let's make sure she stays at the level that she does well at. Cause the testing for special ed is done at levels. And if I remember correctly I have gone over all this before.
Yesterday when Doodle came home from school I received that IEP request that the testing had been completed and it was time to come in and say yes or no on if Doodle is still eligible for Autism Services. I can't complain about this process, as I have a friend who's children are being tested just to see if they are eligible for Doodle's school. And that's why there is a 2 year waiting list. Again, I didn't have to wait on a two year waiting list. I pushed and I pushed hard to get Doodle out of that school. I didn't have to wait on the list for two years. And yeah, I have friends who are waiting to get into Doodle's school because it's the best in the county for special needs children.
Anyways, the testing is done and next week I will be having my actual IEP to see if she still qualifies. I know that she will because she's still riding on a bad regression. She's not fully out of it and I'm not happy. Well, now you are all caught up and I need to get back to making products for the magazine.
See you guys on the flip side.
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