Assessment Results Are In!

Happy Friday everyone!! I will cut right to the chase. We met with the school district yesterday to talk through Jackson’s Special Education Assessment results and he QUALIFIES!!! Jackson will continue to receive therapy services through the school district upon hitting his 3rd birthday and phasing out from the First Steps Program. We walked through his IEP (Individualized Education Plan) and he will be getting 520 minutes per week of Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) Instruction, 60 min/week in Language Therapy, 40 min/week Physical Therapy and 60 minute/week Individual ECSE in a Part Time Early Childhood/Part Time Early Childhood Special Education setting.

We are beyond ecstatic that he will continue to receive the services he deserves and needs to grow, learn and thrive. We are happy that he will be part of an integrated classroom with Typical Developing and Special Needs students, so he can have some kiddos to look up to and mimic, but also to teach those kiddos acceptance, patience and kindness. I think all in that class can learn from each other in different ways. Thank you for all the prayers, good vibes and good thoughts you passed our way. We truly appreciate all of you, your love, friendship and support.

Throughout all of this, we also realize how lucky we have been during this transition period. I have said it before and I will continue to say it. This process is far from perfect. If anything, it is downright backwards and broken. As parents/family/friends of Special Needs kiddos we all need to be their voice and advocate for them. In Missouri, services and qualifications vary by school district. Some schools will say if you have ADD or ADHD you automatically qualify, but if you have a genetic disorder like Fragile X…which is in your DNA and can be tested for and has no cure, you must jump through hoops. How does that make any sense? In a lot of instances people will say to keep the government out of our lives and this is by no means meant to be a political post, but there needs to be some type of regulation when it comes to Special Education and the steps taken when it comes to Assessments, Acceptance Criteria, etc. Keep fighting for these children…I know we will!

XOXO