The IEP

We had Eon's first IEP last week. Whew. I was a wreck before hand, having read/heard all kinds of horror stories. I really didn't know what we wanted for him, so that was worrisome, as well.

I am a huge proponent of inclusion for school, but the first year of preschool seems more like an extension of early intervention to me, versus actual school. 

Eon scored so well (average) on social skills. He had no problems attending to and participating in group activities. I know he would do very well in a typical preschool setting. What I didn't know was whether or not he would be pushed to excel in that setting. My fear was that they would think he was cute and tend to baby him. 

My sister is an OT in the school system. She has seen that first hand. She's watched as a child with Down syndrome was allowed to skate and not required to hang up his backpack or stay in line with the other kids. She's not sure if they just excused him because he's cute or if they just had lower expectations for him.

Eon needs to be pushed. He will do the minimum he can get away with. :) We know Miss Elaine, the developmental preschool teacher won't let that fly. So, when they recommended developmental preschool initially, with the option to move to community preschool when we feel he's ready, we jumped at it. We feel it's a good plan and fits his needs.

I freely admit to tearing up when they started discussing the bus, though. I'm just not sure I'm ready to put my three-year-old on a school bus and watch it drive away. They recommended starting with sending him home on it. That way, he can just get on it with his friends. I got the feeling they've dealt with sappy moms before. We'll see. I can totally see me stalking the bus the first time he rides it.

Some other good things about the meeting were that they seemed to really like him, which every parent enjoys hearing, and, the psychologist seemed to have a good grasp on how limited IQ testing is, especially for kids with decreased communication like Eon. I was prepared to tell him all of that, so it was nice to have him beat me to it. 

Overall, it went well. The only surprise was that he starts a full week earlier than I'd anticipated. A week from tomorrow. Just ONE week.  When he's still only TWO. Sigh. I don't think I'm ready for this.