Today

*photo taken on her 7th birthday this past June, at her cousin's house (she had just learned how to appreciate goggles!)*

Today -

1) MamaBear (my alter-ego, when MommyBear is not as relaxed as she should be!) took half a day off of work to go to NBear's annual IEP.

2) MamaBear and the Huz found out that NBear has met many of the academic goals that her IEP had stated. *yeah*...although we heard the usual, "She is great at reading, BUT needs work with comprehension!" (So do my 4th graders....I thought to myself...)

3) We reiterated the need to keep her on a GFCF diet, and that she could not indulge in the same snacks her other classmates had, if they contained the dreaded ingredients. This was the part I hated because we had to bring up the whole biomeds program, since her principal and BMT supervisor were there - (You know, the Jenny McCarthy story? Oh, I see you're not familiar with it. Well, it is OUTSIDE the umbrella of the typical way people "treat" autism, and it involves believing that your child can make huge gains - which we have definitely seen - with supplements and chelation.......)

Let me just tell you, that no matter how convinced you are that you know what's best for your child, you will always feel like you're saying the wrong thing when you get nods and confused stares in return.

Oh well. :)

4) We learned that she still had her fits during mainstreaming, and would sometimes go to the bathroom and dilly-dally in the hallway to avoid having to do the work that was assigned! Needless to say, the Huz meekly added "I think she got that from me..."

5) I smiled to myself at how far she has come.

6) I thought it'd be nice to share that with you:)

....nite.

Now I know my ABA...

NBear is currently with R downstairs, doing her ABA Therapy. We are very fortunate to have this program available for her through the school district. (Means it's FREE!) As a public school teacher, I know firsthand that public schools are required BY LAW to provide the best possible services for your child's needs - whether or not your child is part of the Special Education program.

The catch-22 is this: without appropriate funding and resources, the service cannot be adequately provided. In laymen's terms: the law gives you the right to demand services appropriate for your child as written in his or her IEP; however, if what your child deserves is not readily available due to lack of funds, or (worse) lack of experienced staff, you are left with only two choices:

1) leave for greener pastures and/or fork out your own dinero to obtain services

2) play the waiting game (which can mean loss of critical time for your little one!)and hope the school hires the "expert" asap

.....or three (I'm doing this last-minute add!).....hire a lawyer whose specialty rests in getting your child those services!

~ I've been "lucky" enough to have witnessed these three things happen to different parents. Keep in mind, it may not always be for their own good. :(

Our perfect example was when one of NBear's classmate's mom (with me so far?) hired a lawyer to make sure that the teacher in their SDC room had a credential that was specific to teaching children with autism. Well, long story short, the teacher NBear already HAD was so much better than the new one that was hired. We weren't happy the first teacher was going to leave in the first place - even if Mrs.RKW wasn't carrying "THE CREDENTIAL", she had the heart and soul of an angel, and loved those kids enough to make significant progress with them. Needless to say, we didn't feel the same about the new one at all. In fact, I doubt "teacher #2" will be coming back for another year.....where's the love in that?