3 years - parental concerns

Parental input to IEP goals - 3 years old, transition from Early Intervention

Before each IEP meeting we prepare a letter for our IEP team, which we send out couple of weeks before the meeting. This is our annual review - we comment on what we think was achieved, we raise our concerns, and we propose our goals for next year. With each year we are getting better at this and so our letter has more details every time. The purpose of making a list with our goals is not for all our goals to be used in the IEP (although we would loved it, it never happened). The purpose is for the school to know that we are serious about the upcoming meeting and that we are prepared. We have thought carefully about what was achieved and even more carefully about what our son should do next. We want the school to know that we have high expectations for the coming year and expect appropriate goals.

This document was sent to the team before the IEP meeting.  

Input to IEP implementation
It is our goal and great concern that parents will have regular and meaningful communication with school specialists to support The Student’s carry-over of skills to and from school. We expect that clear and practical methods for this communication will be included in The Student’s IEP and used consistently for all parties’ benefit.

Gross Motor Skills
We expect that by the end of the 2011-2012 academic year The Student will run, jump and walk up and down the stairs unassisted (with rail support). He is showing emerging skills in all these activities. We expect he will learn and practice play skills such as kicking and throwing a ball and other appropriate playground activities.

The parents would like to make the specialist aware of a particular concern they have regarding The Student’s upper body strength. Given his diagnosed upper body hypotonia, we believe he is more prone than other children to bad posture and its attending complications. Possible effects such as neck, back and shoulder pain, plus temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, could negatively impact The Student’s performance in all aspects of his development and ultimately lower his school performance. We hope special attention will be paid to this concern and upper body strength strategies will be an integrant part of The Student’s physical therapy.

Fine Motor Skills
We expect that by the end of the 2011-2012 academic year The Student will demonstrate bilateral coordination through consistent two-handed play and self-help (Ex. hold plate with one hand and spoon with the other) activities. He will be able to self-feed using both spoon (emerging skill) and fork. He will use an open cup with no accidents. The Student will work on hand and finger strength and coordination. He will perform/imitate circular and linear scribbles with control, without assistance. The Student will develop pre-writing skills.

Please note the above parental concern (motor skill goals) regarding upper body strength, which has a particularly negative impact on fine motor skills. We hope the OT and PT specialists will work with the parents and suggest exercises and strategies that can be applied at home in daily activities.

Self Help
The Student will achieve independence through self-feeding (correct and consistent use of spoon and open cup), dressing and undressing himself, potty training and personal hygiene practices (brushing teeth, washing hands, and blowing his nose).

Speech and Language
We expect that by the end of the 2011-2012 academic year The Student will increase his spoken vocabulary to over 100 words, will follow complex directions consistently and use three word sentences (combination of sign and spoken language). Given how well The Student responds to peer modeling, we believe The Student would benefit from a small group therapy, in addition to individual therapy.

The Student shows a particular strength and interest in learning and using sign language for daily communication. We expect sign language to be an integrant part of The Student’s speech therapy. The parents have a particular concern regarding speech intelligibility. We hope the specialist will help us identify preemptive strategies to address this concern and improve The Student’s chance to achieve good speech clarity.

Educational Development
We expect that by the end of the 2011-2012 academic year The Student will recognize and name colors, shapes, numbers and letters. He is showing emerging skills in all these activities. He will practice matching and comparing, and show increased accuracy of these activities. He will work on concepts related to size, quantity, direction and opposites. He will increase his sight words vocabulary. He will be taught all necessary pre-literacy skills.