[blindkid] IEP / update

Wed Nov 26 21:21:28 UTC 2008

Doreen,
I'm glad to hear that you are working with the district to meet your daughter's needs. I would like for you to re-think the issue of the cane. You can order a cane from the NFB website. Put it in a place where she can get it whenever she wants. Allow her to get used to how it feels. You can allow her to take it outside and tap objects for identification. You could also tell her about the different sounds the cane makes when she taps the grass, or a tree, or a sidewalk...Make the cane fun for her and she'll realize how beneficial it will be as she grows.
Just my two cents.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Kim Cunningham
--- On Wed, 11/26/08, Doreen Franklin <theconelady at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Doreen Franklin <theconelady at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] IEP / update
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 1:08 PM

Stacy and all ...
I spoke with the ESE director yesterday and he said to email him all of our
"concerns" that had not been addressed (simple changes/corrections
that needed to be made, questions answered from all of the evals and IEP's).
That went to him yesterday so we are waiting to see what the outcome of that
will be. There was a lot more than I remembered from a month ago ... but they
are now in his hands. If there is no satisfaction, I will go to DoE (I have been
in contact with someone there) and further if needed.

We have a meeting with the TVI and TVI/O&M to review/rewrite the goals on
Wed, Dec 3 (we are only allowed to stay till 3:30 when their school day is over,
and with my hubby's schedule at work, we will not be able to get there till
about 2:15). Our next IEP meeting is Mon, Dec 8. I am hoping we can agree on the
goals on the 3rd so that on the 8th, we can accept the IEP!  (but I am not
holding my breath).

We did pull her out of Head Start, so now the vision sessions will have to be
done with me as we go to the public school. I am interested to see if the TVI
has "a bag of goodies, toys, etc" to play with as she has done 2
observations for Torrie's 30 minutes a month (Sept. & Oct) and
then in Nov, she played on the computer with my daughter (but have no progress
note yet as to exactly what was done -- I am sure I will have more questions on
that). 

For now, since she is home, we are just going to fill her with everyday
experiences as well as continuing to read in print and Braille (we are doing
some pre-Braille things as well as reading twin vision books from the Jernigan
library and she LOVES it!). Today, she and I made a coffee cake (from a box)
for breakfast tomorrow and fresh cranberry sauce -- she even soaked up some of
the sauce on her plate with her peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Since she
will be home and when we will be out, we will be holding her hand, I am going
to let the cane go for now ... and as we approach the end of the year
(April-May), then I will see if a cane may be in order. I will continue to push
for Braille now because I am not sure of the fatigue, lighting (she is light
sensitive), clutter and spacing on paper, ...how they will affect her as she
gets older and the print shrinks and she has to read more for school. This
will be the big mountain we have to get
 over. But I put this in the email and included the thoughts that hubby and I
have had ... that they are trying to fit her into a mold instead of being an
individual ... and they are only looking at her acuity and not taking any of her
other diagnoses into account. So we will see what happens next. 

I am going to request O&M services for her spatial awareness when talking
to others - she is on top of you and does not always look at you when speaking
to you. That I know is one of the O&M things we need to work on. And I am
keeping my log of her tripping and bumping into things. If it escalates, then I
will recall the IEP team and insist on O&M services if we do not get any on
the 8th. 

Our district is the one where the kindergarten teacher voted the child out of
class ... that's us. So I know they have a lot on their plate with the
lawsuit there ... but my child needs to have her INDIVIDUAL services that she
needs! So we will continue to advocate for Torrie! 

We thank all for your thoughts ... please keep them coming. And we hope
everyone has a very blessed Thanksgiving!!!!

Doreen

--- On Tue, 11/25/08, Stacy Lemmon <slemmonrn at spotlight-music.com> wrote:

From: Stacy Lemmon <slemmonrn at spotlight-music.com>
Subject: [blindkid] IEP
To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 2:06 PM

Doreen~

Oh, we have walked this path. Our daughter has a congenital eye anomaly...she
is not blind, but it is likely degenerative. She just turned 5 last week. My
concern was as the years progressed and the print got smaller in school, she
would not be able to keep up, and with her nystagmus she would tucker out. 
They
REFUSED Braille instruction, we had several meetings where I left crying.  I
had
someone from the NFB go with us...how quickly the story changed. It turned in
to
"what goals do you want on her IEP?". It was so frustrating and
degrading to us.  We were deemed uneducated and easy targets...not any more.  

Adison uses a cane, that we did not have to fight for, our TVI started her at
age 3. She does fairly well with it.

Keep up the good fight. I'm always on the defensive and I will not shed any
more tears over those yahoos at the IU or school district.

Hang in,
Stacy
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