Obama wasn't kidding when he said Change had arrived.
And it isn't just true for the country.

This week marks the end of my teaching time, and counseling practicum officially begins on Monday, January 26th. Natalie begins therapy on March 5. Maria's speech instruction is coming to a close, and piano lessons are o the horizon. And for Jarod, with his IEP on February 5, things are looking to possibly change even more.

Shari Hart, the district's autism consultant, called me today to chat. Jarod is due for his three year evaluation. They are doing a full assessment on him. His IEP is scheduled for Feb. 5. But this is particularly important because the autism program in elementary goes K-2. Once they hit third grade, they have to be pretty independent in order to stay at Traeger. If they cannot, they are usually shipped back out to the CD program.

The issues Shari was concerned about are his serious lack of socialization at school--really isolating himself, no friends to speak of, though thankfully he's unaware of that. However, once third grade comes, the kindness of students tends to wear off and they aren't so tolerant anymore. She's worried that in regular classes he might be a target. Also, she is concerned about how dependent he is on the para, Mary. He relies on her all the time, and it's her efforts that keep him going at school. They often aren't sure how much he processes without her. So yes, he can do the work, but he needs cues and lots of extra time. He is pulled out for speech, special help with literacy, and math is likely to follow soon.

So we talked about what CDB would mean (it is the less severe--it stands for Cognitive Disability-Borderline). He may not even have to have his label changed (from autism). But it would mean he would go to school at Emmeline Cook, where my good friends Julie Anderson and Amy Sippert are. They talk a blue streak about the CDB teacher, how great she is, so that's a plus. Shari said he'd still be able to be involved in regular ed, but would have more pull out and smaller groups. She said it would cater to his need for more processing time, and that smaller groups might help him socially, not to mention the fact he wouldn't have to drive across town everyday. But then she said they could maybe make all of those arrangements at Traeger, too.

When the IEP happens on the 5th, we're going to do goals and discuss tentative placement. Since there's a semester left, we may call an interim IEP meeting to discuss placement only sometime in May, if it's needed.

I'm not sure which way things will go. We have time, we need to look at all the data, and we need to keep in mind what's best for Jarod's needs. I'm a huge proponent for inclusion (especially since Jarod behaves so much more appropriately when spending time with his regula ed peers), but third grade gets tougher. If he needs the extra time and a smaller setting (for pull out times), perhaps that is something to consider as well. Lots to think and pray about.

After the winter comes the spring. And hopefully some light will be shed so we can help Jarod blossom as I know he can.