Important meetings in the next couple of weeks.

If you remember back in September, I posted about our initial IEP meeting with the new school district. Well, our two months are coming to an end now. It's hard to believe my baby is almost 2 months into Kindergarten. I wish I could say that Caitlyn is doing wonderfully in school and that she has proven her ability to be in a general ed classroom. The truth is, it has been a very rough 2 months. I don't think it is in any way a true portrayal of Caitlyn's true abilities. It is frustrating and exhausting. She loves being in school, and the other kids love having her there. BOTH of her teachers are amazing. I know in my heart that my reasons for wanting her in a general education classroom has nothing to do with me doubting her true abilities. I know this, but at the same time I find myself wondering what is really best for her. I want her to have relationships and be accepted by the other kids, but I also want her to have a successful academic foundation. I am finding that the other kids can't help but be accepting to Caitlyn. I had a mom tell me that her daughter loves being able to sit next to Caitlyn! Caitlyn gets to go with her general education class to the pumpkin farm on Wednesday! She is going to have a blast, I'm sure...but mommy is terrified!

Back to those important meetings. Thursday October 30th, we will meet with the team to go over the results of the recent evaluations. This has me a little down. I try to keep in mind that the effects of Rett Syndrome on Caitlyn leave her unable to preform on a standard evaluation. She did relatively well. I was allowed to be there and help out with the evals, and for that I am grateful. We showed them how we sing "Old McDonald Had a Farm." Those that have seen Susan Norwell may find this familiar. Caitlyn picks the animal we sing about, and mommy sings. If Caitlyn looks away, I stop singing. She knows that if she looks back to me, I'll continue singing. She giggles and points at the animal the whole time. I think the eval team really enjoyed seeing that! The eval was hard for me. I have no doubt that Caitlyn knew a lot of what they were asking her to do, I think it was just too hard to make her body do it! My heart hurts for her, but she is such a good sport about it, and doesn't seem to be bothered! I know that Caitlyn is not at a 5yr old level developmentally. I am hoping to hear her put at atleast a 3 yr old level in one or more areas. If nothing else, it will show a developmental progression since diagnosis! Keep these numbers in mind, until I come back to update after that meeting. At 18 months, Caitlyn's receptive and expressive language evaluations placed her at a 9-10 month level. Please pray for our strength while we receive the results of her evaluations at 5 yrs.

On November 5th, we will go in again for the official IEP meeting to discuss permanent placement for the remainder of the year, as well as fine tuning her IEP goals. I want Caitlyn to be successful...That is ultimately my goal. I want whatever comes out of that meeting to full reflect the needs and abilities of Caitlyn. I will be sure to update everyone after this meeting!

Last month our family became victim to the economic downfall when Eric was layed off from his job. He is still without work, and looking hard. In the mean time, I have gone back to work. I am an Assistant Site Director for a before and after school YMCA program. I am really hoping that this will lead to a full time Site Director position in the near future! After one week, I am enjoying my position. I have also taken on a volunteer position, which you will have to wait to hear about!

I sent Eric to the store for batteries, so be on the look out for pictures in the near future!