Join Angela, Axel, Abel, Amos, Audrey and Asher as they welcome their new sibling home.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Meeting with the school district

Today the special ed. reps from the school district came to the house. Axel LOVED having new people here.

So, we have come up with a plan! First, we'll spend the month of January getting assessments done to figure out just where he's at. Of course the reports are always a deficiency model, and it won't even be completely accurate since he doesn't have a primary language. If he spoke or understood Serbia, we would assess him using that language. But he doesn't have Serbia, nor does he have enough ASL for it to be a good model. The end reports will be talking about the things he cannot do, but this is only a tiny picture of who Axel is. It will also give us a good baseline to measure by. Won't it be fascinating to test him a year from now and see how much he's gained?

Once the assessment is done we'll discuss the most appropriate placement for him, and how best to start him on his educational career given his chronological age PLUS his developmental age.

I'm so excited for Axel to be starting school. It's going to be fun watching him blossom with all the new things he's going to experience!

2 comments:

  1. where will you send him to school?

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  2. @Lynda: I'm not yet sure where he'll go to school. Based on his communication needs I'd like to send him to the full-immersion ASL program in Bursville, but that's 917 so it would involved an agreement between the two districts. Once his assessments are done we'll be able to make a better decision in what would be the most appropriate model, but I can tell you right now there is no program in 196 that uses enough sign to keep up with the rate he's picking up signs! I don't just want him with an aid who signs, because that will limit his ability to freely interact with the other students. If he's in a full-immersion program interaction can be free and natural. But, that's just my thoughts at this time. I might change my mind once we get hearing aids on him.

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