dar at bodega bay restaurant

So, we had an IEP scheduled for yesterday at 1:30. At noon I get a call while I’m teaching a class; I call back about 20 minutes later. Jennifer, Dar’s school speech therapist, is calling to tell me that she’d like to postpone the IEP, because their system has been down for the last 24 hours, so they can’t print the usual forms. I don’t bother to say “Why didn’t you print them earlier, so that you might have sent them to us before the day of?” Instead I explain that my wife has taken a valuable day off of work (half-truth), and we have already hired a special-needs-trained caregiver (3/4 true) for Dar for the afternoon and we can’t exactly cancel on her an hour beforehand (100% true).

So we have the IEP anyway, but it’s a mishmash of people being prepared and not, people committing to a future date and not, people wanting us to commit to certain goals for Dar and not. A little frustrating, but I guess we’re meeting again in October.

For what it’s worth, wifey and I were prepared. We had a list of all of his echoics and words. We also had some questions and suggestions for new goals based rigorously on their old goals for him. It went a LITTLE SOMETHING like this:

 

  1. He’s being pulled out of class way too often – what are we doing about that? What sort of behaviors lead to him being ejected, and what can we do? (Gum?) We’d like an ongoing record of how often he’s taken out of class.
  2. Last year Sophie said she would do about 50% time at his work station and 50% time integrated with the rest of the class. Is that still the rough calculation? And how much of each of those blocks get disrupted by him being ushered out of the classroom?
  3. What’s the methodology behind the goals? Let’s say that last year he was observed to do a given activity 5 out of 10 times, and we projected that by now he would be doing it 7 out of 10 times, and he’s *actually* now doing it 6 out of 10 times. What’s the new goal? 7 out of 10? 8 out of 10?
  4. What’s going on with Kaufman cards? What are the goals with those?
  5. How are his math skills? We read the March IEP assessment of him counting from 1 to 5 – how’s that going?
  6. What about state standards? For example, we noticed math sheets that Dar brought home about having 12 apples and taking away 2, that sort of thing. We don’t know that Dar has done anything on state standards and we’re not sure how long that can last, long-term.
  7. Help us define success/failure. We want his goals set high, but reasonable.
  8. We are skeptical that inclusion works for Dar.
  9. If Berkeley Unified is going to help with process of transferring Dar to a private school (or another school inside or outside the SELPA, one with different special-needs policies), what would the BUSD need to facilitate that? And what kind of timeline are we talking about? (For example, if transferring for Fall 2016, would March 2016 be too soon and June 2016 too late?)
  10. Does S/L 4 cover him saying “break” and not just screaming to be let out of class?
  11. Can we have a goal of him making fewer random noises at all times?
  12. Can we have a goal of him expressing his displeasure with tasks in ways other than raising his voice?
  13. Can we have a goal (if we don’t already) of him seeing the first 10 digits and identifying them? (Example: He sees “1” and says his approximation for “one.”)
  14. Based on your experience, how soon should we introduce a “letter board” for Dar? (In the 2000s these were done with an 8 ½ by 11 sheet with 26 letters on it; nowadays we would presume iPad.)
  15. Throwing things in class?
  16. Phasing out PECs?
  17. Plan is for him to go 1st grade next year?
  18. Tapping people instead of grabbing their hands?

 

 

Culled from IEP of 10/6/2014 and 3/9/2015

Measurable Annual Goal S/L 1

Functional Communication, Goal: By October 2015, upon seeing a variety of reinforcing items, Dar will go to communication book and select the picture from all available pictures and give to communicative partner before retrieving the item independently on 8 out of 10 opportunities as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Goal accomplished if picture is on iPad. We just need to make sure all extant Pecs or picture icons are on the iPad, as well as make sure that Dar knows to BRING the iPad to the adult and THEN make his selection.

Measurable Annual Goal S/L 2

Functional Communication, Goal: By October 2015, given the use of visual support, Dar will complete 5 classroom “jobs” (e.g. choose afternoon song, water plant of the day, breakfast helper) with no more than 1 verbal prompt as measured by teacher observation and charting.

By November 2014, Dar will independently choose a classroom job from a field of 2, place his chosen job on his topic board for the week and complete the job once per day with 4-5 physical/gestural/verbal prompts to complete two jobs total with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by teacher observations, data collection and/or student work samples.

By March 2015, Dar will independently choose a classroom job from a field of 2, place his chosen job on his topic board for the week and complete the job once per day with 2-3 physical/gestural/verbal prompts to complete two jobs total with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by teacher observations, data collection and/or student work samples.

By June 2015, Dar will independently choose a classroom job from a field of 2, place his chosen job on his topic board for the week and complete the job once per day with 1-2 physical/gestural/verbal prompts to complete two jobs total with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by teacher observations, data collection and/or student work samples.

Projected:

By November 2015, Dar will independently choose a classroom job from a field of 3, place his chosen job on his topic board for the week and complete the job once per day with 1-2 physical/gestural/verbal prompts to complete two jobs total with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by teacher observations, data collection and/or student work samples.

By March 2016, Dar will independently choose a classroom job from a field of 3, place his chosen job on his topic board for the week and complete the job once per day with 1-2 physical/gestural/verbal prompts to complete two jobs total with 90% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by teacher observations, data collection and/or student work samples.

By June 2016, Dar will independently choose a classroom job from a field of 4, place his chosen job on his topic board for the week and complete the job once per day with 1-2 physical/gestural/verbal prompts to complete two jobs total with 95% accuracy in 4 out of 5 opportunities as measured by teacher observations, data collection and/or student work samples.

Measurable Annual Goal S/L 3

Expressive Language, Goal: By October 2015, Dar will use 15-20 word/sound approximations in context across 3 different activities with 1-2 visual/verbal prompts with 80% accuracy on 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By November 2014, Dar will use 5 word/sound approximations across two different activities with verbal prompting as needed on 3 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By March 2015, Dar will use 10 word/sound approximations across two different activities with verbal prompting as needed on 3 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By June 2016, Dar will use 10-15 word/sound approximations across two different activities with verbal prompting as needed on 3 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Projected:

Short-Term Objective: By November 2015, Dar will use 20 word/sound approximations across two different activities with verbal prompting as needed on 3 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By March 2016, Dar will use 20-25 word/sound approximations across two different activities with verbal prompting as needed on 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By June 2016, Dar will use 30 word/sound approximations across two different activities with verbal prompting as needed on 4 out of 5 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

/t,d/ phonemes have been identified as problems, Kaufman cards as solutions

Measurable Annual Goal S/L 4

Expressive Language/Functional Communication: By October 2015, Dar will initiate the use of a “break” or “all done” icon with a corresponding verbal approximation with no more than 1 verbal prompt on 8 out of 10 trials as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By November 2014, Dar will choose a “break/all done” icon from a field of one prior to taking a scheduled break in his school day, with the corresponding break happening immediately following the choice, given 2-3 verbal prompts on 4 out of 5 occasions as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By March 2015, Dar will choose a “break/all done” icon from a field of 2 prior to taking a scheduled break in his school day, with the corresponding break happening immediately following the choice, given 2-3 verbal prompts on 4 out of 5 occasions as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By June 2015, Dar will choose a “break/all done” icon from a field of 2 prior to taking a scheduled break in his school day, with the corresponding break happening immediately following the choice, given 2-3 verbal prompts on 4 out of 5 occasions as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Projected:

Short-Term Objective: By November 2015, Dar will choose a “break/all done” icon from a field of 3 prior to taking a scheduled break in his school day, with the corresponding break happening immediately following the choice, given 2-3 verbal prompts on 4 out of 5 occasions as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By March 2016, Dar will choose a “break/all done” icon from a field of 3 prior to taking a scheduled break in his school day, with the corresponding break happening immediately following the choice, given 1-2 verbal prompts on 4 out of 5 occasions as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Short-Term Objective: By June 2016, Dar will choose a “break/all done” icon from a field of one prior to taking a scheduled break in his school day, with the corresponding break happening immediately following the choice, given 1 verbal prompt on 9 out of 10 occasions as measured by teacher observation and charting.

Measurable Annual Goal 1

Math, Goal: By October 6, 2015, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to five using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By November 6, 2014, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to two using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By March 6, 2015, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to three using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By June 6, 2015, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to four using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Projected:

Short-Term Objective: By November 6, 2015, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to six using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By March 6, 2016, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to eight using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By June 6, 2016, given a visual aid for each number and manipulatives (i.e. linking cubes, blocks, etc.), Dar will count to ten using verbal approximations for each number with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Verbal approximations have been noted.

Measurable Annual Goal 2

Language Arts, Goal: By October 6, 2015, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of three and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to match all 26 letters of the alphabet with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By November 6, 2014, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of three and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to 6 letters of the alphabet with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By March 6, 2015, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of three and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to match 12 letters of the alphabet with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By June 6, 2015, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of three and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to match all 18 [sic] letters of the alphabet with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Projected:

Short-Term Objective: By November 6, 2015, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of three and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to match all 26 upper-case letters of the alphabet and 13 lower-case letters with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By March 6, 2016, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of four and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to match 26 letters of the alphabet and 26 lower-case letters with 90% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Short-Term Objective: By June 6, 2016, given a field of three uppercase letters , one uppercase target letter, and one verbal prompt (i.e., “Match [letter]) [sic], Dar will identify the correct letter in the field of five and match to the given target letter (i.e. in field of A, B, C, match letter A to A, etc) to match 26 letters of the alphabet and 26 lower-case letters with 100% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials as measured by student work samples and/or data collection.

Measurable Annual Goal OT1

Pre-Writing, Goal: By 10/6/15, Dar will independently imitate a 4-inch long vertical, horizontal, and diagonal line with 80% accuracy in 4/5 trials as measured by teacher and therapist charted data and records.

Short-Term Objective: [By March 2015,] Give [sic] moderate verbal and physical prompts, Dar will trace a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal line with 75% accuracy in 4/5 trials.

Short-Term Objective: [By June 2015,] Given moderate verbal and physical prompts, Dar will trace a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal line with 75% accuracy in 4/5 trials.

Projected:

Short-Term Objective: By November 2015, given moderate verbal and physical prompts, Dar will trace a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal line with 80% accuracy in 4/5 trials.

Short-Term Objective: By March 2016, given moderate verbal and physical prompts, Dar will trace a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal line with 90% accuracy in 4/5 trials.

Short-Term Objective: By June 2016, given moderate verbal and physical prompts, Dar will trace a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal line with 100% accuracy in 4/5 trials.