IEP goals for the 2012-2013 school year

 Individualized Education Program goals...a mouthful and a bit intimidating. How does one go about in creating goals/objectives or benchmarks for a child who has been determined to have special needs? Granted that I believe that my precious boy is truly capable of accomplishing amazing tasks, I also want every opportunity for this my Ethan to grow.  We are really fortunate to have a team of professionals who are true advocates of Ethan’s educational needs, both in academic, developmental & functional areas.

As parents, our primary concerns are with his overall delays in the communication area; however, we are confident that Ethan will meet & exceed our expectations with hard work, determination and dedication.  Although communication is a major concern, we also are hoping that Ethan would develop a sound understanding of self-care/management skills such as dressing himself, using the washroom/bathroom independently, eating & cleaning up after himself.  We believe that these skills would enable Ethan to be more productive in the general school curriculum and also the social environment.

 

At four, my sweetie has a profound skill of remembering and imitating activities.  Ethan loves being with people, but he is more receptive to working with a small group or better yet, a one-on-one situation.  Ethan is confident to try new things and is not afraid to jump head first.  He is very determined (a good way of saying that he is stubborn) but he is oh so loving.  Ethan is very sensitive to other’s well-being and is able to be gentle when need be.  Ethan loves to count from 1 to 10 and also recite his ABCs (he tends to skip D & T) but will say with pride what he is able to.  Ethan loves music – he would try and sing a song but it is the cutest thing to watch his lips mouth the words to the song.  Ethan also would prefer to dance to any songs if given the opportunity.  Ethan will take an eternity to do anything that we’ve asked of him (if he doesn’t want to do it) but will be quick as lightening if it’s something that he wants to do.  Ethan love so much and I’m glad that he does.  I don’t ever want to introduce to my baby the meaning of hatred, bitterness, despair, disappointment, ugliness, etc.  I thank God every day that this little boy knows happiness and love.

Just Exhale....

My heart is filled with joy as well as sadness.  A sign that our summer is coming to an end...today, Ethan and I walked through the front doors of his school.  I knew that this day would come especially when we've been preparing Ethan's backpacks with all of his school supplies.  As I walked along side my buddy, I wondered what was on his mind.  Was he as excited and scared as I was for another year of school?  Was he going to miss me as must as I was going to miss him?  Was he going to stay healthy enough to stay in school for more than sixty days?  Was he going to like his new teachers and new classmates?  Have I taught Ethan enough during the summer that he would be well adjusted for school?  Was I too easy on Ethan when trying to get him potty trained?  Was Ethan aware that he will spread his wings?  Have I given Ethan all of the tools to succeed?   I want Ethan to have all of the opportunities to be happy but I hate having to miss every second in his life.

I was dreading the part where my baby would get so sick that he would have to stay home for months at a time.  I was dreading that I would miss him so desperately.  With the same breath, I was full of hope that Ethan would have the chance to grow and take the world in his hands.  As I stared at Ethan waltzing through the familiar hallway, I noticed the sparkles in his eyes and his gleaming smile on his face.  I knew that he was going to be okay.  Ethan did his little twirl as he got closer to his classroom.  He stopped to give hugs to most of the teachers.  He waved good-bye to them as he walked closer to his homeroom.  He continued towards his old class but when I stopped him mid-way, he was not a happy camper.  He was determined to walk towards his old class but fortunate for me, he was familiar enough with his new teachers' helper that he allowed her to walk him into his new class.  Ethan eased into the room and made himself at home.  I was told that there are three boys in Ethan's class...Ethan plus two other boys.  I was pretty happy that he'll have girls in his class but when the teacher said that that was all the students that she had assigned to her...I didn't know if I should have been happy that this was a really small class!  Well, it was only an orientation…I hope that Ethan’s class will be small so that he will have more of a one-on-one opportunity with his teacher and her assistant.