I am sooooo depressed...

[StarkAndWitchesWillFindYou]

Got ds' IEP yesterday. The targets are SO unambitious and pointless. They aren't even bad they are horrific.

I have in my possession the next targets for ds, that he would have not only worked on, but ACHIEVED by half term on our ABA programme.

I have no evidence that ds has achieved anything so far at school, because all the professionals are refusing to fill in a professionals log book to say what they are working on.

And now to be presented with 3 unchallenging, BORING in fact targets, with no explanation of how they are to be met. Well, it says do turn taking at 9:50 every morning for 10 minutes, but not any strategies for getting ds to participate, let alone be interested.

I'm just in tears for the no. of weeks he has spent in that setting with such low expectations. HOW can they arrive at that, after 5 weeks, with 18.5 hours of additional professional support? How can they say (which they have) that any more than 3 vague targets would be unmanageable? They have the staff ffs.

I'll pull myself together. I have to. I ALWAYS have to.

But right now I'm gutted beyond compare...

Oh Star I think it is almost worse because you know there is an alternative that works for your DS.

Are there no 'success indicators'?

Sorry Star. It is hard to go against your instincts isn't it.

yeah. The success indicator is 'I will be able to take turns with someone else for 10 minutes'

Honestly have nothing against turn-taking practice. Think it is a good topic.

Another one is to respond to the same peer asking the same question, until Spring at snack time every day 'what fruit are you eating?'

Success indicator is the he responds correctly.

There is NO WAY DS will do that until spring. He'll need a prompt the first time, the second time he'll do it properly, but by the 3rd time he'll be bored and say 'dinosaur'.

Spring is a long time away...

Could you show them that link I gave the other day, where they have graduated objectives? That way he could 'progress' through the objectives, but they wouldn't even have to 'think' of them.

Lougle I can't show them anything. They refuse to even meet or listen to me, let alone allow any risk that I might direct their work.

I have printed off ds' targets that we would have expected him to have met by now had we won. DH is going to the parents evening tonight and will give them to the teacher and ask her WHAT has ds achieved this half term that makes it alright that he hasn't achieved the targets that he shows her. If she says 'settling in' and 'lining up' then I'll follow up the whole sorry mess in writing, pull him out and haul their sorry arses back to tribunal in March.

I'll then find a nursery placement somewhere, anywhere, that will have ds and his home tutor until then.

If on the other hand she says something vaguely helpful, like okay lets work to them then, or would your tutor/consultant like to come in and deliver training or whatever, then I'll stop crying about the half-term lost and give them a chance.

DS fwiw, asks to go to school every day, so my heart would ache pulliing him out.

About the fruit asking question - how do they expect that to happen without a clear strategy and is it really fair to involve the 'peer' in this way? I find other children are very impatient with ds and just walk away, only adults persevere with questions.

and to see that even a child like your DS with a statement can be let down.
What chances have we got with my DS when he is on action+... (shudders at the idea)

Why can't they just see the actual level our children are at, and what/where/how best to help them.
With a bit of thought and effort it isn't hard to do.

It would appear that it IS hard though genie. Despite my clear misery, I can see they have tried. They think I want specificity so the thing is littered with them. Unfortunately they don't make any sense.

i.e. ds will take turns in the frog game at 9:50 every day for 10 minutes.

Success criteria 'being able to take turns in the frog game at 9:50am for 10 minutes'

God only knows what the 9:50am is all about, unless they have identified that time in particular as a time when ds if extra struggling with turn-taking. It doesn't say.

The MUST have tried hard. It has taken them 5 weeks after all. They have had an EP (who has never met ds incidently), an autism advisory teacher, the class teacher, and the SENCO. I cannot imagine that it is a half-hearted attempt.

Trouble is, when a full-heart still fails your child what next?

DS will not make progress on well-meant IEPs.

willow, I don't know.

I can see a child asking ds what fruit he is eating and ds completely ignoring it. Why would he answer? What is in it for him?

A strategy 'could' be to put it on his plate but refuse to allow him to eat it until he has answered I suppose, but they haven't said that in their strategy. Their strategy is to have ds sit next to the same person every day who will ask the same question ever day.

He'll be working on that target until secondary school at this rate.

So they are confusing specifity with rigidity?

Do they seriously want to produce a little boy who can take turns for a 10 minute window in the day???

Could you go to the LEA with the IEP and show them what they have produced? You could then ask them to give some input?

They seem to be expecting the other children to do their job now ! I mean it's great to involve his peers obviously but the teacher should take the lead.

I can't believe that this IEP has been set 'til March. If those targets - however un SMART they were - had been set for just half a term you could accept it, if you thought they would up the ante next half term. Why is the IEP for so long? Our school does termly ones - with 4-6 targets which are very specific - some short term - some longer term that get carried forward. Why is everything done so randomly? Why can't there be best practise that all schools have to follow? I feel a Grrrr moment on your behalf.

Lougle The school didn't write it on their own. The EP, Specialist Advisory teacher (both LA bods) together with the SENCO and Class teacher wrote it. The HT also reviewed it given I'm a pita parent.

It's frightening.

I suppose I could send it to the LA and ask them what they think, just for tribunal purposes. It looks like we're going back........

Sorry aunt it's not until March, it's until Jan. The statement review is in March.

'I wish I could just say "pull him out and homeschool him for a few years."'

I could do that. It is what we DID. But his area of weakness is social communication and interaction, esp with peers. There aren't any peers in the park because they're all in Nursery, so I can't find any to work with.

Anyway. No more tears. Back on the stupid road. Listen to what DH says after parents evening and then begin the writing once more...........

PipinJo Found it thanks. It might mean we are able to afford representation at our next (looking more inevitable) tribunal.....

He needs to be supported in his development of social interaction skills. He won't learn them incidentally. They need to be broken down and taught and he needs someone who understands how he learns and is motivated in order for him to develop these skills.

IF he gets the right provision, he will learn very quickly. If he is taught enough social interaction skills, he will 'eventually' be able to generalise them and do them spontaneously as well as apply them to novel situations.

When I say 'eventually' I mean within the year.

I know this because of the data we already have on him. I also know that he could spend a year not getting anywhere at all if it isn't done the right way.

I am VERY blessed I know, with ds' capabilities, but am treated as delusional whenever I bring it up.

Anyway, what I meant to say was, that he needs to be taught social interaction in a school setting. We have exhausted the home-setting for these particular skills.

What we need is regular access to 3-4 children for his next targets.

My fab ABA tutor (not ABA background, but general nursery background), read through the IEP and informed me that since 2 of the targets are to be carried out at registration time, and the other one to be carried out at snack time, the TA is probably deployed at other times, elsewhere.

Oh joy!