Whew! Update...

It's been a long while since my last post. My husband is in the Army, was in a unit that deployed to Afghanistan. To say our last couple of years was busy would be a huge understatement. I think we moved just after my last post, and moved again a few months ago. Whew! Matthew is now 11 and in his 9TH SCHOOL (I know, can you believe it?), fully mainstreamed in 6th grade and doing real well. Joshua is now 6, and in the first grade at a school for deaf children. He has been diagnosed with additional disabilities, and while he does get use of his cochlear implant, his main form of communication is with sign language. It's amazing how each child has the exact medical diagnosis (Pendred Syndrome: Mondini Dysplasia, Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct, Hypothyroidism), but they are also so very different from one another in their skills and abilities. As I've always said, "What works for one child may not work for the next."

Unfortunately, we've seen some poor educational support in the last couple of years. It took the school district over a year and a half to get FM Systems (read: assistive technology) to use in school. Before this district, Matthew had used an FM in three other schools/districts, and of course that was written into his IEP. I won't go into detail what all happened when I was wrestling with the school district, but it really helped to find a lawyer who could help. Fortunately only had to drop his name, and the FM systems were ordered that week. While Matthew did very well w/o the FM system for OVER A YEAR, his teachers noticed a huge improvement in his comprehension and attentiveness in school once he had one (no kidding, really?). Joshua's discernment had greatly improved, too.

Joshua has the need for additional OT, PT and speech classes. The last district didn't have OT (so he tested out of it, of course), and spotty PT and speech. Fortunately, the program he is in now at a school for deaf children has ALL of those on staff. I was almost in tears, okay, I cried at his IEP meeting when I heard all of the support he would have at his school. We're still an Army Family, and I know that very well means we may move again. I try not to think about that, because I fear ever going back to a district like the one we just left.

Well, I'll post more. It feels good to be doing this again. Right now I'm headed toward a very large, fresh cup of coffee. One boy is already on the way to school, and two more need to get up. ;)