Transitions, Testing and our first IEP

Jayne turning three is kind of a big deal--ok, not near as big of a deal as when you get baptized or become a teenager, but still a big deal. It means transitioning from the Early Intervention program, that we have been a part of since she was born, into the school district where she will start preschool. Although I am excited for Jayne to start preschool, I am really sad to have her leave the Early Intervention program. We have had the most amazing therapists come into our home to work with Jayne. They are not only therapists but have become friends. They have always been so sweet with Jayne and took a genuine interest in her well being and became advocates for her. They have helped her progress in her development--from rolling over to sitting to crawling to walking and even with beginning speech. They have been a great support to me at times too when I felt discouraged with Jayne's development and they helped me to see just how far she has come. We have been so blessed and I am sad to have to say goodbye to them. When I say, "Guess who's coming to play?" Jayne still gets excited and says "Stacey" or "Abby" sometimes. It is really sweet. I will forever be grateful to them and for all they have done for Jayne and for me.

Entering the school system means testing. I have dreaded this since I was told about it. I know it is just to see where Jayne is at but the whole idea of testing Jayne is hard for me. I feel like a test can't always show what she knows or what she is really capable of. So when testing day came, I was a little nervous. Her new preschool teacher and a speech therapist met with us and were both so nice. They interacted with her through pretend play and tested her on matching, colors, shapes, her understanding of basic prepositions, speech, etc. Unfortunately, Jayne had a hard time falling asleep the night before and so half way through the testing, she was obviously exhausted and done "playing" their games. She still did really well though and I was so glad we got to meet her teacher. She was impressed with Jayne's cognitive abilities and said that her scores for cognitive skills are so high that she doesn't actually qualify for special needs preschool based just on that. Yay Jayne! That is amazing! I was SO happy to hear that. Hopefully, we can continue on that path. Her speech is mildly to moderately delayed though so she does qualify for the special needs program based on that aspect of the test. The speech therapist said it was great that she was able to say so many words and was so expressive though. I am SO proud of Jayne!

Once Jayne's testing was done, it was time to write Jayne's first IEP (Individualized Education Plan). I have heard from so many people how important the IEP is so I was a little intimidated at the thought of it. I knew we had to write good, clear goals and we had to get it right. No pressure or anything. :)
We met with Jayne's new teacher, Ashley, her speech therapist and Abby (Early Intervention therapist) to write up the IEP in Jayne's new classroom. I think we set some good goals for Jayne. As far as language goes, we want her to use 3 word phrases to express her needs and wants and want to increase her vocabulary with 20 verbs and 5 prepositions. We also set goals for Jayne to be able to identify and name her shapes and colors and be able to attend to group activities for 5 minutes at a time.

Jayne came with us to the meeting and loved the classroom! She practically ran in, went straight to the babies and kitchen area and started playing house. She is great at pretend play! She found the high chair and decided it was in the wrong place so she picked it up and moved it across the room and starting feeding the baby. She felt right at home. It was hard to get her to leave when we were done. It was so cute!

I am so happy with Jayne's teacher and her speech therapist. They are a perfect match for Jayne and I can already tell they will be great with her. I think Jayne will do really well in preschool and although I will miss her while she is gone, I am so excited for her. I wish I could go with her to preschool and just watch. I'm sure she will captivate their hearts the same way she has anyone else who meets her.

I mean, you can't help but love this little girl...