Good Morning! First of all I would like to thank everyone that came by yesterday and left me a comment. I have never seen so many comments in one day! WOW~I can't believe how wonderful you all are. I appreciate all of the sweet and inspiring comments, I also am overwhelmingly thrilled at all of the wonderful advice. You are all truly inspiring! I will be visiting each and every one of you but please be patient. Believe it or not, there were over 300 comments on my blog yesterday!
Now, to explain my blog title...
We had Zachy's eligibility meeting at the school yesterday. We have done this every year for the past 4 years that he has been in school. (yes, he did start school at 2 1/2) Every year it is a bunch of red tape, "credible" excuses and no changes. His IEP diagnosis has always been "Developmental Delay" even though he has Autism. I knew that if he had the Autism as his diagnosis instead of the Developmental Delay, it would open up more help through the school. I also knew this was why I was getting nowhere when I tried to have it changed. For those of you that have experience with the whole IEP process, you know the difference the 2 diagnosises make. But in order to keep my blog from covering 3 pages, Developmental Delay comes with only a few government mandates of requirements. Nothing that will really help my Zachy with his behavior issues or social difficulties. Basically it only assists academically. But the Autism label has many government, state and county mandates that require the schools to cover all aspects of his Autism. Getting the label on the IEP is a very difficult process because the schools in this country do not have the funding to provide for all the children with special needs that are entering the system in droves. And once the label is granted, it can not be taken away!
Well after 4 VERY long years of fighting with everything I had...his label was changed yesterday. His IEP diagnosis is now "Autism" just like it should be. And this means my baby will finally get the therapies he deserves! I can not tell you how I feel. Sheer elation and long awaited validation! I spent the day, yesterday, crying one minute and laughing the next! FINALLY....they see what I do and they are willing to do what it takes to help him It was like a very large weight was lifted off of my shoulders and all of the fears, anger, frustration, pleading and disappointment....WE WON! Or I should say, Zachary won! Thank you God! Now I can move the fight from the whys to the how's. I realize that we will still have to fight in order to make sure he is getting what he needs. But I am ready for it! After all, it may have taken 4 years, but despite all of the resistance and red tape, I got him his label! I will get him his therapies too!
Happy Halloween! Be safe and have fun!
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13 comments:
Oh, yay! I'm so happy they've finally gotten Zachary's diagnosis right.
We had to deal with IEP for my daughter's speech because of her soft cleft palate. They never could understand she had a speech problem from not having front teeth for so many years.
I hope all is better and he gets into the right programs.
Congrats and have a great day!!!!
You go Momma!
Holly
It's interesting to me that I always hear about Autism, but I don't understand it, what I mean is I don't understand what it does to a person.
I read all you wrote at the bottom of your blog, and it helped me better understand.
Your an amazing mom, congrats on getting labeled, now it's onto getting what he needs.
(My sister has a rare muscle disorder, Dystonia, and to get a label for what it was took so many years. I wish you the best)
Feisty
SITSta
Yay! I'm so happy for you and Zach! The label is everything when it comes to IEP's, as you know. I'm so glad you got your Autism label, I know that will help so much for getting him what he needs! Yay! Happy Halloween!
Hope you had a great SITS day! You are my new hero!
Happy Halloween!
Congratulations on finally getting Zach's diagnosis accepted by IEP. I can't believe it took four years, that is just disgusting.
Congrats on getting his IEP label changed. I hope this opens up many moor doors to the help available for him...
That's awesome that you have gotten your son's IEP label changed! I am sure this will open a lot of doors for you and Zachary. It's really difficult to deal with an outdated, slow system but, you are making progress. Keep fighting. I will keep you in my prayers.
FROM A TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE: KEEP FIGHTING AND BEING THE SQUEAKY WHEEL! YOU HAVE NOT ONLY HELPED YOUR SON, BUT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH HIM WHO WANT SO BADLY TO SEE HIM GET ALL THE HELP HE DESERVES! GREAT JOB!
Congratulations on your win and best wishes on getting his therapy! And thanks for stopping by!
What a huge accomplishment...and relief! Now you can (hopefully) rest a little easier knowing that he will be getting the therapies and education he deserves.
Congratulations! As a friend of someone with an autistic son, I understand the significance of this....and I've seen the results of the good programs with him, and your 4 years of red tape will now be worth it!!!
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