A to Z Challenge: I

I = IEP

Friday we have Grant's annual review of his IEP (Individual Education Plan), and for once I'm not all that worried. Those of you who know me know I've been worried about his development for since about when he turned 3. We even went so far as to have him evaluated by a team of doctors/specialists at the children's hospital in Iowa City (affiliated with the University of Iowa). You see, one of the speech pathologists we were talking to wouldn't stop talking about ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and putting him in a special education class for preschool. Neither of those sat right with me. I felt like she was pushing her own ideas. I think that when she first met us, she thought she had an instinctive inkling about him, and she saw what she saw based on that. Filtered through her initial impressions.

All along, our fabulous pediatrician kept telling me he thought Grant was just fine and was taking his time on the verbal development. Iowa City agreed with him, and flat-out denied any thoughts of ASD. All he needs is speech therapy. I felt like a butt for not having trusted our pediatrician, but he never once felt like I was doing the wrong thing. He agreed with our going to Iowa City – gave us the needed referral, etc. Even now when I talk to him about it, he just reminds me how very different each child is. (You see, Grant's sisters are both WAY ahead of the curve in verbal development.)

Since all of that went down, I have occasionally talked to Grant's teacher and speech therapist about concerns I had. Most of the time, they assured me that he's fine and just being Grant. We went so far as to have a long meeting in December, during which I asked if we should take him back to Iowa City. They didn't think so. They increased his speech therapy a little, but that's about it. And he's improving in huge strides as of late. (Part of my concern is that next school year he starts kindergarten!)

We are required to meet regarding Grant's IEP ever year – I think it's a state requirement. Every three years he has to be re-evaluated. (I'm thinking that when the time comes, we'll go back to Iowa City.)

So, on Friday we go back in to just update on how he's responded to changes made in December. From what I can see, it was just what he needed – praise God!

It's Hump Day Again ...

Well, for me it is! As of now, DH has 15 days until his return. We're smack-dab in the middle of his deployment. Going away last week was the best thing I could've done. It really helped the time fly by. With appointments and soccer practices and school, this week flew by, too. Two weeks from tomorrow, he'll be home. I cannot wait!

I will admit it - this (so far, at least) - seems to be a bit easier than the past times were. Perhaps it's because the kids are older - or because I've had more practice. I dunno. But, it's not a matter of creating a new routine, only of falling into an established alternate routine. I used to be in awe of military wives, who do this regularly. I still am - but now I'm more grateful that I'm NOT a military wife. At least my husband never has to go if he doesn't choose to. As a civilian, he can turn down deployments at any point - heck, he could even leave mid-deployment if he ever needed to. And, at least I know he's safe. He's never going into harm's way. I am grateful for that, too. And, yes, that alone leaves me in awe of military wives, as does the fact that my husband's deployment is much shorter than a typical military deployment.

Anyway, I just wanted to celebrate - it's all downhill from here, right? ;-) These next two weeks cannot pass quickly enough. Although, I do think they will fly by. We have a soccer game - complete with team photos - tomorrow, plus her practices on Mondays and Wednesdays and more games for the next few Saturdays. We have Abby's carnival at school on Friday. Grant has another appointment with the speech therapist. And so on. We'll keep busy, and that's good. It's how I have found it's best to pass the time until DH's return. Once he is back, I wanna just slow down - for a long time!

Well, thanks for bearing with me as I mark what is an important day for me. Now I just pray my adrenaline rush lasts another 15 days - or so!