Our last IFSP meeting was held yesterday morning. To be honest, it was mostly a formality. It was due by January 29th and therefore we had to have a meeting even though Ava will age out of the program in five weeks.
I filled out a few forms about the progress Ava's made and the concerns I still have ahead of time. Our case manager emailed them to me so that we could have a head start at the meeting. We went over the forms and she took our new insurance information (some insurance will reimburse Missouri First Steps for part of their expenses). We agreed to leave Ava's services the same for the next 5 weeks.
I worried and worried and planned and planned before the first IFSP meeting to ultimately feel relieved that it seemed so easy. Then I repeated that experience before the second IFSP meeting. This one just felt a little token.
My focus is moving forward to the transition from early intervention services to school age services. We've qualified and our first IEP has been written. Now we just wait for Ava's birthday to switch. We'll appreciate the last few sessions of OT in our home and our last few sessions of speech with our wonderful early intervention therapists. Then we'll start all over again.
We are also getting ready for our last IFSP meeting and our exit meeting from EI. I'm just so sad to say goodbye to the therapists - some who have been working with Cha-cha since he was 7 months old. How do you just stop talking to these wonderful people? One I text at least 3-4 times a week, most of the time, our texts don't even concern Cha-cha and therefore I know it won't be goodbye with her, but there are two others that he will probably never see again. Just so sad that they have been such an important part of our weekly lives and now they will no longer be.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sad for this chapter to be over. I know the IEP will make sure that he continues to get the services that he needs, but I have to say, I'm sort of grieving. :(
These therapists come into your home every week. They help your child, and therefore your family, in profound ways. And then, on a day that should be pure celebration (your child's third birthday) you lose the help, expertise, and companionship of these people. It is abrupt and will be a difficult and odd transition to navigate.
DeleteOur little ones are so close in age that we're doing the same transitions at similar times. As always, it is good to hear from you Gentle Blue.
I know - it's helpful to hear of someone going through the same thing at the same time. I don't know if you know this or not, but the Apraxia conference is here in Boston this summer...although I'm not a SLP, I'm going to go and check it all out. If you check the Apraxia.org site, you can see more information...probably a hike for you, but hopefully it will be close by for you someday. :)
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