Thoughts about IFSP Meetings

In order to qualify for services, children need to meet specific criteria. That's necessary. I get that. No one wants to provide therapy to children who don't really need it, and we can't afford to treat everyone who is even a little delayed, so you set a criterion and treat the children who need it the most. It is practical and theoretically fair if the same criteria are applied to everyone.

However, when the system is set up in this way it causes stress and tension. Parents want therapy for their children and are nervous about qualifying. When the time comes for a new meeting, the parents are hesitant to celebrate their child's successes because they are afraid they may no longer qualify for services that are still very much needed.

So, instead, you focus on all of the areas in which your child still struggles. It makes the meetings more than a little depressing. And although early intervention can be a wonderful experience and resource for families (it is for us), the time frame for early intervention ends so early. Ava will have been in the early intervention program for only a little over a year and then she will age out.

Then you have to start the whole process over again with your local school district and their criteria are even harsher. At yesterday's IFSP meeting, our service coordinator mentioned that next month we will need to hold a transition meeting. The purpose of that meeting, as I understand it, is to introduce us to the school district people that will be handling evaluating Ava to see if she qualifies for their services when she turns three.

And so time, and the special education processess, marches on.

(more on how our IFSP meeting went tomorrow)

Nervous

Later today is our first IFSP six month review meeting. I will be there along with Ava's therapist and our service coordinator. I'm not really sure what to expect and that always makes me a bit nervous. I think the purpose of the meeting is just to check in and see if Ava is making progress towards her goals and make changes if necessary.

Ava has done so well in her first six months of therapy. It is hard to believe six months has gone by already. Ava has gone from being a practically non-verbal child who couldn't imitate and had only three consonants and a handful of vowels to a child who is chattering non-stop at home. We can't understand her all the time of course. She is particularly difficult to understand when the sentences are longer or when she's talking about something out of context. But what amazing progress in such a short time.

But here's the twist. I'm afraid to say so. Somehow, I'm afraid that if I talk about how proud of her I am, and what a wonderful job her therapist has done that they will conclude she no longer qualifies for services and take that away from us.

So I think I'll squash my usual nature and try not to talk much at the meeting. I'll try to listen and only respond when necessary and walk carefully. Perhaps I am worrying without cause, but better safe than sorry.

When I get a chance, I'll let you know how the meeting went.

Final M: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

These articulation picture card sets are designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for these sets are young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level or simple two-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in these sets. (Scroll down to preview sets.)

Key Features

• Initial and Final sets include 30 one-syllable words that begin or end with the target sound.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.
• Describes the progression from most intense prompts to least intense.
• Provides a simple carrier phrase for every word.
• A gestural prompt for the target sound is explained.
• A list of therapy activities is included.
• Includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and a picture on the front,
  and the difficulty level and the carrier phrase printed on the back.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute these card sets provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses the word sets. Let me know if there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Sets

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

Instructions for printing and using the cards are included in the set.