Yesterday's Gone

The stress in our home has been greatly relieved, as Drew was finally placed through the IEP process at the school we knew he needed. With the meeting that finally went our way came a complete elimination of stress. Sure, we are still beyond angry, upset, disappointed, etc. with how our entire IDEA Part C to Part B transition was handled by our school district, and we are working on improving that process, but ultimately, Drew is now receiving the services he needed, regardless of how we had to go about getting them. Thank God that yesterday's gone. I don't know how much more I really could have handled.

In just two weeks since Drew began preschool, we have noticed a dramatic change. His speech is clearer. He talks in complete sentences. Yes, he did talk in completed sentences before he began school, but this is different. Before he began school, an answer to a question like, "What is your favorite sport?," would be, "Basketball!" Now? "My favorite sport is basketball!" Drew is being taught to respond in complete sentences, and unless he does, his requests or answers are not accepted.

Drew has also become fascinated with letters. We have a set of letters in our bathtub, which Drew has never, in three years of life, played with. Now, he pulls the letters out each and every night and puts them all over the bathtub walls. He can even name a couple of letters, and has learned how to spell his name. This is all in two weeks. The focus on literacy in this program is just amazing. We can really see the focus shining through in our daughter, who is a hearing peer in the program. She is beginning to sound out letters in words. It's just amazing.

Each and everyday, our decision to send Drew to this particular hearing impaired program is confirmed. I am just so happy with how everything turned out.

I have been so bad about blogging through this whole situation. It really was very, very stressful, and weighed on me heavily. I'm so glad that I now spend my evenings looking toward tomorrow, instead of dwelling on a process that was vastly out of my control. I will get back into the habit of blogging now. And, as promised, I will share with you all of our documents and materials that we used throughout the process. But honestly, I've just needed a break from the whole thing. Evenings spent relaxing and enjoying my children, instead of looking through legal policies and procedures, education law and for a new school district.