IEPs and first communion!

Anna's annual IEP meeting was last Monday.  As always, the team is very supportive and encouraging, yet also ready to take Anna to the next level.  The more progress she makes, the higher the expectations are that are placed around her.

Anna's main challenges that affect her ability to learn and participate in a larger group classroom setting are: her mobility challenges, her vision challenges, and her slow processing.  Because Anna's motor skills are not where a fifth grader's should be, it takes her much longer to move around a classroom or to write anything.  Because Anna has cataracts and nystagmus, everything looks a bit blurry and hard to find.  Because the "speed limit" in Anna's brain is so much slower than a typical fifth grader's, she requires longer to think and process.  Put all of this together, and she also often experiences neurological fatigue on a scale most of us rarely experience.

Since Anna is, in the words of different members of her team, so stinkin' smart, she requires various accommodations to be successful.  Having someone else write things down for her, using word prediction software to type, having fewer problems to complete, and having extra time are all aspects written into her IEP.

These meetings drain me, mentally and emotionally.  We stopped to get Culver's for dinner that night ... yes, we sometimes reward ourselves with food around here.  Kate and Ethan also deserved a treat for always sitting in the corner of the room during these meetings playing contentedly with whatever happens to be around.

Moving on ...

This past Sunday Anna, along with several of her fellow fifth graders, received their first communion.  The special occasion was celebrated with family, church family, and friends.

My parents came to hang out with us on Saturday afternoon, and Matt's parents came on Sunday.  Anna's godparents (one of Matt's sisters and her family, and Melissa) also celebrated with us on Sunday.
 

Celebration and fellowship were enjoyed by all.