It's that magical time of year again

                     So, it's that magical time of year again.   No, not spring when all the stray cats thoughts turn to love and caterwauling on my porch and back fence, although it is that too.  No, not allergy season when the pollen falls like rain and a person's thoughts turn to sneezes and wheezes and itchy eyes, although it is that too.   No not even baseball season, where America's pastime has been gentrified beyond all common sense and fair play, although it is that too.  NO. it is IEP season, when teachers and therapists drown in paperwork and school administrators and parents gird their loins for the civilized adult version of the fight on the playground. 

                   For the uninitiated, IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan.  It is a contract that spells out goals and services that will be provided for a special needs student.  It is also a legal contract bound by various laws and regulations, so it is  (and should be ) taken very seriously.  Once a year, usually in spring from what I have seen, a meeting is held with all the teachers, administrators, therapists, parents, etc. to hash it out for the upcoming school year.  We are lucky in that we have found a good placement for Feisty Pants, so our meetings usually go rather swimmingly. ( I only swore ONCE this time!)  Plus I'm exactly the kind of pain in the ass parent who is fine with smiling whilst I nag the living hell out of everybody until we get a good IEP nailed down on paper.  But even when it goes well, it can be very stressful.  

                    So, to that end, here are a few sites (There are many- if these ones don't help just ask google until you find a site you like.) that have good IEP tips.   Hope your meetings are successful, not stressful.

1) Wrightslaw- wrightslaw.com

             I love this site.  Great tips for advocacy for your special needs kid.  Even great tips on conflict resolution.   (Check out "Playing 20 Questions with the Devil".)

2) Great Schools- Tips for a successful IEP meeting- Greatschools.org

              I like these tips.  They are pretty good for any stressful paperwork session.

3)Special Education Advisor- 'tis the season- Specialeducationadvisor.com

               Another good list of tips, especially for the perpetually disorganized such as I.

4)Wonder Baby's printable IEP organizer- Printable IEP Organizer
              Whaaaat?  A free printable organizer?  YES!!

PS- One last tip- Bring along a coffee.   It gives you something to do with your hands.  The caffeine helps keep you focused.  Also gives you a reason to stop and pause in case you want to think or not swear.                       

MRI Blues

              Soooooooo.....   here we sit in a radiology ward.  A simple procedure really.  Just an MRI of Feisty Pants' spine, the big hurdle before her upcoming scoliosis surgery. It unfortunately must be done under under anesthesia  (Feisty Pants will simply not be still for one)   so this meant a slog down to Philadelphia to get it done (most places will simply not put her under ). Honestly, this should not be a big deal.   We managed to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House.  We came down yesterday.  This should be going swimmingly.  But Feisty Pants and the universe seem to be laughing in the face of simple this week.  

            First, there was the rush back from the highway because we forgot her food. (For the uninitiated, FP is on a high calorie peptide based formula fed via g-tube.)  Then a five hour drive.  Then she decided that after a million tests and procedures that THIS one is the one she needs to be anxious about, so she didn't sleep last night.  So, none of us slept.  Now we are sitting in a radiology ward, where it's all hurry up and wait.  So, she is lying here on a gurney, getting more antsy and passing the time by kicking me.  You know, like you do.

             Annnnnnd, now we are back in a second room.  Feisty Pants, who hasn't been fed since 8 pm yesterday, is now hangry  and done with us all. We are supposedly just waiting for sedation.  Then they will take her back and decide where we will sit for the hour the procedure takes and the hour or so for recovery.  Hopefully before FP kicks a hole in the wall or totally bruises her knee attempting to kick said hole in the wall.

              Man oh man. Days like this are hard and long. And it's not even a scary ride today. This is a simple procedure with a complicated kid. But we are sleep deprived and hangry and shuttled around a rabbit warren of back alleys and corridors.  In about five minutes I'm gonna start kicking the wall and singing the blues too.

             Two hours after that...  We thought we were done when a  nurse and dentist came out.   But nooooo, seems they accidentally chipped her tooth when intubating her for the sedation.   So now they will re-repair it (what they chipped was a repair done on an earlier accident.) and then up to ICU for the night.   I am beginning to think the surgery will be easier than the testing.   We are in a good place.  They are taking good care of her.  Feisty Pants is not sick at all.  So why do I feel as if this week just keeps getting longer and longer?

             

  

     

Teenangster

           Originally, I was going to make this post be about tips for IEP season.  I plan on making that the next one.  (Totally adorable if you believe me.)   Then I was going to write one about survival tips for hospital stays.   I've done one or two before but a relative is inpatient right now so I was pondering it. (Feel better dude!)  But today we have had a semi normal day and I want to celebrate that.

            It started as an average school day for Feisty Pants.  She is fourteen now, so her school, whose curriculum includes what is known as "daily living activities" often includes doing things that simulate working life.  Today Feisty Pants worked at the "Prom Store"  The Prom Store is a simulated dress shop full of donated formal and semi formal attire where students going to the prom can choose an outfit to wear to said oh so important teenage occasion.  The kids get the items for free but there is whole process of going to the store and filling out some paperwork and then selecting/ trying on the dress, etc.   Apparently my kid had a frigging BLAST hosting her own little say yes to the dress event. (She gets that from her father. Seriously. I boycotted proms. Goo was a total prom skank.)  She had a communication device set up to ask if she could help,  to ask the students if they wanted to fill out a form, to say things, "Oh, you look nice"  or "How about this one?"    She even got asked to the prom by an older boy.  (You have to be sixteen to attend the prom at her school.)   She didn't mind- he was NOT the Boyfriend after all. 

            In fact, she a totally fine afternoon, in her opinion.  They even let her take a dress home too,  a black and gray spaghetti strap number with sequin embellishments.  All goth and girly at the same time.  Basically Feisty Pants' ideal dream attire. She was on a complete scored the best outfit high until someone asked Boyfriend Pants if he was going to go to the prom.  Boyfriend Pants is sixteen and can go.  WITHOUT Feisty Pants.  Who then decided the afternoon did suck after all.  And came home to tell me about it in NO uncertain terms.

             So, my fourteen year old girl had a totally adolescent day.  In which she had highs, thrills, lows, and outfit changes to match her mood swings.  And she complained a lot when she came home about it all.  And then demanded we buy her ice cream cake at the store the next day for her troubles.    Just like any other fourteen year old girl on the frigging planet!   I am officially calling this week a win and going to bed.   I wish you all peace, love, and ice cream cake.