One of the most important parts of the special education process is writing the plan for your child’s education. This is their Individualized Education Program (IEP). The IEP is the foundation for your child’s education, and you are a very important member of the committee that develops it. In Texas, this is called the Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee. Other parts of the country may refer to both the document and the committee as IEP, but in Texas “ARD” is used to refer to the committee and its meetings.
My son Sammy is has not been diagnosed with anything, but is developmentally delayed. Sammy is 11 so think of him as more of an 8 year old. Sammy has had a really difficult time with school. We discovered in 3rd grade that Sammy had major academic issues that we did not notice. As a parent, I blamed myself for not knowing my child. This destroyed me. If it wasn't for Sammy's amazing 3rd grade teacher for getting the ball rolling, Sammy would have never gotten the help he needed.
Sammy has lots of helpful things in place for him so that he can succeed. He gets a little extra time for tests and, since he can't read very well, he gets certain things read to him during tests. He also gets to take his test by himself. Meaning they pull him from the classroom so that he isn't with his class. This has been a huge help for him.
Sammy will be going in to the 5th grade. I hate that. I know he is not ready for 5th grade. As a parent, there are certain things that when you are in a public school system you can't do. With out a diagnoses, the school is limited on what help they can provide. Developmental Delays are not categorized as a Special Ed scenario. Because of that I worry that my child will fall through the cracks. We have been lucky the past few years to have amazing teachers that go out of their way to help Sammy.
Sammy's issues are not just academic either. His maturity level is not that of an 11 year old. While he has gotten better over the years, he is still kind of like an 8 year old. He hugs a little more than he should and he is very gullible. He also doesn't get when some is being mean to him with sarcasm. Because of this, he assumes someone is his friend when they may not really be. This past school year we did not have to deal Bullying. Sammy had some great friends that really stood up for him.
Sammy's physical abilities are a little slow as well. He is not athletic, but loves sports. He played baseball this past Spring and he had so much fun. While he never hit the ball out on to the field he did get on base and even scored some. That was all that mattered to him. He also didn't just stand up there and let the ball go by. He tried and he worked hard at every practice. He loved his team. They were so supportive of him and would cheer for him every time. When he got on base for the first time, they made a huge deal out it. Those boys and their coaches were exactly the type of support that Sammy needed.
One of the hardest parts of all of this is seeing the look on Sammy's face when he fails something. We try no to look at the numbers individually, but at the progress or growth. Example- Sammy took the STAAR test for the first time last year and he failed. He took it again this year and he failed, but his score was over 200 points better than it was last year. Plus he was less than 100 points from passing. That is amazing for him. With Sammy we celebrate growth. It's a lot for him.
Here is hoping, that in the next few years, he will keep growing and eventually ARD will just be a thing of the past. Then I won't be an ARD mom anymore.