Meet the Teacher Night

It was meet the teacher night at the elementary school.  I debated whether to go.  You see we have done all the kindergarten informational meetings, round-up, etc.  It’s a lot of information, but little to none actually pertains to Bella.  So when this next night in the line up of teacher-parent information came up, one that required you get a sitter because kids were not allowed, I wasn’t quite sure if it was worth it.  And when we couldn’t find a sitter, well, I debated even more.

In the end I figured I should go.  I didn’t want Bella to be the only child whose parent didn’t show up, even if the information I was going to hear didn’t pertain to her.  Jesse stayed home with the kids and I headed over by myself.

Every single parent was at that meeting, so I was extremely glad I had made the choice to go.  It was a 30 minute session where the teacher laid out all the things the kids will be doing in the classroom and what they will be bringing home for homework, etc.  In most cases Bella will not be participating in their normal routines, she will not be bringing home the homework to complete, she will not be doing the reading assignments, etc.

But at the end of the meeting, Bella’s Kindergarten teacher made a point to talk about Bella.  She talked about how much they loved her, and how special she was to all of them.  She said how they were all super disappointed and asking where she was on the day she was sick and stayed home.  She said that even though Bella can not communicate with them, she still teaches them so many things.

Then she said that every time Bella comes into the class room they all sing her a song.

It goes like this:

HELLO, BELLA, COME ON IN.

HELLO, BELLA, COME ON IN.

WE LIKE YOUR SMILES AND YOUR WHEELCHAIR TOO, WE ALL WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU.

HELLO, BELLA, WE’RE GLAD YOU’RE HERE.

One of the mom’s later on, said her son was singing this song at home, and she had been trying to figure out where it came from.

Bella’s teacher also went on to say that her class and all the kids at Morse were going to benefit so much from Bella and the other kids like her in the FOCUS program at their school.  The love they will learn from these kids would impact them in great ways.

She quoted to us from the local news something she had just heard that evening “The level of love you allow yourself to reach for a person of unfathomable innocence is far beyond any love than most people will ever know in their lives.  That is their greatest gift in life”.

She basically talked about Bella for about 5 minutes and kept thanking me for having Bella at the school.  Both of us were near tears at the end of her speech.  I thanked her for all that she is doing, and that I am delighted to have Bella in school with them.

And I walked away thanking God again for the people he has put into Bella’s life.  In this respect I know we are blessed.

These are picture of Bella’s classmates in the Focus Room.  They were told to bang on drums as loudly as they could to get Bella to hold her head up.  If she stopped holding her head up they had to stop.  They were very excited when she held her head up so they could make noise!  And as you can tell from the photos she enjoyed watching them and was having a good time herself.

Oliver’s First Day of School

Oliver started school this fall.  It’s really a full day childcare with a preschool curriculum….and he absolutely loves it.  He came home after being there for two days and was already starting to sing twinkle twinkle little star, using 90% of the correct words.

Every morning he gets to ride with daddy.  And is happy to proclaim “Daddy go to work, Oliver go to school.”

On the first day I picked him up early, in case school wasn’t going so great.  He was actually upset he had to leave with mommy instead of going out for recess with his new friends.

This one is a social one and seems to love being at school, around other kids, and learning too!

First Days of School

I really wanted to create an interesting photograph for Bella’s first day of Kindergarten.  I saw the idea to use sidewalk chalk and have the kids laying down.  Hey Bella can lay down.  Let’s give it a try.

I took lots of shots, and the one below is probably the best.  But of course I couldn’t get her to actually look at me.

And we ended up with a face full of chalk.

I have been looking forward to this day FOREVER….or so it seems.  Bella reports back from her teachers is that she is doing great, and she has been super happy when she gets home from school too!  She has officially completed two days of school.

Bella is in a FOCUS room.  Most of us would have called this a resource room or something similar.  I believe she has 5 or 6 classmates and they all have varying degrees of disabilities (metal and/or physical).  There is one other boy in the class who is in a wheelchair like Bella.  The kids in this class are all of varying ages, Bella being the youngest and only Kindergartner, all the way up to 5th grade.  This room has a teacher and paras.  Bella is assigned a para for each of her activities. 

She is in this FOCUS room a little more than half of her day.  The other part of her day she joins her kindergarten class.  This year is a little interesting in that Bella is there for a full day, but she actually participates in all three different kindergarten classes (morning only, full day, and afternoon only).  So she in fact gets to meet every single Kindergartner in her elementary school.

Bella joins her kindergarten class for things like art, music, PE, recess, lunch, reading time, spanish (it might seem weird but it’s mostly sung at this age and they think she will enjoy the music), and any all school activities or classroom parties.  But again, when she joins the kindergarten class she has a para with her at all times.

It will be a little bit of a learning process as they get to know Bella.  She already tested them the first day by not really eating from them.  I think she will quickly learn if she doesn’t eat from them, it's a long time till she gets home and fed by mom or dad.  And by the second day she gobbled up every single thing I sent (breakfast, lunch, and snack).

During recess the first day it was reported she went on walks with her para.  That evening I got an email from her teacher, it said that she had meet all her kindergarten classmates that day and they were asking questions about Bella, was it alright if they talked to the classes about her?  Of course it is alright with us, we are completely open about everything with Bella.  The second day we got a report home and Bella had gone on walks again during recess but this time she had some kindergarten friends that went with her.

And that made my day!

Bella’s First Day of Kindergarten

I will have a longer post later…but I thought I would give you a sneak peak of the pictures we took this morning.

Car Show Fun

This was Oliver’s statement after visiting a car show this past weekend.

He was definitely on a mission to visit all the cars.

Although the giant cow was probably his favorite “car” at the show.

The Silver Stingray below was my favorite car.

What's So Funny?

Bella was talking to me the other day in her own language.  I was talking back trying to use the same language and at some point I kept talking in a higher and louder voice, until I got to this point...which was apparently hilarious.

Bella’s Preschool Experience

While I have documentation of all her preschool goals and accomplishments, I don’t have the time to go into all that detail.  So instead I will focus on her final goals and transitions from preschool to Kindergarten.

Goal #1 – Physical Therapy

By April 2014, when in various sitting positions, Bella will maintain prop sitting for 30secs, on 2 out of 3 days.

Progress 5/30/13 – Bella is able to maintain prop in sitting for 5 seconds on 2/3 days – Bella has demonstrated ability to sit up Independent with good posture for 15 seconds on one data day, most often she maintains good sitting balance for approx 5 seconds.  This is a recent IEP goal, so minimal PT data available.

Short Term goal 10/11/13 – Bella will maintain prop sitting for 10 secs, on 2 out 3 data days.

Goal #2 – Occupational Therapy/Speech Therapy

By April 2014, using a Step by Step Communicator Switch, Bella will request continuation of 3 items/activities, with 80% accuracy with no more than 5 prompts.

Past data – Bella continues to use the switch consistently for food and now has expanded her requesting to continuation of a preferred activity.  She activates the switch to request the continuation of swinging with 74% accuracy with no more than 2 prompts.

Progress 5/30/2013 – Completed – Average 72% with 2 1/2 prompts, swinging and requesting “more tickle” using her communication switch.

Goal #3 – Occupation Therapy/Feeding/Physical Therapy

By April 2014, with physical support at elbow and spoon attached to her hand, Bella will move a loaded spoon to her mouth, 8/10 opportunities.

Past data – On her most recent data day, Bella performed this skill 6 times for every 10 opportunities.  However, she demonstrates inconsistency among data days, with her March 2013 average being 3/10.

Progress 5/30/13 – 5 out of 10, Bella has had great progress this quarter.  She has started responding better to consecutive attempts at self-feeding, which is exciting to see!  Great job, Bella!

Short Term Goal 10/11/13 – Bella will move a loaded spoon to her mouth, 6/10 opportunities.

Goal #4 – Physical Therapy

By September 2013, when in various positions, Bella will maintain head in upright position, for 60 secs, on 2 out of 3 data days.

Past data- Bella’s head control is inconsistent but on an average since school started she is holding head up 13 secs.  In May 2012 she was holding head up on an average of 25 secs.

Progress 5/30/13 – No progress made – Bella continues to fluctuate with head control averaging 10 seconds, has demonstrated the ability to maintain head control for 90 seconds one time.

Short Term Goal – The goal of head control has been on Bella’s IEP for the past 4 years with no progress being made.  This goal will still be worked on, but will no longer be part of her IEP curriculum or be tested.

Summary of Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance

Long Range Vision:  For Bella to self-feed and have more interaction with peers, adults, and toys.

Isabelle (Bella) is a 5 year, 7 month old girl who has attended the ECSE program since September 2010.  She lives at home with her parents and younger brother.

PT:  Bella still uses a KidKart wheelchair as her means of transportation.  She is dependent on adults for transfers and positioning.  She also has AFO’s that are used to provide her with support for the low tone in her ankles and feet.  Bella uses a Leekey stander parents have loaned us from home.  She also wears a Benik vest to provide some trunk support.  Bella continues to grow and head control remains unchanged.  She still periodically turns head to right and stacks head back to the left.  Tried cervical collar but she became dependent on it.  She has held her head up for up to 90 secs but on a average she is maintaining for 10 sec.  Bella continues to have very low tone throughout her body from head to toe.  We have worked more on her prop sitting when on the floor – this also works on her head control.  When in criss cross or circle sitting on the floor, support is provided at hips and occasional assist is needed to place her arms on her knees or on the floor and she is able to support herself in sitting for up to 3 secs.  Also work with Bella on her tummy; usually on a wedge so she can prop with her forearms and hold head up briefly.  Elbow splints have been used when trying to prop in prone.  When placed supine on her back on the floor she enjoys stretching out, kicking her legs, rolling to both sides, and reaching with hands.

Communication:  Bella uses the Step by Step Communicator Switch to request objects and actions.  She activates the switch (placed on the left side of her tray) to request for more food (“More please”).  The switch is also used to communicate continuation of swinging and “rough housing”.  The swing used is an adaptive, high-back, harness swing which has become a morning routine for Bella to start her day.  She becomes very vocal during this time, displaying smiles and laughter.  Bella vocally protests when the swinging comes to an end by making growling noises and vowelized vocalizations.  She is observed to “smack” the switch for continuation of swinging with 74% accuracy with 4 prompts.  On our last data collection day, prior to this report, Bella activated the switch 8 out of 10 opportunities with only 1 prompt.  More laughter and smiles occur during a spinning movement of the swing as opposed to a back and forth movement.  The switch follows Bella to group times as well as play time.  The recording is changed to match the task at hand, so that Bella is responding as her peers do.  This allows her peers to view Bella as an active participant throughout the school day.

Circle:  Bella sits at circle time with her peers with an adult seated behind her to offer physical support.  She is encouraged to participate in circle activities by utilizing a switch to respond to questions or perform a daily job.  At times, Bella will become very vocal during this large group time.  She is usually positioned to the right of the speaker or activity in order to encourage her to keep her head in an upright, midline position.

During large group time, various forms of stimuli have been presented to Bella to observe reactions (noise of a blender, loud noises of vehicles from a recording of the city, a balloon deflating, wind of a fan, scarf on her face, bubbles on her skin and varying temperatures of hot and cold, bubbles on her skin, colorful pictures, new faces).  A reaction of “closing eyes” was seen for everything that was auditory – the louder the stimuli, the tighter the eyes shut, and the longer they remained closed.  When the stimuli was tactile in nature, furrowing of the brow was noticed.  Finally, when the stimuli was visual, no real reactions were noted.

Snack:  Bella uses a specialized cup with a straw (adult pushes on the top and water will squirt out of the straw into her mouth.) and eats thickened food (consistency of oatmeal or applesauce) during snack time.  The team has been working on improving Bella’s participation during snack time by attaching a spoon to her right hand with Velcro to support her ability to maintain her grasp.  With physical support at the elbow level, an adult encourages Bella to move the loaded spoon to her mouth for a bite.  In Oct. 2012, Bella was averaging 3/10 opportunities.  She has made progress with this goal, with her most recent data day being 6 times for every 10 opportunities.  Some days, Bella will protest during this time and, as a result, her success rate decreases.  When an adult feeds her with a spoon intermittently during snack, Bella has been observed to have more success with it’s her turn to do so.

Bathroom:  At this time, Bella wears diapers and requires full assistance during changing.

Play:  During play, Bella independently grasps preferred items, especially noise-making toys.  While lying on the floor, she enjoys rolling from side to side and reaching for various items.  Bella has been observed to use mostly her right hand when grasping objects but will utilize her left hand if an adult facilitates it.  She has been observed to turn towards a noise-making toy and maintain visual attention to the object as she reaches for it.

Strengths of Student

ability to use voice output device to request

happy child with a great laugh

eye contact is emerging

Parent Concerns for Enhancing the Student’s Education

self feeding

increased use of both hands

better eye contact

sleep

 

And that folks is Bella.