Every year BM tries a new way to make sure FDH can not attend SS5's IEP meeting. This year was an all-time low. She doesn't want him to go because he wants SS5 pushed.

An IEP Meeting for those of you that don't know is an Individualized Education Plan for Special Needs children. Key people get together twice a year (Beginning and end) to discuss and come up with a plan for the child's education through out the school year/summer and plan for the following year/check progress at the end of the year. SS5 has High-Functioning Autism and a Vision Impairment.

Last week FDH got a call from the Special Ed. Teacher saying that she had talked to BM and they set a date for the IEP that BM said would work for EVERYONE. It's the Monday after our wedding! BM knows when the wedding is because we are getting married out of state - in the state that I grew up in - so we had to tell her that we were talking the sKids out of state. And I am pretty sure that sKids told her why we were going there. Now as luck would have it we are not going on a Honeymoon until Nov. because we are having 2 receptions and we want to get them both out of the way first and FDH likes to spread around his time off out.

So FDH could make it but we will be driving back on Sunday and probably really tired. He wants to go back to work and get settled back in, ect. But he doesn't want to miss the IEP meeting because if he isn't there BM will try to convince them that SS5 is way worse than he really is and can't or shouldn't be pushed TOO hard. Sadly most of the people are there year after year and I think they are on to BM for the most part but if FDH isn't there to contradict BM they might start to believe her (again). FDH is calling the Special ed. teacher today to ask for the date to be changed and tell her why (just to make BM look stupid).

Now working backwards with the IEP meeting in the past and BM's past attempts to sabotage.

End of the year last year (Early Childhood/pre-k - 5yrs old) - BM canceled it without telling FDH. She talked to the teacher and 'they' agreed that it wasn't really needed. When FDH called teacher to see when it was, teacher explained and FDH read off a list of questions/concerns that he had so Teacher scheduled one. The meeting was VERY informative and addressed most of FDH's concerns about the summer (continuing therapy/education - which included summer school enrollment and ideas to keep SS5 socially active), SS5 eating/nutrition (they gave us a book on how to get him to eat better), and plans for next year which included talking about taking Ss5 off the short bus, for 1st grade (not this year but next).

Start of the year Last year (Early Childhood/pre-k - 4yrs old) - The teacher and BM sent the date and BM told teacher SHE would call FDH and tell him. WEEKS later teacher called FDH for a different reason and asked him if he was coming to the IEP meeting the following week. FDH said he knew nothing about it but would have to ask his boss. Teacher said she talked to BM weeks before about it and that it 'appeared' that they had a break down in communication. In that meeting they talked about putting SS5 (who was doing great) into 4K at mid-term. Well it never happened because BM called teacher and told her that the transition would be too much for SS5. By the time FDH found out it was too late to transition him.

End of Year 2 years ago(Early Childhood - 4yrs old)- The agreed that SS5 needed Summer school. BM said she would take care of it. When summer school start FDH called to see if he was signed up and BM told him they lost her check so he didn't get signed up. FDH called the school and they said there was no check or enrollment form for either child (both SS5 and SS7). Oddly enough the same thing happened to SS7 the year before and BM claims that she paid $25 bucks to cancel a $10 check (idiot).

Start of the year 2 years ago(Early Childhood - 3yrs old) There wasn't one because BM wasted all summer trying to get SS5 into a private school only to have them tell her that SS5 would do better in Public school, because they have more funding for special needs programs. Then didn't enroll SS5 into school until November at the end of the 1st quarter.

This time around the list of people that will be there seems longer, I told FDH this could be an interesting meeting. His teacher this year seems to have a better handle on him and he is doing wonderfully in class which is all day Kindergarten. He is only pulled out once a day for speech therapy. Otherwise he stays with and interacts with his classmates. The teacher doesn't seem to buy into the - he can't do this because he's special needs mentality.

On a positive note, since starting school SS5 has been doing great. He is talking more and acting more like a normal 5 year old - not the giant baby he used to be. Seriously a giant baby - when he didn't feel good he would just cry and you would have to guess what was wrong, now he will tell you what hurts, with some tears. He wanted to be carried every where. He could not dress himself. I told FDH by the end of the year BM will have her hands full. SS5 is no longer taking suggestions, he is speaking his mind and tell people what he wants. The one thing that I don't like is he likes to say "I can't" when you ask him to do stuff that he doesn't want to do. I tell him that I don't like that word and he can do it, stop being lazy.

I am so excited - I have been since the first day of school because I knew all day school would do wonders for ss5. I told FDH that our future child/children will be going to 4k and maybe 3k. I have seen what early education (or lack there of) can do to children. (SS7 didn't start school until Kindergarten and is behind in almost everything, including socially)