I got lots of laundry done and spent some time playing with the younger two. I was also online a lot trying to decide if I want to pull P out of ECSE (Early Childhood Special Ed) or not and homeschool her also. She goes twice per week for around 2 hours and gets PT, OT, and Speech. They've worked pretty hard with her for almost 4 years now but they are starting to slow off on it now so I'm wondering if maybe it's time to bring her home and just do it here. Speech is shared with another child now, OT is just assisting her in class with circle time and crafts, and PT is just a loop around the hallways with her walker. I think she'd be fine here with me doing it. We can use her communication devices here and encorporate them into our daily life. With her gait trainer (walker) here we can work on walking every day instead of it being stuck at school. And they are already going to be phasing out her OT on their own.
I'm very pro homeschooling and it's always been hard to send her to school but I had to do what I thought was best for her at the time. Now I think it would be best for her to be here with us. It's a very hard decision for me, especially personally, because these ladies have worked with her for years and they love her to death and I wouldn't ever want them to feel like I wasn't happy with them. It's more because she's almost 5 and that's when the direct services start to fade off and they try to encorporate them into class time.
We don't use bus services so that's another thing. I'm dragging all the kids out to bring her and pick her up and it's getting where it really has to be worth it and I don't feel like it is. She does Aqua Therapy on Fridays and it's a really intense workout for her. I would like to schedule an office apt with that same PT, and an OT, during the week one evening and cover that there. They can also set up a home plan for me of things to do with her during the rest of the week.
I think it's just time to change it up and get more intense.
I have to get all of my eggs in a basket though before I take the leap and that's what I'm working on. I have to figure out what our insurance is going to cover as far as the therapies and I also have to purchase more Speech Communication devices and they aren't cheap. The Go Talk 9 is the one I'm looking at right now. They have one like it at school that they have on loan for her. The one that we eventually will have to get is the Dynavox V but it's about $8000 so we have to wait until we can get supplemental insurance for her to help pay for it. It's basically a little computer with a touchscreen that talks for her when she touches the pictures.
She's an expensive little chicky but we wouldn't trade her for the world :o)
That is a beautiful picture of P Jen. She's a gorgeous kid. I applaud you for checking out your options to bring school home with her--I am thinking that it will save you a lot of extra effort (what with loading everyone up, getting them there, offloading everyone, keeping everyone busy while she's doing school, then reloading everyone to go home). Good luck.
ReplyDeleteIf you are evaluating AAC devices, I hope you will look seriously at the PRC Vantage Lite. I think you will find that her success with language will be much greater and the device is much more portable.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I'll check it out. I'm all for suggestions because I don't know a whole lot about them.
That IS a gorgeous picture of your beautiful P. Aw, I just want to give her a big hug. And you, too. Its hard to always have to wonder about what's best for your kids and when its time to move on or to keep them where they are. You're awesome Jen, and I know you won't make a crazy not-thought-out decision. I know you will ultimately do what is best for your family in the long run!
ReplyDelete