Connor has been at his new school for 4 days now (two days last week, two days this week). He's doing...okay. They probably thing he's doing great, but I know Connor, and he's just doing okay.
I have NOT given up the battle of getting him an out of district placement, in fact I'm even considering a new placement for him now
He now officially has the diagnosis of Apraxia (vs just speech delay with hearing loss) and there is a School for the Deaf about an hour from us that has a program specializing in Apraxia. It is a very intensive program in both verbal AND sign, taught by a Deaf teacher and a hearing teacher, both who specialize in Apraxia. The speech therapist for the program is fluent in sign and also specializes in Apraxia. AND...I found out there's 3 kids from a neighboring district that attend this school, so a bus is already transporting from close to here to the school.
Now, the thought of him being on a bus for an hour and a half each way is sobering. And him attending a full-day program 5 days a week is not something I had in mind. BUT, that's why the program is so good, it's very intensive, and works the kids hard. It's also a Montessori program, which has a lot of benefits.
I am touring the school next week with my husband and all three of my boys!
We even have contacted our realtor to see what our options are if we wanted to consider moving closer to the school (there's several nice communities that are exactly half way between the school and my work, so Connor would only be a half hour away from school, and I'd be a half hour away from work, although in opposite directions [I'd work a half hour north, he'd go to school a half hour south])
ANYWAY...I've contacted a lawyer with Ohio Legal Rights, and she's being very helpful. I have talked with the Parent Mentor from Ohio School for the Deaf (OSD), and she's also being helpful. I've put in a request for an independent Multi Factor Evaluation through OSD.
So, that's my update. It's exhausting, but I'm still keeping at it.
I have NOT given up the battle of getting him an out of district placement, in fact I'm even considering a new placement for him now
He now officially has the diagnosis of Apraxia (vs just speech delay with hearing loss) and there is a School for the Deaf about an hour from us that has a program specializing in Apraxia. It is a very intensive program in both verbal AND sign, taught by a Deaf teacher and a hearing teacher, both who specialize in Apraxia. The speech therapist for the program is fluent in sign and also specializes in Apraxia. AND...I found out there's 3 kids from a neighboring district that attend this school, so a bus is already transporting from close to here to the school.Now, the thought of him being on a bus for an hour and a half each way is sobering. And him attending a full-day program 5 days a week is not something I had in mind. BUT, that's why the program is so good, it's very intensive, and works the kids hard. It's also a Montessori program, which has a lot of benefits.
I am touring the school next week with my husband and all three of my boys!
We even have contacted our realtor to see what our options are if we wanted to consider moving closer to the school (there's several nice communities that are exactly half way between the school and my work, so Connor would only be a half hour away from school, and I'd be a half hour away from work, although in opposite directions [I'd work a half hour north, he'd go to school a half hour south])
ANYWAY...I've contacted a lawyer with Ohio Legal Rights, and she's being very helpful. I have talked with the Parent Mentor from Ohio School for the Deaf (OSD), and she's also being helpful. I've put in a request for an independent Multi Factor Evaluation through OSD.
So, that's my update. It's exhausting, but I'm still keeping at it.
I work at Wright Patt, so we are considering moving to Miamisburg or Springboro...but we've only owned our home for 3 years and of course the market is not great. Our realtor suggested leasing for a year or two if we really are serious about moving south. Ugh...decisions!
