Capable and Independent

It is a little bit crazy sending my 3.5 year old on the school bus every morning. He rides for about 75 minutes before he gets to school. Because I never take him to school myself, it makes me feel a bit disconnected! I can always contact his teacher if I wish, and we do have a communication notebook that goes back and forth between us in his backpack, but I often wonder how Eli is doing at school.

I was so pleased today to get a copy of Eli's IPP (Individualized Program Plan) for the year - our goals for him, examples of his strengths, and places where he has room for improvement. I got a wonderful, proud feeling while reading it, because it sounds like he is doing really well, and I know we made the right choice for him.

Here are some parts of the IPP that I wanted to share:

Strengths:
Attends well in both structured and unstructured classroom activities.
Shows interest and engagement in preschool skills and concepts including puzzles, numbers, letters.
Loves music class.
Consistent school attendance.
Strong family support.
Positive behaviour and social skills.

Areas for Growth:
Expressive language
Receptive language
Speech development
Fine motor skills

Self Esteem: Eli was initially very quiet and serious upon entering the classroom, but in only a few weeks he appeared comfortable with staff and peers. Though he still has a serious side he also enjoys making jokes and pointing out funny things he has observed. Eli is very capable and independent in classroom routines such as getting his indoor shoes on, putting his lunch in his cubby, and putting his backpack away when he arrives. He will then find an activity and settle in very quickly.

Security and Comfort: Eli appears to be a very secure and happy little boy. Family stability and support are very strong and it reflects in Eli's calm, confident demeanor. It is always a pleasure to see the simple, healthy unprocessed lunches he brings which also likely contribute to his calm cooperative manner.

*(side note: did she just call Eli calm, confident and cooperative??????)*

Self-Control: In the first few weeks Eli did periodically exhibit a low frustration tolerance with the other children when each wanted the same toy. During those times he was quick to anger. In recent weeks this has not been observed and Eli has quickly learned to engage the help of adults in the classroom to help him solve problems with peers.

Peer Interaction: Eli is emerging as a classroom leader in many ways. He sets an example to others in his ability to sit well and focus during circle and story time. He has developed a number of friendships and plays well with others, with few problems. From time to time he will get caught up in the excitement of others who are being silly or rambunctious, but does not instigate these situations.

Motor Development: Eli loves nothing better than to be active out on the playground or gym. This is an area where Eli will have no trouble keeping up with peers. As mentioned previously, fine motor activities are not Eli's preferred activity but he does appear to be gaining some confidence with increased experience. Presently he requires hand over hand support in cutting. It is hoped as the year progresses he will be able to do cut and paste activities unassisted.

Symbolic Expression: Eli is making progress in the development of his spoken language and articulation since beginning the program. he is also beginning to enjoy using sign language to assist him in communicating with our classroom assistant Gabi, who is deaf. In the first few weeks he was very hesitant to mirror signs, but now seems to be clearly enjoying trying to use signs he knows. During circle time he is eager to share his knowledge and make comments about what he is learning.

Creativity/Problem Solving: Craft and pencil and paper tasks are probably what Eli least enjoys at school. He does struggle somewhat with managing the fine motor aspect of these tasks. Puzzles and blocks, cars and trains are a high interest area for Eli and he shows a definite interest in number activities. He is quick to catch on to concept related activities during circle time such as sorting, identifying, matching, or arranging items in order from smallest to largest.

Attention Span: Eli's attention span is a huge positive for him and a delight for any teacher. Not only does this benefit  him in terms of general functioning in a classroom setting, it is extremely advantageous in aiding him to catch up to his typically developing in speech and language development as he is able to maximize his learning opportunities.

Current Level of Performance and Achievement in Speech and Language

A language sample of 212 utterances was recorded and analyzed for form, content, and use. We could understand 45% of those utterances completely. His best sentence was "Can you help me put that in?" There were quite a few sentence fragments  which we could understand some of what he said, but not completely. Eli's speech errors include phonological processes or patterns which all children demonstrate. He drops one consonant in blends (ticker instead of sticker) and substitutes w for /l/ sounds (kween up) and /r/ sounds (twain). These errors can be heard in many young boys and will likely improve on their own with maturation and improved listening skills. Eli also confuses the /p/, /t/, and /k/ sounds. He says "puk" instead of "put" and "Taren" instead of "Karen". This confusion is typical in children with a high frequency hearing loss. As Eli gets used to hearing these soft, high frequency sounds accurately, this error will likely disappear. Listening to speech with his hearing aids is critical.


I am very happy with how well he seems to be doing. He will have 2 full school years at this program and I can't wait to see how he continues to progress before he starts Kindergarten.