Proud Momma!

Last Friday, John came home from school with his 3rd report card for the year.  His report cards are quite different than the ones other kids get.  While most report cards come home with the subject and the letter grade beside it, his are print outs on several sheets.  He doesn't get graded on subjects, but how well he has progressed toward each of his goals.  Since he started PPCD 2 years ago, I have seen quite a few of these, but they are still difficult for me to read and understand.  They have lots of numbers and symbols and I have to check the legend on the sheet to know what some of the symbols mean.

John has 5 goals on his IEP (Individual Education Plan).  Some of these goals have a part A and a part B so I consider it 8 goals.  Each goal has either an amount of time attached such as 8 seconds or 20 minutes, or it has a number such as 3 out of 5 trials.  Over the past 2.5 years, I've read his report card and mostly have seen that while he's making slow progress, he's not quite getting a full grasp on his goals.

This report card was different.  On 4 of his 8 goals, I saw the Symbol M next to it.  I did not need to look at the legend to know what this symbol means.  M = Mastered.  That's right, my boy has mastered 4 out of his 8 goals.  I was so surprised to see this.  When I met with his teacher a couple of months ago, she told me that he was doing well and that we may need to adjust his goals or even add some new ones.  But I never expected that he would do this well with them this early in the year.

These are the goals that John has mastered:

John will demonstrate sustained attention with toys, books, or activities for a minimum of 8 seconds.

John will localize environmental/classroom sounds varying by loudness level (ie, drum, triangle, cymbals, different speakers, loud/soft voice) by turning head towards sound source in a variety of positions in 3/5 trials.  a.  five feet    b. ten feet  (he has mastered this from five feet and is at 2/5 trials from ten feet)

John will participate in a variety of classroom activities in varying positions by hitting a switch or simple voice output device with:  a. Hand under hand assistance 5/5 trials  b. Guided elbow 2/5 trials.  (he has mastered both of these)

These are the goals he is still working on:

Once positioned correctly in his walker, John will walk for: a.  30 feet in 20 minutes by January 2011  b.  50 feet in 20 minutes by June 2011, in 3/5 trials for 5 consecutive weeks.  (On Part A he has achieved 2/5 trials and Part B has not yet been introduced.)

During meal times, John will assist with feeding by holding a utensil and bringing it to his mouth with decreasing prompts which fade from full physical to partial physical in 3/5 trials for 5 consecutive weeks by June 2011. (he has achieved 2/5 trials)

I must say something about each of the two goals above.  The goal towards walking he actually can do.  He does it at home with ease.  But when he's at school and trying to walk in the hallways with people walking by and so much to look at, he gets distracted and I'm sure doesn't do as well.  But when I take him outside here, he walks down the block and back.  The goal towards feeding himself is a biggie for him.  I have to confess that this is not something we work on at home.  I need to start working towards it more at meal times.  I'm just usually in a hurry to get him fed and I don't even think about it.  But that would be a huge accomplishment for him if he can learn to do this.

Words cannot express how proud I am of him for working so hard every single day to reach these accomplishments.  Every little thing he sets out to do is so hard for him.  I watch him everyday trying to do things like climb up on something, or pull up to stand and I think of how easy it is for me to do and how much he struggles to do those things.  But one thing I have also noticed is how persistent he is.  He doesn't give up.  If he doesn't do something the first try, he gets back up and tries again.  Sometimes all he needs is a little support or something to hold onto and then he's got it.  It brings him such joy when he finally gets something he's been working toward for so long and it makes me so proud.

And of course, no matter what goals he achieves, you can't take away that sweet smile.  No matter his circumstance or how hard he is working toward something, he always has a smile on his face.  There is nothing in the world I'd rather look at.  We all could learn something from him.  No matter how hard life gets or how tough our circumstance, there is always a reason to smile!