Report Card Update. How's the new IEP working for us?

It's been awhile since I've shared an update on how Froot Loop is doing in Pre-K! He just got a report card, so I'll go from there. 

Basically, academically, he's pretty much mastered all of the math and reading. Actually, they've started sending him to the kindergarten class for an hour a day during their reading lesson. He. Is. Loving. It! He's even reading out loud with the other kids! Fortunately, he knows a lot of the kids in the class from last year (he started in the middle of the year as a 4 year old and went back this year as a 5 year old, so he was one of a few who "repeated" Pre-K due to his age). 

He really enjoys reading. He tested at a first grade level. He has his daily Pre-K "homework" (usually just a worksheet which is WAY too easy for him, but it's good writing practice), and then he's got to do some reading and writing. We usually have him read a book and then draw a picture about it. Then, he gets to write a couple of sentences about it. So far, he is LOVING this. He is really enjoying getting to read all of these new books and then telling his own story. (Don't worry, we're not forcing him to do any more than he wants to or than he can handle)

The best part about this is that his behavior at home is so much better. I don't know if he was bored or what, but since we've started the kindergarten thing and the reading and writing, he's in a much better mood and there's a lot less arguing and bratty behavior! 

He has also asked to start learning more math! (!!!!!). His reasoning is that since he wants to be an electrical engineer when he grows up, he needs to know how to do math and science (that would be correct!) So, he really wants to learn math and science, which is so exciting for me as a physics major! He's already really good at math... probably close to a first grade level there too. He loves adding and subtracting and sequencing. He's not a fan of the 10 grid math thing because it's too easy for him... and that's what they'll be doing next year in kinder. 

We're working on telling time right now. He has wanted to tell time for at least a year now. He also wants to know how to count and use money, so I'm starting to introduce that. 

Daddy and I also do a lot of science with him. It's easy because he loves science and Daddy and I do too. The kid knows more about electricity than most adults! 

That's autism for you. 

So, about his report card. 6 weeks ago, he had mastered speaking in complete sentences, listening and following 3 step directions, asking and answering questions, and recognizing and producing rhyming words. We're still working on retelling a story, but the reading and writing work he's doing is really helping with that. 

We're still working on his handwriting. Both Honey Graham and I have pretty bad handwriting, so he may just be doomed in this area! 

He knows all his letters and sounds and numbers. He's had all of that down for a couple of years now. He can rote count to over 150, and then he gets bored, but I think he could keep going even farther. He knows all his shapes and colors, and has also known those since he was about 18 months old... 

In Science, he observes, investigates, and describes the environment. He's really opening up to this, and I'm looking forward to doing more of this with him. He's also working on reciting the pledges and roles of various people and family members. 

In fine arts, he's working on using a variety of materials (He'd much rather use the same stuff all the time, every day, to build/make the same things all the time, every day). He's also participating in music and movement (he also takes piano lessons and is excelling at those too). They're also having him work on expressing himself through dramatic play, which is not his favorite thing to do. He doesn't really "play" with his toys. He likes to set them all up. He doesn't really take his toys on adventures or anything, but hello, autism. 

Now, onward to his special education goals in his IEP. We had his ARD meeting back in November/December, so we did update a lot of his goals for the upcoming 12 months, taking into account that half of that year will be in kindergarten. He mastered all of his objectives in his IEP, so we upgraded them. He is still working with the world's best occupational therapist and speech therapist, which makes me so happy. 

For his fine motor skills, he mastered basic cutting skills, but is still working on round shapes. He is very inconsistent with letter formations and spacing when writing. I'm working him HARD on that when he does his daily writing. We also asked his OT to work with him a little more on coloring, because when left alone, he'd rather just color a little tiny corner and call it done. He still needs a lot of verbal and physical prompting to really color, and in class, he just likes to rush through it and not do his best. 

So, his objectives are to independently cut out curving shapes within 1/4" of the outline. He's nearing mastery of it because he has learned that he can move the paper and not just the scissors. 

His next objective is to independently write his name using correct letter formations. He's just inconsistent. He likes writing, but he likes to write BIG, and he likes to use all capital letters. Again, we're really working on this with his daily writing, and he's getting much more confident and skilled at it. 

His last OT objective is to independently color a 2 inch picture with full coverage mostly inside the lines. He'll do it with his therapist, but when left alone, he doesn't care at all. We're not pushing him too much on this objective yet, but I do remind him that he needs to color the whole picture. When he does, his coloring is beautiful! 

Okay, next we have his adaptive behavior, which is evaulated by his PPCD teacher. Generally, the goal is: given verbal prompts and inclusion support, he will make progress toward the aquisition of developmentally appropriate social skills. 

First, he needs to comply with teacher request 80% of the time. He's at about 70% of the time without reminders, so that's major progress. 

Next, he needs to engage in play themes and conversational topics outside of his preferred topics 70% of the time (with verbal prompts and inclusion support). He's making progress, but he needs almost constant reminders and he always wants to talk about his selected few favorite topics. 

They'd also like him to engage in cooperative play with peers, using his PEER'S ideas and accept change 70% of the time. He's at about 60% of the time or less with this goal. 

Finally, we have our Speech goals, including physical speech and social speech. Both of these are done with his Speech Therapist. 

He needs to demonstrate improved pragmatic language skills by mastering the following with minimal cues and prompting:

- During a 10 minute group activity, he needs to respond to a peer's question 60% of the time, maintaining focus on the topic at hand.

- During structured activities, he needs to infer the feelings and ideas of others during role-play activities at least 60% of the time. 

- Given modeling and scripts, he needs to role-play cause and effect problem solving for various social situations with 60% accuracy. 

He's making progress with his social language skills as long as the "rules" are clearly and explicitly expressed at the beginning of the session. He still needs reminders, but he's easily redirected back on topic when he starts straying. He's really coming a long way in the area of taking conversational turns, but still prefers to dominate the conversation with his special topics. At least he's friendly and kind and cooperative with his other group members. 

Next, he needs to show improvement with his articulation skills by mastering the following:

- Producing developmentally-appropriate final consonants in words during conversations at least 70% of the time. 

- Producing the "S" in "S" blends at least 70% of the time.

- Improve tongue elevation to facilitate production of the "L" sound. 

He's come a LONG way in these areas. His "S" blends are much improved. He's working on his tongue elevation for his "L" sounds. He even does this at home and notices when he doesn't. 

So all in all, he's making good progress! I am very pleased with how far he's come and how far his teachers and therapists have taken him. He's growing up SO fast and he's SO intelligent. I am VERY proud of my little dude! 

What word have you/your kids always had trouble pronouncing?