IEP - Individualized Education Plan

We recently went through the process of creating an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for Elie. There are times that I forget that Elie has nystagmus. That I forget that she is visually impaired. Usually, I'm more focused on trying to get her to sleep, or dealing with her tantrums, or normal 2-year-old things. But going through the IEP process reminds me that my daughters need help.

Some background. Most states have an early intervention program for kids with developmental delays--from birth to 3 years old. For us, we have been provided services through the Boyer Children's Clinic. They came to our house starting when Elie was about 3 months old. (This is what is happening with Mei-Mei now.) Then Elie went to preschool at Boyer from age 18 months to 2 years old. Then we transferred Elie to a Spanish immersion preschool--and Boyer has been going to that preschool once a month to work with her.

Now that Elie is turning 3 in a couple weeks, we have to transition from Boyer to the Seattle Public School (SPS) system. This required that SPS evaluate her to determine whether she qualified for services--and what services she qualified for.

One morning, Elie spent 4 hours being evaluated by different people. She was great--and happily "played" with all of the adults. No complaints. And I think she actually had fun. All those adults paying her exclusive attention. Whereas they were actually taking down notes and observing her.

I was a little worried that she wouldn't qualify for services--because to me, an untrained observer, she seems to see just fine. But the TVI (Teacher for the Visually Impaired) talked with us and told us the things she observed while evaluating Elie. She definitely is going to need some accommodations when she finally starts school. And we agreed that having Elie learn Braille would be a good goal.

I remember the first time someone suggested to me that Elie learn Braille. I was scared. To me, Braille is for blind people. And I was scared to think of Elie as blind. But the TVI explained to me that reading can be very tiring for people with nystagmus. Sure, you can enlarge the print--or listen to audiobooks. But Braille is actually a great skill to have--especially if your eyes tire easily.

So I am now completely on board. I love reading. And I hope my daughters do too. And if Braille is one way to help them keep reading when their eyes are tired--then so be it. If it turns out Elie doesn't need Braille--great. But Braille is a skill best learned when young. Hopefully it will be fun for her.

And now we have an IEP for Elie--with goals related to her learning Braille. It will change as she gets older and has different needs. Thankfully, SPS seems fairly easy to work with. I am so glad that Elie is going to have these services.