Parent-Teacher Conference

We had our very first Parent-Teacher Conference yesterday at Morgan's school. It was totally casual. We even sat at the little chairs in Morgan's classroom as there was only one adult sized desk chair in the room. Ha ha!

Morgan is doing well! We went over the goals in her IEP (Individualized Education Plan). They are as follows:

Social - During a freeplay setting, Morgan will engage in functional play with peers
Her overall long term goal is "80% of the time with minimal prompting." This is to be met in one year's time. Her short term goal (by Feb. 18) is "30% of the time with prompting." Her current status is "40% of the time with prompting." So that is 10% better than the short term goal! Go Morgan!

Social - Morgan will independently acknowledge (saying hello/goodbye, asking for help if needed, etc.) familiar peers and adults during the arrival and departure routines.
Her short term goal is "2 out of 5 opportunities." She is meeting this goal! I was concerned about this one. We really are working on it, but it didn't seem to me like she's catching on yet, but apparently they think so. Yippee!

Social - Morgan will independently follow the preschool routine
Her short term goal is "4 out of 5 opportunities with physical and verbal prompting." She is at "4 out of 5 opportunities with physical prompting." The teacher said she transitions well during the day from activity to activity (in and outside of the classroom, recess and bathroom). The only time they have a little trouble is at the end of the school day when it's time to put on her jacket and backpack to leave. All the kids have their cubbies lined up next to each other right by the door. Morgan will go to her cubby, but will get distracted by her name tag and other kids' name tags (reading the letters, of course) and won't put on her jacket. The teacher says she usually has to take her away from the cubbies and other kids to help her put on her jacket. She thinks maybe the noise and "chaos" of the getting ready to leave process might be a little overwhelming for her. This is her guess...but they are still working on how to best keep Morgan focused on this task so they can all be ready to go out the door together (the teachers walk Morgan out to the buses/parking lot where I meet them).

Morgan's Occupational Therapist could not be at our meeting, but we ran into her in the hall on the way out. She gave us some quick details (in addition to what her teacher had already reviewed with us). She is REALLY pleased at how well Morgan is doing! She also said that when they do their sessions Morgan comes right over and is eager to work with her.

Fine Motor - When given a model, Morgan will copy a horizontal line, circle and cross with a writing tool.
Morgan's long term goal is completing this task at 4 out of 5 sessions. Her short term goal is 1 out of 5 sessions. She is already completing the line and circle 4 out of 5 sessions!! They are still working on the cross. Good job Morgan!

Fine Motor - Morgan will complete simple visual motor tasks (i.e. string beads, puzzles, stack 10 cubes, snip paper with scissors, lace holes with a string, place small objects in small holes/slots, etc.)
Her long term goal is also 4 out of 5 sessions. She has met this goal with the stringing beads, puzzles and small object in small holes. She is still making progress with the scissors. The therapist said she is doing well with the lacing and stacking cubes too.

And then the Occupational Therapist told us she doesn't think Morgan will need OT much longer! Whoopee!

Overall Morgan's teacher is also very pleased with how well she is doing. Obviously her biggest challenge is her social skills. We are glad she is making progress in this area. Her teacher said she seems to be forming some "bonds" with a few of the other girls in her class. We ultimately decided to keep her in this morning class...it turned out that the afternoon class will be structured very similar to the one she is in now, so there didn't end up being a benefit to switching her. This was a relief for me as I was having a hard time making a decision on this. It ended up working itself out.

We were also glad to hear that Morgan has displayed NO behavioral issues in her class. She has been such a challenge at home with the "no's" and just plain defiance that we were concerned this might be happening at school too. Her teacher said once in a while she'll resist doing something initially, but will join in pretty quickly. Even if she resists, it is only with slight body language (turning away from the person or looking away), none of the yelling and screaming that we see at home. We were really glad to hear this. It sounds like she's testing us like any other three year old would, but knows somehow that this will not be acceptable behavior at school. Thank goodness! Now if we can only figure out how to improve this behavior at home!

I also discussed with her teacher about working on some potty training in March. Shad made a good paoint about Spring Break being the first week of April. She said they would plan on working with Morgan on this for a week before the break with the goal of her continuing progress at home the week of the break. This sounded good to me as it will give us a solid week of "operation panties" at home without having to deal with the school schedule. Crossing our fingers that something "clicks" for her during that time.

So, for our first meeting, this went VERY well! If I could have this kind of feedback from here on out I'd be thrilled! I'm sure we will have bumps in the road along the way, but this only confirms that this school is the right place for her and she is making great progress on her goals.