Alex’s special education services were all virtual. His speech and language therapist meets with him twice a week for 30 minutes to provide speech services. Once a week the special education teacher joins their sessions. She provides services to meet Alex’s IEP goals under developmental delay category. Thanks to Bob, during Alex’s first IEP he strongly advocated for chunking the SLI service times to 30 minutes therapy sessions instead of one-hour straight. Based on our experience, Bob and I felt that Alex can only maintain focus in less than an hour of therapy sessions. Also, we observed that he makes a lot of progress when instruction is delivered consistently.
In March, the country was slowly opening due to people getting vaccinated from Covid-19. The Harrisonburg Public Schools was increasing their in-person learning students in the building. More special education services were being offered in-person in classrooms or in places depending on the student’s least restrictive environment (LRE). We were excited because Alex was invited to come to school to receive special education services. Of course, we were still worried about the virus but personally I know that HCPS teachers and staff are serious about following and implementing CDC guidelines. It was a tough decision because of the safety concerns. We also considered the effect of this unprecedented intervention offered virtually. Alex is a 3-year-old child with Down Syndrome who was found eligible to receive special services under the category of SLI and DD. How can Alex make any progress on his IEP goals when intervention is constantly interrupted by internet problems which includes videos not playing or apps not working? Personally, I felt like we were subjecting Alex to these unusual conditions with no guarantee that he would learn anything.
I know that Alex’s service providers were trying their best in this worst case education scenario. Just like many teachers and other specialists, they did not expect that they would provide services through online platforms. I understand – but I am also a mother of Alex. I am thinking about his growth and development. THIS online learning is definitely not the appropriate learning environment for my son. So, I vented a little bit. I am not angry, and I am not blaming anyone. I know everyone is trying their best in this unprecedented situation.
Today was Alex’s fourth session in school. He goes to “school” on Mondays for an hour. His SLI therapist and special education teacher were working on his speech and cognitive skills while incorporating other fine motor and gross motor skill activities. Alex is responding well to the in-person learning. His therapists reported that he was engaged and making good progress in combining two and three words. They added that Alex was curious and was attentive during the sessions.
Like any day, I would ask Alex about his time in school. Typically, I would ask him a question. Then, I give him a moment to think and respond to my question. He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he will start saying unrelated things. So, I would rephrase the question and give him options like… Alex, where did you go this morning? Did you go to the park or play outside? I don’t remember if he ever responded to any questions like that.
Alex was eating his dinner. He was talking a lot. I was not sure if he was telling a story but he was saying a lot of words as if he were practicing the words he knew how to pronounce. I asked him what he did at school. As usual, I waited and waited. My face was full of anticipation. I was hoping that he would respond to my question. Then suddenly Alex said, “paint!” After a short pause he added, “big dinosaur head!” Wow! He answered my question. We had a simple, brief conversation. I KISSED him and gave him a BIG HUG! I was proud of him! I knew he could understand me. I knew one day he would talk to me and tell me what he thinks. I really am so proud of him! He exhibited a milestone today, and I was sure glad that this time I was there to witness it!
Later in the evening, I received a report from his therapists including some photos of Alex. I let Alex tell me the story about his day. He was proud of his big blue dinosaur art project. He was smiling. He kept pointing to that beautiful big dinosaur head and to himself. Alex made it and he told me all about it.
