Today I attended an IPRC meeting for Allison at her school. (IPRC stands for Identification, Placement and Review Committee and refers to the yearly meeting schools are obliged to hold for each of their special needs students to review their status, ensure they are getting the right services, etc.)
This meeting was attended by Allison's teacher, principal, vice-principal, and myself. It was so encouraging to hear the teacher's many positive comments about Allison and how far she has come since September (she's "like a different person," she said). She said Allison is much more relaxed, happy, and comfortable at school and much better at dealing with upsetting incidents than she was in the fall. She commented on how organized Allison is, how good her academic work is, and how her attitude has improved (e.g. she went from expressing a lot of anxiety about being onstage in their upcoming "Romeo & Juliet" play, to actually wanting a speaking role). All in all it was just a glowing report. The two main areas the teacher feels need continued attention are Allison's difficulty accepting direction and criticism, and her lack of social confidence. She said that Allison's girl classmates all like her and want her to be part of the group, but Allison is often hesitant to join in. So the teacher wants to work on these areas for the rest of the year, possibly with the help of a support teacher from the school board's autism team.
It's hard not to feel very proud when you come away from a meeting like that, so I just had to assert my mom privilege and do a little bragging!
