For any parent who has ever struggled to get your child help in school....you can probably identify with the video posted below.
I sure can.
At age 3.6, Cooper still couldn't say his name (or much else for that matter). Diagnosed with apraxia, Cooper's original school IEP (Individualized Education Plan) only allotted for 10 minutes of speech a week at school. 10 minutes! And the kid had a medical diagnoses that detailed a neurological disorder.
How could the district only give him 10 minutes of speech a week?
The IEP meeting that followed went something like this...
2 Years later and I wish I could say I was victorious in taking on the school district. I wasn't. Cooper's now getting a lousy 15 minutes of speech a week in school. As for his school speech therapist? Well, I can't even get her to reply to an email, let alone show up for a parent-teacher conference. And....since we don't have money to hire a lawyer, we put what money we do have towards private speech therapy. To make peace within myself, I decided to concentrate on the positive qualities of the district...like the amazing teachers who go above and beyond to help kids who need a little more of it. While I am immensely disappointed in the therapy options overall, I am oozing with gratitude for the actual teachers who have spent countless hours working on things that the speech therapist should have spearheaded.
Sincerely,
Cooper's Mom
PS...Cooper did eventually learn to say his name! To learn more about his apraxia diagnoses and ongoing recovery - just click on the "verbal apraxia" link on the left side of this blog. Thanks for caring :)
Recent Comments