Totally Good News!

Yesterday, while my daughter was at school for Occupational Therapy and Speech/Language therapy, the OT approached me about my daughter's report card. She has an IEP (Individual Education Plan), for Autism Spectrum Disorder. It seems that my daughter has met all her goals. Usually, at this point, we meet to write up new goals. Only this time, she is at grade level. She might not need anymore Occupational Therapy. This is wonderful news! But, it gets better.

I am told that the Speech and Language Therapist will talk to me as well, when her appointment with my daughter is over. It seems she has met her goals for Speech and Language too. And yes, she is at grade level for Speech and Language. Pending an evaluation of reports and tests compiled, she might not need anymore Speech and Language. If you don't have a child with ASD, you might not expect the next thing I was told.

If this happens, she will no longer need an IEP. She will no longer be eligible for Special Ed. services for Autism Spectrum Disorder, because she will no longer meet the criterion for Autism Spectrum Disorder! Since I homeschool, all this didn't sound off the wall to me. My husband and I have been thinking this for a while. But, I want her to be dismissed from services. I want the file to be closed. I would take too long to explain why this is so important to me, but it is very important to me.

I think I finally wrote about this because no one talks about recovery. Kids do recover from autism. My daughter is getting closer to NT (neuro-typical) every day. One day, I know autism will come up and I will be able to say, "Yah, when you were young, you had autism, but you worked very hard and overcame it." And, she did work very hard (still does). For two years, we did Applied Behavior Analysis sessions (ABA) for a couple hours every day. I always worried about not doing enough. She went to a special ed. preschool. Then, I shadowed her at a church preschool. She learned to socialize. She learned not to bite, scratch, give black eyes, hit and scream. She learned to follow routines and be a good student. She worked her butt off, and so did I (and my spouse, and other teachers, of course). My husband always expects 120% from her.

I know ABA works. I thank the Lord that He placed me in the right jobs to learn ABA before she was born. I don't know why some kids don't recover. And, of course, there will still be related struggles. But, today is my day to celebrate, and I am rejoicing to the fullest!