School visits, IEP, First day of school-first day of school!

There are two preschool programs within 20 miles of our home that are specifically for DHH (deaf and hard of hearing) children.  I was nervous about choosing one for Lillian because their teaching methods are so different, one offered sign language and one was completely oral.

I was able to visit both.  My mom, Steven and my friend assured me I would know which was right for Lil.  That made me worried, but sure enough I walked into the first class and right away knew it wasn't right for her.

We had Lillian's IEP (Individualized education program) on October 26th.  We sat around a table sized for preschoolers with our team, Lillian's speech therapist and the one from the district, the school district , the district early education specialist (the lady who runs PEEP for all you that know Camarillo), our infant education specialist( the lady who talked on the phone with me for hours when Lillian was first discovered to have a hearing loss, she is a saint- her job is to help families and she certainly helped ours!)  Ironically all involved were named Laura or Lorie or Lanice.

We made goals for Lillian and then discussed her placement.  Luckily the district listened to us and Lillian is able to go the the program we knew was best for her.

She started school November 5th!  I miss her but know she is getting the help she needs to figure out all these sounds and words she is hearing for the first time.  Jackson misses her the most.  He keeps looking at me ... mom you're boring do something cool.

I went from having 1 child in school to 2.  I have 4 pick up drop offs each day! Yikes.  Friends and family help me.  Lillian's school is about 25 minutes away but worth it!  She can say Happy Birthday, help, and knows how to pick up things she drops!  I'll say its been a great week.