Today was a hard day. I didn’t think it was going to be and I thought I was prepared, but sometimes those salty tears well up when we least expect them. This was the day I received the clinical basis that Cedar’s IEP will be based on. I decided to make an IEP profile.
We do plan to homeschool Cedar but want to access available therapeutic services in our district as a supplement to what we are providing at home. I decided that seeing his deficits on paper could be a strength as the more they are visible the more services he qualifies for, but that didn’t make it easier.
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He is far behind his peers in the areas that a school measures as important, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his strengths and I like to focus on those. I have seen other families ahead of us on this journey make an IEP profile so that is exactly what I decided to do for Cedar. I decided to make an IEP profile.
What is an IEP profile? It is a way for me to show Cedar’s team of therapists, special education assessors and others what is really special about him an not just where he has deficits which is what all of the standardized tests show.
I really love the quote I saw by Mark Cronin, the father of John Cronin of “John’s Crazy Socks”
He says this:
“In schools, we tend to measure two things: analytical and verbal abilities. There’s a whole lot more to life than that”
You can see his brilliant statement on this youtube clip at 2:44.
So, I decided to run with that idea. I wanted to show Cedar’s team just what else made up Cedar besides the deficits that are seen on the standardized tests. He is a sweet and loving boy who is eager to please. He loves Elmo and his strengths are his determination and sensitivity. He doesn’t like it when others cry loudly, he would love to hug them and make it all better. He is so much more than the diagnosis that deems him to have an intellectual disability.
Our meeting is tomorrow and now I feel like I have something to show and teach them about Cedar.
To create your own profile simply go to Canva and use a resume template that suits your child for their IEP meeting.
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