Evaulation, Therapy and Prayer

[Nealewill]

I just wanted to ask for some prayer. I recently found out the my son will probably qualify for free therapy if I can get a evaluation that shows he is behind his peers. I guess that means he will show that he would qualify for an IEP. I don't forse this being a problem. What I need to do is have an evaluation done (I can go through the school for free or pay for it out of pocket - $350. Out of pocket will happen much faster than waiting for the school so we will probably just pay for it). And then he will get 1 hour a week of language therapy for free plus every other week they will work with him for 30 more minutes for free on any other skill he needs help with. Exciting!!!! The best part is that the therapist told me that I can still use whatever curriculum I want. So no changes to his school work or day!

My son has auditory processing disorder and every year has been a challenge. He just needs a lot of hand holding. And it is for a lot of simple things in life, just in general. I know I show that he is in Preparing and it may look like he isn't placed correctly but he really is. He just needs more help than my girls and my husband and I have decided that we will work on it with him - along with general life skills, lots of hand holding. Plus, he isn't upset during school time either and he gets done in the four hours. He just needs more hand holding in general.

So anyway - if you could please say a prayer that this is God's will to use this service and that the process will go smoothly, that would be great. I am kind of nervous because I have never had an official evaluation completed for him. He has been in speech therapy before when he was 5 & 6 and then language therapy at 7 along with seeing a psychologist when he was 7 as well because he had so much anxiety and emotions but no expressive language to communicate any of it. We have always just treated a lot of symptoms. I have personally avoided "testing" because I wanted to avoid labels. But at the same time, just knowing him and seeing that he is different has really taught me not to be so afraid. God has really transformed me these past 9 years with him because I needed a major character overhaul myself. I feel blessed to be his mom but am still kind of scared of what we will find. So I guess prayer for my nerves as well.

[Gwenny]

I will pray for you. I understand that these are some scary things. I'm glad that you are looking into it. I know that it's been great for us and I have my 13 yo scheduled for some testing. I'm a little less scared now. I pray that God will give you and your husband wisdom and you will both be on the same page.

[rumkimom]

After having gone though both private testing and testing at the PS, I highly recommend that you get him evaluated privately if you can afford it. It will be much more accurate than what the school can do. My 9 year old son take speech twice a week (and has since he was 2) and it is so helpful. The teachers at our local PS are very supportive of us homeschooling and always keep me informed of what they are doing with him so I can carry though at home. If my son was in PS he would be in special classes almost 1/2 the day every day <sigh>. I had his speech teacher look at HOD (Bigger) this past spring and she thought it would be a god program for him. Our biggest problem is the school district that we belong to is a 25 min drive from us (16 miles)....what is sad is that there is an elementary school only 3 miles from us, but we are not in the right district to go there!! There are 2 other elementary school about 10 miles from us....again we are not in those districts either. So sad that out of 4 schools, we have to travel to the one that is the farthest from us. I plan to still take him to speech this year but even if he qualifies, I might not next year as it take 1.5 hours out of our school day for a 30 min class (twice a week).

[my3sons]

I have prayed for your sweet son, Daneale! I think it is wonderful that you and your dh have talked and made a plan to work together with him. What a blessing! I also know that by being in prayer, the Lord will give you clarity about how to proceed. I can relate to your comment about God transforming you and providing a character overhaul through this. It is through the adversity in my life that I have found I need the Lord the most, and I think, in the midst of the trials and the valleys, He must surely find me the most beautiful of all because I'm totally stripped of any notion I can do things on my own, and on my knees, knowing I need Him desperately. I will continue to pray for you moving forward with this!

In Christ,
Julie