Recently I realized that it was time for me to start supplementing Nathan’s education at home. Nathan’s teacher is fabulous and I believe she is doing a great job with him. However, there are about 8 kids with severe disabilities in his class, meaning 8 unique IEP’s each with at least 5 goals (I’d imagine). [...]

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You, dear readers, must have miracle powers because right before I posted a plea for prayers was the last time either of the kids threw up. They are doing so much better today. But on to the real reason for my post. I am confused. I just got back from an IEP meeting and I [...]

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On Monday we had the IEP meeting with the school district and Nathan’s education team. It was an interesting meeting. I left feeling exuberant…until shortly after I realized that we were still pretty much in the same boat. In the meeting I expressed my concerns about having an experienced AAC expert working with Nathan, as [...]

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…and by gloves I mean, boxing gloves. I’ve tried hard to keep them off but enough is enough. Let me start by saying that we finally have Nathan’s dynavox with eyemax ready to go. It took us months and months but it’s now up and running. A couple of weeks ago we had a meeting [...]

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* I met with Nathan’s teacher yesterday. She is lovely and really wants what’s best for him. She suggested doing a 50/50 split – 50% of the day in a class with kids that are mobile and verbal, 50% in her class. She does the MOVE program and she has seen him make gains and [...]

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This morning I managed to drag my tired butt downstairs before Owen put Nathan on the bus. I found him wearing pants that were way too short (just under his knees!) and socks that were MINE. Yes, you heard it right, Owen somehow though that those socks were Nathan’s and okay for him to wear [...]

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It’s been quiet around here these days. Did we lose everyone during our vacation? If you are still here, say YO! We’ve been busy little bees here at the Andrew house in Canyon Country. Nathan is going to preschool! In the bus! He loves it! Every day the teacher tells me of new things he’s [...]

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I went to a class on Saturday with MamaTerapeuta regarding early childhood development. It was fascinating! I wanted to write a summary of some of the things I learned. * As adults, we need to try and view the world from the point of view of our children. We should try to put ourselves in [...]

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Okay I did have a moment of inspiration: Costco Kirkland Supreme Diapers! Why are these adapted? Well, I’ve noticed this phenomena here in Chile. Every couple of hours our friends run to the bathroom to change their kid’s diapers. They’ll ask us – don’t you need to change Nathan? Our answer is always – No, [...]

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I’ve been ranting about Nathan’s preschool but I figured I’d share a little bit about WHY he loves it. 1. His teacher, Tia Paola, is wonderful. She cares a lot about him and is doing her very best to meet his needs. I can already tell that he has developed a rapport with her and [...]

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I wrote this report for Nathan’s IEP folder and thought I’d share it here. Parent Impressions Nathan D. Andrew is a miracle. He has a severe and rare brain malformation. His chances of survival past birth were 3%, and past 1 year old, 3%. Additionally, we were told that if he survived, he would be [...]

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