504 Plan

"It is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are."

Some disappointment this last week. Our oldest son has Tourette Syndrome. He used to have an IEP, but as he got older the jr. high school thought maybe he didn't need it anymore. They talked, we listened, and unfortunately we agreed. Well, once you get rid of an IEP it is very difficult to get it back. Lesson learned. So we set up a 504 Plan for our son instead. We rushed to get it set up before the end of 8th grade last year so that he could start high school with it. I contacted the high school at the beginning of this year to ask his new counselor what the 504 Plan would actually provide our son. I wanted to make sure he was going to get the support he needed. His counselor seemed busy, and dare I say annoyed, when I called. I never heard from her again. Well, last week I contacted all of my son's teachers to make sure he could take his finals in a different room if he wanted to. Sometimes it's easier for him so that he can feel free to tic. None of his teachers knew anything about our son's 504 Plan. A whole semester - and our son had been without this support that we rushed to put together for him. We are supposed to set up a meeting with the school to see what happened and what to do for this next semester. I am happy to say that our son still did very well. I guess that's why I never felt the need to check to make sure the 504 was being used. Still, I am more comfortable knowing he has support if he needs it - even if it's to walk out into the hall to release tics. One of his teachers told me she sees him curl up in a ball sometimes while doing work at his desk. She thinks he is trying to control or hide his tics.

Plus, my son didn't even know his counselor's name. He met her once the first week of school. It would be nice if he had someone there at school he felt he could go to or talk to when needed. With his IEP, he saw his counselor every week. He had teachers checking in on him constantly to see if he was getting his work done and staying organized. I'm not so sure about this 504 Plan.

But we are now aware, and today is the first day of a new semester.

Tomorrow is our Level 2 Ultrasound. I am both nervous and excited. I have felt our baby move a few times, which is reassuring. Our 5 year old keeps putting her little hand on my belly hoping to feel her little brother or sister kick. When she does, that will be a wonderful moment. 

I am praying that all looks good tomorrow and that we come home with a beautiful, amazing photo of our child.