HS transition and IEP

[Cindy]

Michael's triennial and HS transition IEP is coming up this week.  We have already gotten his schedule nailed down: Geometry,  co taught English, Basic Skills (to help with comprehension and org. for English), Honors Science, PE and TV/Theater Production.

 He has always been fully mainstreamed and in MS has just had co-taught English and 90 min/quarter speech consult in addition to my keeping all the accomodations "just in case".  They didn't  have anything else that he would benefit from.  Last year they wanted to move him to a 504, but didn't push when I said no.

He is going from a MS of 750, with the grades divided into pods with classes right together, to a HS of 3000 with classes spread all over campus.  I will be talking about a buddy of some sort to help him navigate those crowded halls, the lunch room and maybe some introductions, a safe, quiet place to go in case he becomes overwhelmed and potential locker room problems.  He has already submitted a list of clubs he wants to check out- Anime', theater crew and golf team.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Jen]

Hi Cindy,
Sorry this is probably late for your meeting, its been alittle crazy catching up around here. We went from what sounds like similar situation here- Cam was in a middle school about the same size and his HS is 2400 or so.
One major thing we did was put him in summer school PE so he didnt have to deal w/ it during his school day. It also kept him active during the summer, which can be a problem for him (until marching band starts anyway). He is allowed out of class to work if things get too noisy for him- unless it is instructional time he cant miss. We went around and found all his classes and most of his teachers ahead of time and made sure he could get in to his locker w/ ease. He was supposed to have had a locker on the end of a row by a safe teacher, but that didnt work out- he was ok anyway. He is allowed early dismissal if needed to avoid some of the crowds. He has monthly locker checks w/ his coordinator or ot to clean out and organize. We keep spare ID cards w/ his coordinator or lunch time teachers, since he tends to forget his and needs it to get lunch.  He also gets an extra day to turn things in if he cant find a paper- organization is one of our biggest struggles.
Clubs are huge- Cam has band which keeps him invloved and a group of good kids for friends. Our daughter struggled w/ friends in elem school but hit band in MS and also a Star Wars club started for another child on the spectrum to have a circle of friends, and she is having a much better year socially.
Hope that is somewhat helpful- I'm sure there's more we've done- or that others have done. Again, my apologies for the lateness of replying- if there's something you want added to his iep, you can always go back and call for revisions.
Good luck!