Happy Birthday to Allison! She is 12 today! (Now, how did that happen? She was just a cute little girl the other day?) It's hard to believe she is 12 already!

We had her IEP (Individual Education Plan) last week, and it looks like she will get to stay with the same teacher next year, which is wonderful. She has changed so much in the last year! We were reviewing things items in her plan for last year, and some of the comments were about her screaming, and ways to try to quiet her down. Hew teacher this year was questioning why they were there - she had very few problems with her. She can actually get her to quiet down by showing her the 'quiet' icon! (I want a bushel of those!) She is now walking 4-5 laps on the track with only supervision (as opposed to having someone hold her hand and make her walk) and is standing up taller when she walks. She is participating in the recycling program, sorting colored paper from white paper, and the key word is participating. She still doesn't differentiate independently between the two, but can put paper in the right stack over 50% of the time when told 'white' or 'color'. Alli still does not get 'PEC's' (Picture Exchange Communication). The head of the Special Ed Program made the comment that she was a strong willed child - she has never seen anyone so resistant to PEC's than Allison. They are now doing a visual schedule for her, and it seems to be working. It is still in the early stages, but....it is more than she was doing before!