Still the Same Macey

A few weeks ago we had Macey's IEP.  The special ed system requires that kids are retested every three years to make sure they still qualify for the same services and that they don't need anymore.  This year Macey has been receiving speech therapy and behavioral support from Dr. Brown so as part of her retesting they did a few speech tests and behavioral observations and questionnaires   The speech tests came out pretty much the way we thought, she is still having a lot of trouble with her nasal speech but as far as her language she is doing great.  The behavioral results were a bit of a surprise, in a good way.  We have been pleasantly surprised with how great Macey has been doing this year, her behavior is still a little shaky at home but it has been really great at school.  One of the tests that Dr. Brown gave her was the same test that Dr. Peck had given her when she was diagnosed with her Asperger's.  Well, the results this time show that she no longer qualifies for an ASD diagnosis.  I was a little shocked, for so long it has seemed that Macey's diagnosis has been such a huge part of our life and sometimes I think it was even a crutch for me, if Macey was freaking out about something I could just say "Oh, it's the Asperger's".  And I have to admit, one of my first thoughts after he told us was that we won't get our Disneyland pass anymore :)  The testing did show that Macey has above average struggles with anxiety, depression and self regulation which explains her continued struggles at home, but in contrast to what we were dealing with a year or two ago the progress she has made is amazing! Dr. Brown isn't sure if the original diagnosis was wrong or if we have just done enough work with her that she has learned how to deal with her challenges.  I think it is probably the later, she still has little quirks that fit so well with the original diagnosis that it is hard for me to imagine it never was.  I had a few difficult days of trying to come to terms with this new no-diagnosis, but Dan (and others) kept reminding me that whatever the tests are currently showing she is still the same Macey :)  And not to brag, but as part of the testing they also gave an IQ test which showed that she is in the gifted range.  That was less of a surprise than the other results and Dr. Brown said that children who are very smart often have more anxiety because they think about all of the things that could go wrong.
So, overall, it was a great IEP...especially now that I have had a chance to wrap my mind around it!