Fitting In

It is hard to remember when Iris wasn't part of the family. It seems like she has always been here.

She will not let the older kids out do her on anything.

If they are riding scooters, then by golly so is she.

She doesn't let a little thing like a bump on the head slow her down

Elliot's First Day of Pre-K

I am very late at getting this posted, but here it is. Elliot's first day of Pre-K. We had NO crying and clinging to my legs like last year. I guess my boy is finally ready for school.

I was sure I had ruined it for good last week when I was knee deep in paper work for Iris and the phone rang. It was Elliot's school. I asked "Is Elliot sick?" her reply was "No, but he is still here!" I looked at the clock and I was 20 minutes late picking him up. Needless to say I felt like a very bad mother the rest of the day. Once we got to school he was in the office showing off his silly banz. I was very relieved when I asked him if he was scared and he said "No, I knew you were coming." Such a sweet little soul. Last year that little slip up would have cost us dearly.

What Are The Next Steps

The Chambers family is doing well but things seem very busy (typcial for this time of year).  Iris is adjusting more each day along with Ansley and Elliot.  They all seem to be falling into their places in the family and life is getting back to normal.

Yesterday we visited CCVI (school for visually impaired children) and they are great.  Melissa and I had visited this facilty several months ago when we knew Iris would be joining our family.  CCVI evaluauted Iris to determine what she can see.  Up til now the doctors have only told us she has limited vision but they expect improvement.  CCVI evaluated her based on colors, shapes, light, and other variables.  They spent one hour with three people evlauating her and their evaluating is based on what she can see currently.

It was great to visit with CCVI as they focus on vision and how to prepare young children to survive with a visual impairment.  However, it was "humbling" to hear them tell us she is severly impaired.  Until now I knew she had limited vision but it hit home with CCVI telling us this.  Until now I focused more on the chance of improvement rather than what she needs now which is time spent with professionals teaching her.

CCVI provided us with a lot of things to think about (that we had not thought of).  Will she need a cane so others know she is impaired?  Teach her ways to be safe when she is in unfamiliar areas.  So many things we have not thought of and I am sure over the next several years our family will encounter new things daily.

The county we live in contracts through CCVI so we will have someone visit our home and work with Iris one-on-one.  This will start very soon and they will provide this service until she turns three.  Once she turns three the county turns her over to the school district.  The school district we are in is one of the only dstricts in the Kansas City area that does not contract to CCVI.  They have contracted to them a few times in the past for certain kids but it is rare. 

We will meet with the school district and have her evaluated and see what they will offer.  Our hope is that we can get them to contract with CCVI for Iris.  Based on what we know it seems like the district will not be able to provide the best environment for Iris.  We will talk to the district with an open mind and see what their plan is.  If they will not contract to CCVI and we feel she needs to be at CCVI then we will find a way to send her there and pay for it.