Kendal's Upcoming Transition

As many of you know, Kendal is currently receiving all her therapies through TEIS (Tennessee Early Intervention System). Every state has a program for early intervention services for children that are developmentally delayed to help give them a step up in the vital years of birth to 3 years of age. For the most part, the program has worked good and I am thankful to have had Kendal in this program. With her third birthday coming up next month, she will no longer get therapies through TEIS. At 3, children are then transferred into the school system for needed therapies and assistance.

This past Thursday, me and James attended a program to teach us more about the special education department within the school system. It was a 3 hour class and a ton of information was thrown at us in that short amount of time. The program was given by STEP (www.tnstep.org), which is an organization that provides support services to parents of special needs children. We received an inch thick manual of just the federal and state laws that explain our rights of services Kendal is eligible for. They also explained in detail an IEP. I have heard people talk about these, but never really understood what it was all about. I was thankful that we went to the class because it really made us open our eyes at the changes that Kendal will be going through as she navigates through the school system for the next 15 years.

It will be hard to say goodbye to Sue (Occupational Therapist) and Amber (Physical Therapist), both of which have seen Kendal on a weekly basis for the last 2 years. Kendal will continue to see Suzanne (Speech Therapist) but we are still waiting to hear back from the insurance company as to how many visits they will cover. We submitted a note for the Pediatrician and from the Neurologist saying they both highly recommend a minimum of 2 sessions per week. Please pray that our insurance decides to continue to cover Kendal at 100% with no max # of visits. We so desperately need to keep up the momentum.

I want to say thanks again to Dad and Doris for watching Kendal while me and James went to the above mentioned program. Doris picked up Kendal from school and Kendal was so excited she had to show Doris around the room and point out some of her favorite toys. When Doris was telling me this, I could just picture Kendal seeing Nana and squealing and turning around in circles. Doris and Dad brought Kendal home, fed her, played with her, and put her to sleep. I was so happy about it because I know Kendal was excited to spend the evening with them. Thanks again!!