In short, I think it went well.
An administrator from the district's main office ran the meeting. She has a reputation for being a problem solver, and it seems as if her reputation is deserved. She took copious notes and had a number of helpful suggestions. She also told the teachers and staff that they had to implement certain accommodations that they were reluctant to previously.
In any case, I spent a lot of time going over DS's psychological review, IQ tests, and his apparent skill deficits. The team listened and seemed to appreciate what I was saying. I provided a few concrete examples of where the school was either not in compliance with the IEP or not implementing the IEP effectively.
We ended up getting a verbal agreement for all of the changes we asked for. I'm going to be watching to ensure that the final version accurately reflects the agreements. In essence, we now have:
1) More explicit directions on open-ended or vague in class assignment and homework.
2) Reduced math problem sets.
3) Assignment notebook checked by staff each day, emails to us if there is a particular assignment that we should look for.
4) He does not have to take notes in class if he does not want to.
5) He will get an alternative assignment for the problematic assignment in art. Also, the art teacher and aide that have not been helpful in art will have special training from the district on his disability.
The only thing that I didn't get 100% buy in for was not punishing him for his behavior issues. He has never been a danger to himself or anyone else, but he can be insubordinate. The staff seem to agree that the underlying issue is anxiety, but they still butt heads with him rather than letting minor outbursts slide. We'll have to work on that one.
One more observation - the LBS that has been working with him for the last year seems to be the least helpful person overall (she should be the most helpful, you'd think). She is great at reporting problems but does not look for antecedents or solutions. On the bright side, she is 8 months pregnant and will likely be out of the picture for a while. Hopefully they hire someone better.
Anyway, so far so good.
