I suppose it may vary state-by-state, school-by-school, and child-by-child... But when it came to academics, for kindergarten for my own son, is mostly included areas he needed work on (his hand writing, for example) and areas he was strong in. It also included testing results for various things. In kindergarten it had included things like, how high can he count without missing any numbers, how many numbers did he recognize, how many letters of the alphabet did he know both upper and lower case. As well as, later in the year, how many sight words he knew (it, so, and, her, she... as examples).

I would imagine that any of these things he worked on or tested for in pre-k will be included in the initial kindergarten IEP. And they will develop a plan to ensure progress in any area, socially and academically, as well as OT, speech, PT, and any other services they feel he will benefit from.

For my son, they drafted most of this for me. But they did ask for my opinion and input on many things. Again it varies state by state and school by school, but a lot of the work done in kindergarten is setting the ground work for a more structured setting as they enter 1st grade. They typically will be taught the basics of reading (Letters and the sounds they make), the basics of math (Counting 1-10, 1-100 and adding small numbers 1+1.) as well as their personal information (their full name, address, etc) and also writing, forming letters, writing their name.

It was pretty basic in kindergarten. Once he entered 1st grade however, it wasn't so single sided in focus (they focused mostly on his social skills, behavior, OT, PT, etc). It was split pretty equally between both working on his autism and his academics. Which, fortunately, he does very well academically, so most of the work they do is really with his social skills, behavior and working on his body (he walks with a weird gait, and he doesn't have the stamina to write for long periods of time, etc.).

I like both answers above. The IEP process and what you want to put in it will depend on what your son can do already vs what he needs to learn to do. You should ask his preschool to write their opinions, read through them and put your own spin on it. Sometimes our kids are different at school than they are at home.

Remember that you can request that an IEP be amended at any time during the school year.

Hello LaShonaJohnsonPeterson, I am currently in the same situation--Gabriel will transition into kindergarten, I think I am going to work with an Advocate to develop an IEP for Gabriel going into Kindergarten. Gabriel will be in an inclusion classroom also (he is high functioning)--there are areas that I know Gabriel is more advanced and there are areas that I want him to work on more. He receives OT, Speech and ABA therapy now (through my insurance and he also receives Speech therapy through his Pre-K school program now). I have done a lot of studying and research on the IEP program but I learned a lot from an Advocate--these are people that specialize in IEP Process for your state and they advocate for what you want for your child. They can get expensive ($100-$200 and hour). So, I make sure study up on the latest developments in order to ensure I get every opportunity, program and services available for my Gabriel. Please keep me informed on your progress because I am going through the same thing (it's very hard for me since I am still deployed--that is why i have to depend on the Advocate).
Thanks Tomeeka

IEP's can get tricky. Include anything you feel is necessary for your son to achieve. The school can't go against the IEP once the details are included. Not sure what his needs are but you can include extra time if needed, breaks, positive praises, token economy, priming, etc. Anything that will help your child stay on track. OT and speech are beneficial, make sure they are working with him based on his needs.

@A MyAutismTeam Member, I've found that Gabriel is very different at school with his teachers and more agressive and irritated at therapy with his ABA, OCP and Speech Therapist (I believe because they push him hard even when he doesn't want to)--at school I think when he is around peers--he is comfortable in doing the tasks at hand--his teachers are very excited and proud of the progress he is making. He is talking and expressing himself more (so I think with the therapists pushing him at therapy--the school complements his learning)--his teachers at school are giving him more academic and social tasks to work on--and I think that is the area that I worry with the most--I want to focus on his reading, writing and math skills--because he knows the basics and have known them since he was 18 months--I think Gabriel has to be pushed to excel and learn--so I am looking to have more focus on academic and social skills.
I will let you know how things go on this end also.

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