PCP

A PCP is a Person Centered Planning meeting. Jacob's was in April, and several people came, including several of his amazing teachers, his OT, his Diag, the Asst. Principal (see pic below of these two "buds" together), and Brett, Luke, and Ryan. We sat in a room and talked about four categories: Community Participation, Independent Living, Employment, and Instruction.
Community Participation: In this category we discussed Miracle League, how he runs the scoreboard at his middle school basketball games (which I found out he does pretty much independently, which impressed me because I don't think I could do it ;-)), and then other things we do as a family.
Independent Living: Here we talked about what he can/cannot do independently like dress himself, cook, etc. We talked about how he is aware of his weaknesses, and will make sure he is ok in certain situations. Also, he is very good with routines and schedules once he learns them. We talked about how he wants to know that someone is there sort of 'looking out for him' if he should need them. We talked to him about the future, and whether he wanted to live at home or on his own. He seemed unsure of how to answer and looked at me. I told the group that I think that at 15, the idea of living anywhere besides home with his family is a bit too stressful. He is perfectly content right where he is.
Employment: We discussed how he runs the scoreboard at basketball games, and how that could continue throughout his school career. It was also suggested that he could have a job through Parks and Rec one day. We talked about his memory, and how he has soooo many birthdays memorized... all of our friends and family, most of the Texas Rangers, and several random actors. We also talked about how he likes animals, so maybe a job in that area would work too. We talked about his need and skill with a routine, and that once he learns it, he will stick to it to a tee. He'd be a great employee as far as being on time (he wouldn't clock in at 6:59 if he was supposed to clock in at 7:00), and that if he can physically do the task, he will learn it and stick to it.
Instruction: Here we talked about all of the things he can do independently throughout his school day, such as riding the bus to and from his school to mine, carrying his belongings in a string backpack, goes through his schedule and the school building independently (after learning that routine), and how in Art he would incorporate his ideas to a project and stick with it~ without getting frustrated. He has (just this year) started purposefully making eye contact and smiling at people when they speak to him, and his anxiety has dropped tremendously. We talked about how he needs a little extra time to respond sometimes, and that at his new school, he should find at least one adult to (as he puts it) 'build a relationship with' so that he has that person to help him feel comfortable and taken care of. He also has his 'boys' moving up to the high school with him, so that should help too. We also talked about his needs going forward which are learning appropriate conversation topics, learning to talk to others other than me about things that are bothering him, as well as self-advocacy and self-determination. We then discussed him having a device, probably a phone, that he can use to communicate. We thought that maybe texting would sometimes be easier for him to communicate his wants/needs/emotions. We are working on getting that phone right now....