My son's IEP for 1st and 2nd grades included motor breaks throughout the day. An aide brought him outside first thing in the morning (as long as the weather cooperated) to swing on the playground for 10 minutes. He was having meltdowns at the start of the day because of the transition with all the kids coming into class from the buses and putting their backpacks away, etc. With the motor break, he didn't have to go through all that chaos which overwhelmed him. When he got to class, everyone was seated and calm. He also had a motor break right before he had to do any focussed work, like a writing assignment or a math sheet that was long. Our school has an OT room with a blow-up punching bag, mini-trampoline, a sitting down scooter thing, and I forget what else. So he would trade off doing one of those type of activities. Then he had another break at the end of the day, since that also overwhelmed him and made him anxious with the kids getting their backpacks together and getting ready to go home. The aide would bring him to the library for a calming storybook until it was time for his bus.

His school also allows kids to chew gum in certain situations (and as long as they are responsible about it). Apparently there is a study that shows people are able to better focus on a task while chewing gum. So for the kids who need it, they are given the option to chew gum. I also have gum at home to offer my son if it seems like he is too antsy to focus on his homework. It seems to help a little.

It's great that you know that drawing pictures helps him! I give my son breaks too (do X amount of homework, then he gets 10 minute break), though he usually plays with his brother for a bit. Don't worry about giving him the breaks. Find the right balance of doing the homework and amount of break he needs. My husband always wanted me to have the kids do homework the first thing when they got home off the bus. That is an impossible task. They (at least my kids) really need that moment to unwind after holding it together at school all day. It's great when the weather is nice because then they ride their scooters or jump on our trampoline. Then they're able to sit down to do what they need to do.

Now that my son is in 4th grade, he takes state mastery tests. His IEP includes that he can have the questions read to him if he wishes and he has no time limit. He also takes the tests separate from his class.

Our OT recommended heavy muscle work/gross motor skills. So I have him bring his hamper of dirty clothes to the laundry room for me. I have him carry the gallon of milk in the house from the car after I've done the grocery shopping. And help with other heavy (for him) bags. We used to have him do a wheel-barrow (hold his legs while he walks on his hands) down our hallway before bed. We kind of got out of the habit of doing that one--I should really start that up again. Hmmm... lol!

Good luck tomorrow! I hope you aren't overwhelmed by all the information in the meeting!