Well true to form I did not keep up with this the way I said it would. So now for a little update.
Things have been progressing. I have seen kiddos handwriting get a bit better over the last few weeks. Also I have noticed his reading is steadily improving. And I dare say his comprehension in reading. Which is something impressive.
One day last week he got into trouble for not bubbling in a coGat practice test correctly (preliminary testing for the state to see where the kids are I would assume. He was very upset about the tally marks. I told him not to worry about it because frankly I don't care if they didn't like the way he bubbled in a test answer sheet. I have explained to them that he gets very upset when he has to erase stuff. A lot of his writing is to him a momentous task. So erasing all that hard work really bugs him... sorry.
A few weeks ago we had an eval meeting that I was told was to talk about what kiddo would be evaluated on for his 3 year eval through the district. What it ended up being was a railroading session with me being the one railroaded where the SLLP told me what she had decided to test him on. EVEN THOUGH for once the teachers and I were on the same page. She vetoed our comments and still went with her own. This was the straw that broke the camels back for me. I hired an (dun dun dun) .... ADVOCATE!!!!
I spoke with Ms. Advocate about the things going on, and she interjected with VERY VALID POINTS where it mattered. her points?
1) Kiddo hasn't been fully assessed. Only assessed on what they feel he needs to be assessed on. So they are missing a bigger picture.
2) His Homework needs to be reduced.
3) Positive reinforcement. They need to tell him three great things he did before they bounce the negative all over him. The tally marks and the folder are bringing him down. He takes them hard. He wants to have a good day. They are telling him all the things that are going wrong in his day. Talk about the things that are going RIGHT!!!
4) The school needs to pay more attention to the fact that his disorder is not just ADHD. He has Executive Function issues, low working memory function. They should be taking that into account. He needs help with the more complex stuff because it takes him longer to process it, if he can even process it at all.
And there was more, the conversation with her was so amazing. It was like the lightbulb in my head came on. I felt empowered. See here's the thing. My kiddo has a DISABILITY. Its not something that will go away. They are treating it like one day it will magically disappear and he will be able to work independently, WITHOUT ANY HELP. He will be able to do some things independently. But he will ALWAYS depend on us/ and others he trusts to make sure he is going in the right direction. And EVEN THOUGH, he fights us and struggles with our directions every step of the way, he DESPERATELY wants to do things right. He wants to know that he's doing good. He craves the positive reinforcement. And hell, WHO DOESN'T?! So today I say, you cannot treat my son like all the other children, because he isn't like all the other children. He is amazing! he is handsome, smart, and funny. He is active, and athletic.
I am going to post another incident that happened today. But I wanted to give an update first.
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