Remember the post about Z having educational testing? It's done and the reports are back - they've been back. He has a reading disability, anxiety related to school, sensory issues, fine motor issues, and handwriting issues. Imagine being a gifted kid and not being able to read or write. You see your peers do it - why can't you. Then you add in the fact that you feel, see, hear, touch, taste everything exponentially. Imaging a room of 20 kids doing their thing about you and all you can hear is all their little conversations converging in on you. Then a teacher tells you that you're off task - check mark on your behavior chart. You start to fidget to handle the anxiety - another check mark on the behavior chart. Then there are more checks for this and that until who cares because you're in trouble any way. Here's an idea - send him to CMC to get caught up on work where there's a radio playing, teachers chatting, kids coming and going, teachers teaching kids in small groups or one on one. Hold on - isn't this what we're trying to get away from. The teacher is on him forbehavior all day, then gets on to him because he's behind in work but he can't read it independently or write a response in the time given because guess what! He needs support for writing.
Then the parents go to meeting after meeting where data is all over the map except behavior data. He continues to meet the behavior goals, but the teachers keep saying that behavior is interfering with learning and causing the scores to be so different. Parents suggest that behavior is a symptom of a learning problem and that even the schools own data is reflective of this. But no - the parents are just "one of THOSE parents". Any way - I ramble.
All the testing is in. I take the evaluations to the school and discuss it with administration. I even ask one of the evaluators to add in information I was provided verbally about the educational setting and needs so that the school has a complete report and does not need to waste further time testing. I am told that the information was provided to the diagnostician and I should be getting a call for an ARD meeting as requested. No calls yet. Instead I get a form that I have filled out several times now for the RTI process with a note letting me know that the RTI committee will meet at one month from my request for an ARD. Really?!?!?!?!?!
In the mean time we've had one night of homework that almost ended in a restraint due to frustration being so high. The second night involved bribes and significant accommodations to the assignment. At least no one went to blows over the homework. Wonder what will happen next?
So when the form asks about why there are concerns about my child all I can say is look at the last 3 years of data you collected, and the additional assessments we provided from professionals in the community. When the form asks which school year was the worst I have to say all of them, though he's really making a positive bond with this years teacher and that's helping him. My favorite - why were they the worst years? I decided to be brutally honest. "Failure by educational team to appropriately review data, acknowledge parental input, and provide targeted intervention based on that data. Lack of knowledge of 2E kids." (2E = twice exceptional. Gifted with a disability). Then in the question about further information - again honesty kicked in "I am concerned that further delay in the ARD process and providing appropriate supports will continue to increase the educational gap already identified in school data. Frustration level is already increasing and behaviors identified in the educational setting." Trust me there are a few other phrases I've thought about saying - no explatives or anything like that - but times when I think REALLY?!?!?!?! DO YOU GO TO THE SAME TRAININGS I DO?!?!?!?! IF YOU DO - DO YOU LISTEN?!?!?!!? or my personal favorite - DID YOU REALLY JUST SAY THAT TO A PARENT?!?!?!?!!? YOU'RE LUCKY I'M NOT THE LAW SUITE TYPE. YOU WOULD BE HOSED!
So here we are. Z is identified as 2E and we're waiting an unknown amount of time for the school to acknowledge it and provide targeted intervention and supports. Hope they remember that I go to all his RTI meetings, and so does dad, and often so does Z at the end of it. He is very aware of the testing results and the accommodations needed. I'm a good SpEd momma and we talk about our disabilities and strengths. We prepare to ask for help and advocate for ourselves when needed. We have a goal and a plan to meet it. It is part of Z, part of our household, part of our day and it better well be part of school because that's where he is most disabled. Some days I have to be the momma bear and I hate it. I would rather be a team mate. I certainly feel a team mate with my son's current teacher (see post about thank you notes).
Loving A's teacher and everything seems to be going along there. Wondering how a child is in school 7 days and goes to the nurse 5 times though. I think she likes the nurse. I do.
Sorry again for the rant. I much prefer the fun posts. Maybe that will happen tomorrow.
Oh my goodness do I hear you... I remember my parents going through this with Jodi and now they are with Kaycee. It frustrates me how the kid has to learn to fit the system. Why can't we bend the system to fit the kid? Both Jodi and Kaycee are smart cookies. They just learn differently, perceive differently and need a different structure then others. Erg.. I could go on. But I hear you loud and clear and hope the "fight" gets better. My parents would say it was/is worth it. Jodi got better grades than I did and Kaycee will get there with help. GOOD LUCK and here is a prayer!
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