School

Oh, how my heart just *sings* when we hit this time of year!  The robins are everywhere, my spring flowers are coming up, I start my garden preparation and we get to have IEP meetings!  I just love spring.

Next week we have Monkey’s annual review on Thursday.  We’ll only be discussing summer services and summer goals this time because we’ve been in the system now for 3 years.  You all know what that means!  It’s our turn for the re-evaluations!  @#$&%!  Oops, I mean, Yayyy!

We have a meeting with our advocate on Monday.  She’ll be coming to the annual review not because we expect anything contentious but because we want her up to speed for the 3 year re-evaluation process.  Not that we expect anything contentious to come up there either but, well, we’ve been down this road before. 

I really hate to say anything that will jinx the whole process but there has been a really big push from the new superintendent to get the SPED program to where it should be.  He’s heard about the issues parents across the district have been having with certain members of the SPED staff ((Ya’ll didn’t think it was just one crazy/high maintenance Umma having these issues, did you??))and he is committed to changing the tone of parent/administration interaction.  So, we at least know who to call if the meeting goes to hell!

Not that it will go to hell…

The sun is not shining, it’s cold and snowy.  I hate cold, snowy days in general but I heard something so amazing this morning that it FEELS like the sunniest, happiest day in a very long while.

This morning at school drop-off I approached one of the classroom aides to see if she could help me figure out a name Monkey had been trying to get me to spell the night before.  There are two kids with names that start with “J” in his class but it was not either of those names.  We were just stumped.  She wasn’t able to think of any other child who it could have been but she said this to me…

“You guys are just so amazing!  He is so interested learning to spell.  He’s going to be a great speller.”  I thanked her but said, “HE works so hard.  HE wants this.  I am so impressed with him.”  ((I like to make it clear that, while I realize I am a AWESOME mom, lol, he actually should get some of the credit here :-p  ))

And then she said…this is where it gets good, people!

“He is changing so much.  He is paying attention more in class.  He is able to sit longer.  He’s making great eye contact.  He’s just so focused.” 

Just in case you think you read that wrong … she said my son is more FOCUSED in school.  In January of this year one of the 3 main areas he needed improvement in was his attention.  Since January she has SEEN it improve.  She has only been in the classroom since January also so any improvements really are in the last 2 months!! 

OMG OMG OMG OMG!  I’m not a touchy-feely person in general but it was only by the barest margin that I restrained myself from hugging her.  When we left I literally jumped for joy in the hallway.  We’ve seen the improvements at home too but we never know if they’ll see it at school or even if we’re imagining it…but we aren’t!  We really and truly are not imagining this mental focus we’re seeing in him.  Of course, he’s still pretty much unable to control his body activity but somehow, against the odds, he’s starting to be able to exert some inner control.

What a blessing!  It could not happen at a better time.  We’ll be working on his kindergarten placement in 2 months.  The integrated classroom is looking like a surer thing.  I was in contact with a SC member yesterday and it was mentioned that although there were cuts in the school budget this year the SPED budget was actually INCREASED.  I had expressed some sadness that there would only be one classroom and he agreed that they’d like to do more of them.

Just in case anyone is curious…who the heck knows why he’s improving right now.  We have been supplementing him with Acetyl-l carnitine for 4 months.  We’ve been told, in general, to not expect to see improvement from a supplement for 3-4 months.  It may be a coincidence.  It may very well be that he’s just maturing.  The aide was unaware of the new supplement and the research results surrounding it…so maybe it isn’t wishful thinking on her part either.

Ultimately, I don’t really care why it’s happening, I just care that it is.  Though…I do wish I could tell you all, “Run out and try this amazing supplement because LOOK WHAT IT HAS DONE.”  “Consider it, who knows what will happen,” just isn’t as satisfying.

We’ve borrowed  one of these:

from Monkey’s classroom to see if it helps us with the overstuffing issue.  It mimics an exercise ball but it’s much more compact.  He absolutely loves it and carries it with him everywhere.  I don’t know yet if it will do anything to help with the eating issue but it makes him WANT to sit.  This boy never sits, except to use the computer, and now he’s running around asking for a seat.  He even just moved a dining room chair into our living room so he could use it.  He keeps calling it “Dawit’s seat” I wonder if he ever uses it at school himself…may be something to try there as well, if not.

And, holy moly, he just said a new sentance!  “I want to sit there.”  Nice!

Monkey has never been thrilled to go to school even on his best days but he usually doesn’t put up a fuss.  He’d rather stay home and I cannot argue with him, I’d rather stay home too!  On his worst days…well, let’s not discuss those days again (*touch wood*) they’re in the past. 

The days that truly confuse me are the days like today.  He wasn’t excited about school but he wasn’t terribly upset.  He was just tearful and emotional.  Before we left the house he told me “elbow.”  He wanted me to kiss his elbow…not that he’d hurt it…he just needed a kiss from Umma (this is a common tactic.)  He seemed to recover but when we got to the school he was pouty and his bottom lip was quivering.  He didn’t melt down but he did try to delay going into the school a little bit.  By the time we left him, he was fine.

I really, really wish he could tell us what was wrong.   I really, really wish we could find a way for him to enjoy going to school.  🙁

last night while I was playing the Wii…Monkey decided it was his turn and he SAID HIS OWN NAME!  I was very close to tears, I’m so damned excited about this!  At bed time he asked me to lay down with him and I did so.  I was still so excited that I made him say it a half dozen more times, lol.  Finally, he told me “Night!” very firmly and I let him be.  Sometimes he’s way more mature than I am, lol.

The Wii has been such an amazing learning tool.  I had hoped it would be good for hand-eye coordination and helping him with balance but it’s actually become a huge language tool.  He has learned so many different words using it and he’s generalizing too.  Obviously, his name is the most exciting so far but another that cracks me up is “Turn around.”  He learned this using a bike riding game and he’s also used it in the mornings on the way to school.   “Dee, Dee….turnaround?  Home?  Dogs?”

Monkey looooves penguins, it started with The Penguins of Madagascar.  He thinks the show is HILARIOUS (and so do I, I love King Julian!)  For the longest time he would request the show by saying “Pens?”

They’ve started a unit at school that is feeding Monkey’s love of penguins now and within the last week he has moved from “pens?”  to “pen-guin.”  Each time he said it this weekend the two syllables moved closer and closer together until he perfected the word.  I was amazed at the progress.  I guess it goes to show how very well he learns when he is MOTIVATED to do so, lol.

I hope his teacher enjoys hearing how much progress he made over the weekend as much as I did.  If she’s lucky, the darn penguin egg will hatch and we’ll be able to get him to say something, ANYTHING, besides “Penguin egg crrrrack” by the end of this week.

I will not say anymore on that right now because it will surely jinx it!

In school related news, we are now ramping up on the IEP process for next year.  Monkey is due for his 3 year evaluations in March.  We’re going to write a letter to the school asking for that to be done in June instead when we are ready to do his annual review.  There are a few reasons why we need the delay, the biggest is money!

The school has none and will not be creating any new kindergarten classrooms next year, which was tossed around as the best placement for Monkey.   They were considering creating an integrated kindergarten.  That is off the table.  We are facing mainstream or substantially separate as our choices.

We have *some* but it’s going to medical expenses at the moment.  We need to save up a good chunk of change for the advocate and, possibly, special education attorney we are going to need to hire. 

WHY would we need an attorney?  Because if our choices are mainstream or substantially separate we’re going to do what it takes to get him in a mainstreamed kindergarten class WITH APPROPRIATE SUPPORTS (which has been in his IEP since he turned 3.)  For Monkey, the appropriate support is going to involve an aide to keep him on task.  The school says they don’t “do” aides.  The advocate says the school does whatever the child needs.

This is going to be a trip.