Where do we go?
Oh Sweet Child O' Mine."
Guns N' Roses
Let me get the important stuff out of the way. I want to thank you all for your comments and emails. So many of you have been where we are now. Or you're still there in the midst of it too and yet you took the time to reach out and share your words of encouragement. Hearing "Me too." really does help.
But it also makes me sad. On one post alone on this blog's Facebook page there were close to 700 comments. My inbox for that page and my email account got slammed. It became overwhelming to me. I had to stop myself reading at one point because I found myself crying for all of us and Fries, I am in danger of dehydrating myself with the amount of snot bubble ugly crying I've been doing lately. Why is this stuff just so damn hard? For all of us.
This needs to be said. School is not my enemy. Because think about it. Why on earth would I want to send my only child to an enemy? Right? That would be insane on my part and not in the good fun way. Both my husband and I want to fix this.
What I want is for things to get a chance to work. By the end of the day on Friday, I did feel like we possibly had a plan in place but the only way we'll know if we are on the right track is try it out. The most important step being getting him to school. Cause let's face it. You can have all the picture schedules, Behavior plans, and reinforcers in the world. Doesn't mean squat if your kid isn't there.
So where do we go from here? Well this weekend is all about the Kiddo. We have done a lot of activities he likes and ones that also give him a lot of sensory input. I'm going over the schedule with the Kiddo for the week. We are planning things out for miles. Down to the songs we will listen to after he comes home from school each day. Anything to give him comfort, keep him calm and most importantly, keep us calm. Cause have you noticed that anxiety is a bit contagious?
Our school district has a brand new BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) and I think this guy being brand spanking new is going to work in our favor. Fresh pair of eyes and ears on it all. I've also been in touch with the Kiddo's old teacher and caseworker. The caseworker is also going to come in and observe him. Kiddo's medications have been changed again but of course, that takes at least six weeks before we see anything there. We're even working on getting the BCBA to come over one morning before school so he can see the Kiddo and anxiety build up in action. I'm more than willing to make sure I'm properly dressed in the morning and offer that guy a cup of a coffee and an Eggo waffle while he's here. If it helps figure out what's going on, let's do it!
So that's where we are at? I feel like we're getting tossed around in a mosh pit and I'm much too old for that stuff anymore. I'm just sitting here hoping this sweet child o' mine gets on the bus each school day next week and starts letting the staff around him help him. I swear Kiddo, we're all on your side.
He was happy the first day to go. Let's hope we don't have another Axl Rose in 90's meltdown this week.
Thank you for the update! Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, this was us. Our doctor wrote a note and we pulled him from school with a medical excuse. He spent the second half of the year on homebound instruction and it was great. He returned to school the following fall, refreshed.
Now we're starting middle school, in a new district, so we're struggling again. I have faith in this district though, and we're trying to stick it out long enough to find a good solution. It's hard, though. Hugs!
This was our scenario years ago. Every new demand at school equals a new behavior. My son has had a one on one ever since I can remember. Hopefully kiddo will have one too. It does get better!I could write a book on all stuff that has happened. Mine is transitioning to High School and it has definitely not been walk in the park. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteSending hugs your way and prayers for a good day tomorrow❤
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'm grateful of in the Australian school system is that we have two schools - primary and high school (if you don't count non-compulsory preschool). Even then it took a few goes to get my oldest into a good primary school. We did better with the younger one, who is in her 5th of 6 years in primary. This means, all going well, she'll only need to change schools to transition into high school from year 7 onwards.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine how hard the extra levels of schools would be on my kids. While it can be exciting for neurotypical kiddies, we don't need that excitement in our lives LOL!
Oh man ... I hope things settle down. It sounds like you are doing all you can and I know it can be frustrating and heart-hurting when nothing seems to help. We are lucky that going to school is not one of our issues so I can't say "me too" to this specifically but I do understand.
ReplyDeleteI just so get it and know that I've been vibing for you (my version of prayer) that things would go well this week. Fingers crossed!
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