Boy were we ready for fall break. Boyd needed a break from all the anxiety he endures going to school. We went to the lake for a few days with family. Boyd had such a great time. That boy of mine absolutely LOVES fishing. He also LOVES playing games. He had an endless supply of people to take him fishing or to play games with him. Let me tell you, the break was nice. I didn't have to continually try to find a way to keep him occupied. We are blessed that he has a family that for the most part understands his quirks and try to help him deal with whatever has him anxious. Of course he is absolutely obsessed with learning everything he can about bass fishing now.
When he got back to school, we found out he made PEAK with some of the highest scores to come out of that school. He gets pulled out at least once a week and they do something stimulating. Last week, they did a debate. If anyone can argue to the point that you just give up and say, yeah you are absolutely right, it is my son :)
Living life with a child of many letters.
Monday, October 29, 2012
long time no blog... get on the bus
I'm gonna go back a little while... time got away from me.
Boyd got approved for the special services bus. Boy did that make me smile in relief. We were informed on the day before fall break so the poor kid stressed about it for 5 days. Monday morning came and he said he didn't want to do it, he wasn't going to do it and I wasn't going to make him do it. The bus pulled in and he just wouldn't budge. Finally James had to physically put him on the bus. He said you could see all these heads under the seats watching the commotion. He got on the bus. That was a major accomplishment. All in all it took 3 or 4 minutes, not bad considering. He got home and said it wasn't tooooo bad. It has continued to be a struggle. Some days he will get right on the bus, others, like today, I have to pull his leg up onto the step and keep going until he is on the bus. Of course, on Friday he told me there was a little boy on the bus who called him a baby and has been pushing him around. I told him he was going to have to do something about it because he HAS to ride the bus. We talked about telling the bus driver and telling the principal about what is going on so they can help.
Seriously, though... this is a special services bus. There has to be something different about you in order for you to get approved to ride it. Wouldn't you think that they would be just a little more sensitive and less likely to do that crap?
Boyd got approved for the special services bus. Boy did that make me smile in relief. We were informed on the day before fall break so the poor kid stressed about it for 5 days. Monday morning came and he said he didn't want to do it, he wasn't going to do it and I wasn't going to make him do it. The bus pulled in and he just wouldn't budge. Finally James had to physically put him on the bus. He said you could see all these heads under the seats watching the commotion. He got on the bus. That was a major accomplishment. All in all it took 3 or 4 minutes, not bad considering. He got home and said it wasn't tooooo bad. It has continued to be a struggle. Some days he will get right on the bus, others, like today, I have to pull his leg up onto the step and keep going until he is on the bus. Of course, on Friday he told me there was a little boy on the bus who called him a baby and has been pushing him around. I told him he was going to have to do something about it because he HAS to ride the bus. We talked about telling the bus driver and telling the principal about what is going on so they can help.
Seriously, though... this is a special services bus. There has to be something different about you in order for you to get approved to ride it. Wouldn't you think that they would be just a little more sensitive and less likely to do that crap?
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
the school meeting
Yesterday was our IEP meeting at school. We came home with a huge stack of papers.
He was given intelligence tests and an IQ test. His IQ is hovering just under 140. Typical is 100.... wow! He did much better on the nonverbal portion because sometimes his brain and his mouth don't cooperate with each other. Most things he knows are on par with a 6th grader or above.
According to the paperwork everyone had to fill out and the school psychologists observations, he is hyperactive (duh!), aggressive, anxious, depressed, inattentive, atypical, withdrawn, unable to adapt, has poor social skills, poor leadership skills and poor functional communication. He also has poor study skills.
Now onto the sensory profile report. He was observed by the districts occupational therapist throughout an entire school day.
He has a definite difference than his "normal" peers in:
Auditory Processing
Touch - processing tactile information
Behavior- appropriately responding to differences in sensory processing
He has a difference in:
Visual- processing visual information
Movement- processing vestibular information
She said that these areas will definitely provide challenges for Boyd. Sensory input for him is confusing, upsetting or just not meaningful to him.
In other testing she did he has definite difference in
Avoiding- basically he has low neurological thresholds for sensory input so to avoid it he will either engage in disruptive behavior, emotional outbursts or withdrawing. He also creates rituals for his life. He can also be stubborn or controlling to keep from situations that will cause him to be bombarded with stimuli.
He also has a difference in:
Registration- this is why he tends to be uninterested and has dull and flat expressions. He appears apathetic and self absorbed. It is also why he seems to be tired all the time.
Seeking- he makes noises while working, fidgets, rubs and explores objects with his skin, chews on things, and wraps his body around things.
Sensitivity- this is when he checks out and when he gets upset if you interrupt him or talk to him while he is doing something.
She said the difficulty is going to be finding the right amount of sensory input without giving him too much. She is going to work with him and the teacher. They do have a room he can go to if he gets overwhelmed.
Hearing... they are installing a tower system in the classroom to amplify the teachers voice AND they are getting him an FM system. The FM system is an attachment for his hearing aides that are connected to a microphone that the teacher wears around her neck. It puts her voice directly into his ears and it cuts back on a lot of the background noise. That should be in place sometime this week.
Speech.. he didn't qualify for "formal" help, but she is going to pull him out of class once a month and give him informal help with the few sounds he has trouble pronouncing.
As for getting him to school, I asked if they have someone outside who could make sure he doesn't run off if I tried to just put him on the bus. They don't. However, the school psychologist was going to call and see if she could get him on the special services bus. They are curb to curb and there is an aide who would walk him into school. He has gone into school without as much fight 4 days in a row.
They did say that for the purpose of school services, he is disabled. I hate that word. My brain knew that all of his problems are disabilities, but hearing someone call your child disabled is heartbreaking.
I will say that all of this has helped me to understand him and why he is the way he is a lot better. The occupational therapists report, especially. The meeting in general pulled me back a little bit further from the edge.
They hadn't heard how he did on his PEAK testing yet, but the teacher won't be there until Wednesday, so probably sometime at the end of the week. They don't see how he could NOT be in.
They told me over and over again that he was very diligent and would not give up. That makes me so proud and happy. Persistence is something he is going to need to make it through his alphabet ridden life.
As of right now, I am relieved and hopeful. As long as they hold up their end, he just might make it through the year.
He was given intelligence tests and an IQ test. His IQ is hovering just under 140. Typical is 100.... wow! He did much better on the nonverbal portion because sometimes his brain and his mouth don't cooperate with each other. Most things he knows are on par with a 6th grader or above.
According to the paperwork everyone had to fill out and the school psychologists observations, he is hyperactive (duh!), aggressive, anxious, depressed, inattentive, atypical, withdrawn, unable to adapt, has poor social skills, poor leadership skills and poor functional communication. He also has poor study skills.
Now onto the sensory profile report. He was observed by the districts occupational therapist throughout an entire school day.
He has a definite difference than his "normal" peers in:
Auditory Processing
Touch - processing tactile information
Behavior- appropriately responding to differences in sensory processing
He has a difference in:
Visual- processing visual information
Movement- processing vestibular information
She said that these areas will definitely provide challenges for Boyd. Sensory input for him is confusing, upsetting or just not meaningful to him.
In other testing she did he has definite difference in
Avoiding- basically he has low neurological thresholds for sensory input so to avoid it he will either engage in disruptive behavior, emotional outbursts or withdrawing. He also creates rituals for his life. He can also be stubborn or controlling to keep from situations that will cause him to be bombarded with stimuli.
He also has a difference in:
Registration- this is why he tends to be uninterested and has dull and flat expressions. He appears apathetic and self absorbed. It is also why he seems to be tired all the time.
Seeking- he makes noises while working, fidgets, rubs and explores objects with his skin, chews on things, and wraps his body around things.
Sensitivity- this is when he checks out and when he gets upset if you interrupt him or talk to him while he is doing something.
She said the difficulty is going to be finding the right amount of sensory input without giving him too much. She is going to work with him and the teacher. They do have a room he can go to if he gets overwhelmed.
Hearing... they are installing a tower system in the classroom to amplify the teachers voice AND they are getting him an FM system. The FM system is an attachment for his hearing aides that are connected to a microphone that the teacher wears around her neck. It puts her voice directly into his ears and it cuts back on a lot of the background noise. That should be in place sometime this week.
Speech.. he didn't qualify for "formal" help, but she is going to pull him out of class once a month and give him informal help with the few sounds he has trouble pronouncing.
As for getting him to school, I asked if they have someone outside who could make sure he doesn't run off if I tried to just put him on the bus. They don't. However, the school psychologist was going to call and see if she could get him on the special services bus. They are curb to curb and there is an aide who would walk him into school. He has gone into school without as much fight 4 days in a row.
They did say that for the purpose of school services, he is disabled. I hate that word. My brain knew that all of his problems are disabilities, but hearing someone call your child disabled is heartbreaking.
I will say that all of this has helped me to understand him and why he is the way he is a lot better. The occupational therapists report, especially. The meeting in general pulled me back a little bit further from the edge.
They hadn't heard how he did on his PEAK testing yet, but the teacher won't be there until Wednesday, so probably sometime at the end of the week. They don't see how he could NOT be in.
They told me over and over again that he was very diligent and would not give up. That makes me so proud and happy. Persistence is something he is going to need to make it through his alphabet ridden life.
As of right now, I am relieved and hopeful. As long as they hold up their end, he just might make it through the year.
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