Sharing recipes, crafts and frugal living, the challenges and triumphs of parenting a neurotypical child and a child on the Autism Spectrum. Yoga Instructor said goodbye to her nightly glass of Chardonnay to give up habits that were not serving her purpose in life! The CocktailMom name remains, however with a new focus on healthy and authentic living.

11/28/2008

Busy week~School Battles

Last Monday was parent visitation day at Logan's school, you know where you go and sit in on the class for a few hours and watch what a typical day looks like. His teacher is not a good fit for him. I know she is good for some kids but for Logan he needs a teacher that will give him a little extra attention, push him to be a part of the group. And I get it...23 kids in a class is hard...but here is a kid with an IEP that has a list of demands and they are not being met. I have observed the class for a few days and still am not happy with the placement. Logan is completely withdrawn. A classic complaint of parents with autistic kids is that they feel like they have to pull their kid out of a thick fog. Well since school has started, I have felt that way. Don't get me wrong Logan use to be withdrawn all the time, but that was before the GF/CF diet. Since the diet change, he's changed for the better. And occasionally he will become withdrawn when he is over stimulated in his environment. Now after watching his classroom for a few days I see that he is not being engaged at all and sadly he is being "left behind", and there my heart begins to break.

We've had meetings with all the folks that make up his IEP TEAM and the principle and after much convincing we feel as though we have finally gotten through to them that Logan needs to be in another class. Many of his special therapists agreed that he needs to be in a more social environment, the class he's in right now is not what I would call social. Though I know there are others who will disagree with me.

All in all, I'm not happy with my choices of education. It's so sad that the Montessori method of teaching was originally developed for children with mental and physical disabilities and that those schools are now not available to the people who could really benefit from them because they are so freakin' expensive. I looked into the local charter Montessori school, which is free, but they are full for Logan's age and also they won't take kindergarten unless the child has had previous private Montessori school experience. And to top it off it's a lottery process to get in!

And so right now we wait for the principle to call and tell us when he will be moved. If the phone call doesn't happen we'll be making an appointment with an advocate. What this school needs to realize is that Jon and I are fighters when it comes to our children. We won't be pushed aside and forgotten.

Things must change...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gretchen,
This makes me so angry and sad to read (and hear about). You and Jon have worked so hard and have done such a great job with Logan, that it is frustrating that the school isn't reinforcing that.
It's not fair to Logan.
Anna

Meagan said...

Gretchen, I support you fighting for your children's best interests-isn't that what we are supposed to do as vigilant, caring and involved parents?!? I wish you the best in your fight-we are the best advocates for our children-keep up your strength, you aill overcome!

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