Weights and measures

The meeting at the school went beyond well.

I am never sure what to expect, and my pessimistic nature always take me on the path of "prepare for bad news, prepare to explain, prepare for battle".

This has been proven to be unnecessary at every turn with the new school.

Breathe.

First off, I must commend my Son for rising to the challenge, and TRYING so hard it is exhausting him.

Second, I must commend the educators, and program directors at the new school.

There has been NO mention of Drs., medications, or has there been any hint they they do not know, how to handle his behavior. The team got together, talked about it, came up with different ideas. They are trying things, some which work, others which do not. But they are really trying.

First off the meltdowns...the meltdowns, well it depends what is going on. At the beginning of the school year, SR was having a little trouble. New house, new school, new city, new Dr., NEW EVERYTHING. He has sensory issues, which the psychologist is explaining to me as "overexcitabilities"...simply put, in accordance with his personality and his IQ, well he sees more, hears more, feels more, and filters less. So when you put him in a new environment little things "annoyances", become treacherous for him. Which I knew, as we have been dealing with overexcitabilities since birth. I just did not know there was a name attached, or that it was anticipated by others. The meltdowns are decreasing, he can identify when they are coming, he will communicate it to staff, and they let him go out to a safe chair, refocus, and reenter. He can request to wear headphones when he is doing some coursework, because he cannot concentrate because of noise. Some things are distracting to him that you and I can filter out. Like a computer being turned on, a heating or air conditioning unit, being in a room with 22, 6 year olds. I will say, he does much better in this department than he did 3 years ago. He is figuring it out, it is just taking him longer because he is having to LEARN to filter. Something that comes pretty naturally to most people.

So, he is learning to cope, and filter, and the staff is helping him. This does not mean he is not receiving the same treatment as others when he violates the rules. He is treated the same as his peers.

SECOND, I am thrilled with how they have chosen to deal with SR academically. The school district not only decided to approve his mentor for geology/physics/atronomy and other sciences, the ALEKS computerized math system, they also approved a foreign language mentor!! I was told by the T&G coordinator the school rarely approves 2 mentors, so this WAS HUGE. They know he must be stimulated intellectually to be comfortable in his day socially. Because SR's biggest complaint is boredom and not enjoying the day.

We met one of the mentors yesterday, and we adore her, she is very brilliant, and they got along well enough. I do think she was surprised at how SR is not the most personable upon first meeting. I think she will be thrilled to see how he warms up, after one on one time.

So instead of leaving the school frustrated, and upset...I leave as though part of the weight that has been on my shoulders for the past 6, almost 7 years is being lifted bit by bit.....and guess what SR feels the same way.

We feel so much lighter, I am surprised we did not float out of the school!

I am truly impressed with SR's school, faculty and staff.