First day of first grade....life bites

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2005
First day of first grade....life bites
4
Tue, 08-01-2006 - 3:46pm

Oh jeez, what have we gotten ourselves into????

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Avatar for betz67
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-01-2006 - 8:42pm

((((HUGS)))))

oh man! It sounds like you and Liam need to sit down w/ the teacher and lay out some goals for him to reach each day so that he can get to the treasure box! This is what we did w/ the Principal & teacher at our other school in first grade so that Weston could work toward doing his work in the alotted time. He would sit and stim while the rest of the class worked and then he would do his work during recess when there weren't any other children around to 'bother him'. I now know that this was what he was doing, he wasn't messing around during that time as the teacher kept telling us, he was coping the best he knew how with all his SID problems and being in a group of kids that really caused him stress. Anyway, Weston would get time at the math block station if he would work quietly on his assignments during his work time and turn in one assignment before recess. This easier shorter term goal was a huge help in making him feel he could be successful. He worked up to the bigger goals, ie treasure box. The OT got him some gum and strong tasting candy that helped Weston get through the stimming and stress so he could do the work. We wrote it all out and had all sign as a contract-- this was important for Weston. and it really worked!

If stimming is a problem for him and he's doing inappropriate things they need to get the OT to help him come up w/ appropriate ways to handle what he's feeling. Weston used the Alert Program with the OT in 2nd grade and this helped him learn how to regulate his body and brain to work in the classroom. It was really hard then but I think it's been a huge factor in his being able to continue in the mainstream classroom.

Betsy

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Wed, 08-02-2006 - 12:26am

Dee does he have an IEP?

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
Avatar for googolplex
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Wed, 08-02-2006 - 12:42am

Ooooh, I don't like that whole "prize" system. Reading your post brought back memories of how I used to try to reward David for certain behaviors. What I didn't realize was that the things I was offering rewards for were things that he was not capable of, because he had a neurological disorder or two. So, not only did I not get the behavior I wanted, it often got MUCH worse because (as I now realize) he was totally stressed out by the demands I was putting on him. Imagine that you are epileptic and you happen to love Barbies. If I tell you that you can have a new Barbie if you can go for a week without a seizure, then sooner or later you're probably going to start feeling pretty rotten about that system and the blasted fool who thought it up. That's what happened with David, and it's one of my big regrets.

It really sounds like you need to have a talk with the teacher.

BTW, I'm surprised that school starts so early. I thought everyone's summer vacation was about the same, more or less. Shows ya what I know. ;)

Evelyn

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-09-2005
Wed, 08-02-2006 - 11:13am

Thanks guys,


I feel better today.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting