How do you spell Swatzeneggar?
Find a Conversation
| Fri, 01-13-2006 - 4:50pm |
See I can't even do it, LOL.
This week Mike went to the mainstream class and was there for the spelling test, which he does every week. The teacher gives 20 regular words, a few challenge words and then a silly challenge word that is very hard to spell. This weeks word was swatzenagger(sp?)
Well, I guess Mike has never missed a spelling word but when they switched papers he realized that he mispelled that one and BAM, explosion. He insisted on getting his paper back so he could fix it. All the kids were trying to tell him it was just a silly word and didn't count toward the grade. Mike didn't care, he had to have that paper back. Well, they kept trying to explain and of course his ears were no longer functional. He ended up ripping the kids paper he was grading, throwing a pencil at the mainstream teacher and being carted out of class by his 1:1 back to the SDC class.
He stayed in SDC with his teacher during recess and she got him to calm down which is major improvement from last year. Then he came home and was way off for hours because he thought he would be in trouble. He had gotten a citizenship report, only his 2nd this year. He kept running away, hiding and stimming even if I was trying to find him for something else. I finally was able to debrief with him a little (ie "What can we do different next time") but he really wasn't able to do that. We did go for a nice long walk and he did calm down.
On the one hand, it is great he is making progress on calming back down. On the other it was a HUGE bummer that he is having behavior problems again. He had gone from mid august to the end of november without one. It really reinforces the point that he probably won't be able to go back to mainstream full time and will end up in a special school. yuck.
Renee


Pages
Dear Renee,
Hugs and good wishes, sometimes it is so hard to get out of the doldrums and low energy and dark thinking, isn't it? If it is clear that Mike's issues and meltdowns come when mainstreaming, not in the day class, I can't imagine the special needs school won't take him! His difficulties are clearly situational more than ED, not a problem when he is in appropriate supports. Any good special needs school will see that clearly.
What you are describing is likely a version of what eventually happened to Malcolm in day camp, the escalation and misunderstandings, etc, then brought to a head by teasing and being laughed at. Again, this is why we are not considering mainstreaming as anything we are interested in at this time. But we have an effective and more appropriate alternative, while it sounds like you do not. I guess the 5th grade camp and graduation is something he will really want to do? And there is no chance he can do those things even if he goes to another school?
I do believe our kids can handle ANY change if they then find themselves happy, properly supported and thriving, participating in social settings where they are accepted and liked, able to grow and learn even with their challenges! nothing works better than success.
yours ("It's my real color, I really bought and paid for it!"),
Sara
Pages