Malcolm finally going to new school
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| Fri, 01-27-2006 - 8:18am |
Well, the BOE finally approved the change (sheer paperwork issues, everything takes 2xs longer than promised...) and we are taking one more week for him to say his goodbyes at his current school, also give the BOE a week to change bus route. He is so ready to go, eager beaver, excited about the computer lab, the new gym, the new kids (a few of whom he knows from before and other settings.)
For those who don't know, Malcolm (age 8, PDD-NOS) has spent last year and a half at ASD private school (paid for by NYC BOE because of lack of appropriate programming in public schools) and has made so much progress socially and emotionally that we decided to move him to another special ed private school (same deal with BOE) with far more challenging academics and more verbal, socially interactive kids. This was not an easy decision, as his current school has wonderful RDI programming and he has been big man on campus, leader of the pack socially ... but the real issue for us was that Malcolm is so advanced academically that he has been spinning his wheels there and is getting bored and even sloppy with his schoolwork. Also, he needs more challenge socially now, thanks to the progress he made while there.
Change is always hard, so we are anticipating a somewhat tumultuous few weeks or even next month, even though he is waking up every morning all excited about the new school and antsy about waiting...
Just an update, I'll let you know how it is all going.
yours,
Sara
ilovemalcolm

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Sara,
You are so sweet. Thanks for the welcome back. Stuff is stuff. For somereason I did something to my back and it is radiating around to my side now. I felt it get tight last night on the treadmill but it didn't bother me other wise then it started building this AM. Who knows.
Mike did better in school this week but had a pretty horrible experience (as least for mom) on Thursday night the last night of basketball. His speech/language testing came back and it is significantly lower than I had expected but just barely over the pathetic state guidelines for speech services. Will likely be able to argue for them anyway.
I love my new job and tomorrow is Dave's birthday. Had a mostly good experience at Chuck E. Cheese. Only one minor embarrasing interaction with another parent. (Mike and Cait were going to trade in thier tickets and it was a mass aroudn the booth that was supposed to be a line I guess. The kids didn't know that so they went right up to the counter and didn't respond when the other dad was telling them to get to the back of the line cause he had a thick accent and was using figures of speech and idioms. I got an earful when I got there a minute later with Dave. What do ya do.
Going to be positive though. I love my job. I forgot how much I love teaching, particularly autistic/special needs kids. My boy turns 6 tomorrow and is so grown up.
Oh, and on a very very positive note, we are discontinuing Dave's IEP on Wednesday. He just doesn't need it anymore he has grown up so much!
If you steal away 2 or 3 days, southern California is very nice at this time of year ;-)
Renee
Dear Renee,
Ice, ice, ice and lots of ibuprofin (personal trainer speaking here). Keep ice packs on your back as much as you can for a few days and take enough ibuprofin to not feel the pain, ever, esp. for sleep so muscles can heal better while you sleep. Hot soaking bath right before bed after 24 hours, in fact then you can start alternating ice and heat, but really for back, ice works best! My sister throws her back every once in awhile and swears that she can heal it quickly with this regime, also it is the one doctors recommend but somehow most people just don't do it. Do it, it works.
Yeah, father at Check E Cheese. I am getting downright rude back, almost snapped a cowboy's head off at Malcolm's riding school yesterday who was mocking an excited Malcolm that I was working on quieting down a bit. I snapped "Is that necessary?" Doesn't help that Malcolm and pals are all so tall for their age. Still, Sheeesh.
Congrats on job going well and Dave. That is super news. And Happy Birthday to him, 6 is such a lovely age, too. Clever as clever...
Thanks for the invite, that would be so lovely. We need to make a family/friends trip to CA soon, sister-in-law and few close friends in LA, very close friend and her 5 kids in San Fran ... if we manage it, I'll totally give you a holler.
Sara
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