also second the advice to look into a change of schools - even though your ds is happy and has had a good year. You're not having a good year! And your ds is eventually going to see what is going on.
I agree with this. Does your district have open enrollment ? If they do, maybe it is worth it to check the other schools in the district ?
The schools in the district are not open enrollment. The other school was where he went last year for kindie (that is where everyone goes for kindie in the area and then they break them up) - where he completely had a breakdown. The school he is at now is smaller and feels more flexible than the other school but they are very close to each other geographically and pretty much do things the same. I do not think it will be any better there and possibly worse. But it's hard to say. He had a lovely teacher there last year but only had a 504, I was new to the whole special needs thing so I am not sure how much of how badly things went there was a result of me not advocating strongly enough and how much was the result of the school. But at least at this school DS is happy - at the other school he really deteriorated. I don't know. I think he really needs to go somewhere like the school I linked above if I take him out, which is $30,000 a year. We have a few of those type of schools in the area - that really cater to kids who "learn differently" and seem excellent but they are all around $30,000 a year.
I guess it comes down to how well the other school would deal with the scribing accommodation. Do all public schools fight so hard against scribing accommodations? The crux of the discord with the current school really is the scribing accommodation. They have been fighting me on that since day 1. They fought me on putting it in the IEP in the first place (fight #1). I get it in, and then they go about not implementing properly in what appears to be attempts to prove he does not need it (fight #2)... and it's just fight after fight about it, i.e., teacher trying to "increase stamina" and prove he doesn't "need a scribe" (fight #2), revising the IEP the first chance they get to basically take out the scribing accommodation (fight #3), paras giving him a hard time for needing it (fight #4), specials teachers not knowing about, understanding or simply choosing not to implement it (fight #5), etc.
Then we have the random issues/violations of DS having an allergic reaction at the school and the nurse lost his epi-pen and benedryl (she found it a few days later - it had fallen behind something). And a para humiliating DS in the car line with bullhorn that he is "too slow" and why can't he "move his legs"... And of course the crazy settlement agreement/waiver for a needed therapy service. However the ongoing tension is always about he scribing and it is the one accommodation that DS REALLY REALLY needs.
I don't understand why they can not seem to realize if they take that away they will have a world of trouble on their hands... Are behavioral shadows cheaper or more funded than scribing paras? I don't understand why they can't see that they are only ultimately causing themselves more money and more resources if they keep fighting the scribing - are they that myopic? Or do they really just not believe me? Or are behavioral supports more available/cheaper/better funded that they are willing to swap the scribing accommodation out for that?
Sigh. Who knows. It's been a whole 24 hours without a contentious email so I am gonna take advantage of th elull and pretend all is good and normal for awhile!
