Happily mom, just wondering if you have had him checked for connective tissue disorder or a neuromuscular disorder? I think you may know this about my DS already but my DS has both dysgraphia and Ehlers Danlos. I feel like the school(s) seem to poo-poo the dysgraphia, refuse to recognize the disorder itself, refuse to believe it, understand it, etc. (heck, my school just doesn't even say the word as if it will, as an affliction, disappear because they do not utter its name). However, they seem to be quite different with the Ehlers Danlos. Ehlers Danlos Dx SEEMS (so far) to be to them real, physical, and not something to just brush aside as the maniacal delusions of a helicopter mom who shopped around for the psych to give her the Dx b/c she can't accept her child really isn't gifted and is just an average kid who actually isn't even intelligent enough to master the skill of handwriting (gee, that, I think, is the first time I put into words how I do believe my son's school perceive(d) me). I feel like when I would push for anything on the basis of "dysgraphia" there was a weird dismissive sense I got from them. Sending them a report of geneticist who specializes in connective tissue disorders which states how painful it can be for DS to write and how pushing him to do so is not only not going to help but can physically harm him seems to change the dynamic and attitude of the school (I couch all this with the disclaimer of "so far" because we are only in our second week of the school year). Anyway, if your DS is in pain and if he has dyspraxia (which is often according to my son's doc co-morbid with ehlers danlos I do think you should look into it.
Also, just want to give my experience on the attorney aspect. I was afraid to bring in an attorney thinking that would make things worse and I am certainly not in favor of bring in an attorney too soon. However, DS's school really shaped up - really and truly when I told them we were bringing our attorney with us (and I found one who had successfully gone against this school district before so they knew her). Things really got much, much better right away when I did that. They did not want have to pay their attorneys. Nothing I did before, not even bringing in an advocate changed their attitude and behavior. I know all schools are different but I wouldn't necessarily be 'afraid' in the least to get an attorney involved at this point. It is certainly not going to make things worse and in my opinion could very, very likely get them to stop their bullying behavior. Get a good one though. Preferrably one they know of and have some fear/respect for. JMO.
ETA: And I still have my attorney on retainer. So I can literally just say "let me put in a quick call to my attorney on this" if I want./need to do so. Let me tell you, they are now, right from the start, acting ethically as opposed to trying to get away with non-ethical/illegal bullying behavior etc. It really changed the power dynamic (even though I am myself an attorney!) because they KNOW I will reach out to my attorney in heartbeat. The money was worth it... I thought to myself "I could spend a couple thousand on an attorney or end up spending 30,000 a year on a new school that would work with DS." I decided the attorney was definitely worth a shot. And the school shaped u right away as a result and I haven't even spent $500 on her yet. That's how fast they shaped up when I introduced her into the situation.
Last edited by Irena; 09/12/13 11:30 AM.
