Teacher is just really good. She's very focused on the fact that DS8 is trying hard and is a good little boy who is struggling. Worth her weight in gold, she is.
Thanks for the update, suave. It must feel like a huge relief to know that ds' teacher sees him the way she does. That's awesome!
She really wanted to try a "star chart" with the reward being to be able to do something special with a friend. Goal is to get DS believing that he is making progress and is not a bad person. And keep working to dial down the inappropriate behaviors.
I'm not a fan of star charts in general, but I do think they can work if a student if they're not used sometimes, forgotten about other times, if they are used based on an objective criteria as blackcat mentioned, and if the other students in the classroom aren't aware that your ds has a star chart.
My one remaining question though is - he's being potentially rewarded for dialing back his unacceptable behaviors, but does anyone really understand what's causing the behaviors? Until you've got that piece of the puzzle solved, it may be frustrating and difficult for your ds to make progress with behavior.
They both repeatedly talked about how he is so bright, and needs the chance to feel good about his strengths.
Agreed. OTOH, if he's in a situation where he doesn't have the appropriate accommodations and remediation to help with his 2nd e, no matter how much effort is put into giving him opportunities to feel good about his strengths, he's still most likely going to be a very frustrated student. I know you've said above that you've made suggestions for accommodations and the teacher has been very willing to work with you/ds/the suggestions, which is great. I still wonder though if the teacher and school staff might not have a better chance of truly helping your ds if you shared the report from his testing with them.
Have you told them the reason you make the accommodations you are suggesting to them is because he's dysgraphic? And what types of accommodations is he receiving? Does he have a scribe for writing or is he allowed to use a keyboard? The dysgraphia may not be 100% of the reason for his behavior issues, but it still needs to be appropriately accommodated, with an eye looking forward to future years in school.
Exactly how many holiday events CAN they fit into a 2-week period?!?
Well, I don't know about your ds' school, but where we're at this time of year turns into a bit of a zoo for sure!!! My entire household is sleep-deprived thanks to all the atypical stuff that is going on at school
Teacher says DS has so much suppressed frustration and anger that she doesn't know how he gets through the day sometimes. Principal added that frustration and anger are probably rooted in fear and anxiety.
Do you see the same frustration/anger/anxiety at home or does it all appear to be school-related? What does your ds say about his feelings and about school? Our ds had some very very serious anxiety prior to his diagnosis in 2nd grade, when his dysgraphia wasn't diagnosed and he just couldn't perform at school but no one realized it (except for ds). Once we (parents and teachers) understood his diagnosis, once accommodations were in place, and once we'd actually *told* ds he had dysgraphia, his level of anxiety evaporated. Knowing that his struggles weren't his fault, alone, was huge. Knowing that he had adults who were going to help him was also huge. I realize your ds has adults helping him.. but being sure that help is geared in the right direction is important. It's possible that everything is truly anxiety and needs to be addressed as such, but I'd want to know for sure that the dysgraphia/stealth dyslexia were addressed first before assuming that the primary issue is anxiety/frustration etc.
Let us know how everything goes -
Best wishes,
polarbear
